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Mary Wilder Tileston
Mary Wilder Tileston was born on August 20, 1843, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Caleb Foote, owner and editor of the Salem Gazette, and Mary Wilder White Foote. Raised in a family with strong intellectual and religious ties—her brother Henry Wilder Foote became a Harvard-educated minister, and her brother Arthur Foote a noted composer—she attended private schools in Salem. On September 25, 1865, she married John Boies Tileston, a publisher’s son, and they had seven children: Mary, Margaret, Roger, Amelia, Wilder, Edith, and Eleanor. The family lived in Concord, Massachusetts, on a 200-acre farm from around 1874 to 1882, then moved to Salem and later Brookline, Massachusetts, where she died on July 3, 1934. Tileston’s career was centered on her literary contributions rather than preaching. Her most notable work, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, a collection of prose, verse, and scripture for daily reading, sold over 250,000 copies by 1910 and was highly regarded. She compiled other devotionals, including Prayers Ancient and Modern (1897) and children’s works like The Child’s Harvest of Verse (1910), reflecting her love for spiritual literature. While not a preacher by occupation, her anthologies served a preaching-like function, offering spiritual guidance to readers. Her legacy lies in these writings, which continue to inspire, rather than in a formal ministerial role.
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Mary Wilder Tileston, preaching on the unwavering faithfulness of the Lord, emphasizes the importance of being strong and courageous in following God's commands, as seen in Joshua 1:5,6. She highlights the commitment of the people in Exodus 24:3 to obey all the words of the Lord. Tileston encourages believers not to fear the consequences of obeying God's call, but to trust in His guidance and provision, even in the face of trials and uncertainties. She warns against looking back or doubting God's ability to sustain us on the path He has set before us, stressing the need for unwavering faith and obedience.
Moving Forward With God
I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Be strong, and of a good courage. JOSHUA 1:5,6 And all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. EXODUS 24:3 OUR Lord teaches us not to shrink from the consequences which we may see to be involved in any course of duty which we have undertaken. He leads us to accept the results of any high choice as they open to our mind,--to regard trustfully, in every act of self-dedication, in every resolve we are led to make, whatever possibilities there may be of coming trial, foreseen or unforeseen,--to realize in calmness the future, whatever that future may be. If the calling of God is clear, if the sense of duty become the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, ever leading onward, the vision of the cross ought not to hinder our going forward. For one who has put his hand to the plough to look back is to become unfit for the Kingdom of Heaven. And equally so it must be to disobey God, if distrust of His upholding us in the course along which He would guide our steps, whatever trial may meet us in the path, becomes a stumbling-block or hindrance to our faith. T. T. CARTER
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Mary Wilder Tileston was born on August 20, 1843, in Salem, Massachusetts, to Caleb Foote, owner and editor of the Salem Gazette, and Mary Wilder White Foote. Raised in a family with strong intellectual and religious ties—her brother Henry Wilder Foote became a Harvard-educated minister, and her brother Arthur Foote a noted composer—she attended private schools in Salem. On September 25, 1865, she married John Boies Tileston, a publisher’s son, and they had seven children: Mary, Margaret, Roger, Amelia, Wilder, Edith, and Eleanor. The family lived in Concord, Massachusetts, on a 200-acre farm from around 1874 to 1882, then moved to Salem and later Brookline, Massachusetts, where she died on July 3, 1934. Tileston’s career was centered on her literary contributions rather than preaching. Her most notable work, Daily Strength for Daily Needs, a collection of prose, verse, and scripture for daily reading, sold over 250,000 copies by 1910 and was highly regarded. She compiled other devotionals, including Prayers Ancient and Modern (1897) and children’s works like The Child’s Harvest of Verse (1910), reflecting her love for spiritual literature. While not a preacher by occupation, her anthologies served a preaching-like function, offering spiritual guidance to readers. Her legacy lies in these writings, which continue to inspire, rather than in a formal ministerial role.