"Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World"

I just have to ask ya'll a question...

When you read the above title, did you think to yourself, "Well, I certainly don't need to read that, I'd most certainly rather sit with Jesus than do dishes in the kitchen any day!" I ask because that is exactly what I thought the first time I saw this book years ago, lol. But you know what? I was soooo verrrryy, verrryy wrong!! I needed this book like we need rain here deep in the heart 'o Texas. I'm not going to tell you that this book changed my life ('cause I actually have to, you know, make the changes my own self), but I will tell you that this book has opened my eyes to things I'd not seen before, and helped me understand some things that I had seen, but struggled to fully understand. I was truly amazed as I read this book how much I needed to read it...

It was interesting to me as I read that I kept thinking as I got into each chapter that each chapter could have been it's own book...and I needed to read each and every one! As I was reading a chapter, I'd start to think of all the things in my life that fit what I was reading so I could share them with all of you, but each chapter held a whole new set of them, and I'd never be able to share them all with you here! But here's the interesting part, there is one issue in my life at the moment that I've been struggling with, perhaps you can relate....

I have this thing that I thought I had heard from God (I have issues with knowing for sure if something came from God, or my own imagination. Sometimes I think it would have been easier to live in the Old Testament days when God actually spoke, or you know, wrote things out on the wall!!!) Anyway, as soon as I started to act on what I thought God had told me to do, things started happening. Things that made me question if I had actually heard correctly or not. And quite frankly, I've started to doubt what I heard. This book addresses exactly that! There is one whole chapter on listening to the Lord and different ways to know if what you are hearing is really Him. I still don't have it all figured out, but I'm sorting through all of it with the help of what I learned, and I'm feeling better about it how it's all going to work out in the end.

Are you like me? Do you feel like you aren't serving enough at church? Or you aren't keeping up well enough with your responsibilities at home? Or maybe that you should be doing something a bit more global for Christ? Here's what I learned from this book (in a very small nutshell). God does not expect me to do everything; if I take on everything myself, I may be denying someone else the blessing of obeying God in what He asked them to do (yikes! that one stung, didn't it?); God does NOT want me to do nothing; He wants me to do what He has asked me to do...no more....but most certainly NO LESS; if I will spend time with Him (at His feet, in the living room, like Mary), He will let me know what it is He is asking me to do; and the more time I spend listening to Him, the easier it will be for me to recognize His voice. :)

It's not about abandoning the dishes and the laundry (dang it!), and studying the Bible all day long. It's about spending special, quiet time with Jesus in the living room, and continuing to talk to Him, and listen to Him throughout the day when I'm in the kitchen with my arms in dirty dishwater, or standing over a hot stove, or scrubbing this morning's breakfast up from the floor, or in the laundry room knee deep in dirty socks and underwear, or....I could go on for days. You know I could. ;)

So, are you feeling overwhelmed with the demands of your life? Do you wish you could know God more? Are you just worn out? GO READ THIS BOOK! I tell you, it was like drinking that bottle of cold water right after finishing a 3 mile run. I just felt refreshed, encouraged, challenged, and supported when I read it. And I bet you will too. And as usual, the author has some fun giveaways that I get to share with all of you!


Contests:
She'll be giving away 7 copies of Having a Mary Heart. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Joanna's blog tour post (at the link below).

She is also giving away 7 copies of With This Ring, her latest release. To enter that contest, simply leave a comment on Joanna's blog tour post (same link) telling her which chapter of Having a Mary Heart was your favorite and why.

Easy and fun!

About Joanna: Joanna Weaver was voted the Most Promising New
Writer of 1997 at the Mount Herman Writer’s Conference. She has authored Having
a Mary Heart in a Martha World and written for publications such as Focus on the
Family, Home Life, Aspire, and The Evangel. A pastor’s wife for more than
eighteen years, she and her husband have counseled many couples, both those
approaching their wedding and those struggling in marriage. The Weavers live in
Montana and have taught young married classes and spoken on the topic of
marriage throughout the northwestern United States.


About Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: An invitation for every
woman who’s ever felt 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, into the midst of your busy life, to extend the same invitation he issued long ago to the two sisters from Bethany. Tenderly, he invites you to choose
“the better part”–a joyful life of intimacy with him that flows naturally into loving service.

With her fresh approach to the familiar Bible story, Joanna Weaver 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.

You can also go and check out Joanna's blog, Joanna's website (Coming Soon), or if you want to read other posts on this book, or enter the above contests, you can check out the Blog Tour Schedule

And then you can go and Buy the Book!