Shiny Things: Mothering on Purpose in a World of Distractions is both timely and timeless. The authors take the reader on a journey, helping her unpack the reality of distraction and invite her to recalibrate her priorities. The book is filled with relatable mama-tales, real-life lessons and tangible take-always. Best of all, the authors continuously point the reader back to Jesus. You will finish this book with a refreshed resolve to take back your time and spend it on what truly matters.

This book is so encouraging and inspiring! I love the writing and cant wait to get a physical copy to underline all my favorite parts!

This was a quick, easy read as promised from the beginning - perfect for sneaking in a few chapters before bed or while waiting for kids! I enjoyed the premise of the book and felt myself challenged and convicted by many of its points on being pulled away and distracted by "shiny things." However, I did struggle with the seeming underlying premise that motherhood is THE most important thing one can do - and even pursuing calling or serving at church can be a shiny thing or distraction. I'm not sure I agree with this idea - in fact, I think a healthy picture of motherhood finds tension between the two and asks the Holy Spirit for wisdom. It also seemed to appeal to the idea that many women can choose to stay home and focus solely on kids - which, for many is not the case
Overall, it was a good read and I appreciated the writer's hearts, but had some.hesitations.

What a fantastic and easy read that includes Biblical truth and helps me as a mom to identify the priorities in our life that need to be modified and altered. God has a purpose for each and everyone of us and so often we let the things of this world distract us from God's Great plan. Amanda Bacon states that she is not an expert and that she has just written this book for herself as well. I think we all need constant reminders that even things in our life that seem good and are good can distract us from God's plan when they consume our lives. Shiny Things has so many great life lessons and take aways that we can apply to our everyday life. We need to have new eyes to see what matters and help us refocus our minds and hearts to God's plan for our life verses our plans for our life. So often we get caught in things of this world that only provide a temporary happiness and only satisfy for the moment. When we can focus on God's plan, we can have a joy that only He can provide and last eternally. I enjoyed reading this e-copy of the book that I purchased my own physical copy to highlight and share with friends.

Thank you Netgalley for the early galley and all opinions are my own.

One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

As my children are out of elementary school, I find myself not finding Christian mom books as useful to my growth as a mom as many are geared at moms of younger children. I love that Shiny Things is a book for all moms to remember to be attentive to the lives we are leading. The authors don't judge the reader, but come aside to let us know they too struggle. I found the book is great for reading a chapter a day or to read and discuss with friends.

Kind, uplifting and life-affirming, Shiny Things feels like a long hug and warm heart-to-heart chat over tea. Anne-Renee and Amanda have masterfully crafted a safe space for mothers to collect themselves, realign their priorities and ready themselves to return into the trying-yet-beautiful fray of motherhood armed with valuable skills and confidence-inspiring mantras to help them thrive and flourish in the way they always dreamed they could.

Cleverly arranged into bite-sized chapters so readers have something of value to meditate on even from a short reading session, this book is beautifully and empathetically written from the soul.

"She had been fighting the constant pull to do what she wanted, when she wanted [...] she was distracted…and conflicted." From the very introduction these women had put into words what I had been struggling to vocalise through 8 years of parenthood, and through that understanding offered a way forward to better, more-present, joyful parenting.

A ray of light that illuminates and reminds us of the beauty in everyday mothering and supports us to become the kind of mother and woman we truly yearn to be.

Thanks to Netgalley, I received an ARC of this book. I am so glad that I did. Life itself is full of distractions and we can easily focus or get caught up in things or activities that don't pertain to us or fulfill us. We have so much on our plate that it can be hard to really look at what matters most and what do we need to do to scale back and get back to what truly is important. While there is no shame in taking time for yourself such as looking at social media, reading a magazine, watching TV etc we just need to learn that the way we use them can have a negative affect. I loved how the author's spoke throughout the book and instead of judging or instructing other moms with how to spend their time or deal with distractions she helps us determine how to be intentional and therefore more present in our lives!

Shiny Things was such an inspiring book. I kept nodding along, completely relating to the authors. I especially connected to the section about self control. It is so hard as a mom with little ones to be intentional in motherhood. This was a wonderful reminder to ask "God to keep a lid on my selfish tendencies and help me focus on serving Him and my family with a joyful heart."

Really enjoyed this book and the authors style of writing. It felt as though I was out for coffee with friends discussing social media and parenting. I love good parenting books and this one is at the top of my highly recommend! So relatable and encouraging to know I’m not alone in this daily struggle of being distracted by shiny things.

These moms hit it on the head--distractions have always been around. It used to be soap operas and corded phones, magazines, romance novels, knitting, gossip, records... Moms have always had something that is able to distract us from not just our kids,, but from more fruitful endeavors. And none of these things are bad, it's just how we use them. And it makes us unhappy when we pour our time into distractions instead of into our families, God, or other positive work. I really enjoyed the conversational tone of the authors and as a self professed "bad mom," I felt significantly less judged in this book than I have on other books that address this topic. It helps that one of the authors is a working (!!) mom. The Bible and God play a big part in this book, but it isn't preachy and I would feel comfortable handing it to most any mom feeling stressed about where she's putting ber attentions both intentionally and unintentionally.