A Woman's Walk in Grace by Catherine Martin -- Book Review

A powerful and inspiring exploration into how you can grow in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is what you will find in A Woman's Walk in Grace: God's Pathway to Spiritual Growth by Catherine Martin.

In this helpful book, Martin, the founder of Quiet Time Ministries, takes you on a stroll through God's garden of grace, "where you will...

* trade your ashes for God's beauty and your poverty for His riches
* relax in the assurance that Christ is living His life in your
* follow the Lord's leading through the seasons of the soul
* enjoy God's gift of a new day
* embrace God's dreams for your life..."

This is the third book of Martin's I've read. Each has touched me in a wonderful way and I feel better prepared to continue my Christian journey as a result. Like the other two books, I felt drawn to pick up A Woman's Walk in Grace, in the midst of personal struggles. Nothing major, just things that frustrate and distract me from remembering that my life belongs to God, that my life became His when I accepted the gift of grace He so willingly provides.

Last Sunday, we held a council meeting at our church and we discussed programs we are interested in developing over the next year. One of the things our pastor mentioned is the importance of daily prayer for these events; that no meeting should take place without first offering ourselves to God and asking for his blessings upon our time together. Imagine how inspiring it felt to see my pastor's words reaffirmed while I read A Woman's Walk in Grace.

As with A Woman's Heart That Dances, the author uses a common item--in this book, a garden--to create perfect analogies for how you can grow spiritually and mature in the Lord.

A Woman's Walk in Grace also reminded me why I rarely stop reading before I get to the end of a book. About 150 pages in, I felt the book was getting a bit repetitive. Martin had shared many personal stories, stories of great Christian women, and numerous accounts of men and women from the Bible. I already felt that by now I was ready to begin putting what the author had shared into practice. Then, however, I came to a chapter titled, "The Fine Art of Gracing Another", which spoke of listening to God, responding to His leading, and then lavishing God's grace on another. My heart swelled thinking of the people I have known who have done this for me, and Martin's words encouraged me to be more faithful about doing this for others.

As if this wasn't enough, I came to page 228. The story that unfolded there and onto the next page, brought me to tears. The story of the two criminals being crucified alongside Jesus is not new to me. I've read it many times. And yet, this time, as the author shared this particular portion of scripture, my throat tightened and my eyes glistened. How amazing it is to know, as Martin said, "Grace finds you wherever you are and goes out of its way to save you. And then grace carries you into heaven."

If you are a woman seeking to know more about God's love in action, you'll definitely want to read, A Woman's Walk in Grace by Catherine Martin. I highly recommend it, and believe that the Lord has blessed the author with a rare gift to draw women to Himself through her words.


Title: A Woman's Walk in Grace
Author: Catherine Martin
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers (March 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0736923802
ISBN-13: 978-0736923804
SRP: $12.99