IgniteLit

Title: Rooms of a Mother’s Heart
Author: Carol McLeod
Major Themes: Motherhood, Parenting, Christian Non-Fiction, Christian Living, Family Life, Books for Women
Synopsis: Using various rooms as examples, the joys and challenges of motherhood are explored and mothers are encouraged in the greatest job in the world!

It’s good to read a book about being a mother every so often. I find that I need the encouragement of a mother who has been there, to renew my enthusiasm for my job. Rooms of a Mother’s Heart contains a lot of encouragement, as well as some well-aimed stomps on my toes!

Carol McLeod has organized her encouragement to mothers into sections labeled as rooms. The first room, of course, is the Birthing Room—where a woman becomes a mother. No matter how a woman becomes a mother—whether by actually birthing a baby or by adoption—she is changed forever by the experience. The Foundation is very important—build your family on Scripture and Jesus. The Nursery is the room of dreams, and the place where nurture begins. She points out the absolute importance of cuddling babies if they are to thrive.

In the Classroom of your heart, you decide what sort of mother you will be. I was really challenged here to be a kinder mother. The next two chapters, about the Pink and Blue Bedrooms, discuss the differences between mothering girls and boys. The Corner talks about training and discipline—and then we get to my favorite chapter, The Library. Carol and I have something in common: We were both compulsive readers as children. She encourages reading to your children frequently, so there’s one thing I’m doing right!

The Music Room was a chapter I didn’t relate to very much. Music is just not my thing. In The Family Room, the author stresses the importance of doing things together as a family, and having family traditions. The Kitchen talks about family meals and how a mother should not only make them delicious and nutritious, but also a way to show love to the family. The Laundry Room talks about helping your children to stay clean inside, and The Prayer Closet, of course, stresses the absolute importance of prayer. The final chapter is The Front Porch—time to let go and let your children go when they are ready, while following them with prayers.

I found a lot of encouragement in this book; I hope I will be a better mother for reading it. I appreciate the nudges to spend more time with my children and to show them every day how much I love them. There were parts of the book that I just don’t relate to very much, and places where I was annoyed by what seemed like a superior tone of voice—but then Carol McLeod talked about times when she had failed, which helped me feel a little better! If you are needing encouragement in the journey of motherhood, check out Rooms of a Mother’s Heart—you might find what you need. In closing, here is a quote I really liked: Joy always follows knowing one’s purpose.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

No warnings!