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Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load
What lists and systems and self-help books have failed to do for young moms in the trenches, Jesus can accomplish blindfolded. Yes, moms are busy, they need a break, and they'd just like a shower. But they are also strong and brilliant and have the power to move mountains. Author and speaker Jen Hatmaker takes the words and deeds of Jesus, adds the humor of a young mom's life, and offers messages of grace and encouragement. She shows overburdened moms forty things Jesus doesn't expect them to do on their own.
Covering areas such as worry, marriage, priorities, money, and the trap of comparison, this lively Bible teacher brings Jesus's message alive in a format geared to the short moments moms have that can be allotted to reflection. This is a devotional for the woman inside the mom--the Bible student, the learner, the world-changer.
Covering areas such as worry, marriage, priorities, money, and the trap of comparison, this lively Bible teacher brings Jesus's message alive in a format geared to the short moments moms have that can be allotted to reflection. This is a devotional for the woman inside the mom--the Bible student, the learner, the world-changer.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Jen Hatmaker
46 books2,685 followersJEN HATMAKER is the New York Times bestselling author of For the Love and Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire, along with twelve other books. She hosts the award-winning For the Love podcast, is the delighted curator of the Jen Hatmaker Book Club, and leader of a tightly knit online community where she reaches millions of people each week. Jen is a co-founder of Legacy Collective, a giving organization that grants millions of dollars toward sustainable projects around the world. She is a mom to five kids and lives happily just outside Austin, Texas.
To learn more about Jen, visit www.jenhatmaker.com.
To learn more about Jen, visit www.jenhatmaker.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
May 27, 2010
Lighthearted. Funny. Occasionally hysterical. Encouraging. Comforting.
These are a few words I would use to describe this book by Jen Hatmaker. You will truly feel like you are taking a break from the "spin cycle" when you take time to read one of the many short chapters in this book.
As expected in a devotional, the chapters are short (mostly 2 pages) and are encouraging with an impacting message held in each one. Jen's stories were real and easy to relate to making you feel like you are having a good laugh with a friend. The main focus is motherhood and these 40 thoughts are great for any mother of younger children (Newborn to Jr. High).
The only reason this book did not get 4 stars in my opinion is that while containing a biblical perspective through the book, it did not always have scripture for each devotional thought. I personally would call this an encouragement book rather than devotional book. However, while I wouldn't use this for my daily time with God, I do think it makes for a great mid-morning, lunch time, or nap time pick-me-up that will bring both laughter and learning to your day.
* * * * *
Available June 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
These are a few words I would use to describe this book by Jen Hatmaker. You will truly feel like you are taking a break from the "spin cycle" when you take time to read one of the many short chapters in this book.
As expected in a devotional, the chapters are short (mostly 2 pages) and are encouraging with an impacting message held in each one. Jen's stories were real and easy to relate to making you feel like you are having a good laugh with a friend. The main focus is motherhood and these 40 thoughts are great for any mother of younger children (Newborn to Jr. High).
The only reason this book did not get 4 stars in my opinion is that while containing a biblical perspective through the book, it did not always have scripture for each devotional thought. I personally would call this an encouragement book rather than devotional book. However, while I wouldn't use this for my daily time with God, I do think it makes for a great mid-morning, lunch time, or nap time pick-me-up that will bring both laughter and learning to your day.
* * * * *
Available June 2010 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group
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February 24, 2020Quit reading at 24%.
July 5, 2010
Out of the Spin Cycle: Devotions to Lighten Your Mother Load. What a delightful book! It contains 40 two-or-three page devotions that are sure to crack a smile and draw your attention to ways to love God through service to your family. Easily digestible nuggets delivered in a most appealing, un-preachy, humourous style.
Jen Hatmaker is an amazing writer. She begins each chapter with a dose of hilarity and with great skill turns that humour into a devotion that is really applicable to a young mother's life. Of all the mother devotionals I've ever read, this one is the best. I looked forward to each new chapter. And because of its lack of heaviness, it's easily readable for any busy young mother. I wish I'd had it as a resource when my children were young.
A few take-away snippets for me were:
"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." ~~ William Makepeace Thackeray
"Motherhood is like a pitcher with a hole in the bottom: a constant drain on our energy, patience, and tolerance. ... Our only hope... is to ensure our spiritual reserves are not bone-dry." When I was a young mom, the books I read preached the same thing. Their solution was to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning to refill the reservour of spirituality before the babies woke. Not this book's advice. Her spirituality intake advice is very easy to swallow. "Goodness in, goodness out. Take care of the first and the second is covered."
This is truly a book for every young Christian mom. A real gem of a book.
My copy of Out of the Spin Cycle was provided by Graf-Martin Publications. It's available at your favorite bookseller of Revell books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
Jen Hatmaker is an amazing writer. She begins each chapter with a dose of hilarity and with great skill turns that humour into a devotion that is really applicable to a young mother's life. Of all the mother devotionals I've ever read, this one is the best. I looked forward to each new chapter. And because of its lack of heaviness, it's easily readable for any busy young mother. I wish I'd had it as a resource when my children were young.
A few take-away snippets for me were:
"Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children." ~~ William Makepeace Thackeray
"Motherhood is like a pitcher with a hole in the bottom: a constant drain on our energy, patience, and tolerance. ... Our only hope... is to ensure our spiritual reserves are not bone-dry." When I was a young mom, the books I read preached the same thing. Their solution was to get up at 5 or 6 in the morning to refill the reservour of spirituality before the babies woke. Not this book's advice. Her spirituality intake advice is very easy to swallow. "Goodness in, goodness out. Take care of the first and the second is covered."
This is truly a book for every young Christian mom. A real gem of a book.
My copy of Out of the Spin Cycle was provided by Graf-Martin Publications. It's available at your favorite bookseller of Revell books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
October 4, 2016
A breath of fresh air. Jen hits the perfect balance of comedy and thought provoking spirituality in the everyday struggles as a young mother. It made me feel normal and not so horrible, while also helping me to strive to be better. We are not alone on this crazy ride.
April 6, 2022
I appreciate the idea of this book but I found the author’s writing style to be a bit too “accessible”. Hatmaker writes to mothers in a series of 40 devotions on various topics affecting us. There were a few that did really get me thinking and stuck with me. However I couldn’t get over her voice. I love showing the Gospel as accessible and relatable. I love breaking down the stories and diving deep into the heart. And I can see that’s what she was trying to do. But I think she stepped too far and crossed the line into irreverence. Irreverence towards women who practice their faith differently than she does. My example and primary turn-off: she made fun of a man who was praying (not a great start ever) because he used the phrase “thrice holy” in his prayer. I find this to be a beautiful and grammatically historical way to praise the Lord and was upset that Hatmaker would mock this gentleman for his word choice.
I also don’t exactly trust her interpretations of the Word. She created her own church and I feel that leaves her open to the fault of re-interpreting what hundreds of years of scholars have already clarified.
After reading a few other reviews, there was mention that if you are “ultra conservative” or a “SAHM” or “theologically conservative” this book might be great for you. I disagree. I am all of those things and I feel this was not written for me. I would have said this is for women who are middle of the road in politics and a generic Christian but perhaps need a gentle introduction to their faith or a way to jumpstart their interest.
I also don’t exactly trust her interpretations of the Word. She created her own church and I feel that leaves her open to the fault of re-interpreting what hundreds of years of scholars have already clarified.
After reading a few other reviews, there was mention that if you are “ultra conservative” or a “SAHM” or “theologically conservative” this book might be great for you. I disagree. I am all of those things and I feel this was not written for me. I would have said this is for women who are middle of the road in politics and a generic Christian but perhaps need a gentle introduction to their faith or a way to jumpstart their interest.
July 28, 2022
3.5 stars. This is a book of 40 devotions for parents. A lot of them made me laugh because the scriptural reference was kind of a stretch from her anecdotal stories but there were 4 or 5 that I dog eared and will read repeatedly. I think this is the type of book that will hit differently depending on where you are in life and what you're struggling with. I'm glad I read it but wish the connection between story and scripture was a little more cohesive.
March 29, 2020
This was some out of the vault J.H. I love how she was one of the first Christian authors to tell my generation that it was ok to not be perfect and to have a sense a humor. There is a lot of grace in her message.
June 29, 2018
absolutely wonderfully encouraging and challenging without the guilt and judgement!
April 30, 2020
This was a fantastic, relatable book for moms. I really appreciated it in my stage of life (3 young kids), and would recommend it to any other mom!
January 19, 2012
I read this book for my MOPS Steering team Bible Study. I had not heard of Jen Hatmaker or the book Out of the Spincycle until that time.
I absolutely LOVED this book for the following reasons:
1) Jen speaks to mothers about mothering. She talks about the things that some of us only think because we are afraid of all the "perfect" moms looking down their noses at us. But she is honest, straight forward, and provides thought-provoking solutions that are biblical.
2) She is just plain funny!
3) The devotionals are short and to the point. Let's face it! I have a 3 year old and infant twins. I don't have time for hours on end studying the Bible right now (ok Perfect moms...you can stone me now). These devotionals allow me to focus on various aspects of motherhood from a biblical perspective without having to spend hours on end that I don't have.
For all new moms (and moms that have been at it for awhile) this is a devotional for you. I'm curious now to read some of her other books.
I absolutely LOVED this book for the following reasons:
1) Jen speaks to mothers about mothering. She talks about the things that some of us only think because we are afraid of all the "perfect" moms looking down their noses at us. But she is honest, straight forward, and provides thought-provoking solutions that are biblical.
2) She is just plain funny!
3) The devotionals are short and to the point. Let's face it! I have a 3 year old and infant twins. I don't have time for hours on end studying the Bible right now (ok Perfect moms...you can stone me now). These devotionals allow me to focus on various aspects of motherhood from a biblical perspective without having to spend hours on end that I don't have.
For all new moms (and moms that have been at it for awhile) this is a devotional for you. I'm curious now to read some of her other books.
September 10, 2021
Recommend? Absolutely to any mom at any stage!
Okay, I received this book as a gift and I was unsure of it. I don't normally read devotionals (and definitely not Catholic ones) because I have many other things I do during my daily prayer and it's tough to squeeze it all in. However, I am so happy I gave this book a chance. It was awesome and a wonderful thing to sit and pray with the last 40 days!! Each day was filled with wisdom, humor, and the encouragement I personally needed to get through the adventures of mommahood. Jen Hatmaker is so talented at tying her personal stories with scripture and focusing on what matters, our relationship with Jesus. I hope to share and pass this along to many mothers. I will be reading it again!
Okay, I received this book as a gift and I was unsure of it. I don't normally read devotionals (and definitely not Catholic ones) because I have many other things I do during my daily prayer and it's tough to squeeze it all in. However, I am so happy I gave this book a chance. It was awesome and a wonderful thing to sit and pray with the last 40 days!! Each day was filled with wisdom, humor, and the encouragement I personally needed to get through the adventures of mommahood. Jen Hatmaker is so talented at tying her personal stories with scripture and focusing on what matters, our relationship with Jesus. I hope to share and pass this along to many mothers. I will be reading it again!
February 2, 2016
I really enjoyed this book! And I have dogeared many of the devotionals because I know I will be coming back to them again and again for the wisdom they share. There were a few that fell more flat for me - mostly ones that didn't use as much scripture as others - but in general a great book for any mom. Refreshing and encouraging to the soul, filled with good and convicting truths about what God has called us to as mothers and what He will do to help us in that calling.
September 14, 2016
I really enjoyed Hatmaker's thoughts in this book, she's so fun! I think this was the first mom-devotional I truly enjoyed and gleamed from, it wasn't just for the moms of little ones like so many others I have read...probably because they are written by moms who are just too young to have a bigger view of mommydom! I just wish there was a little more Scripture in the devotionals, or suggested passage readings to go deeper.
April 8, 2015
This book has some great truths in it, but it was really hard for me to enjoy her style of writing. The sarcasm and over the top personality of the author makes her a one time read for me.
June 15, 2020
So many little stories that had me laughing out loud and tearing up. Such s funny author and such personable material. Loved it!!
March 1, 2019
Great devotions. I love her sense of humor but also how she's able to transition so well to such deep and meaningful subjects.
May 26, 2016
Great reading for new moms. Very humorous and inspirational.
April 23, 2024
I received this book as a Christmas gift in 2023 from my bestie! I read one devotional a day, 1st thing in the morning and it was such a wonderful way to start the day. The book has amazing advice for 1st time Moms and great reminders for us seasoned Moms. I've been a mother for 11yrs now and I found great reminders there for those challenging boy mom days. She even talks about if you grew up with generational trauma/ dysfunction and how you want to break the cycle. My favorite quotes from the book are: " Forgiveness is one-sided", "Forgiveness end your suffering because it end the wish for repay that is never forthcoming and that makes your heart sick because your hope us differed, cut it loose and you will be free". Such POWERFUL words, words to live by in all walks of life not just motherhood.
October 19, 2017
I had seen Hatmaker on an interview with Glennon Doyle, and since I adore her, I thought I'd try the next book of her's I saw. So this was it, the first one I saw.
This book was very sweet, if not incredibly realistic. I think a lot of women do not have a circle of women friends, I know I don't. And many moms have no other friends that are also moms. We have husbands that are not at all spiritual leaders. Many of us are on our own.
That having been said, there were some beautiful little moments in this book that were keepers. I'm looking forward to trying something different of this author's. This was very short, with the "chapters" only being a couple pages each. It was fairly shallow. But the sweet parts were good enough to give Hatmaker another try.
This book was very sweet, if not incredibly realistic. I think a lot of women do not have a circle of women friends, I know I don't. And many moms have no other friends that are also moms. We have husbands that are not at all spiritual leaders. Many of us are on our own.
That having been said, there were some beautiful little moments in this book that were keepers. I'm looking forward to trying something different of this author's. This was very short, with the "chapters" only being a couple pages each. It was fairly shallow. But the sweet parts were good enough to give Hatmaker another try.
January 20, 2019
I rarely looked forward to reading this book, which is probably why it took me two years to finish what could have been such a quick read. Almost every chapter did have great nuggets of wisdom and powerful scripture. I took a lot of notes and reflected on my words and actions as a Christian mother. Some of the stories that Hatmaker shares, and particularly her thoughts on them, turned me off in the earlier chapters. They felt a little harsh and judgmental. However, I know I will refer back to many of her more positive stories and encouraging statements.
March 10, 2020
This was a great book. Every chapter tackled a different subject. All chapters were short so you could read one a day and have a nice uplifting message every day if you wanted. Hatmaker had a lot of good things to say about our lives as mothers and at the same time kept it pretty real. A lot of the chapters were about the young motherhood phase of life, which I have definitely stepped out of. But there were still chapters that I could reflect on how I was doing and mark improvements I should make.
January 9, 2021
Ok honestly? If you are conservative/moderate-leaning as far as theology and feminism...and you are heterosexual and a stay at home mom... this devotional will be your jam. If you fall outside of those boxes you might make the following faces while reading it: 🙄😬😠. That being said... I kept reading it because there were many insightful moments in there. There were many parts I really liked about this book even if I made pained faces every few pages wondering if it was written in 1950 and not 2010.
June 3, 2020
This was the book I needed to read (well, listen to) right now. Jen Hatmaker's short devotionals for mothers of young children are encouraging, inspiring, theological, accessible, funny, and real all at once. I've already recommended it to several friends. (Just a note that the book is definitely geared towards women married to men, though it doesn't say anything negative about other family structures.)
December 15, 2020
For every mom
This book is wonderful. Every mom will relate to something in this book. It makes you think, it makes you smile, it makes you appreciate being a mom and a wife more. I didn’t want to put it down. It was hard to only read one chapter a day, but you could definitely read more if you wanted. I would recommend this to every mom, whether new mom or seasoned, married or single, step mom or bio mom, there is something for everyone!
This book is wonderful. Every mom will relate to something in this book. It makes you think, it makes you smile, it makes you appreciate being a mom and a wife more. I didn’t want to put it down. It was hard to only read one chapter a day, but you could definitely read more if you wanted. I would recommend this to every mom, whether new mom or seasoned, married or single, step mom or bio mom, there is something for everyone!
September 3, 2021
For context: This book was written in 2010, and I am reviewing it in 2021. Although, it definitely feels like it could have been written more than 11 years ago.
It was okay ish up until about page 70, and then she completely lost me when she started talking about Chick Fil A ( cringe) and “saving” “mocha colored kids.” ( sigh). 🤦♀️
Maybe you’ll still like this book if you’re an ultra conservative Christian, but if you’re more progressive, it’s probably not for you.
It was okay ish up until about page 70, and then she completely lost me when she started talking about Chick Fil A ( cringe) and “saving” “mocha colored kids.” ( sigh). 🤦♀️
Maybe you’ll still like this book if you’re an ultra conservative Christian, but if you’re more progressive, it’s probably not for you.
January 22, 2017
Who would think a morning devotional book would make you laugh out loud? Just when I didn't think I could love Jen Hatmaker any more, I DO! She always delivers exactly what moms need to hear, sprinkled with a gigantic amount of hilarity. I am sad I'm finished with this devotional, and I'm considering reading it again right away!
August 16, 2017
1-I liked how the book was set-up into little devotionals.
2-The author was funny and realistic about motherhood.
3-She was able to relate scripture into modern day application
1-Didn't prefer the updated scripture she used-I like the language of my KJV
2-I prefer to read about Jesus in more reverent and respectful tones.
2-The author was funny and realistic about motherhood.
3-She was able to relate scripture into modern day application
1-Didn't prefer the updated scripture she used-I like the language of my KJV
2-I prefer to read about Jesus in more reverent and respectful tones.
February 8, 2018
Oh my goodness, this girl. She is flat out the most hilarious Christian writer I have ever read. I will read anything she writes, even if it is a Mom book and I am not a Mom. I love her dripping sarcasm and her stories and obnoxious comments. SO invaluable to Moms everywhere- a bit of Jesus and some laughs.
April 27, 2019
Hatmaker approaches these daily devotionals with her trademark humor, poignant thought, and abundant love. It is always a joy and very thought-provoking to read her books and this one is no exception. She breathes life into motherhood, and her work is a daily source of inspiration for me as a Christian mama and wife.
July 3, 2020
This is a book of devotions for mothers. It made me laugh, it made me emotional, and it made me feel seen. I’ve really taken a break from spiritual life lately, and this was a gentle reminder of how much I miss it! There’s some nice devotions here that made me feel like Jen was right there with me!
For stressed out Christian mothers-read this!
For stressed out Christian mothers-read this!
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