I’m not a young mother of young children, so maybe I’m not a suitable reviewer for this book that is clearly addressed and marketed to “busy moms.” But here goes: Gloria Furman does have four young children. What’s more, her husband, pastor of a large international church overseas, suffers from a nerve disorder that greatly restricts the use of his arms, often rendering them useless. So in respect to basic physical needs, he can be as dependent as a child. She traverses life in an unfamiliar culture. She is a busy mom, writing to encourage others who might feel overwhelmed.

"TREASURING CHRIST WHEN YOUR HANDS ARE FULL is equally an inspirational and a teaching book.... One might say that Furman has written a one-note book: look to God, look to God. I think she would be proud of this assessment..."

TREASURING CHRIST WHEN YOUR HANDS ARE FULL is equally an inspirational and a teaching book. As in her previous GLIMPSES OF GRACE, Furman here focuses on the gospel, God’s atoning and sustaining grace in our lives. She presents the concept repeatedly, in her own words and by quoting Scripture. She sprinkles her teaching with anecdotes that give some entrée into her world, and sets a high standard for herself. She reports a harried domestic scene on one particularly harried morning, and then saying “out loud through gritted teeth: ‘Would you all just leave me alone, please?’” This outburst prompts spiritualized soul searching: “I had ceased to view life as a battle for joy in the midst of sorrow in a fallen world.” And “I had forgotten the Lord, and this kind of amnesia can cast a long shadow over the soul.”

At every turn, Furman admits that she, in her own strength, is powerless to maintain or even produce the love, joy, or peace of Christ. To quote Martin Luther’s notable hymn: “If we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.” To quote Furman: “Jesus died on the cross so that we would have the free, unmerited grace of God. And as we appropriate that grace in our lives and serve others, we are serving in the strength God supplies.”

One might say that Furman has written a one-note book: look to God, look to God. I think she would be proud of this assessment, as it seems to have been her purpose, the message she wants busy women to personalize and internalize. Furman wants you to find, appropriate and rely on grace.