Made Like Martha

Made Like Martha: Good News for the Woman Who Gets Things Done by Katie M. Reid is a new book on a common topic for women. In this book, the author calls women to stop striving and to sit at Jesus' feet. For a topic that is written about so frequently, I expected much of the same. However, I loved Katie's fresh view of the topic. I especially loved how she illustrated God's delight in us using concrete illustrations. She calls us to live with abandon and delight because of the Father's great love for us. Fantastic book-- I highly recommend it. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher. These opinions are entirely my own.

This book was very helpful to me, in may ways. Learning to believe that I am made in God's image and that he made me to be a doer is an exciting journey. The author helped me to see that I can be 'worshiping in my work', that as I am serving as a daughter of God I can be fully engaged in worship and doing exactly what God created me to be doing.

This book feels like it was written just for me. A perfect message for my doing nature. I can't recommend this highly enough. Includes action steps and recommendations, assessments, links to additional resources and a five-session Bible study that readers can complete after reading the book or along side the reading.

This book is so captivating! I am so thankful Katie stepped out in faith, and wrote it. In this book, you will find so much help and draw nearer to Jesus.

Awesome book on how to live how you were made. Enjoyed reading about her journey and the stories of other women . Great tips and Biblical truth with resources. even a Bible Study at end, A must read!

Two things I really liked about this book: 1) It showed Martha grace. Rather than expecting Martha to change the way God made her, it pointed out the changes needed in her heart. 2) It’s full of practical stories and advice. There’s a great hope for “Marthas” in this book.

Are you familiar with the story of two sisters in Luke 10?

Martha and Mary were both close friends of Jesus. Martha is the sister who certainly gets things DONE, preparing her home for Jesus and his followers. Mary is the one who sits at Jesus’ feet and listens to him. Jesus gently corrects Martha for her busyness and praises Mary for choosing what is best.

I’m half Martha and half Mary. I have a practical, perfectionistic side that gets things done, and I have another quiet, contemplative side that listens well. I’ve always liked my Mary side more than my Martha side, because I feel she’s easier to get along with. But Made Like Martha is teaching me that God loves my Martha side as much as my Mary side and wants to heal the wayward parts of my Martha side.

Katie writes with transparency and sensitivity. She knows that we Marthas strive for quality. We want to get things right. She tells us that God made us that way, but it seems like we take it too far, too often. Katie also infuses her book with grace and kindness, showing us some of the broken reasons we try too hard. She encourages us to relax in God’s great love for us as his daughters so we can live out the life of trust and purpose he wants for us.

Some parts of the book resonate deeply with me as an adult child of divorce. Katie writes about an orphan spirit that doesn’t feel validated unless it is performing. Made Like Martha is stirring up the past for me, and God is healing some hurt areas. He’s showing me that he loves me just the way that I am, and that I don’t have to try to earn his favor any more.

I highly recommend Made Like Martha to any woman who struggles with perfectionism or workaholism. It will help you accept God’s love in a new way, and you’ll enjoy Katie’s warm, honest, refreshing voice.

Here are my favorite quotes from Made Like Martha:

“I’m worn out from trying to be everything to everyone and fed up with messing up. Capable is my middle name, yet if I’m honest, I’m a few yeses away from falling apart.”

“My ties are often not cords of love but rather leashes that choke out life and limit those around me…With God’s cords of human kindness and ties of love, He leads and guides, not to suffocate us but to help us release the tension as we walk freely in the knowledge of His sufficiency.”

“[God] whispered, ‘You hate “high school Katie,” but I don’t. I loved you then just as much as I do now.'”

“Rest is an opportunity to exercise faith that we will be taken care of in the absence of our ‘doing.'”

“The scolding is silenced as we tune into tenderness. The static dissolves as hope crescendos. The royal banner of Love waves overhead, over heart, like a seal depicting ownership.”

Made Like Martha is FULL of great insights that will help you feel God’s love and acceptance. I hope you’ll check it out!

I received an advance review copy from Waterbrook and Netgalley.

A book for all the modern Marthas, the women who are wired to be doers, of how to examine their motivations for doing, to make sure their hearts are in the right place and that they aren’t trying to earn their way into God’s family. It’s a reminder to receive and give grace. There’s affirmation that it is ok to do but reminders to also take time to rest and make sure you aren’t biting off more than you can chew. And practical tips on how to serve from a healthy place physically and spiritually.

Katie M. Reid provides a refreshing read that will resonate with any modern Marth (aka that woman everyone knows can get stuff done). She shares her own struggles with her motivations for doing, and offers suggestions for how to live and do better. A lot of books on Martha challenge the go-getter woman to just slow down and drop tasks, but Reid acknowledges that some of us are just wired to do and that that isn’t necessarily bad. She points out that Martha serves Jesus a second time and doesn’t get scolded for serving, it was her heart that needed work. Now that isn’t to say that we modern Marthas don’t sometimes need to be reminded to take time to rest, most of us probably do and Reid gives that reminder. But overall in this book she encourages modern Marthas to acknowledge and embrace the way God wired us, but provides several challenges to make sure that our doing flows out of a healthy relationship with God. The end of the book includes 5 Bible studies (one for every 2 chapters) that can be done as an individual or small group. I really liked the layout of these Bible studies and the way they brought home the points for each of the chapters while letting modern Marthas try out various Bible study methods that might work better for their personalities. They also were just the right length, very approachable for a busy woman. As a busy woman in charge of several things both big and small, I found this book a very refreshing and helpful read. And I happened to get this ARC just in the middle of a busy season while gearing up for another year of a big project. There were some really good reminders in here that I needed to read. Reid’s writing style is approachable and friendly, it feels like she’s chatting with you over a cup of tea, and her biblical studies and applications are solid. Highly recommended for any modern Marthas out there.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.