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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 preaches about the importance of maintaining hope in God, even when feeling down or disquieted, as He is the source of our strength and joy. She emphasizes the significance of having a devout will over devout feelings, highlighting the need to diligently perform our duties with the intention of pleasing God and showing our love for Him. Tileston encourages not to be discouraged by moments of spiritual dryness, as long as we remain faithful to God and His will, viewing it as a trial rather than a betrayal.
Scriptures
Do Not Despair
Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. PSALMS 43: 5 IN prayer we own Thee, Father, at our side, Not always feel or taste Thee; and, 't is well, So, hour by hour, courageous faith is tried, So, gladlier will the morn all mists dispel. JOHN KEBLE SOMETIMES we are disturbed because we have no devout feelings; but what we want is a devout will. We cannot always control the imagination, but we can always do that which is our duty carefully and patiently, with a view to pleasing God, and proving our love to Him. We may feel cold and mechanical, but we cannot fulfil our appointed duty without an exercise of the will, and therefore all duties diligently performed testify a desire to love, and prove our love. H. L. SIDNEY LEAR WE must not allow ourselves to be cast down, nor to despair, because our hearts seem colder at one time than another. The test of the cold heart is the yielding to sin, and, if we are clinging to Him, and to His will, we may be quite sure that what we take for coldness of heart is a trial, not a treason. FREDERICK TEMPLE
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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.