Ministry Motherhood

A blogger and homeschooling mom of three, Jessica Smartt shares her family’s journey out of monotony, distraction, and busyness to a life of making lasting memories and how families can take those memories, together with old and new traditions, to breathe life into their homes.

Sometimes moms see the never-ending laundry, dirty diapers, and skinned knees as relatively insignificant when compared to activities and callings that seem more important and lasting. But there is eternal value in even the most mundane moments if the great commission informs how we're thinking about all of life, including what it means to be a mom. Tracing motherhood in the story of the Bible and drawing out key implications for moms today, Gloria Furman helps women live out God's story.

When Deb Moerke and her husband decided to become foster parents, they never imagined how their lives would change. And never did they imagine their worst nightmare coming true: Their five-year-old foster daughter, Hannah, murdered at the hands of her birth mom, Karen. The Moerkes were overwhelmed with horror and grief. And just when they didn’t think they could bear any more, Deb received a phone call from Karen in prison. Facing a life sentence for Hannah’s murder, she was pregnant. And Karen had an incredible request: Would Deb take her unborn baby and love it as her own?

You might think that Scripture doesn't have much to say about the food you make for breakfast, how you view your postpartum body, or what school choice you make for your children, but a deeper look reveals that the Bible provides the framework for finding answers to your specific questions about modern motherhood. Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler help you understand and apply the gospel to common issues moms face so you can connect your Sunday morning faith to the Monday morning tantrum. Discover how closely the gospel connects with today's motherhood.

There are many books on motherhood but not many that talk about how hard it is - physically, mentally, and spiritually - and what to do when you reach your limits. When Liz Wann became a mother, she was unprepared for how hard it would be. In this book, she describes honestly about these deeply challenging aspects of motherhood and how God works through them to make us more like his son.

For Christian parents, there is no greater joy than seeing their children learn to walk with the Lord. And there is no greater fear than that their children will walk away from God. After serving together in pastoral ministry for 40 years, Phil and Diane Comer know those hopes and fears well. Thirty-seven years ago, they became parents themselves. And like all new parents, they were intimidated and unsure about how to take on the task of spiritually training their young children.

What the award-winning, best-selling Boundaries has done for adult relationships, Boundaries with Kids will do for you and your children. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend provide the help and guidance you need for raising your kids to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions. With wisdom and empathy, they take you through the ins and outs of instilling the kind of character in your children that will help them lead balanced, productive, and fulfilling adult lives.

In Motherhood, Marchiano draws from a deep well of Jungian analysis and symbolic research to present a collection of fairytales, myths, and fables that evoke the spiritual arc of raising a child from infancy through adulthood. Divided into three major segments similar to the stages of a hero's initiatory journey, (Descent, Sojourn, and Return), Motherhood charts how events like pregnancy, the calamities of childhood, and the empty-nest experience are all parts of an odyssey to which every mother receives an invitation.

Nathan was different and Sally knew it. From his early childhood, Nathan was bursting with creativity and uncontainable energy, struggling not only with learning issues but also with anxiety and OCD. He saw the world through his own unique lens - one that often caused him to be labeled as "bad", "troubled", or someone in need of "fixing". Bravely choosing to listen to her motherly intuition rather than the loud voices of the world, Sally dared to believe that Nathan's differences could be part of an intentional design.

Mystified by the situations girls face today? There's a good reason, Mom. Our girls are growing up in a completely different world than we did. But whether your daughter is very young or a teenager, you can equip yourself with the wisdom and practical help she needs for the pressures and decisions ahead. With keen insight and warm encouragement, Cheri Fuller shares how you can become a more welcome influence at every stage in your daughter's life.

In Our Mothers, Ourselves, Henry Cloud and John Townsend show how understanding how our mothers have profoundly influenced our lives can set us on a path toward wholeness and growth. No one has influenced the person you are today like your mother. The way she handled your needs as a child has shaped your worldview, your relationships, your marriage, your career, your self-image - your life. Our Mothers, Ourselves can help you identify areas that need reshaping, to make positive choices for personal change, and to establish a mature relationship with Mom today.

Many parents want to see positive character traits in their children but wonder how to instill them. As stars of the hit reality TV show Duck Dynasty, Korie and Willie Robertson receive loads of letters and messages from fans asking how they've raised such good kids. As they will tell you, "It isn't always easy, but raising kids with good character is possible".

The world is filled with mixed messages about pregnancy. Popular books and well-meaning family and friends offer you unsolicited advice about what to expect and how to stay healthy - sometimes resulting in joy and excitement but other times leading to discouragement and fear. The Bible, too, has a lot to say about childbirth - offering real hope that nothing in this world can match.

Over the years, you willingly pour everything you have into your family, but in the process, you lose the essence of who you are. In her characteristic raw and visceral style, Rachel teaches you how to rewrite the pages of your story, follow your passion, and discover the beauty of who you are. Drawing on lessons from her own incredible journey - together with insight from conversations with thousands of other women - Rachel encourages moms to break cycles, take off masks, and prevent fear from taking control.

Through compelling true stories and solid principles, this book offers a blueprint for what sons need from their moms to become healthy, caring, confident young men. With specific advice for boys' different ages, moms will learn the balance between controlling and letting go, how to cultivate their sons' unique masculinity, how to encourage a lasting relationship with God, and much more.

Motherhood often looks like bottomless piles of laundry; a sink full of dishes; sleepless nights; and unshowered, nonstop, endless days. No wonder "Grumpy Mom" sometimes sneaks into your heart and home. Journey with Valerie and be inspired and equipped to find energy in the most unlikely places, pursue your own dreams, be set free from mom guilt, feel content despite unfinished to-do lists, spend purposeful time with God amid the daily chaos, and discover more joyous moments of motherhood. So take a holiday from Grumpy Mom, and enjoy life as the mom God made you to be.

Empty-nesting can be a disorienting time, but it can also become the best season of your life if you'll let it. Jill Savage is an empty-nest mom who will guide you through this unpredictable time of life. You'll learn to let go of mixed emotions and grab hold of your full life here and now.

In Motherhood, Sheila Heti asks what is gained and what is lost when a woman becomes a mother, treating the most consequential decision of early adulthood with candor, originality, and humor. In her late 30s, when her friends are asking when they will become mothers, the narrator of Heti’s intimate and urgent audiobook considers whether she will do so at all. In a narrative spanning several years, casting among the influence of her peers, partner, and her duties to her forebearers, she struggles to make a wise and moral choice.

Social media star and author CA Miljavac believes with all her heart that laughter is a gift, providing a sliver of distraction from life's struggles...relief when you need rescuing...hope in the midst of hardship. Though her life has been dotted with disaster, it's through laughter that she found the strength and courage to persevere...joy for the journey. And she'll help women of all ages discover the ways laughter can carry them through their very own painful situations.

If you're like many Christian moms today, you've been reading the headlines and watching the rapid-fire changes in our culture with frustration and fear. Let's face it: Moms today are facing questions that previous generations didn't even see coming, and even our right to determine what is best for our own children is under fire. Popular speaker and blogger Heidi St. John ("The Busy Mom") believes that today's mothers need a special kind of strength. We need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.