Episode 24: Committing to What Matters Most with Gloria Furman
How do you balance cross-cultural living, motherhood, the responsibilities of being a pastor's wife, and still find the time to write books? To many of us, that may seem like an overwhelming amount of pressure and expectations. Today's guest, Gloria Furman, agrees that sometimes it does feel a little out of control. How are you supposed to plan when you get thrown curveballs (like your little ones getting a battery stuck in his ear...ehem)? Gloria shares the honest struggles and tips on how to prayerfully keep from overcommitting.
You can follow Gloria on
and find more about her writing on
.Here are a few other interviews Gloria has done on different topics:
On Gospel Meditations for Busy Moms
(Knowing the Truth)
Does God Give Us More Than We Can Handle?
(Moody Radio)
On Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full
(a 4-part series on Haven Today) Gloria has written the following books:(These are affiliate links, which just means we get a few pennies if you decide to purchase. Thanks for helping us keep the lights on around here.)
-- Sharing the Good News of Jesus.
-- how being embraced by the love of Christ changes everything.
-- the everyday ministry of motherhood in the grand plan of God. (You can also order
that goes along with the book.)
-- strengthened by grace for a life of love.
-- loving and serving the church.
Treasuring Christ When Your Hands are Full
-- this book recasts the monotony of everyday life, showing how moms can treasure Christ more deeply no matter how busy they are.
-- treasuring the gospel in your home.
-- a study of Colossians.
The following questions/topics were discussed in our interview with Gloria:I wanted to chat with you about your process for picking and choosing what you get involved with, how you balance life, work, ministry – all those things.You have all these people who have different cultures that might have different expectations – how do you balance those expectations on you and your family and Redeemer Church, just in your small church family?I know that you have written several books about being a mother and about the gospel, and I know you are doing other things too, so how do you pick, or what is the process that you go through of picking what to get involved with and what to put your time into?So when you have these 99 different things coming your way, what is your litmus test for deciding whether it is a yes or a no? Is it something that you and your husband have discussed? You said you have learned a lot by trial and error, but now, 10 years in, do you know?Is [going on sabbatical] something that you normally do? Is that a discipline that you have in your life?Do you think that sabbatical, maybe not for months on end, will become a discipline for you guys moving forward?So what are some practical things that you do to reset your family and yourself on what matters when you have speaking engagements and people to love and kids that have batteries in their ears?How do you reset and focus on what is important?What would you say to someone who is struggling with getting started, as the demands seem so great and they do not know where the start line is? How would you encourage them?I have a request – could you share a story from your book?Finish this sentence: When traveling internationally, you will not be found without this item: ___________.
Quote-worthy Moments!
Shout out to our intern, Emily, who summarizes the episodes, transcribes the questions asked during the conversation, and finds all the quote-worthy moments. She’s amazing!
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