Walking with God in the Season of Motherhood: An Eleven-Week Devotional Bible Study

BOOK REVIEW—Walking with God in the Season of MotherhoodByMelissa KrugerPublication Date March 17, 2015I cannot recommend this Bible Study strongly enough for all women, not just those in the season of motherhood. I found it so encouraging and helpful to me even though I am in my late 60’s and a grandmother to grandchildren many miles away. Even as Melissa Kruger uses this study to fulfill the Titus 2 mandate, it is a wonderful tool for all Titus 2 women to give to or to work through with the younger women in their lives also. Even if you have never had children of your own, you will find this study beneficial as all women can be helpful with other people’s children as we fellowship in the Body of Christ, even if the only way that we help with the children is to be an example to them as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This study can be a useful tool for this purpose. It would also be instructive for younger women who are yet unmarried or newly married, but currently with no children.This is not a “how to” book. This Bible study is Christ centered and points out that the most important thing that mothers need is to know and be known by Christ, the Way and the Truth and the Life. It is through this relationship with Christ and abiding in Him and through a thorough grounding in His Word that is the foundation for and out of which naturally flows a Biblically based practical and theologically sound mothering. This tone is set in the first chapter and may we all begin each and every day with the prayer, “Lord help me to honor and glorify You and bring glory to You in everything I think, say and do, including in my mothering.”Melissa Kruger’s book is set up as an 11 week Bible study with 5 portions (“days”) to each week, but you can actually do it at your own pace. I kept tally of the time spent on each “week” and found I spent anywhere from just under 2 hours to just under 3 hours for each “week’s” section. I finished the study in a little over 13 actual weeks.These are the topics for each week:Week 1: Understanding Your Purpose-Walking by FaithWeek 2: Knowing God’s Word-Walking by WisdomWeek 3: Entrusting Your Child to the Lord-Walking in PrayerWeek 4: Ordering Your Home-Walking in CarefulnessWeek 5: Reflecting the Heart of God-Walking in LoveWeek 6: Encouraging a Thankful Spirit-Walking in JoyWeek 7: Fighting Against Anxiety and Worry-Walking in PeaceWeek 8: Letting Go of Harshness and Anger-Walking in Patience and KindnessWeek 9: Training Hearts Through Discipline-Walking in Goodness and FaithfulnessWeek 10: Guiding in Godliness by Example-Walking in Gentleness and Self-ControlWeek 11: Recovering from Perfect Mom Syndrome (PMS)-Walking in GraceAt the end of the book are 12 Mom’s verses to memorize, one for each of the twelve months of the year. Following that are twelve topical verses for children. The twelve topics are faith, truthfulness, trust, compassion, joyfulness, obedience, honor, encouraging works, forgiveness, diligence, thankfulness and contentment. Under each topic, is the definition, the opposite of the topic (example is the opposite of faith is doubt, mistrust, unbelief), the Memory verse and Biblical examples (such as the Hall of Faith Hebrews 11 cites Biblical examples of faith.This study is available in both book form and e-book edition. I did this study on my Kindle and I was able to answer the questions on my Kindle using the “Notes” feature, as well as highlight where it was appropriate to underline. All the verses are included in the book along with space to answer the questions so everything can be done in the book or in a notebook. The one and only complaint I had with this study was that the Scripture verses were mainly NIV with an occasional verse from the ESV. I did all my answers to the questions using the much more Biblically trustworthy KJV. This necessitated my looking up each and every verse, but I felt this was worth it. I also took the time to write out all of the verses for memorization on index cards, and again, used the KJV.In chapter 5, the author narrates to us how at the age of thirteen her parents gave her a one year Bible that apportioned the Scriptures so that they could be entirely read through in the course of a year. From that day on she has diligently read and studied God’s Word. She gives good insights into ways to help our children establish a good devotional life.I strongly recommend this devotional to ALL women. In closing, let me include several (though not all) of my favorite quotes from her book.From page 10, “Delighting in our relationship with God is the first step toward embracing and enjoying our role as mothers.”From pages 12-13 and a good overview of the content of the book, “Yesterday we examined our ultimate purpose in life: to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The reality is that we are incapable of either one until we believe in Jesus by faith. And faith is a gift only God can bestow. We ask Him for it. Then it is by faith we can walk with God and can live by His Spirit. By faith we are transformed daily to look more and more like Jesus. I know that this purpose is often difficult to remember in the daily stresses of life and various tasks of mothering. In the midst of floors to mop and dinner to prepare, you may be asking, ‘How do I glorify God and enjoy Him?’ The answer forms our outline or study in the weeks to come. We grow in our enjoyment of God by abiding in the Word (Week 2) and prayer (Week 3). Finding daily time for these two key elements requires us to plan and order our priorities well (week 4). As we abide in Jesus, He changes us from the inside out. The next six chapters deal with the fruit of His Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control) at work in our hearts and how the overflow of these virtues impacts our children. The final chapter explores our struggle with perfectionism and our continual need for God’s grace.”From page 18 regarding abiding in Christ, “Only as we abide in Jesus will we bear the fruit of His Spirit. We need a source of strength outside ourselves in order to become the mothers we long to be.”From page 85, “All of Scripture points to one ultimate conclusion, our Father treasures us and loves us dearly-all the way to the cross and back. Being rooted firmly in His love allows us to overflow with love for our children.”From page 125, “Trusting in Christ anchors our souls to peace in the midst of life’s turbulent storms. While our anxious thoughts leave us exhausted and weary, daily dependence on God leads to refreshment and renewed strength.” Psalm 29:11From page 213, “The lesson that I learned that day is that I cannot protect my children from my weaknesses. As hard as I may try, at some point my sin will affect their lives. However, the way I deal with my failure can provide an example for them to follow. I am a sinner raising sinners…By teaching our children about confession and repentance as well as grace and forgiveness, we bless their lives for years to come.”And finally, on page 22, “…motherhood has exposed just how much I need Jesus.”As a final word of encouragement to those who do not think they have the 2 to 3 hour block of time to spend each week in this study. I would strongly advise that you not let this hold you back from benefiting in the use of this book. Although it is arranged as a weekly study, it can be done at any pace. Especially if you are doing this study while doing your regular Bible Study, you might want to do just a small portion each day and not worry about how long it takes to finish it. It is better to do it that way and truly meditate on and pray about the portion of the Word of God that you are dealing with for that day so that it can become truly transformative. Melissa gives several portions of Scripture for each of the 5 days of each “week” and which specifically deal with that week’s topic and they are followed by several questions. You may only want to deal with one of those portions of Scripture each day so as to better benefit even though it greatly lengthens the time that you will spend in this study. May the Lord give you much wisdom in this and may we all continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as we endeavor to be the women that God wants us to be.

The media could not be loaded.  Love how simple this devotion is. The authors Writing is amazing and simple to understand and relate to. I think it’s a great book for the price.

A friend recommended this book to me and I am so glad! This 11 week devotional Bible study is full of solid foundational truths. Ones that you may know but need to be reminded of and meditate upon. Kruger does this in a way that is so encouraging and a blessing, to not only the reader but to those in the life of the reader. You do not feel like you are being preached to but rather lifted up and encouraged, strengthened, as iron sharpens iron. I truly cannot say enough good things about the study! In fact I plan on reading through it again. It is just that good! Highly recommend!A few of the things that I think you may want to know is that this devotional study includes the scripture verses written in the book and each day's Study usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes at the most to complete. It's an 11 weeks study with five days for each week to go through. Four of the days have thought-provoking questions and the last day of the week is a devotional reading. There are other wonderful tools located in the back of the book as well. I bought this as a paperback but a friend of mine who did it with me got hers on an e-reader. She said that it was harder for her as far as doing the notes and the questions, and looking things back up for discussion purposes. If you're just doing this on your own the e-reader may work, but if you're doing this with a group, or even just for yourself and you like to write things down you may want to buy the paperback.

I’ve really enjoyed this book. It was recommended by a friend and she uses easy application for all the moms out there. Highly recommended

God has used this devotional to encourage, and dare I say, discipline and correct me!?!! It is meant to be done in eleven weeks, but I have been going through it slowly over the course of a year, once or twice a week. I savor it. It addresses discipline and anxiety, two areas which I struggle with the most. Every time I pick up this book it has been EXACTLY what I needed in that moment. It includes all the Scripture in it and space for writing in thoughts, so it's easy to take with me if I decide to work on it outside my home. I received my first copy free from blogging for books for writing an honest review, but I've since purchased a copy as a gift for a friend and fellow mom, and I plan to purchase more. I think it's a devotional I could work through me than once as my kids grow and my challenges in parenting change. (I currently have 3 boys all three and under. )

I am about halfway through the book. I love the weekly topics and the thoughtful topics that the author has. I feel like all the topics covered are things that I need to work on and can improve on with my own kids. The only criticism I have is that I often find myself wanting to go deeper. The questions she asks after passages are surface-level and don't really help me to apply it any better than what I already gained from reading it myself. Occasionally, there will be a good question/thought that I hadn't thought about but not as much as I had hoped for a self-bible study. It's a small thing though as it is a great open door to further research the topic she discussed to dig deeper if I want to.

I fell in love with Melissa's writing. I have heard her husband's lectures and now was able to purchase her books. I would recommend this book for all the moms. It is so related to a daily life of every Christian mom, talking directly to her heart.

Such a helpful book. A devotional book but one that gets you opening the Bible, meditating on god's word and thinking through how it applies to your situation. Lots of great insights and encouragements, wholeheartedly recommend it!

Excelente libro. Todas las mamás cristianas deberían comprarlo. Ha sido de mucha ayuda para mi esposa, no solo por los consejos prácticos que da la autora, si no porque siempre te lleva a Dios, a depender de Él, a buscarlo, a amarlo, a servirlo, que es lo mas importante en la vida cristiana. Ánima mucho a servir a Dios sirviendo a tus hijos, de ver que no es una carga, no es algo menospreciable criar hijos, sino al contrario, es un privilegio que Dios da a las mamás de hacer discípulos para Cristo.

This book was recommended by a friend and our Bible study is going through it. So glad, it is such a blessing. Packed full of amazing scripture and insight.

Such a blessing to me during first months of motherhood and will read it again im sure.Deep but easily accessible teaching. Easy to do in small chunks when needed.