Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life (Revised Edition with New Bible Study) [Paperback]

Joanna Weaver (Author)

Book Description

Release date: July 18, 2000

Updated with a new 12 week companion Bible study, Joanna Weaver's popular book shows women how to blend intimacy with Jesus and service for Him.

An invitation for every woman who feels she isn't godly enough...isn't loving enough...isn't doing enough

The life of a woman today isn't really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord's feet...but the daily demands of a busy world just won't leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him...yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.

Then comes Jesus, right into the midst of your busy Mary/Martha life-and he extends the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters of Bethany. Tenderly he invites you to choose "the better part"-a joyful life of "living-room" intimacy with him that flows naturally into "kitchen service" for him.

How can you make that choice? With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story and its creative, practical strategies, Joanna shows how all of us-Marys and Marthas alike-can draw closer to our Lord, deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Often a book fails to live up to its title, but Joanna Weaver’s Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World more than lives up to its promise. I found the book easy to read, personal, and well-written with a message much more than surface deep. The book probed, challenged, and encouraged me to live day by day as a Mary in a Martha world, while showing the positive qualities of both Mary and Martha personalities. Readers will be blessed!”
-Carole Mayhall, author of Come Walk with Me and Here I Am Again, Lord

“Joanna Weaver has a heart that sings. Whenever I’m around her, she makes me smile. Her voice rings out true and clear in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. This book invites us to join in the chorus of daily communion with Christ, despite the pressures that threaten to silence us. Consider it as sheet music for your soul.”
-Robin Jones Gunn , best-selling author of The Christy Miller series

“Balance. That’s what it is all about, and Joanna Weaver has found it, described it, and called us to this wonderful, practical work. If you have ever struggled with how you can find one quiet moment while longing for a deep holy communion or if you have been discouraged because neither seems possible, you will be challenged and blessed by Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World!”
-Jan Silvious, author of Foolproofing Your Life

“With candor, humor, and passion Joanna Weaver invites us to cultivate a “Mary heart” that delights in time with God and assigns him top priority. Yet she doesn't discard the service-oriented Martha. Instead, she wisely and practically models how to balance the Mary and Martha qualities in us all. I especially appreciate her thoughts on expressing lavish love–to God and to humanity.”
-Judith Couchman, Designing a Woman’s Life author and seminar leader

From the Inside Flap

Updated with a new 12 week companion Bible study, Joanna Weaver's popular book shows women how to blend intimacy with Jesus and service for Him.

An invitation for every woman who feels she isn't godly enough...isn't loving enough...isn't doing enough

The life of a woman today isn't really all that different from that of Mary and Martha in the New Testament. Like Mary, you long to sit at the Lord's feet...but the daily demands of a busy world just won't leave you alone. Like Martha, you love Jesus and really want to serve him...yet you struggle with weariness, resentment, and feelings of inadequacy.

Then comes Jesus, right into the midst of your busy Mary/Martha life-and he extends the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters of Bethany. Tenderly he invites you to choose "the better part"-a joyful life of "living-room" intimacy with him that flows naturally into "kitchen service" for him.

How can you make that choice? With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story and its creative, practical strategies, Joanna shows how all of us-Marys and Marthas alike-can draw closer to our Lord, deepening our devotion, strengthening our service, and doing both with less stress and greater joy.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press; 1 edition (July 18, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578562589
• ISBN-13: 978-1578562589
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (190 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #30 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Theology

More About the Author

Joanna Weaver is known the world over for her transparent and life-changing books, Having A Mary Heart in a Martha World and Having a Mary Spirit. These two books have sold over a million copies and have been translated into several languages including Spanish, French, Dutch, Chinese, German, Korean and more. Joanna has appeared on a wide variety of nationally syndicated radio and television broadcasts. Past appearances include: Focus on the Family, The Harvest Show, Moody's Midday Connection, HomeWord, and Janet Parschall's America. She is also a highly sought after speaker and shares her message at intimate gatherings and several high profile events each year. But of all her roles, including serving beside her pastor husband, Joanna loves most being a wife and mother. For more information about Joanna and her books, please visit www.joannaweaverbooks.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

83 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars All Christian women need to read this book! February 2, 2001

By Soozie4Him VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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!

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Unique and In Depth Look at Martha and Mary April 23, 2004

By Stephanie N Peterson

Format:Paperback

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

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World January 3, 2007

By Barbara A. Post

Format:Paperback

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.

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Living Room Intimacy September 22, 2003

By Chely

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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!

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple analogy, deep counsel July 13, 2002

By Jeanne Zornes

Format:Paperback

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.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Requires an Annual Reading October 28, 2002

By Chris L. Neal

Format:Paperback

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Women's Bible Study January 10, 2001

By Deborah Raney

Format:Paperback

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!