Book Review: Love and War and Safely Home

Love and War: Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of by John Eldredge

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Love and War by John and Stasi Eldridge has some great ideas to get you inspired to change the way you relate to your spouse. One of my favorite thoughts from the book is the reminder that God uses marriage to illustrate His love and relationship for us- and the note that the world is watching! What a motivator to remember that the way my husband and I relate to each other is being watched by others and that we can be an example of God's love and desire for us! though scary when you think about what is truly happening in our marriage somedays and when you look at the divorce rate within the church! I also appreciated the reminder that I am the greatest influence on my husband's spirit, though again, a very scary thought!
A negative I had read in other reviews was about the negativity of the book, and I have to agree in part that the authors do seem to assume that we all have years and years of awful horrible baggage affecting us. While I agree that our pasts affect our relationships, their examples and anecdotes tended toward extremely negative situations. I was also disappointed in the comment towards the end of the book that people who choose to say single and couples who choose not to have children are "fundamentally selfish" since their premise is that out main purpose on earth is to learn to love (which apparently one cannot do without a spouse or child). While (as with any book) there are negatives and things I don't necessarily agree with, I do see the benefit of this book to married individuals or to couples or group study. It was mainly inspirational in nature I would say and lacked real concrete, hands on advice but would be a good starting point for discussion with one's spouse or small group. Worth taking a look at.

I recieved a copy of this book for free from the publisher.

I also recieved from a different publisher "Safely Home" by Randy Alcorn. This is an amazing book! Though written as fiction, it is an excellent look at persecution in China. As Christians in America, we forget I think that Christians are still persecuted in other countries!  Its a well written story as well as a wake up call (as another review put it). I definitely recommend it whether you tend to prefer fiction or nonfiction!

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