Let.It.Go

Ok, so Let.It.Go by Karen Ehman is a book I received a couple months ago from Zondervan to review.

        And I will be honest at first I did not know what to make of the book. The beginning was slow for me and hard to stay interested in. However I decided to skip ahead to the second part of the book (the book is broken down into parts and chapters). And AT LAST the meat and potatoes of the book! I'm not an overly controlling person, which maybe part of the reason why the book was initially such a hard read. I'm more of a negotiator so that everyone gets what they want within reason.

    The second part of the book focuses on your man, your kids, your house. In that order. And that's the way our priorities should be. The kids and house should NOT come before your husband. For me this especially rings true, my kids and house have literally all day to come first. Yet when Chris Bush walks through the door, I aim (some days I miss) at making sure he feels like he's #1! 
    And that is what the second part of this book is about. Not micromanaging your husband and family like they are a job. But loving them. I think of course there is nothing wrong with keeping everyone organized and on the same page but when you get to trying to control every little detail that's where the problem lies. For example as a mom, we tend to want our children to behave on our terms, especially when they are little and are prone to ridiculous public behavior. However as moms, we NEED to take a step back and remember they are CHILDREN. We cannot expect them to have the same level of common sense that we have and we are ADULTS.
    Our husbands, they are a mere man. We cannot expect them to know everything and do everything the way we want them to do. We MUST accept them for who they are. I accept my husband for the man he is. I cannot expect him to be anyone other than Chris Bush. I won't say I came to this realization over night because I didn't but eventually I did.
    Our homes! Whew! Any mom knows the house can get messy and get messy QUICK. And for the most part there is NOTHING you can do about it. Our homes are meant to get messy, they are meant to be lived in. An always pristine house is house not lived in or loved in. One thing I learned from this book then echoed by my husband is that caring for the house, your children, and your husband is MINISTRY. There is ministry is serving others, even if it is only your family. You are ministering to them through your service, telling them you love them and care for them. That you care about how healthy they are, about their feelings, about their safety. And most of all you are giving of YOURSELF to them. This is something that has stood out to me! I never realized the ministry in serving my family until this book and then having my husband further explain and give me my AHA moment.

    My recommendation? Read it if you think you fall into the controlling category or have been accused of being controlling. Read it if you want to learn something about yourself. For me, the learning process was in the second part, for you it could be in the first or third.



For more information visit: http://www.karenehman.com/2012/11/let-it-go-launch/


~Love to you all!
Kris Bush