Mother's Day book recommendations

I can't believe Mother's Day is less than a week away! I love this special day to celebrate my mom, mother-in-law, and the precious gift of being a mother myself. In the past couple months, I have read two excellent books for mothers (especially young moms like me) and I wanted to share a little about them. Perhaps they would make a nice gift for someone you know, or maybe if you have a little pocket money kicking around you could get one of them for yourself. :)

The first one is Loving the Little Years by Rachel Jankovic. This is a very small, easy to read book--in fact, at first I was a little disappointed by the size . . . not sure if it was worth the money. But it has truly been a big encouragement to me. It's practical, down-to-earth, and sometimes just plain funny. I took away some great little "nuggets" of wisdom from this book and I was truly challenged to "love the little years" and not wish them away. Also, if you'd like to read an excellent article by Rachel Jankovic, here is one I loved: Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

The second is a book that has been on my shelf for probably close to five years. I have no idea why I never made it all the way through (although I started it at least three times), other than the fact that I am highly distractible. Anyway, The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson was an incredible read. I'm so glad I put it on my goals list for April, because I was finally highly motivated enough to read it from cover to cover. Sally has a passion for Godly mothering and a heart to encourage moms, and I learned so much from this book. I really can't recommend it highly enough! I am now in the process of going back through the questions at the end of each chapter and using it for my daily quiet time.

I would also suggest checking out the Mom Heart blog, where there is a book study currently going on for The Mission of Motherhood, as well as many other great posts. And another of my favorite "mom blogs" is Grace Full Mama--when I read here, I always come away refreshed. I hope these books and/or blogs might be encouraging to some of you, as well!