Motherhood

by Jocelyn Loane

Do you ever get the sense that you’re stuck on autopilot as a mother? That day follows day, and you’re just going through the motions while life rushes past?

In this warm, insightful book, Jocelyn Loane asks us to pause for a moment to consider the immense privilege and responsibility before us as mothers. With grace and humor, Jocelyn shows us how the gospel shapes the big priorities as well as the nitty-gritty moments of motherhood. She

wisdom for the daily dilemmas and difficulties mothers facepractical ideas for gospel-shaped disciplinerealistic suggestions for prayer and Bible timesprofound truths to cling to when motherhood feels overwhelming.Whether you’re a new mother or a seasoned parent, this book will refresh your heart and equip you for the extraordinary gospel opportunities still ahead of you.

218 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2024

Reviews

[Amanda Burdis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books on motherhood I've ever read. Real and honest and super encouraging!

[Trish Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reflection questions at the end of each chapter were so so so helpful!!!!

[Jade Scouller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a gift it has been to read this book as I embark on motherhood. Jocelyn’s writing was a joy to read, balanced brilliantly with the Gospel, personal stories and humble suggestions for the reader. I had to limit myself to one chapter a day because there was so much to reflect on! I am sure I will continue to come back to this resource for years to come.

[Lucy Langfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this book! Jocelyn is honest, wise, funny, relatable, winsome, practical, humble, gentle yet firm, and time and time again reminds us of the gospel of grace and how that applies to raising children. I ordered a stack of this book to give to all the mothers in my life to encourage them as they disciple their children.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether motherhood has you feeling overwhelmed or you're simply navigating your best days, this thoughtfully crafted book brings gospel truths directly into the beautiful chaos of being a mom.

Loane's writing is both clear and candid, addressing common beliefs about motherhood that may be unrealistic or even be unbiblical. The chapter on 'mum guilt' particularly resonated with me. In today's social media driven world, it's easy to fall into the trap of comparing our children, homes, and lives to the idealized images presented by friends, online connections, or even our own Pinterest boards. This constant comparison warps our view of motherhood, shaping unrealistic expectations about our actions, our lifestyle, and our children's behavior. How genuinely achievable are these ideals?

A well-paced book that is an excellent resource for women at any stage of their motherhood journey.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real, relatable, and uplifting! See full review here
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/review/1...

[Charis Berthon · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book. Written honestly and highly relatable. A joy to read as I begin my own motherhood journey. I think it will be one to keep coming back to in the years ahead to be reminded of gospel truths as I parent! Would also recommend the Dads to read this book as well.

[Fiona Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really engaging and readable! I really appreciated the repeated theme that God’s grace is enough for both your children and for yourself, even as you make mistakes in your parenting. Each chapter has great reflection questions to help put the book into practice. This book is actually super honest and very funny, I even laughed out loud while reading!

[Brianna Smith Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted by the tone and gospel centered nature of this book. It would be excellent to work through with another mom or group of moms as it has discussion questions in each chapter!

[Rohan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anna loved this book and urged me to read it too, and I'm so glad I did! It might not be written for me, but because it's soaked in the bible it definitely lifted my eyes to Jesus, which is great! Recommend every parent to read it, mums first and then dads as supporters of mums!
The foreword was exactly right "she sits with us in the realities of tiredness, meltdowns and parenting dilemmas, but is always drawing our eyes and our hearts upwards to gaze at Jesus."

+ The chapter on discipling kids, so many great ideas for the whole family! (So my only suggestion would be in the next edition, put in a suggestion to read this chapter with your husband, so you can be team disciple makers.)

The chapters kept getting better and better, very little dross and lots and lots of gold. The last two on work / suffering as a mother, again, not directly applicable to me but the principles were so so helpful for me too. Reminded me of another recent Matthias Media book, which if you enjoyed this book I'd recommend too! I Am What I Do: Reshaping our understanding of self and work

Some quotes for me to remember:
- "What our children need most is to be brought into a right relationship with God by the Holy Spirit, through repentance and faith ... to raise disciples."
- "[Your true self is not] when you are doing things you enjoy, unencumbered by children. Because our identity is in Christ, we are actually being most 'ourselves' when we are being most like Christ. And we are being like Christ when we are lovingly serving others."
- The "concentric circles of responsibility" in making decisions.
- "Boring is not the same thing as bad. ... Who are we to think we are greater than our master and shouldn't have to do anything boring, intellectually unstimulating or even pretty gross as we seek to serve and love others?"
- Kids pick up lots of things, like, "Is that driver an idiot, Mummy?" so help them pick up Jesus!

p.s. what a wonderful book to finish on Christmas Day when we remember Jesus being born (and Mary being a mother!)

[Megan Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stared at this book in the bookstall at a conference over several days and thought, I really don't have the energy for another parenting book, which was probably why I needed to read this. I found this book excellent. I had some kid-free hours and actually read the whole thing in one day. Steeped in Bible wisdom, non-judgemental, encouraging and practical. It was well-rounded in terms of age - not focused on just the little years but applicable to all ages and stages of mothering. It honoured the special role of mothers, but is also a book that my husband could easily read as we share the joys and responsibilities of parenting.
I could also see this as being a great book to read with another mum as an encouragement.

[Suzanne Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better parenting books I've read. In my experience in the parenting genre, the least helpful books are those that focus more on the how-to rather than the why and the foundation behind it all, because each child and each life stage vary so wildly, even within a small family. I so appreciated Loane's return to the gospel over and over again, and was particularly struck by how she addressed the common complaint of contemporary mothers: that motherhood has erased so much of our "true selves". Loane writes, "Because our identity is in Christ, we are actually being most 'ourselves' when we are being most like Christ. And we are being like Christ when we are lovingly serving others." Mic drop.

[Megan Landis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was highly encouraged by this book! After reading many Christian motherhood books I have found so many of them to be lacking. This book was strong on convictions and holding to biblical truths. Jocelyn did a fantastic job of approaching modern issues we face in our world today. She never was wishy-washy or hid from the truth of the Bible. While I didn’t agree with her on every thing, she did do a wonderful job of presenting her point in a clear manner.
I will highly recommend to my friends and would encourage any Christian mother to read.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so refreshingly motivating in my motherhood journey. The author did such a wonderful job of drawing out parenting wisdom from God’s word and applying it so practically to the day-to-day joys and challenges of being a Mum. Highly recommend!

[Alisha Brownlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading this and wow, what encouragement (and conviction) for me as a mama of four. The author does such a good job of laying out exactly what the title of the book is: "how the gospel shapes our purpose and priorities". If you're a mama (of any age!) that loves Jesus, this is a must read!

[Nicola Travers-Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the honesty, thoughtfulness and gospel focus of this book. It was clear, warm and practical without being prescriptive. Motherhood is a book of wise encouragement for mothers at all stages!

[Sally Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

We studied this book for our Mum’s Lifegroup this year. We got so much out of the study. So relatable, honest, encouraging and full of wisdom.

[Jina Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love love this book. I love Jocelyn’s way of writing - it is so deeply rooted in biblical truths but also so accessible and relatable. When you are a first time mum with a young baby you may feel too exhausted to even entertain the thought of reading, but gosh this book was so easy to read and full of so many nuggets of wisdom. I looked forward to little moments of quietness where I could have alone time at a cafe and devour another chapter of this book.

[Katelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very authentic book on motherhood. Jocelyn does a great job being honest with her readers and providing very actionable ways to integrate the Gospel into the everyday journey of motherhood. I'd definitely recommend it!