Section 1: Be a Beacon

2. An Immovable Landmark
3. Glowing Features of a Beautiful Beacon
4. Monica: A Beacon of a Mother

Section 2: Be a Listener

5. Listen with Your Whole Being
6. Time to Listen
7. Susanna Wesley: A Listening Mother
8. "A Mother's Day Confession"

Section 3: Be an Encourager

8. Becoming Your Child's Chief Cheerleader
9. Cheers or Jeers
10. You Win Some, You Lose Some
11. Catherine Carmichael: An Encouraging Mother
12. "I Have a Mother Who Prays"

Section 4: Be a Self-Esteem Builder

12. Joining the Construction Crew
13. The Foundation: Unconditional Love and Acceptance
14. The Framework: Capable, Valuable, with a Sense of Belonging
15. Adding Insulation, Lock, and Bolts
16. Nancy Hanks Lincoln: A Self-Esteem-Building Mother

Section 5: Be a Seed Sower

17. Tending the Fields
18. Sowing Seeds of Scripture and Prayer
19. Planting in Season
20. Sonya Carson: A Seed-Sowing Mom

Section 6: Be an Example Setter

21. Someone's Watching You
22. The Fruit Doesn't Fall Far from the Tree
23. Mary Ruth Diffey: An Example-Setting Mom

Section 7: Be Diligent

24. Don't Give Up
25. Don't Give In
26. Give It All to Him
27. Ruth Bell Graham: A Diligent Mother
28. Just a Mom, You Say
29. A Mother Counts Her Blessings


Excerpt
On February 4, 1984, my world changed forever. After twenty-three and one-half hours of blood, sweat, and tears, of heave-ho-ing, of pushing and pulling, Steven Hugh Jaynes, Jr., came screaming into the world, and I became . . . a mother. But somehow, in the bustle of leaving the hospital two days later, someone misplaced the owner's manual. After all, this was my first child, and certainly he came with instructions! An eternity seems to have passed since the day we drove home from the hospital with Steven, who was lost somewhere in his oversized car seat. Now he is the one driving, and I'm the one strapped in the backseat. It has been an incredible ride! I never did locate that owner's manual, but I've discovered helps along the way. I've learned from godly women who have gone before me, from fellow travelers who are journeying down the road with me, and from my heavenly Father, who enfolds, instructs, and encourages me.