Moms Make Time to Read discussion

Gauging interest in a challenge to read the books by Beth Moore gathered free on Amazon a couple of years ago. Let's finally get them read!

Title list:

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things: Finding Authentic Restoration in the Age of Seduction

A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David

Breaking Free: Discover the Victory of Total Surrender

Things Pondered: From the Heart of a Lesser Woman

The Beloved Disciple: Following John to the Heart of Jesus

Feathers from My Nest: A Mother’s Reflections

Jesus, the One and Only

Further Still: A Collection of Poetry and Vignettes

Praying God's Word: Breaking Free From Spiritual Strongholds

Believing God

To Live Is Christ


If there is enough interest in these books, we can turn them into group reads and study them at the same time. :)

There are 11 books, so we could start in Feb and have one a month for the rest of the year, or we could start "now" and have the last couple of weeks of December free. Post if you're interested and when you would prefer to start!

I am game. I love Beth Moore's books/studies. It would personally work best for me to start in February, just so I have time to get the book from the library. But I am totally flexible.

Wahoo!! I need at least a buddy to read with. :) If it's just us we can move to the buddy threads. I grabbed all of these free on Kindle a few years ago. If you already have any of them I'd be happy to start with that! You have a preference? Maybe others will see and signup with us. :)

I got them all free from Amazon too. I would love to read along with others. A February start does work best for me too.

I personally only own To Live is Christ but can get my hands on any of them (what would I do without my local library? lol)

I got all of them when they were free but they are on the Kindle that died and is under another account, and I can't access it. :(

I will happily buy or borrow the books though to read with you all. Just let me know which one is for February.

Did we decide which Beth Moore book yet?

YIKES we didn't! But we could start with To Live is Christ so that Katheryn can join us?

I apologize for being kind of MIA for the last week or just over; I generally have about a week where I can barely function and have to prioritize my computer time. Ugh. :/

Tamara - if you're using a desktop or a laptop computer, you should have access to a kindle reading app. It lets you log in to your amazon account and access your digital library from there. :)

To Live Is Christ sounds good to me.

I started To Live Is Christ today, and learned something new. I, for some reason, had it in my head that because the Bible referred to Saul as a "young man" and because everyone laid their coats at his feet, thought that Saul was still under the Rabbi Gamaliel or had just finished his training. But Beth Moore has that Saul finished his training before John the Baptist began his preaching in the wilderness.
I was also convicted to the importance of praying for our children in Part 1. Beth pointed out that the bad influences are all around, and we should pray not so much that our children be surrounded by good influences, but rather that we should pray that our children will have the strength to be the good influence.
I wonder how different Saul's life would have been had he been surrounded by good influences or stood up to the bad influences in his life. Would he had ever felt lead to pursecute the Christians, or would he had followed the example of his rabbi?

Lord, please be with each family represented in this group. Help each of us to treasure our children as You treasure us. And help us to infuse our homes with Your holy word, memorizing and meditating on Your truths. Help us to speak Your truths into the lives of our children and to be a shining light for You. Lord, I ask that You be with our children. Give them the strength to stand up to temptation and to do what they know is right. Be with them and protect them from the bad influences that will draw their attention from You and Your love for each and every person You created. Amen.

Just in case you are reading this book on a tablet or computer, there are wonderful discussion at the end of the book. I know some authors do discussion questions at the end of the chaper, and some don't do them at all.
In part two, two questions really made me ponder more than the others. One question from chapter 7 was "Has God had to teach you black and white, or gray?" I know for me, I tend to see naturally in black and white. When I taught in a private school, I even had one of the administrators describe me to a class of middle schoolers as a "Nazi," which at the time, really discouraged me. In the years since, God has blessed me with a daughter who sees everything in shades of gray, and has really pushed me out of my comfort zone. I have had to learn to let go of my control and to allow grace to fill in the gaps. It has not been easy at all, but it has been rewarding.
And from Chapter 8, "What characteristic are admirable about Barnabas?" And my pondering took it a little farther, and I asked myself, "What characteristis of Barnabas do I want to emmulate?" And in my life, I want to encourage my daughter to follow Christ and to live a life that glorifies God.

I have been reading this at a slower pace because I have been trying to finish up a few other books I have been reading too. Anyway, the major things I have seen so far is how important it is to teach our kids about our religion and share with them the values, morals, and Biblical beliefs we have. I want my kids to know God and really know what that means. Also I have been very convicted about "am I making God important enough in my life?" I think about how important Saul's religion was to him at just 13 and how he worked to do everything just right. Do I make my time with God enough of a priority? Probably not and that is something I really want to work on. Now I am off to start Ch. 3.

I just read through chapter 5. She talked about rolling the stone back over the grave and trying to do things ourselves and I was so convicted. How many times in the past have I tried to do things one my own instead of just letting Jesus handle it all? This is something I have really been working on in the last couple of years and it has really sunk in for me in the last year. So it was a great reminder that I need to continue to let Jesus handle things and keep the stone off the grave.

Chapter 11- I had never really given much thought to the word "Amazed" in the New Testament (or any word, beyond the face value, if I am completely honest). While reading this chapter, I had to pause and think about the times that God has knocked me out of my senses before I got the message.
I also was convicted at the end of the chapter when Beth talked about distractions that Satan used to pull my attention away from God, and how I respond, I am very guilty of letting Satan distract me through my daughter during both quiet times and in church, and then being annoyed or frustrated with her ("You are 6 years old, and know how to act during this time for crying out loud. This is nothing new!"). I am always telling my daughter that she isn't responsible for others actions, but she is responsible for her reaction. Guess it's time to practice what I preach.
One interesting fact that blew my mind, last year, during our women's Bible Study, I learned about Saul/Paul's name, and it was revealed to me that I had believed wrong most of my life. Saul was not renamed Paul at his conversion, as I had thought. Saul is a Hebrew name, and when Saul was doing his work with the Jews, he went by Saul. But when he was set apart and sent out to the Gentiles, he began using the Greek version of his name, Paul.

Katheryn wrote: "Chapter 11- I had never really given much thought to the word "Amazed" in the New Testament (or any word, beyond the face value, if I am completely honest). While reading this chapter, I had to pau..."
Can't wait to get to this chapter. It sounds great!

Chapter 17-I love how God works. This morning, in my Bible reading, I read Luke 3. At the end of Luke 3, Luke lists Jesus' heritage, and I was overcome by a thankfulness for God giving me both a biological and adopted family who put their faith in God and paved a path for me to follow their examples. Then chapter 17 talked about Timothy being Paul's spiritual son, and Beth encourages at the end of the chapter to thank God for our spiritial heritage.

Chapter 19-If I only identify with Paul once, it is here in his ministry, when he loses his patience with the demon possessed girl. I can hold my patience with my precious little one only so long before she is dancing on that last nerve. Then of course, because she is a kid, and my kid at that, she knows exactly where to push and BAM! my patience is gone.
Also, you might need a box of tissues at the end of this chapter. It is one thing to read the account from the Bible, and it is another for Beth to drive it home and make it more than just words on a page. I think for me, because I have heard the story of Paul and Silas in prison so many times and I focus on their praise, I forget that they were beaten and were in great amounts of pain. Well, Beth brings it all home.
Chapter 21-Either I glazed over these verses or never fully understood this passage because of not knowing the background. America is referred to by many as the "New Rome," but after reading this chapter, I think we are leaning more toward being a "New Athens." As Christians, we are chastized by culture for being intolerant, and so many churches have decided to become more tolerant, but after really understanding the background of Athens and Paul's very short ministry there, I wonder if we have become too tolerant. As Christians, I think we have a very narrow path to walk, in regards to tolerance. We want to avoid the ditch of being intolerant, so that we don't keep others from coming to faith, but we don't want to become so tolerant, that we are no longer teaching that the only path to heaven is Christ.

I just finished Ch. 10 this morning. What really struck me was when she was talking about being a mold breaker. This is something I have been in the past and gotten chastised for it so then I started playing it way safe. In the past few months, I feel that God is calling my hubby and I to be mold breakers. So I am really going to be praying about it.

Cassandra wrote: "I just finished Ch. 10 this morning. What really struck me was when she was talking about being a mold breaker. This is something I have been in the past and gotten chastised for it so then I start..."

I can't wait for you to read Chapter 22. It is full of encouragement.
Lord, please be with Cassandra. Help her to be the mold breaker you desire her to be. Open the necessary doors, and close the ones that will lead her away from Your calling for her life. Help her to rely on You and Your message. Give her the strength as You gave Paul the strength in Corinth. In the times of weakness and trembling, remind her that Your grace is sufficient and Your power is made perfect in her weakness. Help her to not rely on her own wisdom, but instead rely on Your power. Amen

Katheryn wrote: "Cassandra wrote: "I just finished Ch. 10 this morning. What really struck me was when she was talking about being a mold breaker. This is something I have been in the past and gotten chastised for ..."

Thank you! This completely blessed me today. I appreciate the prayer so much.

Chapter 26 really made me think about what I allow to sway me. The only two times that Gentiles revolted against Paul, they were swayed by money. The Jews in Ephesians went back on their belief system to show that they did not teach the same as Paul. What about me? Where do I let my conscience or beliefs to take a back seat? Do I allow other opinions to sway me from doing what I know is right?

I really enjoyed the transparency of Beth in chapter 27. Sometimes, I put Bible teachers on a pedestal and forget that they are human too.
I also was convicted by Paul's statement in chapter 28 about how he was working on completing the tasks God gave him. So often in life, I get caught up in comparing my life to what others are doing for Christ and I feel inadequate because I am not doing the same. But after reading this chapter, I am going to try to focus on just the tasks God has called me to do.

I have been reading this the last few days, but have not had access to the internet since we were moving. So here are my thoughts on a couple of chapters.

Chapter 11 - Source of Distraction - this one really resonated with me as I am so guilty of getting distracted and then frustrated over that distraction. I really need to take the time to stop and pray when I feel this happening.

Chapter 12 - The distance they traveled as missionaries - this just floored me. Am I willing to travel that far for God? I haven't always been, but I definitely need to be willing to go anywhere for God. Also this chapter talked about forgiveness and asked if anyone is beyond forgiveness. Wow!!! That really hit me as I have struggled with forgiveness for the past couple of years and once I gave it to God, he has really been healing me in this area and showing me I can forgive. The last thought from this chapter was my area of influence. I don't take it seriously enough and I need to really, really be more serious about my level of influence.

Chapter 19 also blew me away. She talked about how they praised through their pain and I thought about how many times I complained through my little pains. I really need to focus more on praising God at all times through everything.

I am nearing the end of the book, and am finding myself not wanting the journey with Paul to end. I have learned so much. And chapter 42 is rich in humor, even though (or maybe because) it is a very serious subject.
Chapter 45 really had me thinking about what I allow to steal my joy.

I just got through the chapter where Beth Moore was talking about the influence of our umbrella. I really never thought about this concept and the affect it has on others. I definitely want my umbrella influence to be more like Paul than Jonah.

I finally finished "To Live is Christ." I am slow at reading books like these because I need to let it sink in, but I loved this book. It was fantastic. There is so much inspiration to be like Paul and always put Christ first. It is something I need to do WAY more often. Which book is next?

I am so glad you enjoyed studying the life of Paul. I too enjoyed it, and now that my Bible reading plan is in Acts, I am looking forward to praying and digging a little deeper in Paul's life and his devotion to putting God first.
As far as next, I am willing to read any of them next, but I was thinking with Mothers' Day next month, maybe doing Feathers From My Nest?

Feathers From My Nest sounds perfect! Hopefully it won't take me so long to read now that we are all moved. :)