Customer Reviews

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy with God in the Busyness of Life

5 star:		(103)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I learned so much about the Mary and Martha from reading this book. I went back and read all I could in my Bible about these two sisters of Lazarus. This is one of my Top 10 Christian books -...!

I lead a small group Bible Study in my home and we're studying the book of John. Time and again, I would open this book by Joanna Weaver and read to my group out of it. Finally, they all decided they needed a copy of their own! And some of them are in turn passing it on to other friends and relatives.

The author makes herself vulnerable in this book, passing along personal anectdotes and stories we can all identify with. This book shows you how to sit at Jesus feet like Mary while still getting stuff done like Martha. <P... of course I had to get this book for our library after I had read it.....

Please read it - you'll love it too!

...!

May God bless you and your family!

For all of us who continually find ourselves in Martha's shoes, this book is a great resource and study guide! The author's writing is very unique and clever. She takes less than 10 verses and expands them into a book rich with ways to become a little less like Martha and a little more like Mary. I suggest going through this book with a discipleship partner to make it even more enriching. The study guide in the back is complimentary, but I enjoy just a little bit more on the studying part. There are memory verses throughout and self-reflection guides as well. However, the study guide is extremely easy to fit into a tight schedule! (: Enjoy

Living Room Intimacy was the chapter that spoke the most to me, though the entire book was excellent. It gave me a new perspective on what it really means to develop that personal relationship where you're conversing with the Savior instead of always rushing to Him for help in a harried life! When I started getting up an hour earlier in the morning just to be with Him, I have actually become LESS stressed even though I am on less sleep and have fully active days with full time work and two kids (ages 9-14) that keep me running everywhere. Add to that a husband that travels and I'm often handling it all on my own...but wait, no I'm not because I have God's help. I find he's there when I call a lot quicker when I've spent time with him regularly than before when I only prayed in crisis situations. Interestingly, the crises have diminished as a result! I'm now looking forward to going deeper into an even more personal "living room intimacy" with Him. I agree with the other reviews in that this is a book you will want to come back to again and again. I will also be giving several copies of this book as Christmas gifts this year!

Joanna Weaver uses a simple analogy, the living room or the kitchen, to bring hurried, harried women needed truths about balance in their lives. Mary, of course, was the woman in the living room, and Martha was in the kitchen. I appreciated Joanna's willingness to open up her life and provide memorable stories and fresh symbols. For example, she compared picking up the house in the morning with the confession needed in prayer time to keep our spiritual house "fresh" for God. Women's Bible study groups will find this book targeting many needs.

This was a good enough book with study guide. It was redundant in numerous chapters and restated the obvious in different ways. It was exceptionally nice of the younger women in my study group to be able to relate to it. However, it really didn't speak to women who are older and have different issues which they encounter on a daily basis. All they could do was agree, as they had "been there, done that and gotten the tee-shirt" so to speak. Still, they enjoyed the book to a certain degree. Interest was lost before it was finished and two ladies did not return as a result.

We are having another book and Bible Study group in the spring. We will be looking for other books to discuss and even though I've bought and read the follow-up to this one, it will not be used this time.

My compliments to the Pastor's wife. Joanna Weaver writes well but speaks to only a certain age group, according to the findings of our group.

I have read this book 3 times now and each time God speaks to me in a different way--where I am at that moment. I am a classical Martha, but after reading this book, was told I had "softened"--which is a good thing. After reading "Secrets of the Vine" and this book, I find a constant desire to spend more time "abiding" and "sitting at Jesus' feet"--which will be a life-long desire. This book is a must-read for any Christian woman who desires to grow in her faith and walk with Christ on a daily basis.

I have just finished reading this book and am planning to order it for all my friends!

Joanna Weaver writes from her own experience. She does not present herself as an expert, having already mastered intimacy with God. Joanna shares her struggles and reveals the ways she has grown, which is encouraging to anyone who has ever struggled with the same issues.

Mrs. Weaver's style of writing is straight forward with many concrete examples and incredible word pictures. This book has lots of practical tips for balancing work and worship without feeling guilty!

I just finished studying Joanna Weaver's wonderful book with my women's Bible Study group. Most of us in the group tend to be "Marthas" but we learned so many things about the joys and rewards of learning to have a "Mary" heart. We have referred to this book over and over again as we encourage one another--as Joanna Weaver encouraged us--to put aside the busy-ness of our lives and concentrate on what's really important. The side bars and anecdotes make this book easy to read. In fact, several of us had trouble stopping at the end of the chapter each week! Highly recommended!

This was a wonderful book! I have always loved the story of Mary and Martha, and this book only added to my appreciation of it. I loved how practical Joanna Weaver was in her approach to the story and I loved her heart felt humility in her writing. If you struggle with finding intimacay with God, this is definitely a book that you must read. I plan on re-reading this book often, especially when I feel like a "Martha" and not a "Mary".

This book is wonderful! I was hooked after reading the first chapter and have enjoyed every chapter since then. Weaver gives examples from her own life that show how to become more Christ-centered and how to worry less about every day situations. I felt with every turn of the page that she was speaking directly to me, and I truly think my life will be different because I've read this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with being a "Martha", but all the "Marys" will learn from it and enjoy it, too.