Erin Davis - Beyond Bath Time: Embracing Motherhood as a Sacred Role (True Woman)

At the end of the day, how do you know youve been a good mom? Whose idea of motherhood are you trying to live up toyours, your friends, or Gods? Can you be a fulfilled follower of Christ in your role as an everyday mama? Our friend Erin has taken on these questions and more in this insightful and captivating read. She has brought to light truths that will impact you and your family for life. Thank you, Erin, for challenging us even in the seemingly mundane, to capture a big vision picture of motherhood. Motherhood matters because it is the heart of God.

W ES and C ARRIE W ARD , just an everyday dad and mama, and Revive Our Hearts senior director of media (him!) and author of Together: Growing Appetites for God (her!)

Authentic. Warm. Inviting. Practical. Insightful. Penetrating. Biblical. Beyond Bath Time is all that and more. Erin is a fresh, clear voice with a timely message, developed in the laboratory of life, with Gods Word in hand. She challenges women to reclaim motherhood as a high, holy, and purposeful callinga sacrificial vocation with eternal rewards!

N ANCY L EIGH D E M OSS , author, host of Revive Our Hearts radio

What we often encounter about motherhood seems to be a caricature of real life. Either its the unattainable super-mom of the advertising industry or the unbelievably inconvenienced cranky mom of sitcoms. Fortunately, Erin Davis gives us a real portrait. But more importantly, she doesnt stay grounded in the daily experience of our lives here. She points us to the eternal purposes of motherhoodpurposes that all women share, whether or not weve actually given birth. Read this book to be encouraged, strengthened, and committed to Gods wisdom in the beauty of motherhood.

C AROLYN M C C ULLEY , author of Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World and Did I Kiss Marriage Goodbye? Trusting God with a Hope Deferred

I love how Erin lays out the big picture for moms. She lifts the curtain to see beyond the piles of laundry and provides a peek into the sacred. Erin challenges you to live beyond the daily monotony that threatens to suck the joy from motherhood. Beyond Bath Time beautifully portrays motherhoods sacred calling but doesnt sugarcoat the hard places. Erin speaks as a mom who doesnt have all the answers, but is learning how to mother with joy. She hands out good doses of practical help and encouragement while inviting mothers to join her in the high and holy battle.

K IMBERLY W AGNER , author of Fierce Women: The Beauty of a Soft Warrior (September 2012)

My family does not come before ministy. My family is my first ministry. Erins book is a reminder to all moms that raising children well and with joy is ministry and the single best way to reach the next generation with Gods truth.

J OSH M C D OWELL , bestselling author and speaker

In a childless by choice world that measures a womans worth by her contribution to the paid workforce, motherhood is all too often set aside or given second-class status. But look out here comes Erin Davis! Shes on a mission to show you that motherhood matters, and that being a mom might just be the most important thing youll ever do. If youre a Gen-Xer, whos swallowed the pop culture Kool-Aid, you need to read this bookand consider if the hand that rocks the cradle does, in fact, rule the world!

M ARY K ASSIAN , author of Girls Gone Wise

Beyond Bath Time
Embracing Motherhood
as a Sacred Role

ERIN DAVIS

M OODY P UBLISHERS
CHICAGO

2012 by
E RIN D AVIS

All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Copyright 2000, 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV 1984, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked NIV , are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Edited by Jeanette Littleton
Interior Design: Ragont Design
Cover Design: Rule 29 Creative, Inc.
Cover Image: Bubbles: 2ndpic | www.secondpicture.com
Rubber Duck and Soap: Big Pants Production
Towels: Irina Fischer
Author Photo: Sarah Carter Photography

ISBN: 978-0-8024-0562-3

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To my momI couldnt write a book about motherhood
without shining a white-hot spotlight on the fantastic job my
own mom, Gini, has done. Mom, yours are the shoulders on
whom all of us rest. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.

Your baby probably wont survive the pregnancy. I suggest you abort him.

These words plunged me deep into the waters of motherhood. I was flailing. I couldnt see the surface. I feared that the swirl of emotions and responsibilities that come with being a mom would swallow me and I had no idea where to look for a life raft.

I was twelve weeks pregnant with my first child. At that point in the pregnancy I hadnt felt much beyond fear, anxiety, and a lot of nausea. My husband and I had planned to start our family, but when the stick turned pink sooner than we expected, I couldnt stop thinking about all the ways my life would change. I broke the news to my husband that a baby was on the way by sitting on our bed in a bathrobe and sobbing.

I didnt have time to be a mom.

Now doctors were telling me my baby wasnt well. Deciding not to abort our tiny son was easy. But I didnt know God would use that decision to teach me His passion for motherhood and to totally remake my heart.

If you are still holding your breath, relax. My son Elisha was born perfectly healthymiraculously healed from a condition that could have taken him from us. But that healing didnt occur until the day of his birth. For seven long months we waited to find out if our baby would survive.

In that context, motherhood ceases to be about tiny clothes and cuddly blankets. When you dont know if you will even bring your baby home, you spend less time painting the nursery and more time on your knees.