Made Like Martha Mobile Book Club (Chapter #5)

Welcome to Week #5 of the Made Like Martha mobile book club!

We hope you’ll join us for the next six weeks as we dig into this message of grace and freedom. As we discuss each chapter of Made Like Martha, I’ve invited some of my writing friends to take turns hosting our mobile book club, at their place.

We’ll also interact over in the Made Like Martha Sisterhood (Facebook Group), so be sure to join it, if you haven’t yet. Today’s host will be joining me tomorrow, around 8:00pm EST in our Facebook Group, for a live chat about Chapter 5, on Wednesday, August 22nd.

We look forward to getting to know you better as we read, chat, and interact.

Disclosure: Affiliate links below. Read full disclosure policy here.

In case you haven’t ordered one yet, grab your own copy of the Made Like Martha (paperback, ebook, or audio version) before next week, since we’ll be discussing Chapter 6, next Tuesday.

Our host for this week is get-it-done gal, Jen Weaver. Jen is a wife, mom to two adorable boys, a host of the Declare Conference, and a grace girl. Be sure to check out her book, A Wife’s Secret to Happiness.

While listening to the Declare Conference podcast episode, with Anne Watson and Jen Weaver, I was struck by Jen’s wisdom about extending grace to yourself. In fact, a quote from Jen made it into Chapter 7 of Made Like Martha (pg. 129).

Book Club Week #5

When Katie shared the theme of Made Like Martha with me I literally hopped up and down in excitement. That woman she’s talking about? That’s me. I’m a doer-creator-worker-leader woman and I love how Katie’s book empowers women like me to keep working with the spiritual posture of a daughter.

Check out this quote from the back cover:

Your desire to get things done is not something to temper but something to embrace as you serve from a place of strength and peace—knowing Christ already did His most important work for you on the cross. #madelikemartha Share on X

Good stuff, right?

My struggle with striving in my faith began super early in life. If you’re familiar with my backstory you know that I came to Christ at a young age and while my salvation was real, I somehow missed the relationship part. For years my Christian walk was self-driven as I followed all the rules and did all the Christian things with the sense of earning heavenly merit badges.

Praying.

Tithing.

Serving.

Studying.

Working. Working. Working.

Learning about relationship with God changed everything for me, and set me on journey of trading religion (knowing about God) for relationship with my Savior (knowing God). As I began to hear His voice and connect with Him, my old habits and practices became new and lifegiving. It’s amazing the difference that came from actions motivated by love instead of obligation.

I wish I could tell you when I stopped trying to earn my way to heaven I immediately understood the goodness of grace. But even still today, I struggle to receive unmerited favor from God and people. As Katie puts it, I can live with a “receptivity deficiency.”