Smart Martha's Catholic Guide for Busy Moms

by Tami Kiser

Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things. Luke 10:41

Motherhood is so demanding, it s easy to become a Martha always worried about the next thing we have to do and rarely choosing the better part, as Martha's sister Mary did.

Tami Kiser understands. She's a busy mom of nine who juggles teaching at her children's parish school, volunteering at her parish, running a household, and many other responsibilities. Her Smart Martha seminars have helped thousands of women learn to set their priorities so that they still have ample time for Jesus throughout the day.

This is the book that can help any frazzled Martha become more spiritually focused, more holistically fulfilled, and more mentally prepared than ever before. Discover practical tips that will help save time and your sanity. Learn how


--Approach every Martha task with a Mary attitude.

--De-clutter your children's toys for faster cleanup and more meaningful play.

--Manage technology to enhance your family's spiritual health.

--Create mealtimes that nourish both body and soul.

--Tackle household chores as a family.

--Foster spiritual beauty in your children. And much more!


Your maternal instinct as well as constant demands from family members may call for a Martha mom, but trust in the Lord that they need a Mary mom, too. Be a Smart Martha, with one eye on the task at hand and the other on the Lord.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tami Kiser offers some practical and simple advice for managing our homes in a "smart" way so we can have more time for enjoying our lives and families. For me, at this time in my life, the book helped me realize that I am doing things right as many of her suggestions were not new ideas to me, however, they did remind me of what has worked/not worked for us. If I was a new mom or did not already have a good basic home-family-life management plan, this book might have been a bit overwhelming. I also thought the chapters were a bit out of order.
All in all though, I really liked the "Smart Martha" theme. So many times it seems that Martha is only critized for being too busy to pray. Kiser points out that yes, prayer and time with Jesus and our family should be our most important priority. However, as busy moms, we have to have a good "plan" so that our responsibilities in the home/family do not overwhelm us so much that we are too exhausted/bitter to pray and enjoy our vocations.

[Andrea Lucero-watje · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good tips and probably would have been helpful for a younger mom. I wouldn't consider myself organized, but through 12 years of trial and error I have gone through most of these ideas on my own. I was hoping for something new, but as with most systems (weight loss, organization, etc) you just need to figure out what works for you rather than rely on a one-size-fits-all cure. To be fair, she did mention this. But as a "tip" book it didn't help me that much.

I DID appreciate her insight in the early chapters about approaching life logistics with a "Martha" efficiency so that we could have more time to be like Mary in spending quality time with Christ and our families.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated but basically helpful. 3.5 stars

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I took my time reading this book, but I found it to be mostly helpful. Kiser touches on a very important point of Catholic motherhood: we need to balance our roles as Mary and Martha. A Smart Martha is a mother who uses systems and organization to minimize the amount of time she spends caring for her home so she can be a Mary with her children.

While some of the book is dated because of technology, the main points are solid. I consider myself an organized homemaker, but I still gathered some great tips to make my life even easier. Most importantly, I loved the heart of her message that organization makes us better parents.

This is the sort of book I would hand to a mother who is feeling overwhelmed by her role as mother and keeper of the home. Kiser works, so I wouldn't say this book is just for stay-at-home moms. She talks about systems that are more geared to busy working moms.

I enjoyed it, and I highlighted in a few spots. In a few years I will probably pick it up again to pay more attention to the parts targeted toward moms of older kids.

[Aldara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable book with many tips!

[Crystal Helcel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for organization tips

[Marlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too wordy for my taste.

[Jessica Allain · Rating 5 out of 5]

At first I thought the author was overly intense, but the more I read I realized a lot of her suggestions were brilliant! Our house is already a little less chaotic.