Thoughts for Young Mothers by Elsie D. Holsinger (5/44)

My sister-in-law and I take turns helping clean each others' homes each week.  A couple of weeks ago, we were at her house, and I was helping her move some books onto a bookshelf.  I came across this book, and the title intrigued me.  I'm a young mother, and hearing someone's thoughts for me sounded great.

It was a pretty quick read (only 128 pages).  It's an older book printed in 1953, but the Biblical truths it contains are timeless. Each chapter begins with a verse that goes with the theme of the chapter.  Actually, every chapter is filled with verses.

I think the first few chapters were my favorites.  In them, she talks about being like Christ, choosing to be content, keeping our spiritual nourishment a top priority, and learning from the example of Hannah in the Bible.

One quote that really spoke to me was this, "We Christian mothers are more than cooks and housekeepers.  We are children of God and joint heirs with Christ.  We are His representatives, His ambassadors.  God has given us our home with our children as a special place to serve Him.  Glorify and praise the Lord just where you are."

This whole book was an encouragement, and a good reminder of ways that I can be a better mother to my girls.  I was reminded that I, as the mother, set the tone of the household.  Meaning, if Mom is happy and cheerful showing patience and love, the home will respond in the same way.  If Mom is tired, cranky, irritable and cross, the home will respond in that way as well.  This was a good look in the mirror for me to realize that when my children are getting on my nerves, it's probably MY attitude that needs an adjustment.

I would definitely recommend this book to other young mothers.  And I found out from my S-I-L that the book actually belongs to our Church library, so you can borrow it from there!