A book by Sara Horn "My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife" Review

In Exchange for a fair and honest review I was sent a copy of “My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife”. This book can be purchased from Sara Horn's website at: http://www.sarahorn.com/my-so-called-life-as-a-submissive-wife/.

I loved reading Sara's first book “My So-Called Life as a Proverbs 31 Wife” not only because I found it chop full of humor but also because it inspired me to attempt my own Proverbs 31 experiment. Since I found Sara's Proverbs 31 book to be such a great and inspiring read, I was really excited to have the opportunity to review her latest, “My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife”.

The topic alone is intimidating because submission is not an easy trait to take on and personally, I find it hard to be submissive as a wife. My husband and I have always worked well from a 50/50 base, we each have equal say, we are each equal partners and all that. The 50/50 frame we work from isn't one of equal spilt as in he does ABC and I do XYZ but it is one were we come together and work side by side as equals in all areas of marriage, parenting and life A through Z. Reading a book on being a submissive wife was going to be challenging. When I told my husband, his honest reaction was laughter. He then told me I don't have a submissive bone in my body. Challenge accepted.

“My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife” is an interesting look at Sara (the author) down in the trenches of her own experiment being the submissive wife the Bible talks about. She wrote about this time in her marriage as she attempted to put her faith in God above all else and then place her husband second, only to the big man above, and herself last. Page after page of real life accounts on what being submissive was looking like in their marriage I loved seeing how her submission to her husband softened his heart toward her and she found freedom in submitting to a God fearing husband (which is IMPORTANT because I do not believe you can submit to any husband who is not God fearing).

There were big changes that happened with the Horn family as Sara worked on taking on a more submissive character as a wife, and then there were some small changes too – it goes to show, that really every little thing matters when it comes to our decisions and our actions. One example was when they were taking a trip to Disney World and there was a mild fanny pack debacle – was that funny! Another when a gecko dropped in for a visit – another moment that had me laughing. But, you'll have to read the book to get those funny stories, I won't be ruining any written pleasures from within that books pages here.

I found that although I didn't know where I stood on the submissive wife topic reading this book was not like finger nails dragging across a chalkboard (sorry to all who are now hearing the screech of that mental memory). Reading this book was great because Sara is so honest and open and down to earth in her writing and reading I feel as though I can relate, relate, relate! At the end of the book I thought, if she could do it and see positive changes, maybe (just maybe) I might try it too. But what it did do was have me pulling open my Bible and looking up all the passages about wives and submission to see what God does expect of me specifically on that topic and putting into action what I gathered from that.

I think if you get the “My So-Called Life As A Submissive Wife” you should definitely get her book before that also, “My So-Called Life As A Proverbs 31 Wife” and go ahead and read them both back to back.

I would love to hear from you if you are reading, have read or plan to read either of these two completely awesome books! What did you think of them? How did you use them in your marriage?

#SaraHorn

#WifeLife

You Reap What You Sow

Recently I was given an opportunity to review the Abundant Harvest for Kids board game (ages 7 and up priced at $24.99), for a fair and honest review. I was really excited about this great opportunity because this seemed like just the kind of game I would love to play with my littles. As the Harvest Time Partners website outlines, this game was designed to:

• “create teachable moments for parents and educators” alike, and
• “the situations are presented and directed towards children who are learning the importance of making decisions that are based on principle”.

You can check out the games for yourselves at www.harvesttimepartners.com. Below is my opinion after having played the “Abundant Harvest for Kids” board game. (And even further below that, a quick mention of their “Face to Face Dinner Party Edition” game and my thoughts on that one – but you'll have to keep reading to get to that).

We are a homeschooling family that incorporates God and the study of His word into our daily lessons. I was at a point where I had started to think about new ways to focus on, encourage and strengthen Godly character – character development. After all we are to train our children up in the way they should go. Abundant Harvest for Kids seemed like a great way to do just that.

During our Thanksgiving holiday our family decided to break out our Abundant Harvest for Kids game and give it a go. We love gathering around the table to play games and this one was no exception, moments like these are what memories are made of. Question after question, my girls loved showing how they could make a good decisions. If I had asked the girls what their favorite part of the game was, I know their answer would be collecting the Abundant Harvest Dollars. Those dollars, unbeknownst to them, were a great tangible reward to positively reinforce their good choices to all of the games proposed situations.

As a parent, playing this game with my kids was great because I got to read the scenario cards and let them know how I would handle it and be able to share my wisdom before it was needed. Just like the military trains for war, parents train their children spiritually, to be biblically and morally sound – this game is something that can definitely be used for just that. Listening to the answers and hearing their wisdom speak volumes beyond their tender years was confidence building for me as a parent, I knew I had begun to raise little ones with a moral compass that pointed straight to the Holy Bible. Playing this game with them gave them and myself alike, the reassurance that no matter where life takes them, or what it throws at them, that they will be ready, and will be able to successfully navigate any of life's waters.

Honestly the game was a little hard for the girls to play all the way through because it was a little lackluster, the conversation cards were all serious and a little heavy without any lighthearted moments to it other than the moments we made. I think families with children that really haven't developed a solid christian moral compass could definitely benefit from playing this game despite that because of all the real world challenges it pitches for preparedness on how to tackle them from a good christian base – so if you're that family, I would highly suggest playing this game to help your children develop that despite it's lack of levity.

The only other downsides for us really were that the game was a little hard for us to relate to, maybe that's because we are a young homeschooling family – maybe for others who aren't homeschooled or maybe children who are even a little older than the game suggests, this game would be a better fit. There were cards that the children drew that I tweaked the scenario for to make more appropriate for their ages and some we skipped all together and drew another card for them in place of those I thought inappropriate. When either little landed on a parent space and had to answer a scenario as the parent, never having worn that hat –they were attempting to try on new shoes to answer those cards and as a homeschooling family things like bullying or cheating on a test is pretty foreign – however greek any of the un-relateable scenarios were, our girls still shined in knowing what the right thing to do would be and bless their hearts, they continued to show it turn after turn. That said, just like if you give a mouse a cookie – if you give a kid a soap box you might want to throw in a timer ;)

Overall, I would say this game was a fun time had by all. I am very thankful we took the time to play this game for the togetherness it brought but also for the opportunity to see the direction our little's moral compass was pointing (and the opportunity to recalibrate if needed). I think taking something like building good Biblically sound character and judgement and making it into a game so that teaching and learning can be done all while spending time bonding over a game is a fabulous thing to do.

Aside from the Abundant Harvest for Kids board came, my husband and I played the “Face to Face Dinner Party Edition”. This game has a deck of 96 cards and is priced at an affordable $12.49. There are other “Face to Face” card game sets aside from the dinner party edition such as the kid edition and teen edition. The dinner party edition is described on the Harvest Time Partners web page as:

• a conversation game “for ages 18 and up, adults, and parents”, and as having
• “scenarios encourage discussion between adults on issues in marriage, raising children, and the workplace”.

Exactly as described each scenario card was completely relatable and having experience in all topics covered it was really fun to play and explore the what would you do factor if this were a scenario you found yourself in.

We had roughly 400 miles of road time for Holiday travel and I had just the thing to distract us from all of that bumper to bumper. I pulled the “Face to Face Dinner Party Edition” out of the glove box and read the cards for us to take turns answering. Honestly, I loved it :) My husband said he did too, and really loved how they had a good Christian focus. We look forward to working our way (gradually – we can pace ourselves) through all of the games cards, but we will definitely be playing that game again – and if you invite us to dinner (or get stuck in traffic with us), you might find yourselves playing it right along with us. If you were to ask me if I thought was a game worth adding to your game repertoire, I would say definitely.

If this post has peaked your curiosity about any of the Harvest Time Partners games, hop on over to the Harvest Time Partners website, www.harvesttimepartners.com, or give them a call at (877) 786-4278 and see if there is a game there waiting for you. You too could be a moment away from your very own Abundant Harvest, after all – we reap what we sow. Happy sowing my friends!

Additional Harvest Time Partners Link Ups:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HarvestTimePartnersInc

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HarvestTimePartners

Twitter:     https://twitter.com/Stand4Character

To see what others thought of this and other games from Harvest Time Partners, check out these blogs below:

http://roomsofknowledge.com/abundant-harvest-kids-game-review/#sthash.gpUc24Nv.dpbs

http://thewatersparkles.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/face-to-face-game-review/

If you have played this or other games from Harvest time Partners let me know! I'd love to hear about it too:)