Martha: a woman of faith who worked hard and often lost sight of what's more important

Everyone knows Martha. She often gets a bad rep as the active and pragmatic woman who was all work, work, work and never at a loss for words. There is a popular book called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World which focuses on the busyness of Martha. As the oldest sibling, Martha was used to being in charge. She actively questioned, challenged and asked Jesus to rectify what she felt had gone wrong. Like Jacob, she wrestled with her faith. Like Job, she questioned Jesus in her suffering. Like Peter, she stumbled forward in faith despite her mistakes. Martha’s story points to what is really important in life. She learns that there is a proper time to listen to Jesus and a proper time to work for him. What is her story? Why would she focus on her work and not her guests? 

Martha lived with her brother, Lazarus, and her sister, Mary, in her home in Bethany, a village a few miles from Jerusalem. The siblings were close and intimate friends with Jesus. During one of his frequent visits, Martha becomes upset with Mary as her sister sits with Jesus and the men while Martha struggles to provide for the guests. Feeling ignored and unappreciated, Martha demanded that Jesus tell Mary to help her. She probably felt that Jesus was the only person who could get Mary on her feet and help Martha with the necessary preparations. However, Jesus did not do that. Instead, he gently rebukes Martha for her worry and focusing on the wrong things. While her properties were good, they were not the best at the time. The personal attention to her guests should be more important than the comfort she provides. Martha may have become embarrassed and startled as she did not realize that Jesus would turn the tables on her. Distracted by the need to serve, as was the custom of the day, Martha forgot to enjoy her time with her guest.

The work of women was clearly defined in Martha’s day. Women of the time kept busy with a variety of tasks from sunup and sundown. Their tasks probably included:

• Grinding grain for the daily bread, then mixing, kneading, and baking the bread

• Purchasing the meats or preparing meats from the household’s flocks for the day’s meals

• Carding, spinning and weaving threads for cloth (i.e. clothing, bedding and other uses)

• Sewing

• Drawing the day’s water

• Washing the dishes and laundry

• Teaching and disciplining the children

The list is not so different from today’s women and their responsibilities as wives and mothers. Tasks that become tedious, exhausting and overwhelming but are never not unimportant. Jesus’ words to Martha was not to mean that “women’s work” was unimportant and be left undone. However, these tasks should not take the place of daily and intimate contact with our families and the Lord. For example, when your child wants to color with you but you tell him no because there is laundry to fold. The laundry can wait for twenty minutes while you color a page with your child. I know from experience, it is easier said than done. It takes an active push to ignore certain tasks for the unplanned. 

Another interaction with Jesus, Martha greeted him with a mix of disappointment, grief and hope. After the illness and death of her brother, Martha ran to Jesus when she learned that he was approaching the village. She greets him with a complaint but faith as well. In John 11:21 says Martha greeted Jesus with “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” This statement shows that Martha deeply believed in Jesus and trusted that he came to do God’s will. What she didn’t understand is that Jesus has power over death, not just against death but over it. Through Jesus, death no longer has any power over us. We do not need to fear death any longer. Jesus responds to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26). She replies that she believes and her statement reveals a woman of deep faith. 

In conclusion, the more we delve into Martha’s story, the more she looks familiar. A woman who focuses on her own activity and not openly sitting with Jesus. She pleads for fairness without realizing that her vision of fairness was in fact, unfair. Her approach made life and faith too difficult. However, she loved Jesus and was confident in his love for her. How else could she find the courage to keep pressing him for answers? As her friend, Jesus helped her stretch her faith, refocus her vision and see the power of what God can do. Jesus meets us where we are and shows us where we should be. Like Martha, we can take our complaints, our questions and our doubts directly to Jesus. We can tell him what is bothering us and ask for his guidance to deal with or respond to any situation. 

No Place Like Home: going home and a second chance romance

No Place Like Home by Jess Mastorakos is the first book in the Love in Charlotte Oaks series. A high school reunion doesn’t mean reuniting with the love of one’s life, right? The last thing Laney Cole wanted was to head to her hometown of Charlotte Oaks for her high school reunion. It’s not because she doesn’t want to see her family but because of the man she left behind when she decided to pursue her music career. When it seems impossible to avoid going home, Laney decides that she will avoid him like the plague when she gets there. However, it seems the second she is in town, she runs into him, literally. Everett Wilson has never forgotten Laney and seeing her in town is like a dream. Can he convince her to give their love a second chance? 

No Place Like Home is a sweet second chance romance. This is the first book by Jess Mastorakos and I have many more on my To Be Read list. It was a fast paced romance with a quirky small town and great family interactions. Told in dual points of view between Laney and Everett, readers will see that the fires still burn for both of them. It was just a matter of time before they could no longer deny it. I instantly loved the Cole and Wilson families. Their gentle teasing and banter reminds me of many families I know. I look forward to reading the rest of this series as well as other Jess Mastorakos books. If you love second chance romance in a small town, I recommend No Place Like Home. 

No Place Like Home is available in paperback and eBook

Marked: a young adult action adventure dystopian novel

Marked by Bridget E Baker is the first book in the Sins of Our Ancestors series. All seventeen year old Ruby Behl wants is a good career match and to kiss her long time crush, Wesley Fairchild. It seems all that any teenage girl would want. However, Ruby doesn’t live in a normal world. Ten years ago, a deadly virus nearly wiped out the human race. Transmitted through touch so even the slightest contact is strictly prohibited. During an innocent game of Spin the Bottle, Ruby gets the opportunity to kiss Wesley. After their kiss, she learns that he has been Marked. She discovers that she may be the key to finding the cure. Now it is a race against time as she must search her mysterious past for a possible cure. 

I’ve been a fan of Bridget E Baker’s adult books and through her Facebook fan group, I discovered she also wrote young adult novels. A young adult dystopian novel with Hunger Games vibes, Marked is an action filled story with a mystery and “romance.”  I enjoyed Ruby as she discovers a strength and tenacity she didn’t know she had and fights through her self-doubt. Reluctantly at first, she is accompanied by Sam who proves he is a worthy ally to have at her side. I enjoyed Ruby and Sam’s interaction with each other and they make a great team. There were quite a few twists and turns that I didn’t see coming and I’m looking forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy young adult dystopian stories, I recommend Marked. 

Marked is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

House on the Harbor: four sisters and one family secret

House on the Harbor by Elizabeth Bromke is the first book in the Birch Harbor series. Four sisters, dealing with the death of their mother, discover a family secret that will shock them. Kate Hannigan is in charge of her late mother’s estate. She plans to divide everything equally with her sisters. However, she doesn’t realize that her mother changed her will just before her death. During the reading of the will, she discovers one sister has been left off the will. The reason why means a family secret is forced to be revealed. Meanwhile, her sisters are dealing with their issues. Amelia is a struggling off-Broadway actress who seems to go from man to man. Megan is dealing with her pending divorce and the possibility of dating again. And Clara, the baby of the family, is about to question everything she knows to be true. 

I was intrigued by the book synopsis and looked forward to reading a story about four sisters. The story was good. The will excludes one sister, why? But as the story progresses, the secret is about to be revealed and then something stops it. Time after time after time. The secret is…oh what there’s a knock on the door or the phone rings, you get the picture. Once the secret is finally revealed, it is a total let down. And why their mother left this one sister out of the will is absolutely ridiculous. Meant to be a story with lots of twists and turn, eventually I just said enough already! By the end, I didn’t care for the characters, their lives or their relationships. Overall, I do not recommend House on the Harbor and I will not be continuing the series.  

House on the Harbor is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Cupid Season: a fake dating deal with two romance cynics

Cupid Season by Nicola Marsh is a fake dating romance. The one thing Cash and Layla agree on is they both loathe romance. When Cash needs some good PR and fast, his friend suggests he enter a Valentine’s Day competition for the country’s Most Romantic Couple and raise money for charity. There is one problem: he doesn’t have a girlfriend. Enter Layla, Cash’s gardener, who scoffs at Cash’s proposal to be his fake girlfriend for a week. After a betrayal and heartbreak, she has sworn off love and romance. But when a financial issue comes up, she can’t help but to accept his crazy plan. It’s only for a week. They could fake a loving relationship for a week. What happens when faking it becomes all too real? 

Cupid Season is a fast paced, sweet but slow burn romance. I enjoyed Cash and Layla as I share their cynicism when it comes to the hoopla around Valentine’s Day. Even as a happily married woman, I don’t enjoy the pressure and hype around the day. While a week seems like a short time frame, a lot can happen in one week. I loved Cash and Layla’s banter and their sense of competition. I also enjoyed that Cash seems to soften toward Layla first. The story also had great secondary characters that help Cash and Layla see the possibility of the good despite the risk for heartbreak. I thoroughly enjoyed Cupid Season. It was fun, sweet and a nice weekend read. If you enjoy sweet romance, I highly recommend Cupid Season. 

Cupid Season is available in paperback and eBook

Destination: Remarkable: one woman's journey from darkness to a brighter life

Destination; Remarkable: Surviving the Dark Side of Success by Mary Grothe is a memoir, autobiography of one woman’s journey from darkness to a deeper meaningful life. Raised by an alcoholic mother and abusive father in a filthy house. At fourteen years old, she watched her entire life being auctioned off as her parents fled their town. She dreamed of dancing as her ticket to freedom but when a teenage mistake causes her dream to fall, she finds herself doomed to repeat her parents’ mistakes. When she gets a job in sales, she discovers she has a knack for it and her success is sudden and overwhelming. Her success should have been her redemption but it only led her down a darker path she never imagined. Then one fateful Christmas, at rock bottom, she found Jesus. She began to turn her life around, and while not easy, Mary Grothe finds new strength to become a new success in business as well as a wife, mother and Christian. 

I had never heard of Mary Grothe but when I was offered the chance to read her memoir, I was intrigued. From a harrowing upbringing, to teenage rebellion to huge success at a young age, she thought she had finally made it. Little did she know but her demons would follow her and she slowly sank deeper. She is brutally honest about her past, her own mistakes and her journey to a healthier, fuller life. Even now, as she is in a better place, she is honest about the struggles she still has and has to actively work on in her daily life. I enjoyed her honesty especially with issues that she has risen above. Her story reminds me of a famous movie quote that states that our demons are never truly gone, we just rise above them. By acknowledging her demons, she is able to confront them with confidence. If you would like to read an inspirational story of a woman’s journey, I recommend Destination; Remarkable. 

Destination; Remarkable: Surviving the Dark Side of Success 

is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

The Grumpy Guy: grumpy-sunshine romance

The Grumpy Guy by Nicola Marsh is the first book in the Creative in Love series. Carissa Lewis owns a fairy shop and is as sunshine as her new neighbor is grumpy. She is determined to stay away from the infuriating man even though he is oh-so-gorgeous. Brody Elliot is determined to raise his young daughter, Molly. He holds a lot of guilt over the loss of her mother and is determined to protect his daughter from any heartbreak in the future. When Molly befriends Carissa, he’s wary but can’t seem to stay away and Carissa’s sunshine demeanor is getting harder and harder to fight. Can he find the strength to love again? Will her sunshine attitude clear away the storm clouds around his heart? 

Nicola Marsh is usually known for her psychological thrillers. However, she can write sweet romances. The Grumpy Guy is a sweet sunshine-grumpy romance. At first, the story seems to drag and there is no real connection between Carissa and Brody other than being neighbors. However, as Molly spends more and more time with Carissa, Brody seems to thaw a bit toward Carissa. Carissa has deep scars in her past but she refuses to let those hurts bring her down while Brody has let the past cloud his future. And Molly is a sweet and adorable child. Overall, the happy ever after ending is a bit predictable; however, sometimes one doesn’t read romance for the unpredictability. If you enjoy a sweet romance, I recommend The Grumpy Guy. 

The Grumpy Guy is available in paperback and eBook