Book Review: Dear God, He’s Home!
You know how there’s always roon for Jell-o? This book is more like dense chocolate cheesecake swimming in a puddle of caramel sauce with candied raspberries and a healthy does of whipped cream on top.
In other words, Dear God, He’s Home! is varied and really, really rich. When I began reading it, I found I could only manage about twenty pages at a time. I was puzzled: “I like this book. Why can’t I read it for hours on end?” I finally realized the problem: it’s dense in the best possible way.
Near the end of the volume, Janet writes:
Every wife of a stay-at-home man who surrendered her will to God’s will realized a purpose in the transitions and rediscovered joy in her marriage and relationship with God (p. 158).
Her purpose in writing this book is to help you, the wife whose husband is now home all day due to unemployment, retirement, disability, return from military deployment, or telecommuting, to rediscover that joy.
This book isn’t a narrative. It’s a toolbox for couples in transition. Each chapter includes the author’s own journal entries, stories provided by other wives, “Mentoring Moments,” prayers, personalized scripture meant to serve as “God’s Love Letter to You,” writing prompts for journaling, and discussion questions. The author includes a variety of resources (“Sanity Tools”) and a small group study guide at the end of the book.
This approach adds value to the book. If you’re a prayer warrior, she’s got some great ones to inspire you. If keeping a journal keeps you centered, she provides helpful prompts. If you’re someone who works through every exercise in a self-help workbook, expect to spend significant time on this deceptively small volume. It’s packed full of ideas.
You can’t wire a house with a stonemason’s tools. Janet Thompson writes to a specific audience: Christian complementarian wives. If God isn’t in the middle of your marriage, parts of this book may puzzle you (or, the author and I pray, lead you to put Him there). If you’re of a more egalitarian bent, I recommend you approach this book expecting to come across perspectives and statements you don’t embrace. Skim right on by them.
Dear God, He’s Home! A Woman’s Guide to Her Stay-at-Home Man (Thompson, Janet: New Hope Publishers, Birmingham, AL. 2013) is available in paperback (see below) and for Kindle at Amazon.com.
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