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Pages and Tunes

Working Families

By Joy Jordan-Lake (©2007, published by WaterBrook Press)

Did you ever notice how having children seems to be an open invitation for everyone else on the planet to offer their perspectives on how you balance or do not balance career and family? Joy Jordan-Lake has noticed, and wrote Working Families because she has “very real questions about this very real thing so many of us are trying to do: treating our child-rearing, our profession…and our spouse’s profession…as three separate callings that must function together, with respect and care and celebration for each other.”

Jordan-Lake did her homework in preparation for this dissertation, drawing on the wisdom and experience of women like Gloria White Hammond, a pediatrician/minister/anti-slavery activist; attorney Shannon Sedgwick Davis; former ABC religion correspondent Peggy Wehmeyer (now fulltime spokesperson for World Vision International); and Vashti McKenzie, the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The bottom line is that no “one size fits all” solution exists when it comes to planning your family’s life. Every family is unique, just as every child is unique. Our concern should be what purpose God has in mind. If His purpose lives at the center of our lives, peace can reign even in the midst of crazy schedules.

Risky? Yes. Following Jesus and His purposes for your life is not for the faint of heart or those content to play it safe. Jordan-Lake asserts that “letting our kids see what our working world looks like teaches them irreplaceable lessons.” She stresses the importance of keeping ourselves and our kids connected to worlds bigger than our own house. Her children learned early on the value of giving their time and resources to aid others less fortunate than themselves.

If you have ever questioned or second-guessed your parenting methods or have felt guilty for wanting to pursue a career and have a family at the same time, you will revel in this book’s refreshing candor and practical counsel. I heartily recommend it!

PATTY KENNEDY is assistant web content editor for the national Women’s Ministries Department. She also writes book and music reviews for Pages and Tunes, a free e-newsletter provided by the national Women’s Ministries Department.

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