Mary Heart Giveaway!

I'm am floored about this giveaway today!  On a whim I emailed Joanna Weaver's assistant asking if I could giveaway one of her books for my blogoversary.  The answer?  YES!

Having a Mary Heart In A Martha World is an amazing book.  Do you struggle with finding the balance between work and worship? Finding intimacy with God?  I think we all do.  I have read this book more times than I can count.  I still have little parts of it taped to my bathroom mirror as reminders.  I pray constantly for God to show me the next step, which is one of the things Mrs. Weaver suggests in her book.  This book has really opened my eyes and drawn me closer to God.

The book contains a chapter by chapter bible study in the back.  I have done it in a small group, one on one with a friend, by myself, and even here on my blog!  Her book is full of the Good News that comes in Christ.  If you haven't read this book, you need to enter this giveaway!  If you don't have your own copy of this book, you need one.  And if, like me, you love this book and own your own copy, you need one to give away to a friend.

You can find Joanna Weaver on her blog, Facebook, or her website!

How to win your own copy?

Leave me a comment telling me if you are more of a Mary or a Martha?  Would you drop everything to worship Jesus or continue working in the kitchen and be too busy to sit as Jesus' feet?

I will draw a winner Monday, January 30th in the morning!  The winner will have 48 hours to contact me or I will draw again.  

Thanks again to Joanna Weaver.  She has provided me with a copy of this book.  I truly love this book and am so thankful to share it with others.  

Make sure to enter my other giveaways HERE!

The Main Course

I'm not done yet with my book Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  I have one more chapter to read.  Last week though, my husband preached on the text from Luke 10.  I didn't get to hear his sermon (the kids and I were on vacation) but I did find his sermon notes while cleaning the kitchen.  We had a good discussion about what he saw in the text.  


I usually am not a fan of The Message translation or paraphrased version of the bible.  For the story of Mary and Martha though, it gives you a unique picture in your mind.

38 As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. 39 She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. 40 But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand." 41 The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. 42 One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it - it's the main course, and won't be taken from her."  Luke 10:38-42 "The Message"

The main course.  How is your plate filled?  There is nothing wrong with being a Martha sometimes.  It's just looking at your plate of life and making sure the main course is just that.  The main part of your plate.  

I have trouble dividing my time up like that.  I want everything to be even.  Or I want to eat a lot of the "work" thinking that later on I can fill up on the "main course".  Too bad it doesn't work like that.  If I fill up on the "work" there will be no hunger left when it's time for the main course.  

So here is to good and healthy eating in our faith.  Here is to filling up on the main course and knowing what a good portion of each part of our faith life is.  

Chapter 11- Balancing Work and Worship

Think of those teeter totters from the playground days. Weaver suggests that balancing work and worship should look like that. At the center we should find ourselves, balancing between worshiping God and serving in the work we do. She suggests though that there is a rhythm in life. One I am learning to live. The one where sometimes we find ourselves deep in one aspect and lacking in another. That is what is so nice about the teeter totter. We can right ourselves. We can slowly walk back and find the balance and the center. How is our balance and center found? In the Word. Jesus did both. He taught and healed those around him, but he also took time in Sabbath rest. He would find himself praying and resting alone to remain close to God.

We need to lean into our weakness according to Weaver. How true is that? God is never going to leave us the same. We are always working to become better. So lean in folks! Lean into the side of the teeter totter that you feel most uncomfortable with. Pray about what God is asking you to do on the work or worship side (or both really). I have posted before about how I am becoming an immediate "NO" person when I get asked to do something. This chapter is changing my outlook. I need to pray and then lean more towards "YES". I would say that at this point in my life with two small children, that the "work" or service side is my hardest side to lean into. I can find 10 or 15 minutes a day to worship and be with God. It's finding time to do the "Work". If it requires leaving the house, I'm probably not up for it. I'm learning that I need to pray about that. I feel dry in the work and service area in my life. God is calling me to something but if I just keep saying no, I'm going to miss it.

So this week, I'm going to lean in. I'm going to pray and listen. I'm going to worship and sit in the living room at the Lord's feet. With the fall right around the corner I know there will be plenty of work for me to do. I just need to listen and be ready! I need to find the balance and rhythm in my own life, not just my family life.

Chapter 10- Mary's Extravagant Love

Ah.  I have fallen behind, for good reason though.  I have spent some time with my family.  My parents came up to visit and now the boys and I are spending time with them.  It has been a summer full of feeling like a Martha.  I am trying hard to remember to be a Mary.  This chapter spoke to me.  In the busyness of the summer I want to have that prayerful abandon that Mary did when she poured the perfume on Jesus' feet.  The fact that even though it was probably her dowry and the cost could have fed the poor, she instead poured it out for Jesus.

I want that prayerful abandon to leave it alone.  The laundry, the money, the wants for earthly things, and the envy of others.  I want to come with abandon leaving it all behind to serve Jesus.  Mary gave an extravagant gift.  She prepared Jesus for burial.  It was misunderstood and probably brought the truth home for some, but still.  She knew she had to do it.  She knew she again had to fall at Jesus feet and leave it all behind.

This week's text in many churches is the story of Mary and Martha.  I wish I could hear my hubby's sermon.  He is going to talk about how Martha gets a bad rap for questioning Mary, but we forget that this story is sandwiched between others of hospitality.  It is stuck in between stories of Jesus being the host and the guest.  (Communion anyone?)  It is still a balance between coming with abandon and serving.  (Waiting to read next's week chapter on finding the balance of this.)

The chapter talked about how Mary's gift was actually practical.  I guess I didn't realize that.  She was preparing Jesus for his burial.  Jesus had turned his face towards Jerusalem.  He was ready.  His disciples weren't ready, but he was.  She was doing something that needed to be done.

• How often do we over think our extravagant gifts of love?  Too often I do.  I think if I can't go all out and do something amazing it is not worth it.  While Mary's gift was extravagant so was the love she did it with.  That is what Jesus is asking.  That the gift we give is done with extravagant love.  Even the small things can be extravagant.  They can be extravagant to the person you serve, to your heart, and to God.  We are called to do extravagant things and sometimes we forget that our earthly view of extravagant is not God's.  The little things can be extravagant too.  

So, I will spend the rest of the summer in abandon.  I will come to Jesus ready to do the small (or large) extravagant gifts for someone.  I will extravagantly lavish attention on my boys.  I will forget the calendar and know that God will take care of what I don't get done.  I will pray that he leads my footsteps to find those things I can do to show love.  Love shown because of Christ's death on the cross is extravagant no matter what is done!

Chapter 9- Martha's Teachable Heart

Martha was able to learn. She opened her heart to Jesus that day in the living room and was able to learn a valuable lesson. The author, Joanna Weaver, had us look at the story of Lazarus and Martha's reaction to Jesus. She had learned a lesson and was able to place her trust in Jesus as she met him on the road to her home.

Having a teachable heart sounds wonderful to me. Being able to learn and then follow through would be wonderful. I usually fall short at the follow through. Weaver gives us 3 things we must do to have a teachable heart. 1. A willingness to listen. 2. Acting on what we hear and 3. responding to discipline.

I got the listening thing (most days) it is that acting on what we hear that causes me problems. I was thinking of ways that I can listen better and then act so that I have a teachable heart that can be used to spread the love of Christ. Here are the 3 ways I came up with to help myself have a teachable heart.

1. Read the Word- it's hard to know what to learn if I'm not digging deep into the Bible. I want to learn. I want to know and be able to listen to the voice of God. I need the Word of God to do that.

2. Asking for forgiveness- I have a tendency to either not listen or not obey. I tell my toddler all the time "obey me". He sure heard me, but he isn't acting on it. I'm the same in my faith life. I hear ya God, but I just need to check my email one more time. In those times I need to ask for forgiveness. In the study at the end of this chapter she uses Psalm 51:10-12 as a way to show that God is willing to forgive and change us. These are some of my favorite verses in the bible. We use them every week in worship. They are our prayer for forgiveness.

3. Knowing that having a teachable heart means change- As we learn, have our sins forgiven, and start the whole process over again, we will be changed. Learning new things and changing into the person God wants you to be can be painful. Not changing though, seems to be even more painful. Not wanting to learn new things or have a teachable heart sounds like it might make life a little harder. For 4 years I learned about having a teachable heart in an accelerated program called "Seminary Spouse". God changed me so much in those 4 years that although I recognize myself before, the after seems like one of those makeover shows. It looks like it was done over night. My teachable heart made me a better mother, wife, pastor's spouse and friend.

So, as I finally finished chapter 9, I encourage you to have a teachable heart like Martha. God has something for us to learn. It will only make us better. I hope I can take the time to listen and obey.

Chapter 8- Lessons from Lazarus

The story of Lazarus is a powerful one.  There is the obvious miracle that Jesus performs in raising him from the dead, but you can read deeper.  Martha drops everything during their mourning and runs to meet Jesus in the street.  She trusts him and knows thy will be done.  It probably has something to do with their previous meeting and her learning that she needs to choose the better part.  She had faith even after he waited to come see Lazarus.  Jesus shows that death is not the end.  The Jewish people believed that after 3 days the soul left the body.  That for 3 days you could still live and be brought back to life.  Jesus throws out their old beliefs by raising Lazarus on the 4th day.  One of my favorite lines she uses is "It maybe be Friday, but Sunday's comin' "


I do struggle with this chapter.  This is one of the chapters where my personal theology does not line up with the authors.  For good or bad, I read it and I learned from it, but I have trouble with it.  She talks about the 5 lessons we learn from Lazarus.  I learned from some of them and the others have caused me to deepen my faith and learn exactly how I feel God is speaking to me about certain things.

The 5 lessons are...

• God's will does not always proceed in a straight line.  
• God's love sometimes tarries for our good and his glory.  I looked up tarries in the dictionary and it can mean "to stay put" or "delay in acting or doing".   I don't think God delays love, but I think we've all experienced a time when we are asked to "stay put" or "delay acting or doing".  It is all for our good and God's glory. The good news is, God loves all the time!
• God's ways are not ours, but his character is still dependable.  Lazarus may have been dead, Jesus may have tarried on his journey to their house, but God's way is not ours.  In the end, God was dependable, in an amazing way.
• God's plan is released when we believe and obey.  Yep, obey.  I ask my son to obey me all the time.  I like it better than "listen to me".  He is listening, he's just not acting.  Maybe that's what God is saying.  You can't just listen, you must obey.  Only in our action can we fully experience the call God has for our lives.  
• The end is never the end; it is only the beginning.

Good lessons to learn.  The part I struggle with is when she talks about how God might "let something happen" to further his glory.  After my struggles in life with death and hardships, I have found that in my faith, God doesn't "let" things happen.  I can't wrap my head and heart around the fact that all things are from God.  I know God is all powerful, but evil, free will, and sin still abound.  Things may happen and they may be used for God's glory, but they may not be from God.  I will never believe the Haiti earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the tornado in Wadena, MN or things like that are from God.  I will never believe that God gave my Grandma cancer.  No, what I believe is that God will stand with me in these times.  Crying tears with all of us and comforting us.  God will take what has happened and turn it in to something wonderful.  Why?  Because God is God.  The Lord is my light and salvation.  Whom shall I fear?  Not God.

Chapter 7- "The Better Part"

Take a look at Luke 10:42!  Mary has chosen the better part!  The part that can stop and sit at the Lord's feet.  Joanna Weaver paints a picture of a women from the 1950's hula hooping with many hoops around her waist and a big smile on her face.  Her question was, how did she do that?  How did she keep all the hoops going and be able to smile?  It was because she had found her center.  What if the hoops around her waist were the responsibilities in our lives?  How do we keep them all going without dropping one?  It only happens when we find our center.  We must take time to sit with our "Center"  and choose the better part.  God must be the center and with that, all things will circle around in the rhythm of our life.

A lot of times my life looks like this...

Like I am spinning plates and moving so fast from one thing to another just waiting for something to drop.  I have not found my center.  Now, I can't hula hoop, but I can imagine myself finding my center and letting the other things work around it.  Christ wants to be our center.  That's what Jesus was telling Mary and Martha.  Keeping Christ in the center involves quiet time, time spent in the Word, and worship.  We must work at the center.  It doesn't happen with one prayer.  It happens when we make it the rhythm of our lives.  When Christ becomes the water that runs through a river, not just sitting stagnate in pond.  This chapter was where I found my favorite quote.  It is by Selwyn Hughes.  Think about this as you make Christ the center.  

Life works better when we learn how to glance at things, but gaze at God.  Seeing Him clearly will enable us to see all other things clearly.  

Chapter 6- Kitchen Service

We have made it from the living room to the kitchen.  This chapter was about our service to others through God.  The how we serve, the why we serve, the way we serve.  She gives the example that Jesus served in 3 ways and we too should serve in those ways too.  He served on his way, out of his way, and in all kinds of ways.  Service to God is truly met with a time of prayer.  We can't expect God to honor our plans for service.  We have to see where God is serving and join in.  That is why we must first spend time in the living room.  Only then can we move into service.  Also, think of Mother Teresa or Brother Lawrence.  There service was anything but glamourous.  Mother Teresa worked with those who were sick and Brother Lawrence spent his time in the kitchen.  These are not the places I would choose to do my serving, but it is where God sent them.  Our joy in serving God will only come if we are serving in the way we are called too.  That is why prayer goes hand in hand with serving God.

The kitchen analogy hits home with me.  I love/have to have a clean kitchen.  If my kitchen is dirty I'm all out of sorts.  I'm short with my kids, cranky with my husband, and just all around nuts.  Maybe that is because it is hard to work in a kitchen that is dirty.  I know that deeds and works are not what gets me to heaven, but part of my heart and my faith has to be in the kitchen.  So I need to keep it clean.  I need to be ready to jump up at a moments notice and bake with my kids or serve God.  If the kitchen is dirty I might not hear God calling or I might miss the opportunity to have fun.

My prayer is usually a simple one.  "God, yes or no to this task or opportunity for service?"  I have become one of the immediate "let me think about it (with the thought that I will say no)" or "no" people.  That's not what I want.  I know I'm busy and full of things to do, but what is God telling me to do?  God is the direction for my days through prayer.  What am I to do next?  Maybe it is the laundry, but it could also be saying yes to something that is out of my comfort zone.

I have been praying while reading this chapter for a passion to serve.  What, I'm not sure.  I love serving my family (think laundry, lots and lots of laundry), but there is something else out there for me to do.  Maybe not right now, but someday.  I pray God keeps my eyes and heart open to what it is.  My vocation and my calling is to serve.  I have trouble saying that because it seems so "random".  My husbands is so clear.  He is called to be a pastor.  I'm called to clean the car, do laundry, balance the check book, read to the kids, make lunch.  I don't "go" to work.  I work all the time.  I know I'm called to this life right now but I'm praying for a passion to help serve more.

Chapter 5- Living Room Intimacy

This was actually a long chapter, but full of good "stuff". Living Room Intimacy is how we draw closer to God. How we can connect with our Creator. "All over the world, people go to unimaginable lengths to find God--which is sad when you consider the unimaginable lengths God has already gone to find us." (quote from Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World page 65) That's what the living room is about. It is the place in our heart where we meet with God.

I connected a lot with her comparison of our spiritual life to a snickers bar (or your candy of choice). We want to curb the hunger in our tummy for just a little bit before dinner. So we munch on something that is meant to take the edge off. When in fact that snickers bar takes the hunger away and all of sudden we can't eat of the feast that was prepared. It is like that with our spiritual lives. We eat a snickers bar here and there forgetting that God has set a table with good china, crystal goblets, and wonderful food but we aren't hungry enough to eat it. I admit that this is me. I've been working so hard at making sure to get my fill instead of a snickers bar that only leaves me hungry later. I read a blog about some ones faith or a bible verse on a facebook page and think that can fill me up for the day. I read a devotion I get in my email but don't have the time to open my bible. Now, don't get me wrong we all have those days. The days where I am just lucky to say a quick prayer and read that email devotion before my hubby heads out the door to work and my work day starts. I believe that those days are "ok". It's making them a habit that is not. Why use the drive thru everyday when you could eat at the buffet inside most days? I want to go in and eat. Not just drive thru and eat in the car on the run.

Our hearts are a home for God. They are beautiful but can be full of dark, dusty, moldy spaces that need to be cleaned out. In our hearts can be a beautiful drawing room. Weaver quotes Robert Boyd Munger's article My Heart Christ's Home. Munger talks about a journey one man makes through his heart with God. They look at all of the places both beautiful and not so beautiful. They come to one room "the drawing room" and the Lord tells the man they should meet there every morning. It is a beautiful room and just perfect for the two of them. The man begins coming every morning to the room. Soon though the time gets shortened with the demands of the world and finally the man misses a few days and a few more. One morning the man walks by the room and sees a fire. He steps in to see the Lord waiting for him. The man asks for forgiveness for missing their time and asks if the Lord has been waiting all of the days for him. The Lord replies yes, and then says "the trouble with you is this: You have been thinking of the quiet time, of Bible study and prayer time, as a factor in your own spiritual progress, but you have forgotten that this hour means something to Me also."

Our time with God in the living room should be a time to both speak and listen to what God has to say. I know that is why sacred space is so important to me. The living room in your heart should be open and ready to embrace God, but there should also be a place in your home. I am still working on my sacred space with God. Both my time with him and the place I feel most comfortable being with him.

This chapter was so full and I know I didn't cover it all but I hope this post can getting you thinking about both the intimacy in your heart with God and the space in your home. In the end I also hope you know (learn) that it should be a delight and not a duty to meet with your Savior in the living room.

Chapter 4- "The Cure"

Last week, we received the diagnosis. Mary was worried and upset about many things. Thankfully we worship a loving God who would not leave us without the cure for our worry. The cure is "the one thing". The "living room intimacy" with God. In a nutshell it is putting God first in our lives. The author uses a story by Rosemarie Kowalski to illustrate the point that we carry too much. God gives us specific instructions and then fills our wagons with only what we can handle. Kowalski uses the example of stones. God put 3 stones in one man's wagon and off he goes joyfully doing God's will. As the man keeps walking, people keep asking him to carry other stones and pebbles for them. In the end, the man becomes angry at God. Angry that God would give him so much to carry. But our merciful God unloads his wagon and reminds him that he was only asked to carry the 3 stones God put there. He doesn't have to carry the burdens of everyone.

As a pastor's spouse, this hit home for me. I don't have to carry everything. Not all of the jobs are mine to have. Recently I have given up a lot of "stones" that were meant for someone else to carry. Things like Sunday School and leading a bible study. God has called someone else to do that. Someone who might take great joy or learn something in the process. We are not meant to do it all. Weaver says that by doing what God has not called us to do, we might be "stealing someone else's blessing". I have found my action right now is to pray. God has called me to pray for our Sunday School and its leaders. I have learned that this opens doors for me to be blessed by other things God might call me to do. I can't accomplish these new things if I am holding onto something that is not meant to be mine.

So how do we find that one thing? How do carry only what God asks of us so that we can joyfully serve him? Jesus said Martha needed fellowship with him. We find fellowship through sitting with God daily. I really connected with a practical application Weaver gave for finding that "one thing". These are ideas for "one-thing" thinking when your wagon feels overloaded...

1. Invited Jesus to rule and reign. Invite God to be your "one thing" and present your day to the Lord to give you wisdom and guidance.
2. Ask God to reveal the next step. Keep asking "What is the next thing I need to do?" Do not let yourself get overwhelmed by the big picture.
3. Have faith that what needs to get done will get done. Do what you can in the time alloted. Then trust that what wasn't accomplished was either unnecessary or taken care of by God.
4. Be open to the Spirit's leading. Your day might be interrupted but flow with the one thing God puts in your path. You might be surprised at what is in store for you.

(I paraphrased this from her book. I also copied this page and hung it on my fridge as a reminder to myself. Especially #3!)

My last thought from the chapter is that we might need to dump rocks. Like the man who was carrying too much and lost his joy for serving the Lord, some things may need to go. I am in prayer again about what these things are. Whether outside activities or things with in my own self that need to be let go of to joyfully serve where I am called.

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3

Chapter 3- The Diagnosis

Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Yep, that's our diagnosis for Martha, and for all of us. We are worried and upset about lots of stuff. Worry, anxiety, fear, those are all things that separate us from God. Satan can use these things to create a wall between us and God. It can cloud our vision. I am a born worrier and I'm sure lots of us are. She quotes in the book that of all of the things I worry about, 40% of those won't even happen. What? Think of all the time I could get back if I didn't worry about so much. She also states that there is a difference between worry and concern. Concerns are things that draw us closer to God through prayer, where we look to God for the answers or solutions. Worry on the other hand makes us look to our selves and others for answers to our problems. Gary E Gilley states that "Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. It is the view that God has somehow lost control of the situation and we cannot trust Him. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on Him all the more." Finally, in the battlefield of our minds we are reminded to "take captive" all of our thoughts (2 Cor. 10:5). She also reminds us that we will have troubles in this world (John 16:33), but the love of God is perfect and will cast out our fears (1 John 4:18).

In the discussion questions, she reminds us that fear affects us physically and spiritually. She had us read Luke 8:14 about the different kinds of soil. She asks us to list the three things that may choke the Word of God out of our lives (cares, riches, and pleasures). Which one do you struggle with most, and how does it choke you spiritually? Well, I could find something in all of them. Cares= worry and anxiety about things I can't control. Riches= money and the worldly focus on wants. Pleasures= those things I think I need to have to be happy. I thought back to the chapter where we discussed the urgent verses the important. That's what it is. The urgent things choke me of my spiritual needs where as the important ones fill me up. I have truly enjoyed digging into my bible recently and actually opening it. That's not getting the house clean, but it sure makes me clean (Psalm 51:10-12).

Finally, I really connected with the thought that an intense fog in London, a hundred feet deep, and several city blocks wide is only composed of less than one glass of water. We let that one toxic worry creep in and all of a sudden the fog has separated us from God. The fear that is really just a small glass can cloud my whole view of the love God has for me.

Chapter 2- "Lord, don't you care?

In Chapter 2, we dig deeper into the few verses of the story of Mary & Martha.  In this chapter, Weaver starts with Martha's question, "Lord, don't you care?".  Wow, how many times do we find ourselves asking this question?  Weaver discusses how Martha just wanted everything to be "fair".  Lord, don't you care that it's not fair?  Mary doing nothing, Martha doing everything.  I am an oldest and a type A personality.  I ask myself and God about fairness everyday.  I struggle with remembering that parenting isn't about fairness.  The number of baths we each give and times we get up in the middle of the night just might not be "fair".  Life isn't fair.  The best thing she said in the chapter to me about fairness was that it will just set us up for disappointment.  Duh, Lindy!  If life isn't fair then you are going to be disappointed if you still expect it.  She also talks about doubt, distraction, and discouragement.  Things the devil uses to get us to doubt God's love for us or that God cares.  There is a lot more to the chapter but I just can't type all the good stuff.

As for the questions, I already posted about Psalm 103.  It is hard to doubt the love and care of God when it is so plainly written to us.  I made my list and had to stop.  It was so long.  Verse 8 stuck out to me because we read it during our liturgy in church.  Also, I connected with verse 10.  It is just another reminder that life isn't fair and that God isn't.  I am so thankful he doesn't repay us according to our iniquities.  I'd be in even more trouble than I already am.

Finally, she asks us to write a letter Jesus beginning with "Lord, I know you love me because..." My letter was short.

Lord, I know you love me because you won't leave me the same.

There was so much more in this chapter that really spoke to me.  The reason we ask if the Lord cares is because we feel he's left us and that is just not true.  I remember when my friend, Ben,  who died in the earthquake in Haiti.  People kept saying "oh it was God's plan" etc.  No, it wasn't.  God's plan was for Ben to spread the light of Christ everywhere he went.  During this time of tragedy I'm sure you can say "Lord, don't you care"?  Ben left his wife, his cousin, his family, his nephew.  Yes, the Lord cares.  God was standing there with Ben's wife on the hill in Haiti weeping with her and still weeps and rejoices with her today.  God weeps and rejoices with all of us, because its impossible for God not to care.  

Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine.  Isaiah 43:1 

I Dare you...

I dare you to read Psalm 103 and list the ways God's love is shown to us!  I double and triple dare you.

I just finished reading the second chapter in my book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" and doing the study questions.  This was one of them.  I love the Psalms.  They are the "prayer book of the bible" (or so Dietrich Bonhoeffer said) and I dare you to read Psalm 103 as a prayer for God's love and mercy that is shown to us.  Then, maybe if you want, you can leave me a comment with one or two of the ways God's love was shown to you in this Psalm.  

I feel so loved today!

Chapter 1-A Tale of Two Sisters

In Chapter 1, the author, Joanna Weaver, does a great job of introducing us to the story of Mary & Martha.  Although short, the Holy Spirit gifted her with some beautiful insight.  In Luke 10:38-42 we read the story of Mary and Martha and then Joanna goes on to give a fresh look at Martha.  You know, us, right now living our lives.  The Martha in us that is too busy, overwhelmed, judgmental, and probably a little angry at how certain things are playing out in her life.  And so we begin to try "finding intimacy with God in the busyness of life".

I have to admit, that I deleted some things I had already written.  I was answering the questions and felt I had learned a lot that I wanted to write about.  Then, I got to the last question.  What spoke most to you in this chapter?  Usually I can easily find something since I have read this book multiple times and I high light different thoughts or ideas.  This time I was flipping through and came across a section I could not remember ever reading. Something that had never stuck out before.  


She quotes Charles Hummel and what he calls the "tyranny of the urgent".  "We live in constant tension between the urgent and the important," Hummel writes. "The problem is that the important task rarely must be done today or even this week.  Extra hours of prayer and Bible study can wait.  But the urgent tasks call for instant action--endless demands pressure every hour and every day."


Wow.  Maybe that had never stuck out to me because I wasn't dealing with the urgent and the important like I am now.  I struggle daily (as you can tell from my blog) with spending time with my kids and not focusing on the lists and other "urgent" things in my life.  This was just what I needed to read.  The Holy Spirit spoke through those words to me this time.  My children need me to focus on them during the day.  To me, that's why I am a stay at home mom.  My kids need ME.  It is so hard for me to get over the other urgent tasks like mopping the floor.  I keep thinking, "if I get all of these 'urgent' tasks done, then I can spend as much time with my kids as I want."  It's just not true.  That is not the rhythm of our lives.  We can't always finish one thing and move onto the next.  


One of the other questions was to write out a verse from Matthew to memorize and hang it on your bathroom mirror.  I decided this time to do that.  I also added at the bottom to remember what the urgent and the important was.  It has been nice to go into the bathroom and remember the Word of God and what is important while I am getting ready.  

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carryin heavy burdens; and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my uoke is eas, and my burden is light.  Matthew 11:28-30

I will not answer all the questions in my post for every chapter.  That might get a bit...long.  I hope a few people enjoy reading this book as much as me.  For me, this is less about blogging and more about holding myself accountable to becoming more of "Mary" by reading one chapter a week and giving myself a a way to be accountable by blogging about it.  So, if you are reading the book and blogging about it, feel free to just write whatever speaks to you in the chapter or from the questions.  I would love it if you blog about it to leave me a comment so I can go visit the page.  You can also just comment at the bottom if you would like.  Happy Reading!

Book Club

I have heard from a few who would like to read Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World.  So, let's get started.  Each chapter has questions at the end so it is fairly simple.  I suggest we read a chapter a week and either blog (leave me a comment so I can go read it) or comment with something that spoke to you or an answer to a question you found very interesting or helpful.  I will try to post on Fridays.  I will make my first post May 7th.  Enjoy the read.  It is a really good book and I would suggest reading it even if you don't follow with us!

Book Club

I just remember how much I love the book "Having a Mary Heart In A Martha World". I am hoping to re read it soon.  Is anybody up for reading and discussing it on my blog?  Let me know.  Joanna Weaver is a wonderful author and has another book "Having a Mary Spirit".  I enjoyed that one, but not as much as her first.  I am anxious for her next book to come out sometime in October.