The Help Club for Moms
By Deb Weakly
Reviewed By: Ashley Davis
If you say, “Hey, Alexa. Play Cocomelon” at least once a day, this recommendation is FOR YOU. All the moms surely know there are plenty of places to get advice for your current life stage. Some of those resources are valuable and edifying, but there are a plethora of other resources that show only a picture-perfect, idealized look of motherhood that none of us can manage to recreate for more than about five minutes at a time. I mean, have you met a toddler recently? Having those wild creatures and trying to keep a tidy, Instagram-ready house is like brushing your teeth and eating Oreos at the same time! (I did hear that Oreo correlation once before on the all-knowing Internets, by the way.) The Help Club for Moms offers practical, insightful, Biblical advice for moms.
The Help Club for Moms is broken into six different parts, the last of which is a very helpful resources section. Each of the first five parts describe “The Wise Woman” and different things she does: cultivates her spirit, loves her husband, loves her children, creates a home, and fosters friendships. Within each part, readers will find seven to 11 short entries pertaining to the topic of that section, totaling 51 entries. Each entry begins with a Bible verse and an inspiring quote followed by the devotion. At the conclusion of the entry, the writer proposes a “Faith-Filled Idea” to challenge the reader to apply the topics discussed in the devotion. Here is an example from each section of the proposed faith-filled ideas: establishing the habit of daily quiet time, date night in, catch them (your kids) being good, host a family tea party (and all the boy moms said, whaaat?), encourage someone today.
Now that you have idea of the bones of the book, let me tell you some of the things I most like about it. First, this book doesn’t leave you wishing there was a better balance between the spiritual and practical content. Because the devotions are combined with an application step, the writers always include a way to implement the Biblical idea they have presented in the devotion. That brings me to the second things I like about this book; it has multiple contributors. Since this book covers general topics on motherhood and doesn’t require expert opinions and theological degrees (only first-hand experience!), the varying points of view offer valuable insights to the reader. I’m sure if these topics were covered by the same author in each entry, they would become repetitive and singularly focused. The variety of authors adds more personality to the book! The final thing I like most about this book is the concluding section that focuses on helpful resources. This section has advice from all the different authors about even more practical ways to apply the ideas from each part of the book. Some of the ideas described include tips of how to make your own prayer board or binder, recipes, book recommendations, tips for single moms, tips for praying for your children, and a homemade detergent recipe – just to name a handful.
I would recommend going through this book over the course of a few months and using it as part of your daily devotion time. That seems like the best way to implement all the recommended faith-filled ideas presented at the end of each entry. I think readers would glean exponentially more out of the devotion entries being read at this pace.
Audience:
Moms!
Usefulness Rating:
This book is very useful and practical.
Entertainment Value:
If you’ve ever talked to a woman in this life stage, you know kids are some of the best entertainment! Though this book isn’t intended to be simply entertainment, you can’t talk about kids without and the role of motherhood without a good laugh here and there!
Good for Groups:
I think this book could be used by a mom’s group for devotions and light teaching, but it’s not a Bible study, small group type book. It could be used by a mom’s group leader for ideas, but I think it would be most valuable used individually.
For more information about this book or other reading suggestions, feel free to contact me directly.
