Customer Reviews

Misplacing God: And Finding Him Again

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I know it is so much easier to surrender my thoughts and my day to God when I have started the day in quiet time with His Word and in prayer. I am in a season of life (at home mom with two children under five) where it's all too easy to let go of this daily priority.

In Misplacing God (and finding Him again), Joanne Heim shares about the importance of quiet time in her own life and provides very practical, approachable, and easy-to-understand guidance in setting up your own quiet time routine. This book goes so far beyond the "same place, same time" pointers I have come across in the past. Joanne provides actual examples of how to digest a passage of Scripture, how to pray God's Word, how to persevere in meeting with God daily while being flexible at the same time, and in the end, the wonderful blessings that come from priority time yielded to Him each day. She is upfront and honest about struggles in her own life, and never tries to sugar coat the ups-and-downs of her spiritual journey.

I will say I have been a Christian for twenty-five years and was raised in church, but I learned SO MANY new things from Misplacing God. I feel this is a valuable resource for both new believers and for those who have been walking with Christ for years. It would be a lovely gift or a great addition to your own personal library.

I recently had a chance to review a copy of Joanne Heim's new book Misplacing God. The book is a very practical look at how to fit time with God in our daily schedule. We mommies have so many demands on our time, but Joanne gives us a gentle nudge to make sure that time with God is a priority ... our first priority ... as well. Every woman is different, so what that quiet time looks like will vary from person to person. Joanne gives suggestions based on what she does, as well as other women who are in different ages and stages of life.

I know, for me, my day always goes so much better if I take time in the morning to spend with God. Typically, I try and work on my Bible study, and the amount of time I get to work depends on my munchkins (or how many times they were up during the night). Little or much, that time is so precious for me ... as I've become more accustomed to this habit, I now find myself disappointed when don't get up in time for one reason or another.

One area that I want to work on is my prayer time. This is an area that I've struggled with all my life and after reading Joanne's book, I think I make it too hard for myself. Especially on this Easter weekend, it's easy to remember that God has been so gracious to me. He sent His Son as our sacrifice and because of that I have a relationship with Him. However, on Monday, after the Easter celebrations and services have ended, I tend to forget that God is still there with that invitation to join Him, to commune with Him. To come to Him with my worship, my confession, my praise and my petitions. What a wonderful reminder Easter is of this great truth ... I want my quiet time to be that daily reminder of the privilege and pleasure it is to spend time with Him.

Anyway, if you are looking for a book to encourage you in your quiet time or maybe to give you some suggestions if you are wanting to try something different, I suggest picking up a copy of
Misplacing God. I have thoroughly enjoyed my copy and I'll look forward to thumbing back through my copy when I need encouragement from another mom who is walking this walk with me. :)

I have had the pleasure of reading Joanne Heim's blog The Simple Wife for about 2 years. Joanne has such a passion for life and for the Lord. Her enthusiasm is contagious and I always come away inspired and encouraged.

I was so excited to get my hands on a copy of Misplacing God. I have definitely had periods of time where I have lost track of the Lord and I wish now that I had a copy of this book then...it would have helped me greatly. Yet it guides me at the present as well, in continuing to hunger for time with the Lord...to fight for it...to be creative when I feel like I am in a bit of a rut. This book is not so much a formula for meeting with God although there are plenty of quality suggestions...it is more of a reminder about how God longs to meet with us and how we desperately need to have a plan so we don't miss our time with Him.

This book gave me plenty of "Aha" moments but what lingers...what will remain is awe for my Maker...the Lover of my Soul.

JoAnne has done it again - power packing a book with Scripture, practical ideas and stories that inspire readers to make positive changes in their lives. Misplacing God (And Finding Him Again) talks about the importance of having a passionate relationship with Christ, then helps readers think through the practice of finding a place for God - a sacred place of meeting, how to spend time together, how to pray, and how to keep the good practices you start. Far from legalistic, she helps readers think through how to let God's presence make the ordinary parts of life become sacred and life-giving. I've enjoyed reading her thoughts, and I'm already incorporating the principles into daily life for me and my family.

This book takes an honest look at how we struggle to fit God into our busy, daily lives. We may have the desire to spend quality time with our Heavenly Father but actually making the time is often a different story. Author Joanne Heim shares her own experience of misplacing God and her discovery of how making Him a priority changed her life. She offers insight into what spending time with God looks like and why it's good for us. She gives practical advice ranging from creating a sacred space to having flexibility in scheduling. She also walks the reader through several ways to study the bible including the inductive bible study method and also gives helpful information on how to pray. Joanne provides encouragement to persevere and shares her personal story of what motivates her passion for spending time with God. At the end of the book Joanne lists numerous resources that she has found helpful in her journey of quiet time. If you are struggling with having a quiet time, I recommend Misplacing God as an excellent resource.

Joanne's conversational manner had me thinking I was sitting across the table with a friend enjoying a cup of tea. Her gift of communicating is personal and powerful and the message of this book re-ignited the passion in my heart for God.

As an avid reader of Joanne's blog, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book. She is so...real, down-to-earth, and practical. I have been trying to get into the Bible more this year, and she has some straightforward ideas about how to approach it. Joanne is not preachy or bossy, but shares from her heart in a very conversational manner.

After reading this book, I am definitely inspired to carve out more time with God. The author has included a lot of practical ideas on how to do just that! And she does it without making you feel badly that maybe you haven't done it up to now. This is a great book and very inspiring :)