One of the ways God grants me relationships with other authors is through AWSA, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. This fellowship of more than 300 women, founded by author and speaker Linda Shepherd, exists to promote cooperation, not competition, between women whose ministry lies in the area of writing and speaking. Although Janet and I haven’t yet met in person, our contact through AWSA has made us fast friends. I was delighted to present a review of her new book earlier this week, and I’m delighted to welcome her to Words with Friends. Dear God, He’s Home! A Woman’s Guide to Her Stay-at-Home Man (New Hope Publishers, 2013) is the third book in the “Dear God” series by author and speaker Janet Thompson. Janet is the founder of  Woman to Woman Mentoring and the author of seventeen books, including: Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer; Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby?;  Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter; The Team that Jesus Built; and the Face-to-Face Bible study series. Janet and her stay-at-home man, Dave, are enjoying this season of life in the rural mountains of Idaho. Greetings, Janet! What inspired you to write a book about living with a stay-at-home husband?                                                                           Dear God, He’s Home! is the third in a “Dear God” series. The first two are Dear God, It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey and Dear God, Why Can’t I Have a Baby? A Companion Guide for Couples on the Infertility Journey. Each of the “Dear God” books mentor women who are on a journey that I’ve been on myself. I know the loneliness and need for support and understanding that isn’t always available, so I write to mentor and encourage these women. The best compliment is when someone tells me it seems as if I’m sitting right beside her while she read my books. In Dear God, He’s Home!, I chronicle the difficulties and joys my husband and I encountered during the various seasons of him being a stay-at-home man: multiple layoffs, illness, disability, and now, retirement. I understand the strain on a marriage of a husband suddenly being home 24/7, regardless of the reason. As in all of my books, I offer various perspectives from other women who are willing to share their stories to help others going through something similar. Please tell us a little about your research. How did you encounter other wives with stay-at-home husbands? What struck you about their experiences? Whenever...

 “Honey, I’m home!” For the most part, that expression evokes happiness (or at least satisfaction). But when the reason for a husband’s homecoming is job loss, illness, a return from deployment or other work-related travel, retirement, or even a personal choice, those feelings—and family life—can turn upside down. In those seasons of life, the most typical response may match the title of today’s review book: Dear God, He’s Home! A Woman’s Guide to Her Stay-at-Home Man by Janet Thompson (New Hope, 2013). Our family has experienced the short- and long-term effects of a husband and father’s homecoming due to unexpected job loss. And so has the author, who writes about her family’s losses and lessons with poignant, powerful transparency. In this book, Janet, the founder of the Saddleback Women to Women Mentoring Ministry, pulls together biblical truth, personal stories, and positive advice in a unique, interactive format. Dear God, He’s Home sugarcoats neither the author’s story of those of the many others she includes. As her family travels through season of shock, adjustment, support-seeking, grief, restoration, and more, Janet shares pages from her journal. She also includes stories from many other wives and family members (sometimes including the men themselves) affected by a stay-at-home man and the reasons for his homecoming. The book also includes “Mentoring Moments,” in which Janet takes time to share the truths God has taught her through her times of difficulty and helps readers apply them to their own lives. Brief “God’s Love Letter to You” (sections of Scripture for personalization) and “Let’s Pray” sections help keep the focus on God rather than the stay-at-home situation. Each chapter closes with a “Your Letter to God” section in which the reader has the opportunity to respond to the material in regard to his or her personal situation. “For Discussion” questions provide a safe format for discussing the material with a spouse, friend, or small group. And an information-packed “Sanity Tools” section at the end of the book gives helpful resources ranging from helps for conflict resolution to “10 Ways to Speak Well of Your Husband.” The short segments and brief chapters of this book make it an easy but thoughtful read. I believe this format would also allow a woman in crisis to pick it up, read a few pages or a chapter at a time, and receive practical, biblical truth. Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor. 13:7). In this way, Dear God, He’s Home! is a love story, one that encourages readers to cling both to the Lord and to their relationships, persevering through the trials and trusting God for the victory. Have you traveled or...

The picture that accompanies this post was taken during my Peru trip this summer. It shows the only route the people who live in this small village on the outskirts of Lima take to get to their homes. When I started climbing, I realized how little stood between me and a long, dusty, rocky way down. But I made the decision to climb because God had placed the steps in front of me. Several years ago, I told Him I would no longer say “no” to opportunities like that, but step in—or up—to them. Today, I’m thinking of those who are making similar journeys, many with much more at stake. You are my heroes. Travelers to the unknown, this prayer’s for you. Father God, I thank You for these brave ones who are stepping into the unknown. Some have great power and responsibility, which makes the risk even greater. Some have little power but great courage. God, we ask that this time of what could be trepidation would become a time of trust. We ask You to use the uncertainty to drive men and women to the One who is certain and sure. We ask for Your power, Your wisdom, Your strength to follow Your lead. When we walk in faith, Lord, every day and every moment is a step into the unknown. But we thank You that, because You know our names, we do not need to fear. We need not worry. We need not turn back. God, grant us new levels of faith as You give us new levels of opportunity. Teach us to count the cost as we number our days and to present to You a heart of wisdom, a heart that continues to seek You and Your truth. Let us not become thrill-seekers but God-seekers instead. Thank You for hearing our prayers and for knowing our hearts. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray, AMEN.   Are you stepping into the unknown? Do you know someone who is? Feel free to share a comment or prayer request below or send them the link to this prayer. And thank You for continuing to...

I didn’t like biblical fiction. Until I, Saul. Don’t judge me. My disdain began when, years ago, I read a popular series that adapted Christ’s story into a modern-day environment. That’s not true biblical fiction, but despite its popularity, the poor writing in the series soured me on any novel that put the Bible in fiction form. Since then, I’ve read only a handful of books in this genre and have avoided many more. Until I, Saul. Chapter by chapter, I Saul alternates between present-day thriller and the biblical fiction I was sure I didn’t like. Best-selling author Jerry B. Jenkins sets the story of Bible scholar Augustine Knox and his race to save a close friend (and priceless manuscripts from the past) against the story of Saul, living out his final days in a Roman prison. Both stories captured and held my interest because Jenkins made both ancient and modern characters, settings, and plots so real. I watched Dr. Knox’s anxiety mount as he waited for the next phone call or text. I smelled the foul odors of the prison and saw the light from Saul’s face illumine his surroundings. You don’t read I, Saul.  You live it——through each excruciating, tension-filled, fast-paced, wondrous word. I, Saul by Jerry B. Jenkins with James S. MacDonald (Worthy Publishing, 2013) releases today. Buy it. Live it. And look forward, as I am, to the release of the second volume, I, Paul, coming in 2014. Have you read other books by Jerry B. Jenkins or his coauthor, James S. MacDonald? Have you had positive or negative experiences with biblical fiction? Feel free to join the discussion. (FTC Disclaimer: I served on the prayer team for this novel and wrote to tell Jerry Jenkins (I’ve met and spoken with him but don’t know him well) how much I enjoyed the two chapters he sent as a thank-you. He responded by mailing me the ARC (Advance Reading Copy) of the book. I was not asked to post a review or a positive response.) Watch the book trailer for I, Saul. Find a local Christian bookstore. Find this book on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or at Christian Book...

Among my friends, I count many missionaries—those who go and tell in obedience to God’s calling. Some do short-term mission trips of a few weeks or months. Some serve for longer periods, giving their lives in His service. Some bear missionary as an official title, and others (whether in the States or overseas) live as missionaries not by job description, but by calling. And all of these are sent. For you, I offer today’s prayer: Lord of all, You are ever gracious to call us to follow You. Thank You for Your whispers. Thank You for Your nudges. And thank You for the compelling force of Your Spirit that says, “Come, follow Me.” Thank You for calling us to Yourself, and thank You that calling involves sending, too. Thank You that Your sending does not rest on qualifications, status, experience, or titles, but a relationship based on truth. Thank You for modeling a sent life. And thank You, too, for showing us that to be sent is also to die. Lord, I pray for the many deaths the sent ones encounter: death to selfish desires, death to personal gain, death to status, death to recognition, and death to control. Please, merciful Father, bring life from each death, love from each loss, and fruit from each failing. Use the weaknesses of each sent one to display your strength. I praise You for your sending. I honor You as you live in each sent one to fulfill the calling You have given and to pour out Your blessing when we, like Isaiah, bow before You in sent surrender. In Your powerful name I pray—Amen.  Are you among the sent? Do you pray for those who are? I’d love to receive your experience or prayer request in the comments below or via the contact form at the...