Want to give a mom something special this Mother’s Day? A well-selected book gift is perfect for just about any mom (not a reader? give the audiobook version!). Here’s my hand-selected list of encouraging books for Mother’s Day gifts. Each one is a gem in its own right, so read through the summaries to find the perfect gift for all the moms in your life! (Affiliate links have been used in this post)
Encouraging books for Mother’s Day Gifts
For the mom who wants a joy-filled life
All moms need a reminder to take care of themselves. Rachel Martin of Finding Joy goes deeper in her new book The Brave Art of Motherhood – Fight Fear, Gain Confidence, and Find Yourself Again to remind moms, in fact, it’s our responsibility to care for ourselves, Then, we can pour out of our abundance, and not from an empty cup. With personal stories, biblical anecdotes, and the wisdom of experience, she invites you to step up to bravery in your own motherhood experience.
My favorite chapters are where she details excuses we make for why “tomorrow” is a better time for us to begin living the life we dream of. One by one, she cuts those excuses down with clarity. You’ll see yourself in this book, in the common struggles of motherhood. Most of all, you’ll see you can change your mind about the life you’re living. And by changing your mind, you’ll be inspired to step out and change your life.
This isn’t a “power of positive thinking” type of book. Rachel’s struggles were real and devastating; there was no magic wand solution, and she even talks about how “gratitude thinking” wasn’t the answer. Through faith, honesty (about herself and her situation), hard work (both physical and emotional), and determination, she broke through negative cycles of living to re-create a life filled with joy. In a way, I kind of view her as the “Marie Kondo” of motherhood! (I hope she doesn’t mind me saying that! LOL). The Brave Art of Motherhood shows moms how to move from a situation of tolerating life to a life of joy.
For the mom who wants life-giving words in her home
We all want to be the patient, kind, never lose our temper mom. To say the right things. To have godly responses to… all-the-situations. Then we’re caught off guard, or we’re overtired, or our kids do something totally unexpected. This “triggers” habits of anger and reactionary responses. Amber Lia and Wendy Speake’s books Triggers and Parenting Scripts give moms grace-filled words to speak over their children. Read my full review of Triggers here.
Triggers deals with allowing godly, biblical responses to trump our triggered emotional response. Parenting Scripts goes to the next step by helping parents take a step back – before the trigger gets pulled. Instead of being reactionary, plan your responses in advance! These two books really go hand-in-hand. With topical chapters for so many common child-rearing scenarios, you’re sure to find ways to respond and words to say within these pages.
For the mom who loves to journal
Is our standard too high? By that I mean – is our measuring stick the wrong one? Too often I don’t even post on Instagram because I think “Oh people don’t want to see that!” If we’re busy measuring ourselves against the mom next to us, or their kids, or how “Instagram-worthy” our life is… We’ll never measure up to those artificial standards. Maybe it’s time to lay down our measuring stick and use a standard of grace. Is our life measured by how much joy, grace, truth, kindness, peace, and gentleness it contains? Bestselling author Emily Ley created the perfect journaling book to guide you along as you measure life in terms of God’s grace!
A Standard of Grace is a gorgeously wrought hard-bound journal filled with blank pages for journaling, Bible verses, inspirational quotes, and lovely images to inspire you. With gentle devotional thoughts and writing prompts, Ley guides you through exploring what a grace-filled life looks like for you – measured with God’s standard of grace. What a perfect gift for a mom who wants to simplify or who loves journaling, or both!
For the mom who wants spiritual encouragement
Sally Clarkson has been an encouragement to so many moms over decades. In her book Own Your Life, she teaches women to live with spiritual intention to leave a legacy of pointing your family to Jesus. Intentional motherhood and legacy living is something I aspire to, so I really appreciated this book. Clarkson walks you through breaking down barriers, finding your purpose, giving God control, transforming your attitude, and loving others. Each chapter is chock-full of Bible verses and practical wisdom and teaching. And each chapter ends with an “Own Your Part” section guiding you to both pray and take action for your own life.
For the mom who is homeschooling
Who hasn’t heard of Sarah Mackenzie and her Read-Aloud Revival blog/podcast and Teaching from Rest book? It has been my favorite homeschooling book so far. I haven’t met a homeschooler yet who didn’t face times of stress, worry, and anxiety. We have so much on our many spinning plates! Teaching from Rest encourages moms to approach learning from a restful, not a perfectionist, point of view. Are we “resting” in God’s control of our teaching? Of our children? Of their learning? Are we sharing the learning journey with them? Truly this book has taught me to homeschool with more joy and to anticipate each day with my children, instead of dread it.
I will say however, it’s SO easy for us to fall back into old ways and habits, so I recommend re-reading this book at least once or twice a year (it’s slim, and goes quickly so this is do-able!)
For the mom who wants to influence her children
Sometimes you gotta go really old-school to get the good stuff. The Mother at Home is a reprint of a 1833 book by the American Tract Society. Gentle prose reminds us of our influence, our need to submit to the Holy Spirit, and our duty to raise children in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord.” I always thought parenting in the 1800s would’ve been severe and harsh, but the author (a man!) writes with such reverence for motherhood, and advises tenderness and compassion in training and teaching children, that although the language is dated, the instruction remains practical and useful for today’s Christian mom.
For the mom who needs to see her worth
I’ve seen superstar working moms reduced to tears and shame as parents. Something about being responsible for little souls can wear us right down and make us feel completely worthless. In her devotional book Worthy, Rebecca Hastings gives us twenty Bible-based devotions, inviting you to stop assessing your value by the world’s (or your own) measuring stick. Through stories from real women, she takes the lies that make us feel “less than” and debunks them with biblical truth. Each chapter ends with a scripture, action step, and prayer for you to see that you are worthy!
For the mom who longs to be creative
Life Creative joyously encourages moms to embrace motherhood and creativity as a sort of “Renaissance” season. Day-to-day parenting requires shifting of schedules and activities. Yet, authors Wendy Speake and Kelli Stuart encourage moms not to give up their art but to embrace it. They share stories of mom who manage to dovetail creativity with motherhood in ways that breathe life into their family and themselves. Each story is woven with the grace-filled truth that God is glorified through our creativity AND our mothering…the two can certainly co-exist and even support and sustain the other! Read my full review of Life Creative here.
Give encouraging books for Mother’s Day this year
This book list only grazes the surface of encouraging books for Mother’s Day gifts. Would you please comment with your favorite books? Share a bit about why you love that book as a mom! And think about how encouraging to the moms who wrote these books if you gifted their titles?!
I’ll continue adding to this list as I read more books that help encourage and sustain my mothering! Here’s a recap:
The Brave Art of Motherhood: Fight Fear, Gain Confidence, and Find Yourself AgainLife Creative: Inspiration for Today’s Renaissance MomA Standard of Grace: Guided JournalWorthy: Believe Who God Says You AreParenting Scripts: When What You’re Saying Isn’t Working, Say Something NewTriggers: Exchanging Parents’ Angry Reactions for Gentle Biblical ResponsesOwn Your Life: Living with Deep Intention, Bold Faith, and Generous LoveTeaching from Rest: A Homeschooler’s Guide to Unshakable PeaceThe Mother at Home: The Principles of Maternal Duty Familiarly Illustrated
Here’s another list of nonfiction books for moms if you’re looking for more book gift ideas (there’s a few duplicate titles because honestly these books are so good, they make all my lists!)!
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