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Twelve Baskets of Crumbs
Twelve baskets of crumbs
173 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
About the author
Elisabeth Elliot
150 books2,431 followersFrom the Author's Web Site: My parents were missionaries in Belgium where I was born. When I was a few months old, we came to the U.S. and lived in Germantown, not far from Philadelphia, where my father became an editor of the Sunday School Times. Some of my contemporaries may remember the publication which was used by hundreds of churches for their weekly unified Sunday School teaching materials.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
Our family continued to live in Philadelphia and then in New Jersey until I left home to attend Wheaton College. By that time, the family had increased to four brothers and one sister. My studies in classical Greek would one day enable me to work in the area of unwritten languages to develop a form of writing.
A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category -- a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.
Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.
After having worked for two years with the Aucas, I returned to the Quichua work and remained there until 1963 when Valerie and I returned to the U.S.
Since then, my life has been one of writing and speaking. It also included, in 1969, a marriage to Addison Leitch, professor of theology at Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. He died in 1973. After his death I had two lodgers in my home. One of them married my daughter, the other one, Lars Gren, married me. Since then we have worked together.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 27, 2013
Some of the essays in this book are very good, convicting, and thought provoking. Worth reading it.
The one that I found most interesting is entitled, "Housework and High-Flown Ideas." If you want to "know" the wonderful and loving Elisabeth Elliot "mad", read this one. In this essay she challenges, with poignant sarcasm, the new ideas (this book was published in 1976) of feminism and equality of roles between men and women that were finding their way into the church. Here are a few excerpts:
Thus she starts her essay, "I had made up my mind several weeks ago that I would probably have to write something sometime about women's liberation. I wouldn't be able to endure it in silence much longer."
"Recently I learned that one of the more sensible and clear-eyed Presbyterian ministers of my acquaintances is "swinging over to the 'woman-elder' side because of the weirdos pushing against ordination." Reasoning like that makes me want to shriek, rend my garments and throw dust in the air. I would be sorry in any case to learn that this particular minister favors the ordination of women -he was one of the few left that I was counting on to swim against the tide- but if he favors it in order not to have to keep company with weirdos he's probably jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Which side has more weirdos?"
"I must confess I had no idea how weird I was myself until I read a book which has been enthusiastically welcomed among Christians...They answer some questions I have been too obtuse to ask, such as why God did not choose to send a female Messiah...how the word "head" carries no connotation of authority, and why we ought not to limit our references to God almighty as he -for does not God refer to himself (there I go -my sexism is showing- why I didn't I write "herself"?)as like a woman in travail, a mother, a hen, a woman sweeping her house? The authors suggest, in fact, that the pronoun "Thou" ought perhaps to be substituted for he/she..."
"Another question was where in the world everybody has got the notion that sexes have different functions? Nonsense, we are told. There's no such thing as separate spheres or different functions. All the myths, all the poetry, all the history of the world have led us down the garden path and it certainly isn't the Garden of Eden. Let's go back to reality and common sense, and stop thinking of men as different from women they say."
"I found out, for example, that as a traditionalist I am also sexist, whatever that means. Nobody has told me exactly, but it is a very bad word which seems to imply that I insist on recognizing and perpetuating "la difference."
"I, this book tells me, have been forced into playing a role-conforming to a stereotype...I was supposed to to be "cramped," "restrained," and to feel like a "crushed automaton" with no identity. Alas! I did poorly at feeling that way."
"Miss Hardesty and Mrs. Scanzoni inform me that nobody's in charge of my marriage except God. There is no other "head," the apostle Paul notwithstanding. It's a partnership, both parties exactly equal, accountable only to God, and that as a relationship or "companionship" or "covenant" neither can possibly have any authority over the other. (I thought that in my "relationship" or "companionship" or "covenant" with God he had authority. Are this ideas mutually exclusive?) Marriage was never a fifty-fifty proposition for me. I didn't want it to be because I understood that woman was made for man, but now it is claimed that nobody was made for anybody but God."
"The "traditional" view of marriage, it is alleged, is characterized by fear and reluctant submission while by sharp contrast the "new" is characterized by love. That gives me an identity crisis. I don't know where I belong anymore. I had the impression during the few years I was a wife that I was living in love, that the whole thing was an "adventure of growth," a "continuous exchange," an "experience of self-actualization," a "direct participation in the world," and that we as a couple were "on the move." But I was way off. Only the "new" marriage, the "equal partnership," works that way..."
The one that I found most interesting is entitled, "Housework and High-Flown Ideas." If you want to "know" the wonderful and loving Elisabeth Elliot "mad", read this one. In this essay she challenges, with poignant sarcasm, the new ideas (this book was published in 1976) of feminism and equality of roles between men and women that were finding their way into the church. Here are a few excerpts:
Thus she starts her essay, "I had made up my mind several weeks ago that I would probably have to write something sometime about women's liberation. I wouldn't be able to endure it in silence much longer."
"Recently I learned that one of the more sensible and clear-eyed Presbyterian ministers of my acquaintances is "swinging over to the 'woman-elder' side because of the weirdos pushing against ordination." Reasoning like that makes me want to shriek, rend my garments and throw dust in the air. I would be sorry in any case to learn that this particular minister favors the ordination of women -he was one of the few left that I was counting on to swim against the tide- but if he favors it in order not to have to keep company with weirdos he's probably jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Which side has more weirdos?"
"I must confess I had no idea how weird I was myself until I read a book which has been enthusiastically welcomed among Christians...They answer some questions I have been too obtuse to ask, such as why God did not choose to send a female Messiah...how the word "head" carries no connotation of authority, and why we ought not to limit our references to God almighty as he -for does not God refer to himself (there I go -my sexism is showing- why I didn't I write "herself"?)as like a woman in travail, a mother, a hen, a woman sweeping her house? The authors suggest, in fact, that the pronoun "Thou" ought perhaps to be substituted for he/she..."
"Another question was where in the world everybody has got the notion that sexes have different functions? Nonsense, we are told. There's no such thing as separate spheres or different functions. All the myths, all the poetry, all the history of the world have led us down the garden path and it certainly isn't the Garden of Eden. Let's go back to reality and common sense, and stop thinking of men as different from women they say."
"I found out, for example, that as a traditionalist I am also sexist, whatever that means. Nobody has told me exactly, but it is a very bad word which seems to imply that I insist on recognizing and perpetuating "la difference."
"I, this book tells me, have been forced into playing a role-conforming to a stereotype...I was supposed to to be "cramped," "restrained," and to feel like a "crushed automaton" with no identity. Alas! I did poorly at feeling that way."
"Miss Hardesty and Mrs. Scanzoni inform me that nobody's in charge of my marriage except God. There is no other "head," the apostle Paul notwithstanding. It's a partnership, both parties exactly equal, accountable only to God, and that as a relationship or "companionship" or "covenant" neither can possibly have any authority over the other. (I thought that in my "relationship" or "companionship" or "covenant" with God he had authority. Are this ideas mutually exclusive?) Marriage was never a fifty-fifty proposition for me. I didn't want it to be because I understood that woman was made for man, but now it is claimed that nobody was made for anybody but God."
"The "traditional" view of marriage, it is alleged, is characterized by fear and reluctant submission while by sharp contrast the "new" is characterized by love. That gives me an identity crisis. I don't know where I belong anymore. I had the impression during the few years I was a wife that I was living in love, that the whole thing was an "adventure of growth," a "continuous exchange," an "experience of self-actualization," a "direct participation in the world," and that we as a couple were "on the move." But I was way off. Only the "new" marriage, the "equal partnership," works that way..."
March 25, 2020
Entertaining. So many good things to think about. A call to cheerful obedience. A reminder of our role as women and as followers of Jesus. I hope I read it again someday.
July 3, 2022
As usual - EE never disappoints. I gave it only 3 stars because it isn’t exactly a page turner unless you just love EE (as I do) and want to read anything you can by her. This book really is just a collection of her thoughts on things. Nevertheless, I’m ALWAYS encouraged after time reading her work. This book felt like we spent weeks together getting coffee and each chapter was just a new set of her thoughts on some new topic she’s been musing over… always challenging and wonderful.
Here is a quote from the end that I loved:
“ I could go on listing what women have done to prove that they have had an important role in world missions. There were Mary Slessor of Calabar, Lottie Moon of China, Amy Carmichael of India, Rosalyn Goforth of China, Malla Moe of Africa – of whom it was said that although she could not preach like Peter nor pray like Paul told thousands of the love of Jesus. And besides these names there have surely been tens of thousands of nameless nuns and other anonymous women who have done what God sent them to do - and theyve done it without the modern egalitarian movements. They have a place and they knew they had it because Scripture says they have.”
Also - I think everyone should read the chapter titled “Housework and High-Flown Ideas” in this book. I giggled the whole way through… chapters like this just make me wish we had been able to be friends while she was alive.
Here is a quote from the end that I loved:
“ I could go on listing what women have done to prove that they have had an important role in world missions. There were Mary Slessor of Calabar, Lottie Moon of China, Amy Carmichael of India, Rosalyn Goforth of China, Malla Moe of Africa – of whom it was said that although she could not preach like Peter nor pray like Paul told thousands of the love of Jesus. And besides these names there have surely been tens of thousands of nameless nuns and other anonymous women who have done what God sent them to do - and theyve done it without the modern egalitarian movements. They have a place and they knew they had it because Scripture says they have.”
Also - I think everyone should read the chapter titled “Housework and High-Flown Ideas” in this book. I giggled the whole way through… chapters like this just make me wish we had been able to be friends while she was alive.
November 14, 2014
A wonderful little collection of essays on a wide range of topics by one of my heroes of the faith. Gracious and wise and sometimes delightfully sarcastic.
"We are indeed 'miserable offenders.' We have done and left undone. We are foolish and weak and blind and self-willed and men of little faith. We run here, we run there, we form committees and attend meetings and attack the church and its organization and its isolation and its useless machinery and its irrelevance and ineffectiveness. But all the time it stands there, holding the Cross, telling us that there is forgiveness, that we have not been left to ourselves, that no matter how shocking the image that we finally see of ourselves in the light of God's truth, God himself has done something about it all."
"We are indeed 'miserable offenders.' We have done and left undone. We are foolish and weak and blind and self-willed and men of little faith. We run here, we run there, we form committees and attend meetings and attack the church and its organization and its isolation and its useless machinery and its irrelevance and ineffectiveness. But all the time it stands there, holding the Cross, telling us that there is forgiveness, that we have not been left to ourselves, that no matter how shocking the image that we finally see of ourselves in the light of God's truth, God himself has done something about it all."
January 3, 2023
A few chapters are very good. Several seem extremely judgmental. I appreciate Elliot’a description of a life partner as a gift. The middle drags on with qualms of the author’s that did not edify this reader.
April 16, 2009
wow. this is an amazing woman of God with great relevant insight into the new generations!
March 18, 2016
I normally love Elisabeth Elliot's writing, but this one just seemed to lack the insight and sparkle of her later works. Or her earlier ones, for that matter.
October 20, 2026
"Twelve Baskets of Crumbs" by Elisabeth Elliot. Audiobook narrated by Aimee Lilly.
"Evangelical writer Elisabeth Elliott sees the miracle of God’s grace at work in her life. The title derives from Jesus’ instructions to his disciples after feeding the five thousand to gather up the fragments that nothing be lost." ~from elisabethelliot.org
This is a book of 25 nonfiction essays written in 1976 on a range of topics which the author draws on from her many life experiences.
●Elliot comes across as personable, straight forward, and down-to-earth.
●Her life experiences have been quite varied. She relates stories from her times spent with people from all over the world 🌎 and how those experiences confirmed or reminded her of Biblical truths.
●Her straight forward thinking gets right to the point. I like how she cuts through the garbage of worldly thinking and guides readers on how to look at things through the filter of God's Word.📖
●As one who appreciates sarcasm😏, I enjoyed Elisabeth Elliot's just-the-right-amount and tone of sarcasm. She isn't mean-spirited but catches a reader's attention to think about what she is saying.
●Elliot was a great proponent of reading good books and refers to some that she enjoyed. Many years ago, I heard her once say (she may have been quoting someone else), "Life is too short to read bad books." and that has stayed with me ever since.
This is a good book.📕 It is a book to be savored...to think about what is true...to examine our thoughts as to whether or not they are aligning with God's thinking. 🤔
It is "dated". I notice people are quick to dismiss things, books especially, because they are dated. Kind of silly, when you think about it. "That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done.So there is nothing new under the sun." — Ecclesiastes 1:9 *Everything* is dated! We learn from things done in the past.
In the closing sentence of this book Elisabeth Elliot says this of her remembering and relating her experiences:
"A few truths that are changeless were known to me again and words that I knew by heart sprang up to teach me by living illustrations."
We can learn and be reminded of biblical truths from "dated" Christian writings that are faithful to Scripture because what God has said never changes.
UPDATE: It may take some hunting for this book. "Twelve Baskets of Crumbs" is out-of-print. My library didn't have this in their catalog but other library systems may have it. The audiobook is a 2025 release and is easier to find. I found it on chirpbooks.com. Printed versions can still be bought in various online bookstores such as AbeBooks.com.
"Evangelical writer Elisabeth Elliott sees the miracle of God’s grace at work in her life. The title derives from Jesus’ instructions to his disciples after feeding the five thousand to gather up the fragments that nothing be lost." ~from elisabethelliot.org
This is a book of 25 nonfiction essays written in 1976 on a range of topics which the author draws on from her many life experiences.
●Elliot comes across as personable, straight forward, and down-to-earth.
●Her life experiences have been quite varied. She relates stories from her times spent with people from all over the world 🌎 and how those experiences confirmed or reminded her of Biblical truths.
●Her straight forward thinking gets right to the point. I like how she cuts through the garbage of worldly thinking and guides readers on how to look at things through the filter of God's Word.📖
●As one who appreciates sarcasm😏, I enjoyed Elisabeth Elliot's just-the-right-amount and tone of sarcasm. She isn't mean-spirited but catches a reader's attention to think about what she is saying.
●Elliot was a great proponent of reading good books and refers to some that she enjoyed. Many years ago, I heard her once say (she may have been quoting someone else), "Life is too short to read bad books." and that has stayed with me ever since.
This is a good book.📕 It is a book to be savored...to think about what is true...to examine our thoughts as to whether or not they are aligning with God's thinking. 🤔
It is "dated". I notice people are quick to dismiss things, books especially, because they are dated. Kind of silly, when you think about it. "That which has been is that which will be, and that which has been done is that which will be done.So there is nothing new under the sun." — Ecclesiastes 1:9 *Everything* is dated! We learn from things done in the past.
In the closing sentence of this book Elisabeth Elliot says this of her remembering and relating her experiences:
"A few truths that are changeless were known to me again and words that I knew by heart sprang up to teach me by living illustrations."
We can learn and be reminded of biblical truths from "dated" Christian writings that are faithful to Scripture because what God has said never changes.
UPDATE: It may take some hunting for this book. "Twelve Baskets of Crumbs" is out-of-print. My library didn't have this in their catalog but other library systems may have it. The audiobook is a 2025 release and is easier to find. I found it on chirpbooks.com. Printed versions can still be bought in various online bookstores such as AbeBooks.com.
July 13, 2024
I love books like this! Elisabeth Elliot is a woman of intellect—not a worldly type, but a heavenly one. She’s straightforward, and not those kind of women authors of today who are too emotional, and are leaning toward the “feel-good” type of genre.
Elisabeth’s writing is always challenging, rebuking, and intentional. As if a mother is lecturing you. An immature, infant Christian may not like her, but for growing, maturing, spiritual Christians, you’ll somehow like her. She walked tha talk until her very last breath. Why am I saying these things about her? It’s a warning, I think. A warning for women who think they will find comfort, an encouraging feeling, or something that will lighten their mood. I’m telling you, this isn’t the book for you. Elisabeth Elliot will shower you with passages from the scripture not to console you, but to convict you. Her essays are full of biblical truth, and experiences from different men and women of God. There are bo flowery words here, only facts and substance. You’ll find yourself turning the pages wanting to hear more from this woman, because finally, she’s the spiritual mother you’ve been looking for.
I love her and her writing simply because she speaks only the truth. It hurts sometimes, but at least she’s not fooling anyone.
Elisabeth’s writing is always challenging, rebuking, and intentional. As if a mother is lecturing you. An immature, infant Christian may not like her, but for growing, maturing, spiritual Christians, you’ll somehow like her. She walked tha talk until her very last breath. Why am I saying these things about her? It’s a warning, I think. A warning for women who think they will find comfort, an encouraging feeling, or something that will lighten their mood. I’m telling you, this isn’t the book for you. Elisabeth Elliot will shower you with passages from the scripture not to console you, but to convict you. Her essays are full of biblical truth, and experiences from different men and women of God. There are bo flowery words here, only facts and substance. You’ll find yourself turning the pages wanting to hear more from this woman, because finally, she’s the spiritual mother you’ve been looking for.
I love her and her writing simply because she speaks only the truth. It hurts sometimes, but at least she’s not fooling anyone.
September 1, 2022
Some expected and unexpected flashes of humor or insight, especially the chapter on her mother’s turns of phrase. The insights into her husband’s speaking life were particularly good, especially the story of the resolved dispute between two department heads of a nonprofit: “Just pay me the cost of the one pre-dinner cocktail per head that everyone ordered.” “Uh - we can only afford $25 for your speech, funds are tight.” “That’s fine - just take me home.” A speaker’s life definitely shows the flaws of organizer and audience.
Emphasis was on the active life, not so much on contemplation, which I appreciated. I also appreciated the wholly expected insight into the bullying nature of a Call to Feminine Power, though the reflection that this demeans home life is a road well traveled. (‘What, the life of service and sacrifice is a useless hamster wheel of repression? Well up yours’- no, she’s too polite to say that.) A good Sunday afternoon read.
Emphasis was on the active life, not so much on contemplation, which I appreciated. I also appreciated the wholly expected insight into the bullying nature of a Call to Feminine Power, though the reflection that this demeans home life is a road well traveled. (‘What, the life of service and sacrifice is a useless hamster wheel of repression? Well up yours’- no, she’s too polite to say that.) A good Sunday afternoon read.
October 28, 2022
Written in 1976, this book of essays by the missionary Elisabeth Elliot is a bit dated, but still hits the mark with her observations on a range of subjects. The "Twelve baskets of crumbs" refer to the leftovers from Jesus' feeding of the five thousand - gathering up the crumbs that nothing would be wasted. When her husband, Addison Leitch, died after a short illness, she wanted to preserve the wisdom and insight she had learned from him. It was the inspiration for this short book of musings on a number of subjects, but is not restricted to that - Elisabeth Elliot's words are worth reading on any subject at any time.
September 9, 2024
I loved this collection of essays by EE. In Ellen Vaughn’s Becoming Elisabeth Elliot, she talks about how Elisabeth would try to write every day, and often felt like she had nothing to say. As I read this book, it made me smile to think that many of these essays were probably written during those times. It was so fun to have a peek into her thoughts (and the contemporary history of her time) in these essays!
January 6, 2024
I loved this book of Elliot's. She is very personable in these essays. The topics of her days are still things being discussed today. She is funny too. And she speaks quite a bit about her second husband Addison Leitch.
October 4, 2017
An excellent collection of essays.
A book by your favorite author.
A book by your favorite author.
March 10, 2020
A collection of published essays. Absolutely love this.
July 10, 2025
Felt like I was at coffee with my mentor & friend.
She’s straightforward and sarcastic and wonderful
She’s straightforward and sarcastic and wonderful
January 2, 2019
Chapter 11 has some advice on marriage and "companionability".
Found this book online: http://www.ccel.us/twelve.baskets.htm...
Found this book online: http://www.ccel.us/twelve.baskets.htm...
March 11, 2026
“By recognizing that time has two dimensions, it brings and and it gives us always new beginnings.”
Title: Twelve Baskets of Crumbs
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Genre: NF Christian essays
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a book of Nonfiction short essay style writings about life, faith, family, marriage and other thoughts.
Elisabeth Elliot is an author I am working to read through her backlist of. She has written so many things. While she has some traditional viewpoints I still enjoy reading things that I don’t always agree with, or what is outside my POV. This was published 50 years ago so some of the topics and subjects were not as relevant today but a quick read overall.
Title: Twelve Baskets of Crumbs
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Genre: NF Christian essays
⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a book of Nonfiction short essay style writings about life, faith, family, marriage and other thoughts.
Elisabeth Elliot is an author I am working to read through her backlist of. She has written so many things. While she has some traditional viewpoints I still enjoy reading things that I don’t always agree with, or what is outside my POV. This was published 50 years ago so some of the topics and subjects were not as relevant today but a quick read overall.
August 21, 2008
This book was really good, and I think that I learned a lot from it. Mrs. Elliot talks about bits and pieces of her life, and her brief thoughts about various subjects, which were very refreshing!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews