Welcome to my weekly book update post where I share what books I read this past week + my honest thoughts and star ratings of them.
A Word on My Star Ratings
The star ratings I give the books I read are based on a 5-star rating system. I rarely will ever give a book a 1-star rating (maybe never?), because my philosophy is that if a book is only worthy of one star, I’m more than likely going to quit reading it. 🙂 In the same vein, you’ll also notice that I’ll rarely give a 5-star rating as I reserve those for only my very, very favorite books.
Want to see all of the books I’ve read so far this year? Check out my Good Reads page.
Risen Motherhood
I had high hopes for this book… but it sort of fell flat for me. It wasn’t that there weren’t some nuggets of truth in it, I just didn’t find a lot that spoke to me in the season of motherhood I’m in. Or maybe it was the writing style? Or the layout?
I’m not sure, exactly. I just know that I usually underline and dog ear at least a few pages of all books that I read and I didn’t do either for this entire book.
Also, I realized that I got to the end of the book and still am not entirely sure what they mean by the phrase “Risen Motherhood”. It didn’t seem really clear or obvious to me in the book, so that kind of perplexed me. I think they were using the phrase to mean, “Gospel-Centered Motherhood”, but unless I totally missed this definition somewhere (and it’s possible that I did!), it didn’t seem to be explained well in the book.
I debated whether to give this book 2 or 3 stars. Ultimately, I decided on 3 stars just because it does have nuggets of truth and I think it would likely be an encouragement to other moms in other seasons. If you’ve read it and loved it, I’d love to hear a differing perspective! Please share in the comments.
Verdict: 3 stars
Made to Move Mountains
I was excited to read this book and I definitely did dog-ear and underline parts of it. If you need a shot in the arm to step out in faith, I think it will really encourage you!
Kristen’s faith and story has long encouraged me and this book chronicles more of her journey — the highs and lows, hardships and victories.
The one thing I didn’t love about this book was that it could definitely make some people feel guilty or that they need to follow in Kristen’s footsteps. I love her passion and heart for the work God has called her to, but I felt like some of it could make a reader feel like she needs to have the same passion and heart.
I know that wasn’t Kristen’s intent at all, but I wanted to mention this and just remind you that God has called all of us to different ministries, passions, and missions. We aren’t all called to be advocates for fair trade or fostering. We each have individual callings and it’s our job to see the Lord to how He would have us to use our giftings and abilities to make a difference in the world.
Verdict: 3 stars
What did you read this past week? Any books you think I really need to add to my long to-read list??
The Risen Motherhood podcast has been incredible encouraging to me personally as I mother a crew spanning ages from 12 years to 2 years. Since I was familiar with their ministry, perhaps reading the book was easier to grasp and some great reminders from the many topics covered over on their conversational style podcast episodes.
Thank you for always giving your honest feedback! I have added to my library often based on your book reviews 🙂
I’m guessing if you’ve listened to their podcast, you might have more of a context for where they are coming from or maybe could hear it more in their voice! 🙂
I adore the podcast but the book felt flat to me too. The conversational dynamic between the two sisters in law really brings it all together for me. I have one little and one big due to secondary infertility and I definitely wish I’d had the podcast when my first was a little! I’ve been so encouraged about the meaningfulness of my work as a mom through their ministry.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I’ve heard so many great things about their podcast!
Here’s a quote from the Risen Motherhood book that I think gives the best definition:
“We don’t need the world’s version of motherhood; we need a risen motherhood, transformed by the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.” So yes, it’s basically a catchy way of saying gospel-centered but I do think the phrase “risen motherhood” makes sense.
Thank you for sharing!
I love the Risen Motherhood book, podcast, and ministry. Possibly more suited to moms with younger kids.
I think the idea behind the phrase “Risen Motherhood” is that we can have a different kind of Motherhood than the world. We have the hope of the resurrection and that impacts even our Motherhood.
Thank you for explaining that! I may have missed some explanation somewhere, but it just wasn’t really clear to me in the book!
I love the Risen Motherhood podcast and read the book in a mama book club. It really spoke to me in the season of life I am. A lot of the topics they go into detail on in the podcast too. I highly recommend it.
I’m so glad that it spoke to you!
I felt the same way about risen motherhood and I have multiple young littles.
I agree with the other comment that the podcast and website are amazing Christian resources for moms! I’m over halfway through the book but it has resonated very well with me through my seasons right now. I do think it’s better for new moms or moms with littles when time for yourself is very limited and there’s a lot of figuring out how to be a mom and take care of little people. It does an excellent job of circling back to the gospel and Gods word, instead of the words of society. It does get a little redundant because of the focus of the idea of before and after “the fall”.
Thanks so much for sharing your perspective! I really appreciate it!
Risen Motherhood is a podcast. It’s excellent and well thought out. Their website has amazing resources for mamas for kids, adults, and study resources. I haven’t read their book yet but the podcast is 👌🏻 And worth a listen.
I haven’t listened to their podcast and wasn’t familiar with them before reading the book. Do they explain what the term “Risen Motherhood” means on the podcast?? I’d love to know, if so! 🙂 And let me know if you end up reading the book. I’m wondering if maybe their material is better for podcasts or if I just am not their target demographic since I have older kids. 🙂