Our society is in decay! Homes are broken. Kids are going to school with guns. Teen and unwed pregnancies have become the norm. Tolerance has become a demand. There are no standards to live by. How can we make things better? How can we make society stronger?
Dennis Rainey, executive director of Family Life, is concerned. In his book, One Home at a Time, he clearly states that things need to improve in the homes before society will improve. Rainey believes that we need to take a stand and reclaim our families.
Our marriages are the first area that needs attention. We need to realize the importance of the marriage covenant. When we say, “I do”, we are making a commitment to each other that is supposed to be for a lifetime, during the bad as well as the good times. Couples need to prepare more for marriage than the wedding. They need to go through extensive counseling sessions to learn what marriage is like. Churches need to implement a mentoring program where older couples help guide younger couples. Divorce should not be so easy.
It is also extremely important that we take parenting very seriously. We need to show our children that we love them. We need to teach them how to be good adults. We need to be the role models that they need. Staying involved in their lives is the best way to accomplish this. Talk to your kids about important issues. Let them know that you are interested in their lives. Help them grow up by allowing them to make decisions. They also need to learn that they are accountable for their actions.
Just as the church needed to be reformed in 1517, the family needs to be reformed today! Preceding each chapter, Rainey presents a few pages about Martin Luther’s reformation and an individual family’s reformation. These little glimpses into their lives are very interesting. Martin Luther was instrumental in reforming the church, but he was a husband and father also. Rainey does an excellent job of portraying both sides of this great man. Jim and Debbie were about to be divorced (Debbie was planning to commit suicide) when they attended a Family Life Conference. They met Jesus at that conference and dedicated their lives to him. They cancelled the divorce and the suicide! Jim and Debbie have not had a perfect marriage since dedicating their lives to Jesus, but they are happy! Since that conference, their daughter had dedicated her life to Jesus and they are working with inner city kids to show them the love of Jesus.
The subtitle for One Home at a Time is Restoring the Soul of America Through God’s Plan for Your Marriage and Family. As this subtitle suggests, Rainey believes that we should use the Bible as a blueprint for our marriages and families. God created the family. It makes good sense that He would know the best way for the family to be established and to grow. You can learn about families in almost every book of the Bible. Take time to read the Bible with your family and to pray together.
This is an excellent book that anyone would enjoy. It is very easy to read. You can find out more about Family Life at www.familylife.com. One Home at a Time can be purchased at Family Life for $11.95, www.christianbook.com for $11.49, or at www.amazon.com for $12.79. If you don’t mind purchasing used books you might want to check ebay or half.com.
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