Choosing Him All Over Again: A Story of Romance and Redemption

by Juana Mikels

"I wish all those whose marriages are in trouble could know Juana's story."—ELISABETH ELLIOT, author of Through Gates of Splendor and Quest for Love

She has everything that is supposed to make a young woman handsome husband, dream job, new home, great vacations, fun friends, and plenty of money.

But she isn’t happy.

Leaving husband, house, and friends behind, Juana begins her search for peace and happiness in earnest. Mistakenly, she thinks all she needs is “Mr. Right,” but instead, Juana finds Jesus—and the peace she has always longed for.

As she grows in her faith and her desire to please God, God rekindles in her heart a longing to be reconciled to her husband. However, the tables are now turned.

Her husband doesn’t want Juana back.

Juana learns how to let go and trust God, to let Him go to work and do what seems like the impossible . . . but will her marriage be restored?

Choosing Him All Over Again is a transparent testimony of the power of God to change lives and marriage giving readers hope for their future and the motivation to embrace true intimacy with God.

Genres: Marriage, Nonfiction

386 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 25, 2014

About the author

Juana speaks to women’s groups and churches with her story and seminar on order, home life, and time management for busy Christian mothers. Formerly a National Account Manager with Xerox Corporation, she left the work force to be a stay-at-home mom and homeschooled her children. Juana’s experience in both business and homeschooling gives her an excellent background to understand and help other busy moms. Juana, her husband, Terry, and their four children live in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Reviews

[Tonya · Rating 5 out of 5]

She has everything that is supposed to make a young woman happy: handsome husband, dream job, new home, great vacations, fun friends, and plenty of money.
But she isn't happy.

Leaving husband, house, and friends behind, Juana begins her search for peace and happiness in earnest. Mistakenly, she thinks all she needs is "Mr. Right," but instead, Juana finds Jesus and the peace she has always longed for.

As she grows in her faith and her desire to please God, God rekindles in her heart a longing to be reconciled to her husband. However, the tables are now turned her husband doesn't want Juana back.

Juana learns how to let go and trust God, to let Him go to work and do what seems like the impossible . . . but will her marriage be restored?

My thoughts - I could here Juana speaking throughout this whole book. It is amazing how God uses Juana's story for all of us. No matter where you are at in your marriage, I know it is going to be a blessing because it is an amazing story of redemption, mercy, grace and God's redeeming love.

I had to stop and put it down and thank God for His love. Wow, Juana really bared it all and I thank her for sharing it. It is hard to open yourself up so the whole world can see your story I am sure. This book is one to add to my shelf to come back to again and again.

I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Bethany Fehr · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do really appreciate the openness of the author and the insights she shares from her own story, this wasn't quite as deep as I had hoped and I had a bit of a hard time with the writing and organization. Notwithstanding, I think Juana's story holds insight for every relationship (particularly marriage, yes, but as a single person I still got some good stuff out of it) and I was inspired by her journey to and with Christ. Though the subject matter and narrative tends to randomly jump around, the whole book is focused on letting Christ be the center of our lives and the motivation for our actions, and that's what I'm going to remember. If you're really OCD, the timeline jumping, repetition, and random organization of ideas will probably drive you bonkers; if you can see past those hiccups, you might find this worth reading.

[Callie Domingues · Rating 5 out of 5]

There once was a woman named Juana Mikels and she recently shared a story with me. Well, not just me, but it sure felt like it was for me. Her story was in the form of a book. A story that is raw, deep, and true. These are the effect her words had on me as I read Juana’s story.

Choosing Him All Over Again is a story about being lost, then being found, then finding redemption. It is a story about love, Jesus, and salvation. It is about marriage, hope, and truth.

The world has such a skewed version of marriage. The world (the devil) sees marriage as a means to an end, selfishness is his end game. But the God says differently. He says that marriage is selfless and service to your spouse.

The world says that if your marriage is too hard, you can throw it away with a divorce. But God says it is fixable and an institution to be honored. The Bible also says that as you serve one another and keep Christ as the focal point and guiding light, you can make the “too hard” marriage into a marriage that glorifies Him.

In Choosing Him All Over Again we are brought into Juana’s world as she comes thought one of the hardest times in her life, a marriage that is broken and seemly broken beyond repair, she comes from no Jesus to the point of More Jesus and Less of Herself.

As you read Juana’s story you will see that the road often travelled is full of bumps, bruises, and misunderstandings. As you get further into her story you will see that as Juana grows as a Christian just how mightily and amazingly Christ can influence your marriage.

If your marriage is on shaky ground, broken, full of discontent, anger, or anything that just doesn’t feel right, I urge you to pick up your copy of Juana’s book, Choosing Him All Over Again today. Honestly, even if your marriage seems spot on, grab your copy anyway, it is an incredibly encouraging book for any marriage.

You will have your eyes opened about things in your marriage. Things that you deemed acceptable, well, you might think differently after reading this book.

I have been truly blessed and encouraged with the words Juana has written.

God seriously can do the impossible. Juana proves that in her book.

*As a member of the Choosing Him All Over Again Launch Team, I received this book in PDF form in exchange for my honest review of this book. *

[Jennifer Jarrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Juana opens her heart and her life to her readers as she shares how she left her marriage due to discontentment, unhappiness, and selfishness. She admits she wanted a "soulmate" but what makes her book amazing is she impresses on the reader the only soulmate a person will ever find is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the only person who will fill the empty holes in your heart, replace your worldy desires for Godly living, and change your life from the inside out. This book is a life-changer. So many divorces and affairs result from people looking for something to fill "the missing piece inside of them" when only Jesus Christ can. Juana transparently and beautifully shares how she went from being selfish and focused on herself to crazing the Word of God and wanting to serve. I can't recommend this book enough. It's as if she wrote my story... I think many women will be able to relate with Juana; the world teaches us that true success is having a career, a nice home, vacations and material things, but do these really bring happiness?! Juana was brave enough to admit they didn't in the end, and she laid out the path to true happiness. Salvation, Repentance, and Growth in The Lord. Thank you, Juana, for sharing your testimony.

[Kyndall · Rating 4 out of 5]

My last book club meetings is the 28th I'm glad I finished this early so I can really have some time to reflect. Really great read for Christian couples or even if one person in the marriage is Christian. I've only been married for 5 months and haven't went through nearly 1/2 the things this woman has been through but it really give you hope that if two people are truly committed to each other they can overcome anything

[Leigh Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very challenging to me as a Christian wife. I actually received a lot of really good input/advice I want to embrace. However, the author definitely had an interesting style of writing which at times was frenetic and analogy after anology - a bit scattered. However, I would recommend!

[Angie Fehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

** I was provided a free copy of this book from Ambassador International in return for an honest review.**

Christian homemaker, homeschool teacher and motivational speaker Juana Mikels shares her story of a time early on in her marriage when she was feeling disillusioned with the man she chose, feeling that maybe she chose hastily. Triggered by meeting attractive, charismatic men at a work conference who only seem to make her husband back at home look that much more bland and unappealing, she decides to leave her marriage, thinking that perhaps by separating from her husband and starting over, she'll find her "true soulmate". Classic case of grass looking greener on the other side. But you know what they say to that. If the grass looks greener on the other side, you need to water your own lawn.

During the separation, while neither Juana or her husband could bring themselves to start divorce proceedings, Juana embarks on a journey of discovering her Christian faith. She immerses herself in her religion and finds strength in that to take on whatever challenges & ramifications her decisions have brought about. Juana starts her journey with a list of all the things she finds wrong about her husband, things she convinces herself means he's the wrong man for her. In the process of learning to be truthful with herself and with her God, she finds that faults and all, she truly loves the man she married after all. It's only natural for marriage, bogged down by general hectic schedules and life stresses, to have romantically stagnate moments here and there. Juana learns that the right path is not to give up on your spouse when the romantic fizzies go flat, but to work to reinvigorate what you initially fell in love with, and she uses the story of her path to finding stability again in her marriage and her faith to help other struggling couples in a similar situation.

Juana writes in a conversational tone which I found very easy to read, and while she does offer food for thought, I can't say that I agreed with or loved everything she had to say {For example, I just can't get behind the whole "serving Christ by giving up my right to myself" line of thought she brings up -- To me, that sounds like not honoring yourself, which seems disrespectful not only to oneself, but a person's Creator}. In fact, much of what she brings up as kinds of "revelation moments" seemed pretty common sense to me. Is it really a revelation to discover men and women think and interpret things differently, and that we should take that into account when working through disagreements with our partners? Or being considerate of others should be made into a way of life?! This was a profound discovery for her? That just stumped me.

One of the parts of her story I was most intrigued by was her sharing her personal struggles with discovering "the gentle and quiet spirit" that the Bible says is supposed to be most pleasing to man and God. I admired her pursuit of tapping into this side of her (or at least attempting to) but was baffled at her reasoning that the reason she struggled to embrace a nature gentle and quiet in spirit was because she was dominated by an "independent, driven spirit". The two are not mutually exclusive! You can, in fact, be gentle and quiet yet independent and driven all at once!

I also struggled to sympathize with either Juana or her husband Terry. Sure, as an outsider reading this book, it may be easy to judge -- but as an impartial observer, I was just stunned at some of the shockingly bad moments of judgmental behavior and miscommunication between them. Yes, Juana did jump to conclusions pretty hastily -- assuming that her husband was not "the one" for her because he asked her to not be so slovenly in nature. But some of Terry's reactions to Juana's words or behaviors seemed over the top as well, at times almost controlling. And while I understand Juana seriously emotionally hurt him with her actions, I thought Terry's flip-flopping during their initial attempts at reconciliation seemed especially hurtful to continually put his wife through. For much of Juana's story I was thinking "Wow, these two actually stuck it out?!"

I'm glad to see that it looks like Juana and her mister worked it out and found faith in the process, but in the end I was not enamored with this story and did not take away much for reference in years to come. That's not to say Juana's story won't be resonating with someone else though --- perhaps there were just too few commonalities between my marriage situation and hers for her message to really speak to me on a deep level. I do appreciate her bravery though, in putting her marriage, flaws and all, out there with the honest intent of hopefully helping other struggling couples out there. Also, my thanks to Ambassador International for the opportunity to check out this upcoming release.

[Anne Rightler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choosing Him All Over Again, by Juana Mikels, is definitely as the title state, a story of romance and redemption. Using her personal journey of romance, marriage, separation and recommitment, Juana shares a marvelous story of the grace and mercy of a God who hates divorce. A story of a couple who 'had it all' and yet there was brokenness and self-centeredness...they didn't have Jesus. The author shares relevant examples from her own life and a number of other individuals and couples, writings from other Christian authors and lots of Scripture references. This book should be a must read for all engaged couples and a should read for all married couples. It is a wonderful book that teaches about the transformational truth of Jesus Christ.

[Dawnita Fogleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a unique book. Juana Mikels writes in a conversational style. Imagine sitting in your living room visiting with a friend. Your visit will go anywhere from weather and toilet training to dreams of a new kitchen remodel, to sharing the depths of your soul. Best friends will laugh with you to tears over silly little things and cry with you over hardships. The very, very best will admonish and correct you when you need it. This book is Juana’s testimony, a devotional, a warning, and an encouragement. It’s not light reading. You will not be able to rush through and think, “Oh that was a sweet book, I think I’ll suggest it to so-and-so.” This is a quiet time, curl up on the couch with a cup of hot-something with a notebook and stop every-so-often to think, ponder, make notes, and maybe even get caught up in. She includes bits and pieces others have shared with her and wisdom she’s learned through the years, with lots of scripture references. She even has notes for singles.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a little torn on this one. On one hand, I appreciate the transparency and willingness that Juana Mikels shows in telling her story of leaving her husband, coming to Christ, desiring the restoration of her marriage and living with an unbeliever. It is helpful that she talks extensively about her growing process and intersperses the story with counsel for wives who may be in the same situation. However, much of the book is repetitive and jumps around, which left me feeling frustrated when I was confused about where in the story we actually were. I think this could be a good resource for a wife who is separated from her husband and desiring reconciliation, especially since it lacks judgment and offers hope from Scripture, but I wish it had been a little less prone to tangents.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to be on the blogger launch team for "Choosing Him All Over Again". This is a wonderful (true) story of redemption by Juana Mikels. I received an early PDF of the book to read & review, so without further ado, here is my review.

While this book is specifically written for a Christian wife with a non-Christian husband (or a husband who isn't acting like a Christian) or separated spouses, I found it to be very useful for my marriage as well. Juana's book is full of godly advice, intriguing quotes by other Christians, and references to the best book of all: the Bible.

I highly recommend this book.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book I've read so far this year, and one of the most inspiring books I think I'll read. To hear the story of a marriage in ruin, the salvation of the wife and the long wait for a husband's return is one thing, but the story is deeply enriched with Scriptural admonition that is applicable to any woman, young, older, married, single, divorced, widowed. Good story, excellent book.

[Bonnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great subject and heartfelt advice, but does not read like a story. There is a lot of jumping around, which makes it hard to really get absorbed in. I am sure for the right woman this book will be devoured, though. The heart of her words are spot on.