These seven must-read books for Christian moms address some of the deepest and hardest issues about Christian motherhood. They will give you a new perspective, help you focus on what is eternally important, and create long-term change in your life and the life of your family. Put these books about motherhood on your Christian reading list!
How much time do you have to read each day?
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Me too ;)
I’d always been an avid reader, and even earlier on when I just had one baby, I’d read while I nursed (which was an hour or more each time!). I got through a lot of parenting books and also a lot of Beverly Lewis Amish novels–ha!!
But of course, as my days got busier over the years, curling up with a book often had to take a back seat.
Maybe this has happened to you too! But you still want to learn and just enjoy reading inspirational and transformational books, right?
So, if we squeeze in time in our busy days to read, we HAVE to make it count.
There are seven incredibly transformational books that have helped me in my motherhood journey.
I don’t like being “preached at” or just reading long drawn out stories that have no application. I simply tend to be a very practical person when it comes to the books I choose!
If you feel the same about reading material, here are seven of the best books on Christian motherhood that you should definitely add to your reading list!
These aren’t full of fluff. They’ll truly help grow and stretch you as a mom, help you with some of your deepest struggles and equip you to view the “every day” of motherhood with a new perspective!
She’s Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger by Julie Ann Barnhill
She’s Gonna Blow! Real Help for Moms Dealing with Anger. The mom who wrote this book has dealt with true anger–the kind that scares me. Julie Ann Barnhill, the author, talks a lot about her backstory (without being too wordy) and the progression her anger took the longer she was a mother.
I appreciated this perspective so much because for the longest time I believed that the more children I had, the wiser and more experienced I would be–and maybe I would get angry and yell less often.
But then she tackles the truth that it often is the opposite and gives practical advice on identifying triggers and warning signs so our minds can be trained to learn when we are reaching our breaking point, finding healthier ways to deal with anger (before AND after you blow up, because it will still happen at times) and how the Lord brings us nearer to Him the whole way, so that we can rely on Him rather than on our own ability to have self-control.
Was I completely cured of my outbursts? No. I’m a fallen woman. I still have to ask myself the question “why do I keep yelling at my kids?” (in fact, I wrote an extremely popular post about it) but through the book’s practical advice, I find that I ask this question MUCH less often than I did before.
I have read She’s Gonna Blow twice and highly recommend it for any mom who struggles with any level of anger.
Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full: Gospel Meditations for Busy Moms by Gloria Furman
What I love about this book is that it constantly point you as a mom back to the gospel. Both a gospel-focus for motherhood and how you yourself can cling to the gospel each day.
The chapters aren’t too long so each is easy to read one in one sitting. I found this book comforting and encouraging and yet also practical advice for living out Christian motherhood in the every day “drudgery”.
The Ministry of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson
The Ministry of Motherhood from Sally Clarkson is the very first book I read about motherhood. It was gifted to me by a sweet older mom of six children who I greatly admired so I knew that this book would be worth my time!
I will admit that Sally is more of a storyteller than I am typically appreciative of, but she is a good storyteller, and makes her tales of motherhood blend in seamlessly with the teachable lessons in this book, so I didn’t mind :)
What I really loved about this book is that it helped me to think through the “order” in which I parent. That is, that I should first be seeing what God’s Word says about living the Christian life and motherhood and then from that finding specific ways to weave Him into my parenting.
So many times, the opposite is true: we have our own ideas of how we are going to raise our kids and then ask God to bless them without really understanding or seeking His wisdom for this massive undertaking.
She gives a lot of inspiration for taking the day to day of motherhood and viewing it from an eternal perspective. So often we want to raise our children in a Christian home but we don’t always know what that looks like on a daily basis.
I appreciated her specific explanations of how we use our gifts as moms (whether we think we have them naturally or not) to model Christian living (in a grace-filled way) and allow that to overflow into our mothering, rather than just seeking to control our children without becoming sanctified ourselves.
Sally Clarkson writes a lot of other amazing books (Mission of Motherhood, Own Your Life, etc) but if you’re new to motherhood, the Christian life, or even just needing a fresh start and encouragement in the new year, I’d recommend you put The Ministry of Motherhood on your reading list!
Becoming Mom Strong by Heidi St. John
Speaker and author Heidi St. John writes a lot about engaging our kids in discussions that revolve around the current cultural climate.
This generation of children is faced with things we didn’t see when we were growing up. Heidi addresses the challenges of parenting in this culture and encourages and equips moms to answer the hard questions.
This is a mix of how-to’s, practical ways to pray, and stories that are helpful and applicable.
Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World by Kristen Welch
This is a book every mom needs when raising children in today’s immediate gratification world. Kristen shares the ups and downs in her own family’s journey of discovering why it’s healthiest not to give their kids everything.
She teaches how you can talk to your kids about the difference between “want” and “need”.
This is a super practical book, and it does have a lot of “anecdotes” which can sometimes feel like a waste of time, but Kristen is really relatable so I liked what she shared as examples from her own family :)
Hands Free Life: 9 Habits for Overcoming Distraction, Living Better and Loving More by Rachel Macy Stafford
I actually listened to Hands Free Life by Rachel Macy Stafford through Audible this summer on my late evening walks and though it sounds cheesy, it was balm to my soul. Each chapter focuses on a habit we can develop in different areas of life (mostly focused on motherhood but there are a few other things she talks about such as friend relationships and health) that will take us away from technology and busyness and more toward focusing on the important things and simply being “in the moment”.
She says these habits can become life-long practices, and although I haven’t “arrived” at that point, the author really brought up a lot of great points about overcoming distraction especially that I really hadn’t thought about before.
One thing she said that has stuck with me was the challenge to stop myself in the middle of an activity with my kids and just absorb and cherish the beauty of that very moment. Rather than expecting every event or day to be slow paced, we should train ourselves to slow down and take in fleeting moments throughout those busy days.
Hands Free Life and its companion book Hands Free Mama are excellent choices, and because Hands Free Life is broken up into 9 parts, it’s easy to listen to in brief intervals–because as busy moms, that’s often all the time we have!
Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic
If you’re feeling sorry for yourself as a mom of little ones, you’ll like the kick in the pants you get from Rachel Jankovic in her book “Loving the Little Years” :) At the time she wrote the book, she had five kids under five and she offers brief chapters with super practical suggestions for the most perplexing moments of parenting, like:
- Staying organized in your home
- Teaching kids thankfulness
- Handling spirited kids
- Disciplining in love
So that’s it! Seven books on Christian motherhood to add to your summer reading list.
If you can’t sit down and read, the Audible versions are a great alternative! This is what I do most of the time these days because I’ve always got something to be doing around the house!
>>>(Did you know you can try Audible for free?)
What are your favorite books about Christian motherhood? I’d love to add more to my list!
WANT TO SPEAK WITH GRACE TO YOUR KIDS INSTEAD OF YELLING?
