Famous at Home: 7 Decisions to Put Your Family Center Stage in a World Competing for Your Time, Attention, and Identity

by Josh Straub, Christi Straub, Gary Chapman (Foreword)

No one wakes up and decides, “I’m planning to ruin my marriage, neglect my kids, and cause mistrust in my family.” Yet our personal pursuits and busyness can lead us there. In this book, marriage and leadership coaches Dr. Josh and Christi Straub show how seven core decisions can help us put what’s most important center stage in our lives.Famous at Home is Josh and Christi’s realistic, grace-filled look at the struggles families face in a culture that competes for their time, attention, and identity. Whether you’ve found yourself putting more effort into becoming famous on stages outside the home, or your stage is the home, Famous at Home offers guidance and inspiration to help you give your family the best version of you instead of your leftovers. Famous at Home will help you and your spouseBe on the same team—fighting for each other and not against each otherStay emotionally connected even if work, distance, or busyness are in the wayDeeply invest in the emotional lives of your childrenYou really can be famous at home, showing up in intentional and meaningful ways for your biggest fans. All it takes is realizing that the greatest red carpet you’ll ever walk is through your front door.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Marriage, Family, Faith, Audiobook, Christian

250 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 3, 2022

Reviews

[Kenji · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Great book with tons of practical steps on what it looks like to lead your family well as you follow Jesus together. I’ve read some books that are excellent but short on the actual steps to take and this one provides both. I’ve been personally challenged and encouraged to keep at the hard work to show up for my family and to call them to a bigger vision! They have a great podcast series on the book with extra information as well!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Ashley Setterlind · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encouraging, practical, and enjoyable to listen to on audio (just like their podcast!). I’m definitely inspired to dedicate time to thinking about our family values/re-evaluating our rhythms, but I don’t feel shame over where we currently are thanks to their relatable and humble writing style.

[Samantha Bringas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practical ways to shift your perspective then create habits and values for your family. I highlighted a lot so 5 stars it is

[Chelsea Rowlands · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encouraging and practical, Famous At Home gives action steps to put your marriage and children first in order to glorify God. I enjoyed the practical nature of the questions and the short personal stories shared to help drive home the points made.

[Hillary Baden · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just fabulous! I love the Famous at Home podcast and am always so encouraged at the end of every episode. This book is full of practical steps and personal stories and it even comes with the link to an amazing pdf that goes along with the book to help you put what you’re reading into action. I’m really looking forward to working through that and working towards creating a positive shift in our family.

Dr. Josh and Christi offer so much help and encouragement for improving both marriage and parenting, working towards creating a family that does what it’s designed to do…point others to Christ and bring glory to Him.

I’ve been reminded through this book of the fact that the only person I can change is myself, and how powerful spending just 15 minutes checking in with my spouse and 20 distraction-free minutes of entering into my kids’ world really is. My heart has been awakened to how “off” my priorities have been, realizing how frequently I let myself get caught up in my own agenda for the day, to the neglect of the heart of my spouse and 3 kids.

I borrowed the audiobook from my library, but will probably end up buying the paper version because there’s just so much in it that I need to go over again and let it sink in! I highly recommend this book to anyone looking to make some changes within their family (marriage or parenting), wanting to get out of a “funk” and turn things around for the better.

Thank you Dr Josh and Christi for this answer to my prayers for direction and help in making our family stronger and more at peace!

[Lauren Mayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I’ve read in awhile!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay book. Felt a bit preachy at some points and almost like anyone posting on social media is searching for attention. That is just an overall impression I had of some parts of the book.

[LAMONT D · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my oldest son and his wife in mind. I wish I would have put into practice some of these suggestions that they have in their book when I was raising our family. I have many regrets, yet we did our best at the time. They have a wealth of ideas and practical tips on how to make your marriage better and your time with the kiddos more productive and successful. They reference their website that will contain plenty of information and guides that correspond to the book (famousathome.com). There are some discussion questions at the back, but the meat of the book is where you need to spend your time jotting down any possible take-aways including giving your spouse 15 minutes each day and spend 20 minutes with each individual kid if possible, each day. The basic message is who you are and how you react to the stress of life and how you treat your spouse will have a direct impact on how your children will mature and be able to react in their world as they get older. A lot of responsibility for sure. They end with the seven decisions to put your family center stage. Some of these are pie in the sky in my opinion and not practical, but I would encourage any young adult with children to grab this resource and take a look, either as a couple or in a small group setting.

[Reyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad that books like this exist, where the authors are studied and honest about the struggles they experience in their marriage, in parenthood, and in general in raising their family. If you have a family and have fought for its success, as well as if you have had to deal with other extra hats, you will surely identify with several parts of the book. It is painful to know that not all people understand this before their children leave home, and when the opportunities have ended. I hope I can take every piece of advice and apply it to my life, because that is where I want to be loved, appreciated and known, in my home.

[Paulin Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge fan of the Famous At Home Podcast! There were many mentions in their podcast of this book so I purchased it & gave it a read. Perhaps because I am not in the specific season, but there were sections in the book that I didn’t relate to or felt applied to me. Other times, Josh & Christi’s advice either confirmed what my household has already instilled or there were “aha! thats a lovely idea” to continue to build a strong foundation as a wife and mother. Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book & believe that it is applicable for anyone. Providing their humor and personal experience within the pages allows readers to better connect with them spiritually and as parents.

[Peter Graham Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Famous at Home is a great read. It is practical, relatable, and filled with stories that make the principles easy to connect with real life. It’s not a "one-size-fits-all" kind of book, but it does a great job covering the surface-level aspects of important conversations about family, purpose, and what truly matters. You can tell how this book launched into a whole ministry to help cover all the nuances and layers of parenting and family life. A solid starting point for anyone wanting to be more intentional at home.

[Kaysie Campbell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full disclosure… I couldn’t finish it. I love the idea of being Famous at Home which is why I started reading it but in the midst of reading this book, I realized he had pretty young children at home. I’d be much more interested in this book if he had 2+ people who flew the nest and still think their parents are grand, have a great relationship with them, and love the Lord. Right now they are just experimenting and the format and the stories felt cliche.

[Vanessa Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book for anyone who is a parent or thinking of having kids. Honestly, it even has amazing tips for marriage in general. I loved this book. It was convicting and practical. I wish it has been around 7 years ago before I had kids but the information in it is still so relevant for our family today!

[Astrid Mucaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book might be one of the best books on parenting, and marriage I’ve read in a long time. The practicality of the book in tremendous, there is worksheets that go along with the book. Questions to ask yourself and oe your spouse.

Im gonna re read this one the beginning of 2025 just because I want to freshen it up in my memories again!

[Huijessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

I didn't really enjoy the first half of the book. And i also felt like it isn't necessarily a book about the bible rather it's a book with bible value. So if you're looking for something with deep theology this wouldn't be it. That aside, it has some pretty good nuggets of wisdom. And things that I find are good to implement. It is quite practical and easy to read.

[Jessica Elmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

So inspiring with very tangible small changes that are doable.

“When you decide to turn your focus away from the chase and toward the hearts of those inside your home, the blessing of God in your family lineage continues to the thousandth generation”. 💜💜💜

[Abby Helmuth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have slotted this one for my husband and me to work through together. Lots of really practical exercises to help you determine your family’s rhythms and priorities, and for how to deepen relationships within your family.

[Mara Peacock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just wow!

[Bennett Serchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great book to focus on being present where it matters the most - your home.
"The most important work you will ever do is within the walls of your home."

[Joshua Swieringa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wish a challenging book about balancing family needs and priorities. It helped to find some resources to help with through the nitty gritty details of try own life and family.

[Maria Angeles · Rating 5 out of 5]

best action family book

This book guides you step by step to how to prioritize God and family. It’s a must read book for every family!

[Vance Ginn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be devoted to God and in the moment with your family and you will truly be famous.

[Tess Spencer-Dresser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! What a paradigm shift! I'm so thankful for the way the authors challenged my way of thinking about things and reminded me of my priorities and values. Such a good book!

[Kathie Manning]

So so so good. I love the practicality and the steps included

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Darcy Schock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book first digs into the matters of the heart and then builds on that foundation with practical advice. Highly recommend!

[Allison Conrad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The authors have good ideas for prioritizing family, but they take scripture out of context to make it fit their ideas. Even if the ideas aren’t bad, this is a dangerous practice.

[Mary Gabbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great and convicting. A practical guide to refocusing your priorities back to family. There is a lot of ideas so it may seem overwhelming to dissect quickly.

[Adrienne Patenaude · Rating 4 out of 5]

Encouraging and practical ways to make your family your focus. Love examples and action steps to have realistic changes that anyone can do.