Christ in the Chaos: How the Gospel Changes Motherhood (Crandall)

For far too long mothers have been beaten down by the law of “do better” and “try harder.” The burden of “getting it right” threatens to crush weary souls who desire to serve their families faithfully. Christ in the Chaos brings comfort to conflicted hearts that are starved of grace and longing for the freedom in Christ the Bible promises.

In this book, Kimm Crandall emphasizes the importance of the gospel and how Christ’s life, death, and resurrection change every aspect of motherhood. From finding our identity in Christ and understanding God’s grace to taking off the mask of acceptability and dealing with the comparison crud, this book will free you to serve your family knowing that his love for you does not change based on your performance.

Christ in the Chaos is a “must read” for every mother who longs for what is seemingly impossible: peace and freedom in the midst of her chaos.

Table of Contents:

1. God’s Faithfulness to Mothers
2. An Identity Other Than ‘Mom’
3. God’s Love for Mothers
4. Discovering Grace
5. Weak Mothering
6. Living in the Gospel
7. A New Obsession
8. Taking Off the Masks
9. The Comparison Crud
10. Remembering the Extraordinary

Author 

Kimm Crandall is a mother of four kids (12, 9, 7 and 5) who is never short on examples of how God has flooded her with the excessive grace that the gospel brings. She lives in the small town of Valley Center, CA on three acres where she does her best to embrace the chaos of the non-stop adventures that dirt, rocks, chickens, and sheep can bring to a house full of kids. Kimm’s desire is, through writing and speaking, to bring the much-needed freedom of the gospel to other women who have been beaten down by the “try harder” and “do better” law. Kimm and Justin, her husband of sixteen years, serve at Valley Center Community Church, a reformed congregation in their hometown.

Endorsements 

“What an amazingly wild and wise, disruptive and delighting, freeing and focusing book on gospel parenting my new friend, Kimm Crandall, has written. The heck with this just being for mothers, Kimm’s book is for every parent willing to take the stewardship of children and the riches of the gospel seriously. This is one of the most helpful and encouraging books on parenting I’ve read in the past twenty years, of any length. Kimm writes as a multi-child mom and a grace-saturated woman, who understands the exhausting demands of good parenting and the inexhaustible supply of God’s grace. This will be a book you will want to give to parents, to-be parents, and grandparents.” - Scotty Smith, Founding Pastor of Christ Community Church, Franklin, TN. Author of Objects of His Affection, Restoring Broken Things, and Everyday Prayers: 365 Days to a Gospel Centered Faith.

“Although Kimm Crandall’s message in Christ in the Chaos would revive any soul longing for the breath of the gospel of grace, I am especially eager to recommend this book to that heart who strives to know God and to make him known to the little ones who call her ‘momma.’ Kimm is a candid and gracious fellow sojourner, faithfully pointing to God’s immeasurable steadfast love and grace in the midst of our mess. She helps us peer beyond what our eyes can see to behold the glorious end on which our hearts can rest.” - Lauren Chandler, wife of Matt Chandler (pastor of The Village Church), mother of 3, writer, singer and speaker