Mastering Motherhood book

If you are a Christian homemaker just trying to live a gospel-centered life as best you can, this book is for you! I picked up this little book on a whim and then forgot I had it. After enjoying Mrs. Furman's essays in [b:Mom Enough: The Fearless Mother's Heart and Hope|23599760|Mom Enough The Fearless Mother's Heart and Hope|Tony Reinke|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1416668103s/23599760.jpg|43201875], I was delighted to find it buried in my Kindle. I determined to read it immediately and I'm so glad I did. This book spoke to me, the exact stage of life I'm in, and the current battles in my walk with God. I was impressed and blessed by the tremendous amount of scripture infused in this book. Mrs. Furman really does present the Gospel in it's purest form - Gospel meaning "good news" - and how to apply it to homemaking. Although some of the illustrations were a little difficult for me to connect, I appreciated her honesty and transparency. Beyond the "normal" struggles of being a wife and mother of three young children, Mrs. Furman also deals with her husband's chronic disease, living in a foreign country, sharing her home with her church, etc. with so much grace. Grace being my word for 2017, I found this book encouraging, convicting, and a worthwhile read. I will be returning to it several times in the future I'm sure. Highly recommend! ( )

The author is a missionary's wife, homemaker, and mother of three young children. She writes to encourage Christian homemakers to nest their identity in the gospel, be content in the gospel, reflect on the gospel to gain a better perspective on their sinful nature, rely on transformational power.....etc. Basically she encourages readers to understand, honor, and cherish the gospel and let that understanding apply to the weaknesses or challenges they experience in their daily life. It's a good message, and Christians do need to be constantly reminded in order to renew our mind. But the chapters feels repetitive when you read it in one sitting, since all 13 chapters have the same thesis, just different examples of life situations. (Sometimes I can't even tell how the life situations used as illustration in one chapter is different from the next.....) I eventually changed my reading pace one chapter per week. That worked much better, kind of like listening to a sermon every week.

My favorite part is the last chapter, discussing contentment:
" The world recommends manipulating your circumstances to achieve contentment. Earn more money to buy what you need and want. If your current spouse doesn't suit you, then find a way out of your marriage to find someone who makes you happy. There's the philanthropic strain that says to give away what you have to others to find happiness in your good deeds. Asceticism would advise you to get rid of whatever is distracting your soul from inner peace.....Christianity would have you submit to God so that he can give you contentment in him.....In other words, seeking God's kingdom is directly related to our contentment."

" Action steps are good things! Reduce the number of trips you make to the grocery store by careful planning. Slim down your busy schedule by carpooling with others. Recycle your belongings into the hands of more needy people. Simplify your world with careful discipline and more sophisticated planning. These are all very good things. But none of these "things to do" can deliver the peace they promise, especially if they become elevated to the status of an idol in our hearts." ( )

I really enjoyed how this author took you into her daily life and showed you her struggles and how she is learning how to handle them in a way that glorifies God and clings to the gospel of grace. She is a stay-at-home mom, a writer, and in a cross-cultural environment and it was interesting and encouraging to read those things she is learning.

I liked her beginning thoughts on why she wrote this book: "We live in God's world, we're made in God's image, and we interact with other people who have eternal souls. That makes theology vastly important and immensely life changing in our everyday mundane. Theology is for homemakers who need to know who God is, who they are, and what this mundane life is all about." ( )