I recently received a copy of Kristin Funston’s new book, “More for Mom: Living Your Whole and Holy Life” in the mail, and I am so glad I did! Its message is one which moms today desperately need, a message of encouragement, conviction, refreshment, humor, and so much more! It truly is a must-read.
There are many things I could say about Kristin’s book, ranging from pointing out that her sense of humor is infectious and her emphasis on mamas still lending credence to their dreams and how important they are is refreshing, but there is one thing in particular I want to point out in this review, and it is this: the gospel and its implications are woven throughout this book, and for that, I am deeply grateful.
The subtitle of the book refers to the whole and holy life we have been given to live, thanks to Christ and what He accomplished on our behalf on the cross. The second part, “holy”, is something which I myself have thought (and written about) many times – thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we now have His righteousness as our own, meaning that we are already fully holy in the eyes of God. But it was the first part “whole” which really drew my attention and which opened my eyes to a truth which I had never thought of much (if ever!) before.
That truth which Kristin points out is that God never intended for us to live segmented lives, lives split between the “secular” and the “sacred”, lives divided up into the “wife life”, “mom life”, “work life”, “ministry life”, “home life”, and so on. As Kristin says, we are not to be segmented individuals with all these split personalities. Rather, God desires for us to live whole, holistic lives, lives where every role or responsibility we live out affects each and every other one, and where the truths and goodness of God flow through them all.
Through this book, Kristin inspired me to change the way I view my life. My life is not to be viewed as being divided up between, for example, my mom life (where I homeschool preschool my daughter, stay at home with her and my son, give myself to tasks pertaining to homemaking and childrearing throughout the day) and my work life (where I write before my kids get up, while they are napping, or occasionally away at a coffee shop when able).
Instead, I want to view my mom life as inspiring and leading to ideas I can infuse into my writing when I put on the “work life” hat. Conversely, I want to view my “work life” as something which, Lord willing, is a blessing to my kids as I help to provide financially for our family through the work I do, produce content which will hopefully encourage and inspire them one day, too, and even something as seemingly little (but really not!) as providing my kids with the special time they have with the ones who watch them when I am away working. This is what living a whole and holistic life looks like: a life where each of the “parts”, so to speak, weave in and through all the others and where each aspect mutually benefits and inspires all the others.
Realizing this design God intended for our lives leads to so many blessings and so much positive fruit, not the least of which include reduced mommy guilt, more reliance upon and inclusion of God into each and every aspect of our lives, and so much more.
It is for this reason that I highly, highly recommend that you pick up a copy of “More for Mom: Living Your Whole and Holy Life” by Kristin Funston! You’ll be glad you did!
And now for the awesome news!! Speaking of grabbing a copy of the book, from now until Friday, May 17th, you can enter to win a copy of this book by leaving a comment below and sharing why you would love to read it! Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on Friday, and the winner will be announced Saturday morning!
*Full disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
