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Prayers for a Simpler Life

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Do your quiet times with God feel disconnected from the rest of your overflowing days? Shouldn't our devotions affect how we live our lives? In this 90-day devotional for women, plain Mennonite mother and wife Faith Sommers helps connect your moments with the Lord to the rest of your life. Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say, Sommers' words hold gentle warmth and wise nudging for readers tired of disjointed living. Offering daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and ideas for how to simplify your life and strengthen your faith, Prayers for a Simpler Life guides readers toward a deeper commitment to the way of Jesus.

200 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2017

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Faith Sommers

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Profile Image for Holly .
72 reviews6 followers
March 16, 2017
It's difficult to have an honest discussion about books like this because the author depicts herself in such a sweet and innocent way even when talking about her shortcomings of sin. The way verses were strung together, and the book didn't fully address what the summary says left it underwhelming. Most importantly does the devotional draw the reader closer to God with the simpler Mennonite life?

The Summary: "Do your quiet times with God feel disconnected from the rest of your overflowing days? Shouldn't our devotions affect how we live our lives? In this 90-day devotional for women, plain Mennonite mother and wife Faith Sommers helps connect your moments with the Lord to the rest of your life. Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say, Sommers' words hold gentle warmth and wise nudging for readers tired of disjointed living. Offering daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and ideas for how to simplify your life and strengthen your faith, Prayers for a Simpler Life guides readers toward a deeper commitment to the way of Jesus."

In the summary, it reads, "Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say..." In the introduction titled "A Day in the Life", Sommers breaks down their routine as Mennonites. This is where we get most our insight on how Mennonites lead simpler lives. They drive their kids to a private Church school, they bake, sew, write, attend Church on Wednesday, clean, and even maintain a garden. The way the author depicts their routine in the book sounds not too unlike what someone who is not Mennonite might do. Maybe I only have this perception because I grew up on a farm in rural Georgia. The author says at the end of the introduction,"The quote that I put at the heading of this "day in the life" reminds me of a young lady who spent a weekend with us. She needed to study a religion for a college course and chose to interview the Mennonites. After she had been with us for a day, she said, "I had planned to ask you what your religion means to you, but now I realize it's not just a religion - it's your way of life." Praise God. That's what Christianity should be and do!" So what can we learn from Mennonites about leading simpler lives? That particular question never seems to be answered in depth. She describes in detail the things many of us already know about Mennonites, such as their dress or routine or that their children don't attend public schools. She told stories of Paul and Moses as other denominations do. Her devotional seemed to relate those same people to everyday life, but she never showed us how they were to make our lives simple, as the title suggested.

The book also claims the devotional is for women. Does this book provide new, insightful ways to be a woman of God? I can't say the information was new to me despite the author implying it should be newish information since the biblical command of submission is ignored nowadays. I can't remember the last time I read a non-fiction Christian book for women that didn't mention submission, so even if the assumption is Christian women are commonly ignoring it the writers aren't. Sommers writes in week 1 of the devotion, "Our children are born into a world that grows increasingly wicked" (P.20). Sommers writes later on submitting, "Submission does not mean following a husband into sin" (P.75). Perhaps there are fewer men seeking holiness to submit to, which is why it appears women are ignoring submission? Onward, though. There are weeks in the devotional that focus on various women from the Bible and their strengths provided by God, such as Phebe and Priscilla. She also devotes a week on what we can learn from focusing on serving. There wasn't anything that particularly tied to women Mennonites though outside of how they dress. The author talks about herself and her friends' relationships with children, parents, and neighbors that portray women annoyed with intrusions, misbehavior, envy, and beauty. Through these examples, women sound petty and rarely does it challenge the reader with depth to question those negative traits about themselves. Sommers writes, "God helps me to act lovingly even when I don't feel like it" (P. 74). We hear "God give me strength," when instead "God, what's wrong with me?" seems more adequate.

When reading the Bible passages for the devotions it should be recommended to read the whole chapter the verse lies in. For week 3 on day Acts 9: 1-9 is the devotion reading, but the devotion also includes verses from Isaiah 59 verse 12 and 13. The verses Sommers includes read as is, "Our sins testify against us:.. In transgressing and lying against the Lord, and departing away from our God. And in verse 16: "There was no man... no intercessor." (P.50) I wanted to share the verses as is, but there is so much edited out it becomes a shadow of what the context reads as. Here is a link if you want to read Isaiah 59 in its entirety. The gist is the people of Israel had challenged God after not returning from exile to their home. The prophet accuses them of what they have done that made God "turn a blind eye to them" (Isaiah 2-8). The people begin expressing guilt in Isaiah 9, but Sommers picks up half a sentence in verse 12 to merge with some of verse 13 to provide her own thought without mention of the particular story. Sommers picks up again in Isaiah verse 16, which begins the passages of God's disappointment yet his mercy for his people. Sommers tells us the verses provide a glimpse without God, but the story of Moses is just as adequate for that and you don't have to mesh partial sentences of verses together. This occurs many more times in the devotional. Why paste together so many verses if another example would suffice?

Most of all this book leads one to believe you can discover a simpler life from the summary. The strongest devotional week in this book is Growing toward God, and that is mostly a bias toward plant analogies. The simpler life seems less about Mennonite women's lifestyles regarding their faith and more about a woman's frustration with her guard over her time, possessions, beauty, and doubt. God is asked a lot for guidance and strength, but never posing the question "why are those things important to me?"

This book was provided by Herald Press in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Kathleen (Kat) Smith.
1,613 reviews95 followers
March 16, 2017
I absolutely love the simplicity of the Mennonite or Amish life styles. Their sense of community and their love of God is something to be admired and replicated within our own lives and homes. Yet in our far-too busy lifestyles, we barely have time to complete all the items off our "To-Do" list, and can't even find time for prayer or God. We make bargains to ourselves we will try and do a better job of that tomorrow. Yet what if we simply took the time at the beginning of our day and just spent 10 minutes with God, reflecting on His attributes, growing our faith, seeing the light of God's truth in our daily lives, dealing with negative emotions, improving our relationships with others, understanding the Fruit of the Spirit, seeing analogies in our lives with that of the ocean, learning how to have a servant's heart, and even dealing with the joys of cooking and seeing lessons of faith in that. Perhaps it is reflecting on the beauty of God in the way we get ready for our day, dealing with the stress women do, understanding the sacrifices to God that can improve our lives and finally coming back to the spring that refreshes and provides water for a thirsty and parched soul.

In 13 weeks, once a day, Faith Sommers, a Mennonite mother leads readers into a short devotional, Prayers for a Simpler Life, focusing on each of these situations to help us understand that even in our daily routines, God can be found and a lesson gleaned from something as easy as gardening or putting on our makeup. Each promises to take up no more than 10 minutes but it is a place to begin our days with time with God instead of waiting for the end of the day to do so. Yet you can do both or either one or simply work these into your day however it may suit you. Each daily devotion is coupled with a passage from Scripture to set the tone of each devotion topic along with a short prayer, a real life example from Faith's own life experience and a simple reflection for you to consider on the subject.

This would be an ideal way to begin a women's study either in a small group setting or in a larger church atmosphere because each of these topics deals with the daily struggles of women and the stress loads we bear, from raising children, dealing with our marriages, husbands, friends, and even finding time to serve when we can't even find time to get through our daily tasks at home. It creates a balance and gives readers a reprieve for a short time, to realize that God is always present and He is always teaching us from everything we deal with each day without realizing it.

I received Prayers For a Simpler Life by Faith Sommers compliments of Herald Press. The best part I love about this book is that it often leads you to further personal study on the subject and really makes you evaluate the simplicity of the things we take for granted every single day. Since it is spring in my next of the woods, the week on using gardening and planting was a huge life to my parched soul and now I look forward to bringing my garden back to life and enjoying my time in it even more. I would give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my personal opinion.
Profile Image for Joan.
4,449 reviews128 followers
March 16, 2017
Sommers has written a good devotional created from her thoughts on experiences and Bible passages. Her Mennonite life is an example of a simpler life, one she invites readers to experience.

The Mennonites have distinctive dress. More than their clothing, Sommers desires that their “faces and actions also speak distinctively of God.” (111) This was highlighted in a devotional that impressed me - one on true beauty. Sommers notes that spending too much time (and money) on looking pretty may distract us from following after God and his righteousness. “Life is not about me,” she writes. “It's about my Lord. … May I hear 'She is beautiful' from God's viewpoint.” (141)

I really liked her devotions on the sea. Observing severe weather patterns reminded her, “Sometimes he calms the storm for me. … Other times he lets the storm rage and calms my heart.” (103)

That somewhat identifies the strength of these devotionals. There is a calmness that permeates them all. It was refreshing in this era of a distracting lifestyle involving cell phones and social media. Sommers has written inspiring devotionals for those looking for an example of a quiet yet strong faith from a woman not mired in contemporary culture.

I highly recommend these 90 devotions. They are lessons from Sommer's experiences, from working the soil to wrecking the family car. They include her thoughts on a variety of topics, from the attributes of God to spiritual growth to being a woman who serves. A prayer and a reflection are included with each devotion, making this book a good choice for spiritual reflection and renewal.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.
466 reviews6 followers
May 14, 2017
Prayers for a Simpler Life is an uplifting book of prayers and stories that will help you along this journey we call life. Faith is a Mennonite mother and wife and she has a knack for sharing different stories and tales that help us to see what life is truly all about. I really enjoyed the format of the book. There are verses to read, along with a small story and then a prayer and a reflection. She did a great job of helping apply Biblical theology to real life. For example, she talks of a friend who battled with depression. She was overwhelmed by life and pleaded daily for some relief and light in her life. Even though help was not immediate, she still saw God in her life and clung to Him. Her faith grew during her depression and she found hope. There are so many other examples of God's love in this book. It is a great book and I highly recommend it! I received this book for free from NetGalley for my honest review.
Profile Image for Elisabeth.
22 reviews3 followers
March 16, 2017
I was provided this book for free by the publisher to post an honest review.

At first I was struggling with this book, her theology doesn't exactly match with my main line Methodist theology and there were some distinct areas where we parted ways, but the more I read these devotionals the more at peace I felt. Despite our vastly different lifestyles I found her devotionals useful in my own life and found myself thinking well, "we aren't so different after all are we?"

I really liked how she deferred to God for the answers to the questions we can't know the answer to, like one person os spared while another falls ill or dies. It's hard to trust God in the walk when the path is scary. It's hard to trust God to protect your loved ones when they are out in the world. But she makes a point in that only God can know God’s ways and we are not called to understand them, just trust that He will provide for our protection in His way.

Her devotion on hurrying children really hit me as just before reading that section I was speaking to someone about how slow my daughter is in the morning and how frustrating it is to me. I had to stop an think of how impatient God could get with me. He’s been waiting more than twenty years for me to do some things.

There are so many ways she took a topic in a surprising direction leading me to say, “hmm, I never thought of it like that before.”

I nearly put the book down early on because her theology is so different than mine and I assumed she had nothing to teach me. I’m very glad I stuck with it and took away what I needed and appreciated her cultural differences. In the United Methodist Church we say we are United in Body not in thought. Which means we are all Methodists but that doesn’t mean we agree on everything. There is strength in diversity.
32 reviews1 follower
March 16, 2017
I lived a simpler life when I was growing up though we were not Mennonite. Lately I find myself overwhelmed and wishing for a simpler time. I have so much conveniences but yet I don't even have time for God who is always there for everything. I was looking for a way if you will to fit Him into my time. I have always been told if you give God the first part of your day He will lead you through the rest. In just a short 10 minutes or so this book shows you how to just that. In those few minutes of the devotions, Faith Sommers shares scripture, life experience, reflection and more for you. In each of these 13 weeks she leads you to see God in the ordinary routines of our life and how to let Him teach us through even that our routines of life. They are designed to be done first thing in the morning but can be easily fitted to whatever time you can do them. I highly recommend this book if you are seeking to find God and time with Him in the midst of our chaotic lives we can find a time a time of simplicity in and with God. I could see this a personal bible study, with friends or as a bible study at church. I give this study a 5 out 5 stars and with spring approaching I hope to see growth not only in my physical life and surroundings but also my spirit. I did receive this book free from Herald Press for my honest review and my honest opinion is buy the book you will not regret it.
Profile Image for Joy.
385 reviews12 followers
March 12, 2017
Spiritual truths are plentiful in this wonderfully written book...sometimes you just want to know God is near and these devotional readings and prayers remind me of just that.

I am also reminded of His mercy and love and how life can sometimes be overwhelming a simple prayer to the Father is all it takes...I feel His Presence and know that I will get through this.

This book is on my nightstand where it will stay within reach at the end of the day.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Profile Image for CT.
75 reviews1 follower
October 27, 2016
As a family man, it is always an effort in this modern day and age to keep our family on the narrow path but at the same time remain current and relevant in order to be a light to our workplaces, schools and community. So the battle to avoid distractions is constant and real. An ideal family life mirroring the values espoused in the Little House on the Prairie almost seems too lofty and difficult to achieve.

This book helps still my heart and direct it to God. The Scripture reading calms down the worries and concerns, and leads me to trust that God is in control. So the simplicity that this book advocates is primarily the surrender to God. The 13-week daily devotionals are well apportioned and thought through.

I was really inspired by the preface which allowed me to get a glimpse of the author’s life. Wow, that is real-life prairie living. Simple yet meaningful. I still want to navigate the waters of metropolitan living as a believer, and to go for modern simplicity. However, if, at the end of day, the call is for my family and I to simplify further, I know it is possible. The Almighty is sufficient.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley.
Profile Image for Laura.
Author 39 books654 followers
February 22, 2017
First, the disclaimer. "I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions are my own." That done, PRAYERS FOR A SIMPLER LIFE is a devotional rich in the faith of Amish and Mennonite. There is a scripture passage to read, a story related to it, a prayer and a reflection to think about.

Those who know me know that I don't just write Amish fiction, but my ancestors came from this background. I live a simpler life, although I do not attend an Amish or Mennonite church, but a very conservative Baptist one.

Both of my oldest two daughters have read this devotional and we keep it where it is picked up often to read. I often find my teen daughter sitting and reading it.

Are you trying to wrap your mind around God's love? With scripture, wisdom, prayer, and real life truths, Mrs. Sommer's shows us the many ways God cares for us. The devotions are short enough to be read in a few minutes, yet deep enough you could spend hours of study and prayer if you want to. This will be a devotional I will likely spend a lot of time in. Recommended for women, mothers, and those who love devotionals and want to deepen their faith.
Profile Image for Michelle Kidwell.
Author 36 books85 followers
October 25, 2016

Prayers for a Simpler Life

Meditations from the Heart of a Mennonite Mother

by Fatih Sommers




Herald Press





Christian, Religion & Spirituality


Pub Date 21 Feb 2017
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews