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But Then She Remembered: How to Give God Your Full Attention in a Distracted World
Leaning on Scripture, scientific studies of memory, and the power of a renewed mind, Bible teacher and blogger Katie Westenberg equips you to focus on what truly matters. You'll discover practical, real-world tools to help you apply the hope of his Word and live out a focused faith in a frenzied world.
192 pages, Paperback
Published April 25, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
May 31, 2024
“We all desperately need the reminder of the treasure we hold, the gift of grace that has been afforded us. This is what we must pay attention to. We need to see the Giver rightly, again and again… And these deep and vast wells of remembrance exist for us to drink from, that we might not only be reminded, but that we might again pay attention.”
May 31, 2023
Thanks to Bethany House Nonfiction for the free book.
This is a quiet nonfiction that I really enjoyed. Westenberg made the case here on what we need to be focusing on in such a loud, busy world. She reminded her readers about what is important by tackling a different topic in each chapter. At the end, is an in-depth study to help drive home the points she had just made using scripture. I enjoyed the study parts – I am someone who likes to go deeper when possible. I also enjoyed her new takes on some topics. The chapter on identity was so eye-opening and I’ve read so many books that bring this up but never in that way. It gave me a lot to think about. I think this will be a great resource for those looking to get back into a rhythm of life that doesn’t fully pull them away from the gospel and want to be reminded of why it’s always the perfect answer.
This is a quiet nonfiction that I really enjoyed. Westenberg made the case here on what we need to be focusing on in such a loud, busy world. She reminded her readers about what is important by tackling a different topic in each chapter. At the end, is an in-depth study to help drive home the points she had just made using scripture. I enjoyed the study parts – I am someone who likes to go deeper when possible. I also enjoyed her new takes on some topics. The chapter on identity was so eye-opening and I’ve read so many books that bring this up but never in that way. It gave me a lot to think about. I think this will be a great resource for those looking to get back into a rhythm of life that doesn’t fully pull them away from the gospel and want to be reminded of why it’s always the perfect answer.
May 21, 2023
In But Then She Remembered, Katie Westenberg explained how we are all face with numerous distraction every day. There are countless things competing for our attention. She revealed how studies have discovered that nearly half of cell phone users are addicted to their phone. She discussed how she personally believes that being so distracted has cause us to quench the Holy Spirit and is causing us to struggle to bear fruit. She begins the book by looking at how the world has lost its memory. We are all way to stressed and struggling with forgetfulness and we have so much on our plates. She stated how, “distracted eyes are leading to distracted souls.” In 2000, the average attention span of adults was 20 seconds and now in 2013 it has dropped to 8 seconds. And I wonder what it is now. She shared how we are called to remember Christ and His ways and to love him.
One of my favorite chapters was on identify and how the Latin meaning actual means, “sameness”. She went into detail about the different definitions and what they mean. She also explained how the Bible doesn’t directly link anything to our identity in Christ or state the word identity. But the concept is still important. We can still learn the foundation of Christ and how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. She helped readers to go deeper into the real root of Christ and how our sins are forgiven, how much we are loved, and our inheritance.
I would recommend this awesome book about living in a distracted world and how we instead focus on what matters most. I immensely loved how she discussed topics such as memory and living with a renewed mind and how this changes you. This book is geared on assisting readers in navigating the waters of being distracted and how we can develop new habits and grow deeper in our spiritual life. I liked how she included helpful studies at the end of each chapter and there is plenty of space to answer the questions and do the fill in the blanks.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”
One of my favorite chapters was on identify and how the Latin meaning actual means, “sameness”. She went into detail about the different definitions and what they mean. She also explained how the Bible doesn’t directly link anything to our identity in Christ or state the word identity. But the concept is still important. We can still learn the foundation of Christ and how the fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge. She helped readers to go deeper into the real root of Christ and how our sins are forgiven, how much we are loved, and our inheritance.
I would recommend this awesome book about living in a distracted world and how we instead focus on what matters most. I immensely loved how she discussed topics such as memory and living with a renewed mind and how this changes you. This book is geared on assisting readers in navigating the waters of being distracted and how we can develop new habits and grow deeper in our spiritual life. I liked how she included helpful studies at the end of each chapter and there is plenty of space to answer the questions and do the fill in the blanks.
"I received this book free from the publisher, Bethany House/ Chosen for my honest review.”
May 18, 2023
Katie Westenberg writes about the important role that memory plays in our spiritual lives, especially as we deal with so many competing claims for our attention in the modern world. She reflects on our cognitive limitations and the ways that our frenetic, busy, distracted lives make it even more difficult for us to remember things and focus on what is important, and she writes about ways that Christians can take action to better remember God's faithfulness, see the value of memory in Scripture, and develop healthy habits of memory.
Each chapter focuses on a different theme, such as viewing time through God's eyes and remembering His faithfulness during times of weakness. Westenberg unpacks relevant Scripture passages, shares illustrations from her own life, and frequently ties in themes related to dealing with distractions, interruptions, and the challenges of life. She shows how cultivating spiritual disciplines can strengthen and help people as they navigate a confusing, fast-paced, and overwhelming world, and she includes Bible study sections at the end of each chapter. These sections are typically about six pages long, with generous space for writing down notes as you study an assigned passage and reflect on life applications.
But Then She Remembered is great for both individual reading and study groups. As the title indicates, Westenberg wrote this for women, but the content is rarely gendered at all. She focuses on key spiritual themes that are relevant to all Christians, and even though I thought she overused the word "friend" when talking directly to the reader, I liked that she used this gender-neutral term where many other Christian women writers would refer to the reader as "sister." This book can be a huge encouragement to people in different demographics, helping them focus on God in a fast-paced world and develop habits of memory to see how God has worked in their lives and displayed His faithfulness.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Each chapter focuses on a different theme, such as viewing time through God's eyes and remembering His faithfulness during times of weakness. Westenberg unpacks relevant Scripture passages, shares illustrations from her own life, and frequently ties in themes related to dealing with distractions, interruptions, and the challenges of life. She shows how cultivating spiritual disciplines can strengthen and help people as they navigate a confusing, fast-paced, and overwhelming world, and she includes Bible study sections at the end of each chapter. These sections are typically about six pages long, with generous space for writing down notes as you study an assigned passage and reflect on life applications.
But Then She Remembered is great for both individual reading and study groups. As the title indicates, Westenberg wrote this for women, but the content is rarely gendered at all. She focuses on key spiritual themes that are relevant to all Christians, and even though I thought she overused the word "friend" when talking directly to the reader, I liked that she used this gender-neutral term where many other Christian women writers would refer to the reader as "sister." This book can be a huge encouragement to people in different demographics, helping them focus on God in a fast-paced world and develop habits of memory to see how God has worked in their lives and displayed His faithfulness.
I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
June 23, 2023
But Then She Remembered - How to give God your full attention in a distracted world by Katie Westenberg is a unique non-fiction and Bible study blend. This book is different than most that I have read as the author shares her thoughts and insights, then has a short Bible study, followed by some more insight. The author does discuss a variety of topics, such as identity, reading God’s word, focusing on memory, and telling our story. This was a very unique book to read due to the variety of topics. This would be ideal to do with a friend or as a group and do the Bible study together. I did find myself underlining and highlighting many ideas.
I was given a free copy from the publisher for my honest review, which I was happy to do. I do recommend But Then She Remembered - How to give God your full attention in a distracted world by Katie Westenberg. I think others will enjoy this unique Bible study and insightful book.
I was given a free copy from the publisher for my honest review, which I was happy to do. I do recommend But Then She Remembered - How to give God your full attention in a distracted world by Katie Westenberg. I think others will enjoy this unique Bible study and insightful book.
June 9, 2023
So this book came into my life during a fresh season of grief. I was consumed by this grief in a way that I didn't recognize myself anymore. Now this book exposes today's typical distractions... everywhere we turn there is something trying to bind us in a stronghold. Time is fleeting and most of us don't recognize it until it's too late.
This book provides a HUGE wake up call for us to open our eyes to see what truly is important. I may not struggle with social media, my phone or reality tv, but my soul was getting lost in the grief I am still in, but it's not consuming me anymore.
Katie provides a wonderful mix of scientific info and Scripture references. There are questions, reminders, advice, tools, notes, personal stories and clear direction on how to turn our focus on what's most important.... God!
This book provides a HUGE wake up call for us to open our eyes to see what truly is important. I may not struggle with social media, my phone or reality tv, but my soul was getting lost in the grief I am still in, but it's not consuming me anymore.
Katie provides a wonderful mix of scientific info and Scripture references. There are questions, reminders, advice, tools, notes, personal stories and clear direction on how to turn our focus on what's most important.... God!
March 31, 2024
But then I remembered I had borrowed this book to read from my library audio app, and I am glad that I did! Life is so full of busyness and distractions, and this book reminds us why despite all that, making time first for God will help quiet those areas of life, and fill you with His peace and calm in our storms. Was chocked full of great reminders of how to keep faith building on the frontburner of life..scripture study a part of every chapter, so I would like to read this as a hard copy again.
June 10, 2024
Just what I needed to get off the technology overload train and back into the real world. The author points out what we are doing to ourselves by endless surfing and filling our minds with knowledge that we will never use or need.
October 10, 2025
Inspiring read. At first it felt like she got lost in the weeds and wasn't getting around to the point of the book, but it was all laying a great foundation & she wrapped it up nicely in the last chapter.
June 28, 2023
Too much chatter. She had lots of great references and her points were solid but you have to wade through a lot of fluff.
February 6, 2026
I think this would have been a 4 or 4.5 star book if I had read a physical copy rather than listened to it on audible.
February 3, 2024
I always know that when I read one of Katie's book that I need to buckle up and get ready to pay attention because she writes with a beautiful and confident authority. One of my biggest pet peeves with Christian authors is the need to constantly repeat themselves in a sentence that's been reworded to say the same thing they've already said. It always feels like page fillers to me. Katie doesn't do anything like that. She makes her points. She drives them home and then she gives you tools to study by and go deeper.
She invites conviction in each chapter and draws you in deeper with a brief study at the end of each chapter. I really appreciated that.
I specifically enjoyed Chapter 5 - "God's view of time, not ours." I highlighted a lot in the that chapter, it dove really well into distraction, and I felt it made a nice piggy back to Randy Alcorn's book Heaven which I also read last year and it just made my study go deeper.
I read these types of books to grow, to go deeper in my studies because church services just don't really offer that opportunity. So unless you're going to school for theology and learning to grow deeper in your faith, books like this are a wonderful substitute for the knowledge we seek and want to grow in.
This will be a book I revisit, again and again.
She invites conviction in each chapter and draws you in deeper with a brief study at the end of each chapter. I really appreciated that.
I specifically enjoyed Chapter 5 - "God's view of time, not ours." I highlighted a lot in the that chapter, it dove really well into distraction, and I felt it made a nice piggy back to Randy Alcorn's book Heaven which I also read last year and it just made my study go deeper.
I read these types of books to grow, to go deeper in my studies because church services just don't really offer that opportunity. So unless you're going to school for theology and learning to grow deeper in your faith, books like this are a wonderful substitute for the knowledge we seek and want to grow in.
This will be a book I revisit, again and again.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews