Each month, you’ll hear from one of us on what we’re reading and a little bit about the book. Enjoy!
“Y’all.” I literally kept repeating this word to myself as I prepared for this “Book Notes” post about Risen Motherhood.
“Y’all. This book is gold!” “Y’all. You need to read this book!” And just, “Y’all!” as I raced to take as many notes as I could manage.
And while Southern slang may not be the best way to begin a blog, the truth is, “Y’all. I loved every page of this book!” These ladies had me from the start. I made an immediate connection with Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler in the first sentence of chapter one: “Risen Motherhood started with potty training.” What a perfect way to connect with every single mom because all moms have a potty training “experience.”
My first potty training experience involved a self-righteous pedestal I placed myself neatly atop. You see, my oldest has special needs and required many days of various therapies each week for many years. But to my surprise, he was a BREEZE to potty train! In fact, he figured it out in all of forty-eight hours! So in my sinful nature I congratulated myself for being an amazing mother and passed quick judgement on other moms who “just couldn’t get it together.”
Enter child number two. When it came time to potty train him, my self-righteousness was flushed down the toilet—but that was about all that was flushed down the toilet. This child would NOT use the potty. In fact, it took one whole year before he was fully potty trained. But in that year (and really within that first month) I knew the Lord was using potty training to refine me. He was carefully reminding me who He was, is, and always will be, and that I am insufficient without Him.
I wish Risen Motherhood would have been around when my kids were in their “little years,” but it’s still applicable to me as a mother of kids in their “big years.” It touched my heart in so many ways. It’s a book every mother or mother-to-be should read for the sole reason that every single page focuses on the gospel and how its truth penetrates every ounce of our lives.
Emily and Laura tackle many common topics moms face, and then they filter them through the lens of the gospel. They speak truth in each chapter—about each topic—by walking through the pattern of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation.
Emily and Laura don’t hide the messy parts of being a mother. They tackle them head on: issues we face as moms, like the mundane moments, our postpartum body image, our traditions, our schooling choices, or our children with special needs. They tell us how these everyday moments, problems, triumphs, struggles, and joys are meant to draw us closer to the One who made us, sees us, knows us, hears us, and loves us—Jesus.
I think I could have underlined every word of this book! Risen Motherhood gave me a fresh outlook on my life as a mom. It reminded me I can more effectively love and minister to my children (at any age) by choosing to see moments in mothering through the lens of the gospel.
Remember sweet mom, as Emily and Laura so aptly write in their book, “The little years are not the lost years.” And neither are the pre-teen years, the “I hate my parents” years, or the “I know everything there is to know about every subject there has ever been” years. The Lord is good and the gospel changes everything.
Get a copy of Risen Motherhood here.
Rebecca Lusk is a pastor’s wife and mother of three amazing kids. She and her husband T. have been serving in ministry throughout their marriage, and value the “real life” aspects of their roles. Before relocating to Nashville, she and her family lived in Louisiana as T. served as pastor of a church revitalization. In her “free time” she is known to tackle big DIY projects head-on with the help of her good friend, YouTube.