Book Review- "Wife After God"

I recently had the privilege of reading the devotional book, “Wife After God”, by Jennifer Smith. I began reading this book primarily as a scholar and critic. I did not realize how much this book would challenge and encourage me as a wife, and as a woman of God. I expected this to be a typical devotional book focused on the seeming impossibilities of Proverbs 31, or something like that. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth and practicality of this book and author. It was beyond what I expected.

Smith begins with a look at the historical significance of women. Doing so gave a very solid foundation for the rest of the study, as a woman’s purpose for being created was discovered. God gave us a great glimpse into the purpose of creating women when he formed Eve, and in the subsequent and preceding verses about how man should not be alone and how they should have a creature suitable to stand with them and be their helper. Building on that, Smith goes into very practical studies devoted to spiritual practices for everyone, but how to make them specific to a woman’s relationship with her husband.

In order for this to be a true critique I feel as though I must point out a couple minor areas that could be improved. First, and least of all, there were some minor grammatical errors that my critical eye caught. It wasn’t anything that caused me to stumble over what was trying to be communicated, but noticeable, nonetheless. The author’s seemingly loose or liberal-leaning viewpoints, in some of the content, were slightly more concerning. The tendency of the book is to be rather conservative, so it was surprising to me when some of what was communicated seemed too liberal for me to completely agree with. Most of what I deem as “too liberal” is probably based more on personal opinion, not unbiblical perspectives. Regardless, it still struck me as surprising. Lastly, the thing that bothered me the most was a quick reference on Day 8 to different types of “sin, or fear”. I feel that it is evident in Scripture that fear is sin, and treating it as anything different is a disservice. Fear should be handled in a similar manner to any other sin- recognition, repentance, and replacement of the sin with the remedy. When we begin to separate certain sins and treat them as less than sin is when we can begin to get into trouble.

Beyond the minor issues I saw, I was deeply impacted by the challenges issued after each chapter. While some were more difficult than others (they are called “challenges” for a reason, after all), each had a distinct purpose in mind. These tasks helped me to focus more on my husband, and less on my own selfishness.

A favorite phrase of Smith’s throughout the book regarding marriage was, “experience extraordinary”. At first, I didn’t get it. It seemed like an incomplete sentence to me. I was bothered by it. However, as I continued reading I began to get it. I started filling in the end of the sentence with the word that I needed to experience more of in my marriage. Maybe it’s love- Experience extraordinary love. Maybe it’s commitment- Experience extraordinary commitment. Maybe it’s perseverance- Experience extraordinary perseverance. That’s the kind of marriage I want to experience. I want to experience extraordinary. I challenge you, wives and fiancées, to get a copy of this book and strive to experience extraordinary for yourself.

To order a copy for yourself, go here http://unveiledwife.com/wife-after-god/