Ever After: Life Lessons Learned in My Castle of Chaos by Vicki Courtney

Vicki Courtney's new book Ever After: Life Lessons Learned in My Castle of Chaos chronicles the passages of marriage and motherhood from "love's first bliss", to toddler fatigue, the empty nest, and beyond.

With the wit of Erma Bombeck and the perspective of  a Beth Moore or Staci Eldredge, Vicki Courtney's Ever After is a fun, thoughtful read for girls of courting age and onward--anyone who hopes for or is waiting for a happily ever after.

I tip the scales on the  empty nester side of things-- with kids wafting in and out of college, grad school, the Kilimanjaro airport, and community college-- I found myself wishing that I had read this book before my own "fairy tale" life began. Ironically, Vicki Courtney and I were in not-so-different boats at about the same time!

Looking back, all that seemed available in the (gulp) eighties was--and this is not meant as a put-down-- Elizabeth Elliot's or Edith Schaeffer's books. Though theologically solid and full of Godly wisdom, they were (for me) impossible to live up to.  I felt very alone in my struggle to raise  godly and somewhat clean children in the midst of some pretty unrealistic expectations.

I really do thank God for women like Vicki Courtney who share from their own experience-- busting myths of what the "perfect Christian family" looks like. There is no such thing.

I daresay that Elizabeth and Edith would approve.

The following is a synopsis from the wonderful people at B&H Books:

Every woman grows up believing in the formula for a happy life: own a dream castle, marry prince charming and drive the perfect pumpkin-turned-carriage.  But when the reality of long hours, crying children and bills sets in, the fairy tale shatters and women are left with what Courtney calls “Fairy Tale Letdown.”

Filled with Courtney’s own humorous anecdotes and proven tips for overcoming some of life’s most difficult situations, Ever After chronicles a look at life when it’s not quite a fairy tale and offers readers the solace that God’s grace is more than enough for a happy ending.

“It was in the struggles, the messiness, the imperfections that the princess discovered herself and, more importantly, the God who created her,” Courtney writes.  “And that is far better than the classic fairy tale.”

FYI, B&H Books blog, Every Word Matters has some great information on the happenings in the Christian publishing world.
http://blog.bhpublishinggroup.com/

God bless you, and may you read something wonderful today.