Women Living Well: Find Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home by Courtney Joseph
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I'll admit, I have not been a follower of Courtney Joseph's nor a subscriber to her blog Women Living Well. I had seen some of her posts on Facebook through mutual friends, and I did know she was a conservative Christian and her family lifestyle reflected that. When I had the opportunity to review her new book, Women Living Well: Find Your Joy in God, Your Man, Your Kids, and Your Home I was intrigued. The model of a conservative Christian home is not new to me, and it is one that my family strives towards as well. Here was a woman who was not only making it work, but loving it. I wanted to know more.
Joseph is honest in her book and recognizes that this lifestyle may rub some people the wrong way, but she also explains why it works for her family and why she believes it will work for any family. I like that she begins the book with the focus on God first. After all, that is our first area of service and if our relationship with Him isn't working, none of our other relationships will work well either. She reminds us that we NEED to connect with God, that "no one can study the Bible for (us)" we need to "drink of His living water and live well".
Then she moves to the next relationship in our life, the one with our spouse. That we need to give him our best, not our leftovers. We are reminded that our actions and reactions in that relationship are more a reflection of us rather than a statement about our spouse. From there she moves to parenting our children and finally to actually managing our homes. The primary theme is about how we choose to respond to our circumstances and not about how our circumstances should change to suit us. For me, that is a very Biblical position.
I will say this book is not for everyone. If you take issue with a husband being the leader in the house then you will not appreciate the wisdom of this book. If you think the picture of a wife at home serving her husband and children is antiquated, then you should probably pass on this book. But if you want to create a home based upon Biblical principles then give this a read, you will be encouraged.
Joseph's writing style if friendly and you feel like you are chatting with a good friend over a cup of coffee. She is honest, sincere, and not pretentious. This would be a good gift for a bride to be or a newlywed and a great addition to a church library.
I did receive a digital copy of this book in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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