5 books that changed who I am (4) early 30s

Marriage, motherhood, and the books that changed me...

(4) early 30s - godly womanhood
Looking back on the early years of marriage and motherhood, I was almost completely clueless! I got married when I was 21, and became a mum when I was one month off 30. In my late teens I'd become convinced that God gives men and women complementary roles (thanks largely to Piper and Grudem's Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood), but I had little idea of how to live this out in our home.

As a new mum, I gradually realised that my focus needed to shift from formal ministries outside the home (which I had to lay aside for a few years) to loving my husband, teaching and training our children, and caring for our home. The book that helped me most with this was Carolyn Mahaney's Feminine Appeal (the first book I blogged through). She introduced me to Titus 2:3-5 and God's call to love husband and children, care for our home, serve people in our church and community, and teach and encourage younger women.

Runners up: Elizabeth George's A Woman After God's Own Heart (not because it's the best but because it was the first book like this I read, so it had an enormous impact on me) and Sharon James God's Design for Women (because it's perhaps the best).