Book Review by Jocelyn Green
This week I have had the pleasure of reading the new book Called To Serve: Encouragement, Support and Inspiration for Military Families. It is written by Lt. Col. Tony Monetti and his wife Penny Monetti. For all of you military wives who have been looking for a faith-based book of encouragement that you and your husband can read together,this is it!
I’m so excited about this new book because I believe it has power to heal, connect, strengthen and encourage military couples. There are 31 chapters in the book, categorized by the top stressors to military marriages (as identified by select professional Christian counselors and Armed Forces chaplains). Those are:
- Fear
- Transition
- Loneliness and Grief
- Avoiding Destructive Behavior
- Communication
Tony and Penny take turns sharing stories from their own lives. Each begins with a Scripture verse, ends with questions and a prayer, and many of them also include related resources–several of which are new to me, so I was glad to learn about them! This couple tackles tough subjects, such as pornography, depression, adultery and more. But they also address the common everyday stresses military families deal with.
One chapter I think will be especially helpful is called “The Rabbi’s Tatoos”–which refer to the numbers branded on the forearm of a rabbi who had survived a Nazi concentration camp. In this chapter, Tony gives his answer to the question, how can Christians kill in war? I have heard this question many times, and I really appreciated this chapter.
I was also riveted by the chapters chronicling the deterioration of this couple’s marriage, and how God helped them bring it back from the brink of divorce.
Not every chapter is so intense, but they are all interesting. I was laughing out loud (partly in horror!) at the moving story nightmare Penny shared.
While I would not call this a devotional book, since the chapters are mostly personal stories, they do offer quite a bit of hope and lots of points for discussion with your spouse. And though the book is written by an Air Force couple, I believe the lessons translate to any branch. The resources included in this book are thorough. I would recommend this book for every Christian military couple’s bookshelf. It would even be a good idea to have a copy for each spouse if you are separated, so you could read it together while you are apart.
Thank you, Lt. Col. Tony Monetti & Penny Monetti for adding a valuable resource for military families! Visit their Web site at http://www.pennymonetti.com/ or purchase the book online at Amazon.com or other major online retailers.
About the Authors:
Lt. Col. Monetti is a combat veteran command pilot and Penny Monetti is the author of Choose to Dance and speaks nationwide, presenting family-strengthening workshops. They have 23 years in the Air Force and three children.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
Fantastic!!! My wife and I are always looking for books we can read together. We will be ordering two copies … one for her to read at home and one for me to read on TRY or while deployed.
This sounds great! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Jocelyn!! So, just to clarify, it’s more geared towards military marriages (vs. families), correct? Thanks!
Hi Benita,
The book is definitely written for the parents of the military family,and is more marriage focused, but I did see some chapters that pertain to how the kids are coping, too. So if you had to choose just one category, I would say marriage, but you could make a case for both marriage and family.
What’s a family without a solid marriage?? I think a solid marriage is KEY to a great family!
—just thinking out loud.
Great!
Really looking forward to reading this book. A family friend said that she helped write the publicity materials for this book and is gifting me a copy of the book.
This looks like an excellent books to give as gifts to new military/spouses. Thank you for the review!
Thank you for sharing about this book. This truly is a sign. My husband and I have hit a bit of a rough patch in our deployment and need something to bring us closer together again. I will be ordering two copies right now.
I’m so glad you came across this review, then! I hope the books help to encourage you both and bring you closer together.
Great job Jocelyn!
This is another resource book for our Veteran Marriages!
Keep up the great work.
So glad to hear that, Ron! I had the pleasure of meeting both Monettis in Atlanta last July, and they are just as impressive in person as they are in print. Maybe you already knew this, but they are currently working on a sequel focused on transitions in the military. I’m sure it will be another one for the resource library!