the missional mom

i have been reading some good books recently and decided some deserved a review on our blog. my list has been a combination of parenting, adoption, spiritual discipleship, with some "fun" ones throw in here and there. most of my books are recommendations from others, and this one was no exception. while at the lake this summer i had the refreshing opportunity to read the missional mom. this was recommended through a blog of an fellow adoptive mom and i ordered it right away. although i read it a couple months ago, i was reminded of it during my quiet time this morning.

not only was this book encouraging, but inspirational-it was able to put into words what i had dreamed parenting to be. she encourages the missional mom to resist cultural pressures, love "the least of these", be third-culture, engage in the needs of the world, and to create missional families. she reminds us that our primary calling is to be on mission for God, reaching those in this world.

"What I have seen time and time again, in my friend's lives, in my own life, and in the lives of countless others reflected in the Christian and secular media, is that we mothers often forget how mother hood intersects with the bigger picture of our primary calling and mission. Sometimes we replace our primary calling and mission by saying, 'Motherhood is my highest calling' or 'Motherhood is my primary mission.' When a secondary calling displaces a primary one, the confusion begins."

She goes on to reiterate, "I do not mean to devalue motherhood in the least. Motherhood is a critical secondary calling for those of us who have been given the priviledge of playing that role in a child's life. But we always need to put our role as mothers in the right context and never prioritize our secondary calling as a mother over our primary calling to know and love God."

it was a affirming and thought provoking book for me and i highly recommend it.