My husband has a Charles Spurgeon quotation as his screensaver, which we would do well to have running across the screen of our minds: "As for His failing you, never dream of it—hate the thought. The God who has been sufficient until now, should be trusted to the end."5 So let our mothering forecast be one of victory and not of defeat. We have the hope of the gospel in our souls.

 1. Elisabeth Elliot, The Shaping of a Christian Family (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Fleming H. Revell, a division of Baker Book House, 1992), 180-181.

 2. Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart (Wapwallopen, Pa.: Shepherd Press, 1995), 200.

 3. Eric W. Hayden, Highlights in the Life of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, chapter 52 from the C. H. Spurgeon Collection, version 2.0 (Rio, Wis.: AGES Software, 2001), quoted in Steve Miller, C. H. Spurgeon on Spiritual Leadership (Chicag Moody Publishers, 2003), 38.

 4. Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart, 200.

 5. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995), 128.

This column is part of an ongoing series on Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood. Click here for last month's installment.

Carolyn Mahaney is a wife, mother, homemaker, and the author of Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother, and Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood. During her more than 30 years as a pastor's wife, Carolyn has spoken to women in many churches and conferences, including those of Sovereign Grace Ministries, which her husband, C.J., leads. C.J. and Carolyn have three married daughters and one teenage son, Chad.

Nicole Mahaney Whitacre is the oldest daughter of C.J. and Carolyn Mahaney, as well as a wife, mother, and homemaker. She assisted her mother with Feminine Appeal, and is the co-author of Girl Talk. Nicole and her husband, Steve, have one son, Jack.

Carolyn and her three daughters keep a  weblog for women in all seasons of life, also entitled "Girl Talk."

This column was adapted for Crosswalk from Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood (Crossway 2005) by Carolyn Mahaney and Nicole Mahaney Whitacre © 2005 (Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187,  http://www.gnpcb.org.)