For all of us who continually find ourselves in Martha's shoes, this book is a great resource and study guide! The author's writing is very unique and clever. She takes less than 10 verses and expands them into a book rich with ways to become a little less like Martha and a little more like Mary. I suggest going through this book with a discipleship partner to make it even more enriching. The study guide in the back is complimentary, but I enjoy just a little bit more on the studying part. There are memory verses throughout and self-reflection guides as well. However, the study guide is extremely easy to fit into a tight schedule! (: Enjoy

Living Room Intimacy was the chapter that spoke the most to me, though the entire book was excellent. It gave me a new perspective on what it really means to develop that personal relationship where you're conversing with the Savior instead of always rushing to Him for help in a harried life! When I started getting up an hour earlier in the morning just to be with Him, I have actually become LESS stressed even though I am on less sleep and have fully active days with full time work and two kids (ages 9-14) that keep me running everywhere. Add to that a husband that travels and I'm often handling it all on my own...but wait, no I'm not because I have God's help. I find he's there when I call a lot quicker when I've spent time with him regularly than before when I only prayed in crisis situations. Interestingly, the crises have diminished as a result! I'm now looking forward to going deeper into an even more personal "living room intimacy" with Him. I agree with the other reviews in that this is a book you will want to come back to again and again. I will also be giving several copies of this book as Christmas gifts this year!

Joanna Weaver uses a simple analogy, the living room or the kitchen, to bring hurried, harried women needed truths about balance in their lives. Mary, of course, was the woman in the living room, and Martha was in the kitchen. I appreciated Joanna's willingness to open up her life and provide memorable stories and fresh symbols. For example, she compared picking up the house in the morning with the confession needed in prayer time to keep our spiritual house "fresh" for God. Women's Bible study groups will find this book targeting many needs.

I have read this book 3 times now and each time God speaks to me in a different way--where I am at that moment. I am a classical Martha, but after reading this book, was told I had "softened"--which is a good thing. After reading "Secrets of the Vine" and this book, I find a constant desire to spend more time "abiding" and "sitting at Jesus' feet"--which will be a life-long desire. This book is a must-read for any Christian woman who desires to grow in her faith and walk with Christ on a daily basis.

I have just finished reading this book and am planning to order it for all my friends!

Joanna Weaver writes from her own experience. She does not present herself as an expert, having already mastered intimacy with God. Joanna shares her struggles and reveals the ways she has grown, which is encouraging to anyone who has ever struggled with the same issues.

Mrs. Weaver's style of writing is straight forward with many concrete examples and incredible word pictures. This book has lots of practical tips for balancing work and worship without feeling guilty!

I just finished studying Joanna Weaver's wonderful book with my women's Bible Study group. Most of us in the group tend to be "Marthas" but we learned so many things about the joys and rewards of learning to have a "Mary" heart. We have referred to this book over and over again as we encourage one another--as Joanna Weaver encouraged us--to put aside the busy-ness of our lives and concentrate on what's really important. The side bars and anecdotes make this book easy to read. In fact, several of us had trouble stopping at the end of the chapter each week! Highly recommended!

This was a wonderful book! I have always loved the story of Mary and Martha, and this book only added to my appreciation of it. I loved how practical Joanna Weaver was in her approach to the story and I loved her heart felt humility in her writing. If you struggle with finding intimacay with God, this is definitely a book that you must read. I plan on re-reading this book often, especially when I feel like a "Martha" and not a "Mary".

This book is wonderful! I was hooked after reading the first chapter and have enjoyed every chapter since then. Weaver gives examples from her own life that show how to become more Christ-centered and how to worry less about every day situations. I felt with every turn of the page that she was speaking directly to me, and I truly think my life will be different because I've read this book. I highly recommend it to anyone who struggles with being a "Martha", but all the "Marys" will learn from it and enjoy it, too.

This book is full of good, solid Bibical truths and hits on many different topics that I think most women can relate to. It definitely gives practical and godly advice at how to find intimacy with God in everyday life. While the book probably has a target audience for women older than myself (after college and probably women who are married and have children), it still has spoken to me. I would recommend this book to other women as it is practical and an interesting read. Joanna Weaver relates effectively to the audience and her voice is not a didactic or preachy. I think she speaks from a heart that realizes the importance of seeking an intimate relationship with God. If it is the cry of your heart to have a more intimate relationship with God in this busy world I would encourage you to give this book a shot. Its practical and enjoyable.

I have read this book a few times and have given it to other woman in our church as well. This book is sound and extremely encouraging as most books adress the "Mary" aspect of life only, whereas Joanna address the "Martha" in all of us who are wives, mothers and just woman in general, wanting to know our Lord more intimately, yet we have so much to do. I read both "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" and "A woman after God's own heart" - by Elizabeth George at the same time. What a blessing to have such gifted sisters in Christ who God can use to encourage and challenge us all. Worth reading again and again.

FOCUS,RENEWAL,MAINTENANCE...BALANCE. When I first read this book, I was expecting her to tell me how to continue trying to do it all. Tell me how to do more in 24 ours AND be happy, not worried or critical of myself and others. Instead of telling how to do MORE, it's about doing less. It's about focusing on the primary things in a Christian's life: genuine time with God. Ok, I need to do that, WHEN I get the other things checked off of my to do list. The author reminds us that God should be the first person we speak to in the morning regardless of our titles or responsibilities. Unlike other books for busy parents, it does not psychoanalize us or justify how our past made us like this. Those books seem to keep me on the pity potty. This book is different. Get up. Wipe your tears, rather let Jesus do it via contact with him through prayer and reading the Bible. It's about pruning our lives. Giving up what causes us to be in a rat race or at least cleansing our perspective of SUCCESS. Simplify, slow down, meditate, read, and obey are overall themes that resonate in my mind and heart. Thanks you Joanna Weaver for writing this.