Today I am pleased to announce the release of a new book titled Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms. Those who have been reading this site for a while will remember a series of blog articles I wrote after spotting a trend in the lives of Christian men–many of them count their mother as their primary spiritual influence. These articles formed the basis for the book and since then they have been edited, improved, and expanded. Most importantly, I asked a couple of friends (both of whom are moms) to offer feedback and to prepare material for reflection. That content has been added as well. Here’s a sample if you’d like to learn more. And, of course, here’s a brief description of the book.
History tells of women whose love for the Bible shaped its earliest and most prominent teachers. It tells of women who were great theologians in their own right, yet whose only students were their own children. It tells, time and time again, of Christian men who owe so much to their godly mothers.
Raising children to honor and glorify the Lord is the goal of every Christian mother, but how can you do that? Who can teach you? One of the best ways to learn is to read examples of women who have succeeded at the very task you are attempting.
In this book we will take a brief look at some of them. We will look to the church’s earliest days to find a man who owed his salvation to the careful biblical instruction he received on the lap of his mother. We will zoom forward a few centuries to a woman whose constant prayers were at last rewarded when her son came to faith and went on to become one of history’s most influential theologians. We will advance to recent centuries to see how the prayers, teaching, and examples of godly mothers have shaped evangelists, preachers, and stalwart defenders of the faith. We will learn together of Christian men and their godly moms, mothers who were used to shape the men who changed the world.
“Devoted offers rich encouragement, wisdom, and hope for any mom who longs for her sons and daughters to follow, love, and serve Christ.” —Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, author, teacher, and host of Revive Our Hearts
“Devoted: Great Men and Their Godly Moms challenged, inspired, and encouraged me. Tim Challies takes the reader on an inspirational tour through history to meet moms from the first century all the way to the present day. Challies introduces us to moms who struggled in many of the same ways we moms do today. None of these women parented under ideal conditions. It was fascinating to see how God used eleven mothers, with their own unique personalities, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses, to produce great men. These are the mothers of giants in the faith, but there were no studied theologians or perfect moms in the bunch. Although their skill sets and gifting were quite varied, the common denominator was each mom’s devotion to Christ. Devoted will encourage moms (and even dads) in the trenches, but also pour out grace and hope on parents of prodigals. Reading Devoted was sheer delight and I highly recommend it.” —Kimberly Wagner, author, Fierce Women
“As mom to a young boy, one of my prayers is that the Lord might enable me to be a great mom, but not as measured by the world. Tim has collected for us the stories of women whose greatness was largely hidden. The devoted lives of women like Elizabeth Newton, Amelia Taylor, Mary Machen, and more will inspire and encourage you. These stories and examples, so easily overlooked, are now collected and presented in this accessible and helpful book.” —Trillia Newbell, author of God’s Very Good Idea, Enjoy, and Fear and Faith
“We look to our heroes of the faith and wonder, ‘How did she do it?’ Godly moms want their labors to make an impact in eternity, but sometimes persevering to the end of a twenty-four day seems impossible. Challies describes the powerful influence of a godly mother in articulate detail through stories of real women who have gone before us. These women believe the same gospel and cling to the same Christ, and I pray this book encourages many more mothers to follow their lead.”
—Gloria Furman, author, Missional Motherhood and Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full
When we pray to God and bring our petitions before him, and then say in earnest “thy will be done,” how should we expect God to respond? Is asking God to overrule our will with his own admitting that he may actually bring us harm?
A La Carte: Pope Le XIV / A gift continually unfolding / Hopefully broken / This Mother’s Day / Support the caregivers in your church / One of the hardest things you’ll ever do / and more.
I can’t even tell you how brave she has been, how resilient, and how determined. The Lord alone knows all the ways she has had to exercise her faith and submit her will to his. But she has. She has, and it has been a blessing and an honor to behold. We come again to…
A La Carte: The one life dream that makes a girl blush / Will I be single forever? / Should I go to seminary? / The clearest indication of our evil’s depth / Treasures in heaven / and more.
A La Carte: She forgot our names / “Gender-affirming care” for children / The woman who saved her church / The Trojan horse of a bad dictionary / Piper’s myths about eternal rewards / Tell your kids stories / and more.
