Review: Made Like Martha

My blogging friend Katie M. Reid’s first book Made Like Martha is on sale as of 7.10.2018, and I’m happy to share my review with you here!

Martha: A Woman Loved by God

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.

Loving Your 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.

Favorite Made Like Martha Quotes

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!

Thanks goes out to Waterbrook and Netgalley for a free review copy of Made Like Martha.

Disclosure: By clicking on the links above to purchase a book, I receive a small affiliate bonus at NO additional cost to you. Thank you in advance for helping me offset the costs of my writing ministry!

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