The Ministry of Motherhood, by Sally Clarkson of Whole Heart Ministries, is a book and study for mothers. It is a follow-up companion to The Mission of Motherhood. A soft-cover book with five sections and an introduction, it is designed to be used as a 6-week personal or group study, but it could be read in a less structured manner. Each section ends with a series of questions designed to get you thinking about the material. Scripture reading is included in the study.

Each section contains four chapters and a set of study and discussion questions. Part one is "The Gift of Grace"; part two is "The Gift of Inspiration"; part three is "The Gift of Faith"; part four is "The Gift of Training"; and part five is "The Gift of Service." Each chapter concludes with a prayer.

I found The Ministry of Motherhood to be a balm for my weary soul. Mrs. Clarkson writes as if she were speaking directly to the reader. She does not merely lecture, but she encourages the reader with her thoughts and struggles and stories from the life of Jesus. She is not ashamed to share her struggles, and I found it very encouraging to see that other mothers struggle with the same problems I face. To me, her book was the voice of God speaking to me, and it pulled me out of the isolation I had been feeling.

I also appreciated that Mrs. Clarkson used the life of Jesus to minister to mothers. I had not thought before that Jesus struggled with some of the same things that I do in day-to-day life. Did he change diapers? Probably not, but He did heal the sick and dying. Did he comfort a whiney child? Possibly, but He did calm the violent sea.

On page 27 we read, "As mothers, I believe, we are called to take this lesson of grace to heart. Like Jesus, we are to draw our own children to a life apart from the rest of the crowd. Each of us is designed by God to whisper his words to the hearts of our children so they will feel the call of God in their own lives to become "fishers of men." Yet we must always remember that our children, like Peter, will never be perfect. Each of them needs for us, like Jesus, to extend to him or her the gift of constant love, grace, and forgiveness." I need to hear these words often!

The Ministry of Motherhood is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. I plan to read it on a yearly basis and glean from the wisdom of an "older" woman.

Product review by Tina Rice, Contributing Writer, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, June 2009