Missional Motherhood: The Everyday Ministry of Motherhood in the Grand Plan of God

Five stars from a book snob!

Two, small children know me as "mama". That said, I don't have an abundance of time to sit down, which leads me to be snobbishly choosey in my selection of reading material. Over the past 4 months I've read about 20 books (over half of which are Christian lit, almost all of which have been good), but "Missional Motherhood" was (by far) the most impactful and enjoyable read. The book is intended to reach women in all seasons of life -- not just biological or adoptive mamas because, "... every Christian woman is called to make disciples of all nations." I read snippets aloud to my husband, stifled laughs (so as not to wake my sleeping babe), and suffered from hand cramps because I underlined on every single page. THIS was my FAVORITE part of all: "Do we, with glad hearts, glorify God for designing this cruciform pattern for our work in nurturing others? I mean, it's wonderful that Jesus, "for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2), but me? How can I gladly lay down my comfortable schedule in order to serve someone? How can I gladly lay down my body to carry someone else inside it for nine months? How can I gladly lay down my fears and insecurities, pick up a Bible, and disciple some women? How can I gladly lay down my coffee to do anything? The answer to those how questions is found in the cross. We follow Christ, who laid down his life in order to nurture our lives. Serving others from a position of personal weakness is embarrassing for us prideful people. We like to be seen as sufficient. We enjoy admiring glances. We brush off compliments of, "Wow. How do you do it?" but we relish those words and pay them back in our minds. Distinctly Christian mothering is done from a posture of weakness and dependence. We nurture life in the face of death by grace through faith in Jesus" (p. 127). I recommend ordering a hard copy (not kindle) and to invest in a new highlighter, because you'll probably run out of ink. As you read, know that the two part...