My Synopsis & Thoughts:Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load by Jen Hatmaker
(For review from Revell)
Out of the Cycle has 40 devotions on a variety of topics for mom's. Jen Hatmaker uses humor in an excellent way to help mom's see that motherhood is not just a list of expectations that you'll never be able to do. This book is full of encouragement for mother's who are busy or tired or just overwhelmed by the demands of a family.
These devotionals are short and are easy to read and understand. Each one is based on the view Jesus would take, about the situations that seem to creep up for all mom's. The devotion titles are catchy and make you want to read more. Before long you'll hooked! Some of the subjects covered in the book include, the importance of keeping your marriage strong for your children, choosing your priorities wisely and how to manage your money to provide a more stable and enjoyable life for your family.
Jen Hatmaker has really done a great job of writing about the issues that mother's face in their every day life. It's difficult raising children in today's fast paced world. It's also hard to in still in them the idea's and morals that we hope they will take with them into their own lives. Hatmaker has a way of showing the reader that's it's O.K. to make mistakes, because our children learn from those mistakes too. I thought that was a really profound idea, because as a parent I tend to hide my mistakes from my kids because I don't want them to see me fail, when in truth they could learn more from my failures than from my successes.
This book is a resource that Christian mother's will not only enjoy reading but one they can use in their lives, when they are feeling down or just need a little mother pick me up. Sometimes you just have to sit back and laugh. Hatmaker uses her experience with her own family to show readers that you might as well laugh as cry when things don't go just like the experts say they will. Every child is different and requires a different approach. It's time to figure out what works for you!
I really enjoyed this devotional and I'm sure that most mother's out there will really enjoy the humor and the insight that Jen Hatmaker has infused into this book.
Available June 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag! Please join me later today for a short interview with the author Jen Hatmaker.
Here is some more information about Jen Hatmaker.
Jen Hatmaker is the author of seven books and Bible studies, including A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study. With a heart for the women of her generation, she speaks at retreats and conferences around the country. Jen and her husband, Brandon, reside in Austin, Texas with their three children, and lead the ministry work at Austin New Church.
From The Author
When I was two-years-old some compassionate woman gave my mother the book “The Strong Willed Child.” Although she clearly exaggerated my mischief, it is common knowledge that I've always been a handful. I have just always felt my feelings very strongly. Now while this sent my mom to the medicine cabinet, it has proven useful in the hands of God who can make something out of any mess.
I just plumb fell in love with Jesus in junior high. My inner radar for Him was very developed, and I’m embarrassed to tell you that as seniors, my three siblings were voted: Biggest Flirt, Loudest Girl, Best Smile. And do you know what I was voted? Most Inspirational. I was a lot of fun. I’m just saying I’ve been this way for some time.
I was given a godly legacy by my mom and dad, who have served in full-time ministry for over twenty-five years. My parents taught me that it is possible to love God entirely and still be the fun house on the block. They gave me humor, which is the second largest weapon in my arsenal behind God’s Word.
I went to Oklahoma Baptist University where I met and married my sweet husband, Brandon. He was a ministry major and I studied education. In 1996, we moved to Tulsa where we began our first careers: Brandon as a Student Pastor at Southern Hills Baptist Church, and me as a fourth grade teacher. We sprouted little wings there, and definitely crashed and burned more than once. My main ministry objective then was to support Brandon.
There our first angel came to us in 1998: Gavin. He was followed two years later by our princess, Sydney Beth. And pulling up the rear two years after that was our pistol, Caleb. We are blessed with hilarious kids who have only taken us to the ER three times to date. There are no shrinking violets in this family, but I don’t know where they would’ve gotten that DNA.
In 2000, we moved to Austin where Brandon was hired as an Associate Pastor at Lake Hills Church. It was here I was first forced into women’s ministry by my Girlfriend Trina who asked me to lead a Bible study. I told her: “Forget it. I’m scared of women. I only know how to talk about boyfriends and parents.” She bullied me though, and I reluctantly agreed.
Who knew I would fall utterly in love with women?! I came home every week blabbering on about how rich Bible study was with adults. God began a work in me that semester. I started separating from student ministry and planted roots in women’s ministry. Now Lord knows I was terrible at first, so I’m sorry Everyone Who Sat Through My First Year. But my kind church came up under me and said, “We’ll walk with you into your calling. You’re awful, but we can see it under there.”
In the summer of 2004, I wrote a book on my favorite topic: studying God’s Word. If that sounds so boring, I can only promise you it is littered with humor and funny stories for all the Real Girls out there. (I don’t know how to be any other way.) God placed it in the hands of a publishing house that has become dear to me: NavPress. In a ridiculous turn of events, they asked me to write four Bible studies to boot. Book #6 - “Ms. Understood: Rebuilding the Feminine Equation” - comes out July 2008. So crazy. I never planned on being a speaker and author. I wanted to be Janet Jackson.
In the summer of 2007, Brandon and I stepped down from an incredible seven year post at Lake Hills, and started a new church in the Spring of 2008 (www.austinnewchurch.com) in south central Austin, a section of our city that is economically and ethnically diverse, socially unique, and has an unusually high percentage of single parent families. We are in the greatest adventure of our lives, (thrilled to find out that where we have planted is known as the “church planters graveyard”) and have made some incredible new partnerships in ministry. We’ve learned that: 1.) God goes before His servants, and 2.) starting a church is not for wimps.
From The Author
When I was two-years-old some compassionate woman gave my mother the book “The Strong Willed Child.” Although she clearly exaggerated my mischief, it is common knowledge that I've always been a handful. I have just always felt my feelings very strongly. Now while this sent my mom to the medicine cabinet, it has proven useful in the hands of God who can make something out of any mess.
I just plumb fell in love with Jesus in junior high. My inner radar for Him was very developed, and I’m embarrassed to tell you that as seniors, my three siblings were voted: Biggest Flirt, Loudest Girl, Best Smile. And do you know what I was voted? Most Inspirational. I was a lot of fun. I’m just saying I’ve been this way for some time.
I was given a godly legacy by my mom and dad, who have served in full-time ministry for over twenty-five years. My parents taught me that it is possible to love God entirely and still be the fun house on the block. They gave me humor, which is the second largest weapon in my arsenal behind God’s Word.
I went to Oklahoma Baptist University where I met and married my sweet husband, Brandon. He was a ministry major and I studied education. In 1996, we moved to Tulsa where we began our first careers: Brandon as a Student Pastor at Southern Hills Baptist Church, and me as a fourth grade teacher. We sprouted little wings there, and definitely crashed and burned more than once. My main ministry objective then was to support Brandon.
There our first angel came to us in 1998: Gavin. He was followed two years later by our princess, Sydney Beth. And pulling up the rear two years after that was our pistol, Caleb. We are blessed with hilarious kids who have only taken us to the ER three times to date. There are no shrinking violets in this family, but I don’t know where they would’ve gotten that DNA.
In 2000, we moved to Austin where Brandon was hired as an Associate Pastor at Lake Hills Church. It was here I was first forced into women’s ministry by my Girlfriend Trina who asked me to lead a Bible study. I told her: “Forget it. I’m scared of women. I only know how to talk about boyfriends and parents.” She bullied me though, and I reluctantly agreed.
Who knew I would fall utterly in love with women?! I came home every week blabbering on about how rich Bible study was with adults. God began a work in me that semester. I started separating from student ministry and planted roots in women’s ministry. Now Lord knows I was terrible at first, so I’m sorry Everyone Who Sat Through My First Year. But my kind church came up under me and said, “We’ll walk with you into your calling. You’re awful, but we can see it under there.”
In the summer of 2004, I wrote a book on my favorite topic: studying God’s Word. If that sounds so boring, I can only promise you it is littered with humor and funny stories for all the Real Girls out there. (I don’t know how to be any other way.) God placed it in the hands of a publishing house that has become dear to me: NavPress. In a ridiculous turn of events, they asked me to write four Bible studies to boot. Book #6 - “Ms. Understood: Rebuilding the Feminine Equation” - comes out July 2008. So crazy. I never planned on being a speaker and author. I wanted to be Janet Jackson.
In the summer of 2007, Brandon and I stepped down from an incredible seven year post at Lake Hills, and started a new church in the Spring of 2008 (www.austinnewchurch.com) in south central Austin, a section of our city that is economically and ethnically diverse, socially unique, and has an unusually high percentage of single parent families. We are in the greatest adventure of our lives, (thrilled to find out that where we have planted is known as the “church planters graveyard”) and have made some incredible new partnerships in ministry. We’ve learned that: 1.) God goes before His servants, and 2.) starting a church is not for wimps.
1 comment:
I love pick me ups for mothers. People tend to underestimate the stress a mother goes so I think it's very important to have little coping mechanisms.
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