Smart Martha is Back!

Tami Kiser introduces her new podcast, based on her practical experience and popular book for busy moms.

Who is Smart Martha, you may ask? Well it is an old pseudonym I used to use when I had a blog, website, and some speaking gigs. I even wrote a book under this title: Smart Martha's Catholic Guide for Busy Moms. The concept was to have that perfect Mary/Martha blend. The “Hands of Martha/Heart of Mary.” This is what is called for in motherhood today. We need to always choose the “better part.” And “sometimes,” as St. Frances of Rome said, “we have to leave Jesus at the altar and find him in our housework.” This was especially true for me as I was trying to raise my large family and run this ministry on the side.

For the last few years, as my family has shrunk, I’ll admit, I was trying to get away from Smart Martha. I was tired of talking about cleaning, cooking, and organizing. I just wanted to talk about rest and retreat. In fact, my husband and I even bought a retreat center so that people could experience time away to essentially be more like Mary. This was around the time that Covid hit and many of us had some “Mary” moments in our lives.

You may be thinking that owning a retreat center in the mountains sounds lovely and peaceful, lots of opportunities to “sit and listen to Jesus,” and it is! However, someone still has to feed all of the people who come and clean their bathrooms. Ha! I need Smart Martha again! Before I was cooking and cleaning for a family of 12. Now it ranges from 12 to 100!

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It’s like all of that Smart Martha sharing, discussing, researching, etc. has fully come to its purpose. My full-time job is not only getting people to come and rest at our Lord’s feet, but also to cook, clean, and serve them. God’s plan. How can I argue with it?

And honestly, I’m loving it!

I’ve totally embraced this idea of being a Smart Martha again and want to share this helpful concept with others. Basically, the Smart Martha message is always to find Jesus—He is the one thing needed. We find him by sitting quietly in prayer, but we can also find him in our dishes, in our children’s faces, or at our kid’s soccer game.

I’ve started a podcast where I share some reflections on this passage in the Gospel. There’s so much to be said about this story and I’ve loved meditating on it. And just to keep with the Smart Martha theme, I also share some practical “Martha” tips that may involve organizing or cleaning or cooking. Some tips are things I’ve learned from the many “Smart Marthas” who I’ve met along the way. Many are from my own experiences of raising a large family and now cleaning and cooking daily for the visitors at our retreat center.

20221024 TKiser 2