Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms Paperback – April 27, 2018

I started reading this book with a couple of other moms from church. Amazing book!! Absolutely love it and the reflection questions are fire - challenging (in a Good way). Highly recommend. There is so much power in a momma praying for her sons!

Really encouraging for boy mamas!

I’ve loved this book! It’s so encouraging as a mom of a young boy. It’s beautifully written and each chapter only takes a few minutes to get through (if you’re a mom you know that may be all you have time for!). I recommend this to all my friends, whether a mom of a boy or girl!

I can’t say enough good things about this book. It’s short enough that you could read it in an afternoon, or you could read a chapter each morning and finish in a week or so. I love biographical sketches, but this book was more than that. In outlining the life of each man from church history, we get a look into the profound influence of the mothers that poured love, truth, and biblical training into them. I read this while watching my boys play in the backyard, and I wept more than once. I was especially moved by the stories about Hudson Taylor, Christopher Yuan, and John Piper—their conversions and callings. I think what was most convicting to me was that prayerlessness is an enemy I must fight daily.We live in a culture that begs us to look away from Christ—to look at anything that might appear more appealing than pleading with the Father for the salvation and sanctification of our children. It is true enough that I will spend more time scrolling Instagram than praying for my children today (more to come on that in a later post). What pierced my heart in both the best and worst way as I read about these ordinary women is that they didn’t believe they could mother their children completely on their own. Perhaps physically speaking they raised them alone, but truthfully, they depended deeply on the Lord to move in the hearts of their sons. They viewed a huge piece of their responsibility as loving mothers to be intercession. If you’re a working mom, single mom, widowed mom, poor mom, educated mom, disciplined mom, struggling mom, or a spiritual like-a-mom mentor, do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book.

“Never could it be possible for any man to estimate what he owes to a Godly mother.”This was an awesomely unique book. It describes the influence of a Godly mother in the lives of some of the most influential men in church history, including: John Newton, Hudson Taylor, J. Gresham Machen, Christopher Yuan, William Borden, Charles Hodge, John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Augustine, D.L. Moody, & Timothy.Challies wrote this book originally in article format on his blog until he was encouraged to compile these articles into a paper format. One of his goals in writing out these stories was to help mothers see that “your labor is setting a strong foundation for years to come... Through your training and your tenderness, you are displaying the love of the Father.”Some characteristics and habits of these women include:•exalting in God’s strength while bombarded with physical weakness•general prayerfulness and pleading for their children’s salvation (even to the point of raw knees)•faithful training of their children in righteousness, the Word, & sound doctrine•surrender of their children to potential death for the sake of missions•grace•patience•unconditional love for their wayward son (as many of these men were)My own mom’s faithfulness in discipling me undoubtedly shaped me into the woman I am today. From my childhood I fondly remember sitting on the front porch as she created hand motions on the spot to help me memorize Scripture, writing in a purple prayer journal together, blaring Bible verse music throughout the house, reading the Word together, prioritizing church, being the first one to share the gospel with me, and including me when she entered into full time ministry, which I get to participate in even next week. What a gift!

This is by far the best motherhood book I've read! It points to the beautiful way God's uses ordinary means (prayer, a foundation of God's Word, devotion to our kids, etc.) to do his great work in the lives of our children. The examples of these men and their testimony to the impact their mothers had on them offered me such encouragement and hope. Each chapter is short and easy to read. This is a book I will return to often.

I love the thought of praising moms who pray over their children. It made me think of my mom as well. I had a GREAT mom!!! Can’t wait to see her again in glory.

I was asked to prepare a devotional at a baby boy shower for women at our church. I wasn’t sure what direction to go in as I have done this before but one day as Tim Challies was scrolling down my fb I came upon this book. I immediately knew it would be perfect! I listened to it twice on audio then loved it so much I bought 5 copies because I knew it would be such an encouragement to any boy mom, esp those in my age category who have grown sons who are in the far country. Such a quick but encouraging read and practical for moms with sons of any age!