Book Review: Proverbs 31 in 5 Minutes a day

 

 I fell in love with the words of Proverbs 31 in college.  At the time, I was living in a dorm with no prospect of a husband in site.  I was not a wife, nor a mom and the only thing I had in common with her was I am a woman of God. I spent my time studying, hanging out with friends, and staying out way too late (ahh. . . sometimes I long for the ability to pull all nighters once again!) Yet, something intrigued me at this woman that a random king wrote about long ago.  In so many ways, the bar seems  overwhelmingly high and at the same time so desirable.  Who doesn't want to be more precious than rubies, wise, generous, trusted, and fearless as she runs her household, provides income (a.k.a. she worked. . . hard!), and spent money wisely?

So often, she gets tossed aside as a mythical woman who does it all.  We give into current stereotypes of the "perfect" mom or even the appearance of a June Cleaver wannabe.  We go to war with words trying to justify our decisions of choosing the stay at home mom life or the working mom life (note: there is no wrong answer!).  We long for someone to tell us our way is the right way, when in reality, we are just looking for someone to tell us that we are doing okay.  And truth be told, we want someone to see us and offer us some praise like they do the Proverbs 31 woman.  

Let's be honest, we are all tired and worn out and now throw in all the stress this COVID life has bought us and we feel like we are running around like a chicken with her head cut off.  We probably are trying to get as far as we can away from the words of Proverbs 31 because we are seeing them as a set of standards rather than words of encouragement for our tired hearts.  I honestly was thrilled when my sweet internet friend, Mari, announced she had written a book about this passage.  Her book came out this week and it was perfect timing.  I am exhausted and sometimes overwhelmed and the words in her new book were so encouraging!

She wrote this beautiful book, called Proverbs 31 is 5 minutes a Day, for women like me (and most likely you!), who are struggling to find time to check off all their goals for the day and having a hard time finding time to read God's Word.  When she says 5 minutes a day, she means it!  Her words are beautiful, not long winded and so encouraging to my heart.  If we weren't currently doing distance learning, this would be the perfect thing to read while waiting for traffic at school drop off to die down or even in the pick up line.  There are even spots to journal and really challenge yourself as you really dig into what the words of Proverbs 31 mean. 

Mari does a great job breaking down the words of Proverbs 31 into an approachable and not scary way to dive into God's Word.  

This book takes you through each verse over the course of 7 weeks all while combining stories from other parts of the Bible.  This book is great for individual study or even gathering with some ladies for a weekly discussion of this beautiful & encouraging passage.  This a fantastic book and I hope you love it just as much as I did!  

You can buy this book over here.  

Happy Reading!