{"id":2779,"date":"2014-12-09T13:00:59","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T19:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/?p=2779"},"modified":"2014-12-03T22:09:55","modified_gmt":"2014-12-04T04:09:55","slug":"book-review-wholehearted-living","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Wholehearted Living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Nobody recites the old \u201csticks and stones\u201d nursery rhymes anymore. Today we are quite certain that words have the capacity to leave us scarred. But words can do other things, too. Well-chosen ones give us hope, create connections, and help us perceive our lives more clearly.<\/p>\n

They can turn our attention toward what is good and what is true.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"cover-wholehearted<\/a><\/p>\n

Jennifer Grant, in her new release\u00a0Wholehearted Living: Five-Minute Reflections for Modern Moms<\/em>, begins by outlining a few things that get my momsense stirring and my momtuition raving\u2026in a good way.<\/p>\n

She calls the book \u201ca \u2018pause\u2019 button for mothers who want to take a break from talk of juice boxes and snow pants in favor of confronting their fears or reconnecting with their dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

The book delivers what it promises. I\u2019ll admit I didn\u2019t have the time to read all 365 of the daily reflections, but I did sample through them enough to know this is the kind of book that:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Most moms need to read and dip into and out of.<\/li>\n
  2. Will be a great gift for quite a few of the moms I know.<\/li>\n
  3. Won\u2019t go out of style anytime soon.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The book divides the year into three parts: Reflect, Risk, and Rest. You begin in January with reflection, and then, as May begins, you start to look at risk, and you end the year, just as school starts up in September, with rest.<\/p>\n

    It\u2019s a pattern that spoke to my life, to the way the ebbs and flows of my own experience of momness.<\/p>\n

    On December 4, for example, I\u00a0read this:<\/p>\n

    December 4: Christ before Me<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Christ be with me, Christ within me,<\/em>
    \nChrist behind me, Christ before me,<\/em>
    \nChrist beside me, Christ to win me,<\/em>
    \nChrist to comfort and restore me.<\/em>
    \nChrist beneath me, Christ above me,<\/em>
    \nChrist in quiet, Christ in danger,<\/em>
    \nChrist in hearts of all that love me,<\/em>
    \nChrist in mouth of friend and stranger.<\/em>
    \n\u2014 St. Patrick<\/p>\n

    Advent invites us to take a break from twinkly lights and sugar cookies and contemplate the coming of Immanuel, which means \u201cGod with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

    The author of Hebrews wrote, \u201cIn the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets as many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Through whom he made the universe.\u00a0<\/em>What?<\/p>\n

    \u201cThe Son is the radiance of God\u2019s glory and the exact representation of his being . . . . After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven\u201d (Hebrews 1:1-3, NIV).<\/p>\n

    So, before Christ, God was revealed in miracles; but in the Incarnation, God was revealed as a person, Jesus Christ. And they made the universe together?<\/p>\n

    What does the Incarnation mean to you? How would you explain it to a child?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    While Grant references talk that makes me think of moms with younger children, I don\u2019t necessarily think this book is limited to the scope of young moms or moms with young families. That\u2019s the place she\u2019s writing from, and it\u2019s a place many moms have been and\/or are. It\u2019s a hard place, a crucible unlike any other.<\/p>\n

    The reflections aren\u2019t long; their brevity is almost unparalleled in a book of this sort. And yet, as Grant herself notes, \u201ca good five minutes actually makes a difference, affecting how we relate with others and how we perceive our lives for the rest of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Opening and using this book \u2014 whether you dip into it or swim around for a while \u2014 won\u2019t leave you with something else to do. Grant has explicitly avoided doing more than giving you a reason to sit and reflect with her for five minutes. She\u2019s planting a seed in those five (or less) minutes, one that may just sprout into more throughout your day.<\/p>\n

    Though this book has many Catholic undertones, it\u2019s not explicitly Catholic in the way that many books I endorse and read are. You could as easily give this to\u00a0any Christian friend (practicing or not), and she would appreciate the quote or scripture that opens each day, the short reflection, and the one or two reflection questions that close each day.<\/p>\n

    This truly is a book, as Grant says in the introduction, \u201cfor moments when you feel drawn toward the divine, as well as for those times when you feel like your frailties are holding you captive and you really just want to stand in the corner, face the wall, and scream.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sarah Reinhard reviews Wholehearted Living<\/i>, a new daily devotional for moms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1133,"featured_media":2780,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[128,82],"class_list":["post-2779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-review","tag-devotional","tag-nonfiction"],"yoast_head":"\nBook Review: Wholehearted Living<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sarah Reinhard reviews Wholehearted Living, a new daily devotional for moms.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Book Review: Wholehearted Living\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sarah Reinhard reviews Wholehearted Living, a new daily devotional for moms.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Happy Catholic Bookshelf\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-09T19:00:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-12-04T04:09:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/94\/2014\/12\/cover-wholehearted-living.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"357\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sarah Reinhard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sarah Reinhard\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/\",\"name\":\"Book Review: Wholehearted Living\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-09T19:00:59+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-12-04T04:09:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/#\/schema\/person\/5d2d33d15f700477e691ef4b4ad2d352\"},\"description\":\"Sarah Reinhard reviews Wholehearted Living, a new daily devotional for moms.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/2014\/12\/book-review-wholehearted-living\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Book Review: Wholehearted Living\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/\",\"name\":\"Happy Catholic Bookshelf\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/#\/schema\/person\/5d2d33d15f700477e691ef4b4ad2d352\",\"name\":\"Sarah Reinhard\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/happycatholicbookshelf\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a2e7031410ef9c98d4ccd946de71b0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8a2e7031410ef9c98d4ccd946de71b0e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sarah Reinhard\"},\"description\":\"Looking for Sarah Reinhard? 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