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All the Way Home: Power for Your Family to Be Its Best
The author deals with home education, family worship, time management, and family work and play. She also offers ideas on how women can use their executive talents and other skills by operating businesses out of their homes.
252 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 12, 2024
This is an outstanding book on building Christian home culture which in turn builds Christian churches and Christian nations.
May 17, 2009
I really like this book!!! I have not read the prequel "The Way Home" but I am definitely going too. This book covers tons of topics from marriage, s*x, and babies to house cleaning, home based business, and Church (home church, "church church", and missions/ministries). It is very easy to read and understand. The message is very important and needs to be spread. I only wish she would update this book as it was published in 1989; if the author would update it I think it would have a huge comeback and spark a renewed energy in its readers. A fabulous book!
November 10, 2016
Home Schooling as a valid method of educating children. Yep, I get that. I really do. That's what I do.
But .. her stance against contraception and her conservative views of women, I no longer agree with.
I read this book several times a few years ago. I loved every word of it. But now I completely disagree with many things, the least of all the submissiveness of women. She alludes to the Bible verse 1 Tim 2 to validate such a belief.
However, in my opinion, Paul was addressing the few disruptive uneducated people who were effectively making ministry difficult. This was Ephesus, women had been prophetesses of the goddess Diana, and they had tremendous influence. But Paul was not making a universal and eternal muzzling of all women everywhere.
If the matter is really in doubt, we should not be using it to pass judgment on other people's calls. A 'fence around the law' interpretation was fine for the Pharisees, but Jesus' method of extrapolating from Scripture was to appeal to its intention and motive, not to let it mean all that it might legally mean for fear of contradicting it.
After all, if someone else later read the letter, Paul would assume that they would be smart enough to recognize that he was addressing his letter to a situation in Ephesus, as the letter as a whole claims to do.
The genre of 1&2 Timothy is occasional letters. They were for a specific occasion.
“Paul … to Timothy … remain in Ephesus … Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me … Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come – and the books, especially the parchments. … Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
Do your utmost to come before winter (winter is coming).”
There is a universal principle in this text, but it is broader than that disruptive and unlearned women should not teach. If Paul does not want women to teach in some sense, it is not because they are women, but because they are unlearned. His principle here is that those who do not understand the Scriptures and are not able to teach them accurately should not be permitted to teach others. This text is unfortunately quite applicable today; there are all too many people teaching unhealthy interpretations of the Bible today, and most of them are men.” (James 3:1-2).
Why do I say all this? Many will assume that Mary Pride's stance is based on the Bible, that it is 'a return to Biblical womanhood'. There are 'other' views, just as viable.
Thanks for reading my review.
But .. her stance against contraception and her conservative views of women, I no longer agree with.
I read this book several times a few years ago. I loved every word of it. But now I completely disagree with many things, the least of all the submissiveness of women. She alludes to the Bible verse 1 Tim 2 to validate such a belief.
However, in my opinion, Paul was addressing the few disruptive uneducated people who were effectively making ministry difficult. This was Ephesus, women had been prophetesses of the goddess Diana, and they had tremendous influence. But Paul was not making a universal and eternal muzzling of all women everywhere.
If the matter is really in doubt, we should not be using it to pass judgment on other people's calls. A 'fence around the law' interpretation was fine for the Pharisees, but Jesus' method of extrapolating from Scripture was to appeal to its intention and motive, not to let it mean all that it might legally mean for fear of contradicting it.
After all, if someone else later read the letter, Paul would assume that they would be smart enough to recognize that he was addressing his letter to a situation in Ephesus, as the letter as a whole claims to do.
The genre of 1&2 Timothy is occasional letters. They were for a specific occasion.
“Paul … to Timothy … remain in Ephesus … Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me … Bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas when you come – and the books, especially the parchments. … Erastus stayed in Corinth, but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick.
Do your utmost to come before winter (winter is coming).”
There is a universal principle in this text, but it is broader than that disruptive and unlearned women should not teach. If Paul does not want women to teach in some sense, it is not because they are women, but because they are unlearned. His principle here is that those who do not understand the Scriptures and are not able to teach them accurately should not be permitted to teach others. This text is unfortunately quite applicable today; there are all too many people teaching unhealthy interpretations of the Bible today, and most of them are men.” (James 3:1-2).
Why do I say all this? Many will assume that Mary Pride's stance is based on the Bible, that it is 'a return to Biblical womanhood'. There are 'other' views, just as viable.
Thanks for reading my review.
July 9, 2023
AN EXTENSION OF HER FIRST BOOK, WITH MANY NEW IDEAS AND RESOURCES
Author Mary Pride wrote in the Introduction to this 1989 book, “This book … started as one sentence in a footnote in my … book, ‘The Way Home.’ I had an … idea… that it would be nice to follow up that book with a second volume in which I could present resources and ideas to help put the suggestions of the first book into practice… In this book you will hear from women surprised by infertility and women surprised by babies. You will be inspired by other families who have started home businesses, planted home ministries… Throughout this book, I take the position that certain things are good: permanent marriage, sexual purity, babies, parents raising their own children, and family financial independence… ‘The Way Home’ is the ‘what to’ book; ‘All the Way Home’ is the ‘how to’ book.”
She states in the first chapter, “The little-known truth is that GOD provides the force that holds marriages together. This is true for non-Christians as well as Christians. Just as God physically holds the atoms in our bodies together, whether we are saved or unsaved (Col 1:16-17), He is the power, whether recognized or not, behind every successful marital union, whether of believers or unbelievers… Point One about marriage, then, is that God holds it together… But when husband or wife, or both, take their eyes off serving God and start thinking of serving themselves, you have trouble. You alone don’t have enough ‘gravity’ to keep your husband in orbit around you, or vice versa.” (Pg. 5)
In the chapter on ‘Holy Sex,’ she argues, “Some Christian sex books do insist on our obligation to pleasure our partners, not just ourselves. ‘The Total Woman’ itself is very strong on making hubby happy. What could be wrong with that? I’ll tell you what’s wrong! Sex is not just star-studded climax---yours or anyone else’s. It is how new life is brought into the world and how husband and wife are knit together in the bonds of love. The church today is losing its sense as SACRED… because we don’t know how to make it HOLY.” (Pg. 17)
She notes, “We grow up taking our fertility for granted, which is not a good idea. In real life fertility is a special gift… And the fertility rate is decreasing… Some of this sterility is self-inflicted, but a good chunk of it is not. Even in couples where virtually every woman wants children, a large percentage will never be able to have them. As feminist Germaine Greer admits, what Third World women really want is fertility, not birth control pills.” (Pg. 29)
She explains, “A number of readers of ‘The Way Home’ have written to me wondering about why, even though they breastfeed, they are having children so close together. My theory is that God is making up for lost time with many of us who are still willing to have children. He is giving Christians in this generation a chance for revival instead of just shutting the door on us. If the faithful make the most of this opportunity to ‘increase greatly,’ we can raise up a large group of extremely high-quality disciples---our own children---in a relatively short time! We can spiritually recapitalize the church! Let me say right now that this does not mean that any individual infertile Christian couple is necessarily being cursed by God for personal unfaithfulness… God may have other reasons for permitting your infertility…” (Pg. 30)
She asserts, “Many couples anxious to have a baby lose all their appetite for parenthood when it appears that their babies might be born with problems. Our society seems to take it for granted that giving birth to a handicapped child is a major disaster, and that we should be miserable instead of rejoicing over such children. In the case where parental foolishness has exposed a healthy unborn baby to unnecessary risk---such as by taking illegal drugs---of course the child’s handicaps are a cause for mourning. But is the child herself a cause for mourning? And what about the very frequent case where it seems likely that genetic problems could crop up? Is it better to be childless than to give birth to such a child? Are handicapped children ‘problems’ to be prevented, or are they gifts from God?... Frankly, I believe we are affected by our society’s disdain for the physically unfashionable and non-perfect. God has no such value system.” (Pg. 36-37)
She contends, “While we’re on the subject of hospital birth versus home birth, let’s not forget… The only groups opposing home birth are those who make megabucks from hospital birth.” (Pg. 67)
She suggests, “Look at what happens when a new problem like Mid-Life Crisis comes along. Now people can write books, give seminars, produce videos… All these products can be advertised and written about… Children-as-problems is Big Money. Children-as-Pets is also Big Money. Children as people we love, enjoy, and feel competent to raise is hardly a market at all. So today EVERY women’s, parent’s, and baby magazine is busily promoting children as problems and pets. And so, of course, are television and radio.” (Pg. 84)
She quotes Pastor Phil Lancaster, who said, “James Dobson in his second big film series, ‘Turn Your Heart Toward Home,’ has a depressing episode entitled ‘Power in Parenting: The Adolescent.’ What’s depressing is that he doesn’t believe parents HAVE any power over teenagers. He teaches parents to EXPECT(!) rebellion as an inevitable hormonal manifestation… Above all, Dobson warns parents, DON’T FEEL GUILTY over children who abandon the faith. You did your best. It’s not your fault. I wish this man who has the ear of evangelicals would tell the parents the truth: the reason your kids rebel is because you’ve let them drink in the spirit of rebellion from their peers, their public school teachers, their music, their TV shows, etc. Rebellion is NOT normal or inevitable. It is the very logical result of letting our children conform to the pattern of this world.” (Pg. 103)
She argues, “We have all seen fund-raising letters boasting about tremendous revivals in Africa and the ‘new openness’ of every ethnic group under the sun. All those great new [missionary] opportunities have been paraded before us again and again. But can we trust the figures showing so-called revival---especially when we consider the fruit of these ‘revivals’? Mass murder, warfare, and the African AIDS epidemic are not the normal fruit of salvation… The fact remains that after spending billions (maybe trillions) of dollars and millions of man-years, Western missions have not produced anywhere near the effect that you see in the book of Acts. Is it because these are the End Times and we can’t expect anything better? Nope. The End Times are a result, not a cause… We need to face facts---our Christian missionaries went out from a world that was less wicked and came back home to a world that was more wicked.” (Pg. 204-205)
This book will appeal to most of those who enjoyed her first book.
Author Mary Pride wrote in the Introduction to this 1989 book, “This book … started as one sentence in a footnote in my … book, ‘The Way Home.’ I had an … idea… that it would be nice to follow up that book with a second volume in which I could present resources and ideas to help put the suggestions of the first book into practice… In this book you will hear from women surprised by infertility and women surprised by babies. You will be inspired by other families who have started home businesses, planted home ministries… Throughout this book, I take the position that certain things are good: permanent marriage, sexual purity, babies, parents raising their own children, and family financial independence… ‘The Way Home’ is the ‘what to’ book; ‘All the Way Home’ is the ‘how to’ book.”
She states in the first chapter, “The little-known truth is that GOD provides the force that holds marriages together. This is true for non-Christians as well as Christians. Just as God physically holds the atoms in our bodies together, whether we are saved or unsaved (Col 1:16-17), He is the power, whether recognized or not, behind every successful marital union, whether of believers or unbelievers… Point One about marriage, then, is that God holds it together… But when husband or wife, or both, take their eyes off serving God and start thinking of serving themselves, you have trouble. You alone don’t have enough ‘gravity’ to keep your husband in orbit around you, or vice versa.” (Pg. 5)
In the chapter on ‘Holy Sex,’ she argues, “Some Christian sex books do insist on our obligation to pleasure our partners, not just ourselves. ‘The Total Woman’ itself is very strong on making hubby happy. What could be wrong with that? I’ll tell you what’s wrong! Sex is not just star-studded climax---yours or anyone else’s. It is how new life is brought into the world and how husband and wife are knit together in the bonds of love. The church today is losing its sense as SACRED… because we don’t know how to make it HOLY.” (Pg. 17)
She notes, “We grow up taking our fertility for granted, which is not a good idea. In real life fertility is a special gift… And the fertility rate is decreasing… Some of this sterility is self-inflicted, but a good chunk of it is not. Even in couples where virtually every woman wants children, a large percentage will never be able to have them. As feminist Germaine Greer admits, what Third World women really want is fertility, not birth control pills.” (Pg. 29)
She explains, “A number of readers of ‘The Way Home’ have written to me wondering about why, even though they breastfeed, they are having children so close together. My theory is that God is making up for lost time with many of us who are still willing to have children. He is giving Christians in this generation a chance for revival instead of just shutting the door on us. If the faithful make the most of this opportunity to ‘increase greatly,’ we can raise up a large group of extremely high-quality disciples---our own children---in a relatively short time! We can spiritually recapitalize the church! Let me say right now that this does not mean that any individual infertile Christian couple is necessarily being cursed by God for personal unfaithfulness… God may have other reasons for permitting your infertility…” (Pg. 30)
She asserts, “Many couples anxious to have a baby lose all their appetite for parenthood when it appears that their babies might be born with problems. Our society seems to take it for granted that giving birth to a handicapped child is a major disaster, and that we should be miserable instead of rejoicing over such children. In the case where parental foolishness has exposed a healthy unborn baby to unnecessary risk---such as by taking illegal drugs---of course the child’s handicaps are a cause for mourning. But is the child herself a cause for mourning? And what about the very frequent case where it seems likely that genetic problems could crop up? Is it better to be childless than to give birth to such a child? Are handicapped children ‘problems’ to be prevented, or are they gifts from God?... Frankly, I believe we are affected by our society’s disdain for the physically unfashionable and non-perfect. God has no such value system.” (Pg. 36-37)
She contends, “While we’re on the subject of hospital birth versus home birth, let’s not forget… The only groups opposing home birth are those who make megabucks from hospital birth.” (Pg. 67)
She suggests, “Look at what happens when a new problem like Mid-Life Crisis comes along. Now people can write books, give seminars, produce videos… All these products can be advertised and written about… Children-as-problems is Big Money. Children-as-Pets is also Big Money. Children as people we love, enjoy, and feel competent to raise is hardly a market at all. So today EVERY women’s, parent’s, and baby magazine is busily promoting children as problems and pets. And so, of course, are television and radio.” (Pg. 84)
She quotes Pastor Phil Lancaster, who said, “James Dobson in his second big film series, ‘Turn Your Heart Toward Home,’ has a depressing episode entitled ‘Power in Parenting: The Adolescent.’ What’s depressing is that he doesn’t believe parents HAVE any power over teenagers. He teaches parents to EXPECT(!) rebellion as an inevitable hormonal manifestation… Above all, Dobson warns parents, DON’T FEEL GUILTY over children who abandon the faith. You did your best. It’s not your fault. I wish this man who has the ear of evangelicals would tell the parents the truth: the reason your kids rebel is because you’ve let them drink in the spirit of rebellion from their peers, their public school teachers, their music, their TV shows, etc. Rebellion is NOT normal or inevitable. It is the very logical result of letting our children conform to the pattern of this world.” (Pg. 103)
She argues, “We have all seen fund-raising letters boasting about tremendous revivals in Africa and the ‘new openness’ of every ethnic group under the sun. All those great new [missionary] opportunities have been paraded before us again and again. But can we trust the figures showing so-called revival---especially when we consider the fruit of these ‘revivals’? Mass murder, warfare, and the African AIDS epidemic are not the normal fruit of salvation… The fact remains that after spending billions (maybe trillions) of dollars and millions of man-years, Western missions have not produced anywhere near the effect that you see in the book of Acts. Is it because these are the End Times and we can’t expect anything better? Nope. The End Times are a result, not a cause… We need to face facts---our Christian missionaries went out from a world that was less wicked and came back home to a world that was more wicked.” (Pg. 204-205)
This book will appeal to most of those who enjoyed her first book.
May 8, 2014
I didn't enjoy as much as the prequel. But still very good as long as you use as ideas/rough guide rather than hard, fast, strict rulings; remembering it is the underlying scripture principle that is important and that the implementation into our lives (with which this book chiefly deals) can look different. Some chapters are excellent and some I found challenging for me right now. Others, perhaps I'll come back to further down the road.
September 20, 2024
I do love a handbook. This book provided great measure of tips and advice for families desiring to raise their children in the admonition of the Lord. I derived much encouragement and inspiration from the words of Pride I will be applying to my own journey in motherhood. My reasons for 4 stars instead of the 5 I was tempted to give is that I do believe this book places a lot of emphasis on the response of the children to said efforts. Stories about how to reach culture with the good behavior of your Christian children rubbed me the wrong way. Am I supposed to believe my children are a bad witness because of a fit they threw when it was past naptime and lunchtime and we still had errands to run? I loved this book! However, more emphasis could have been placed on the understanding that fruitfulness of parenting takes time to show- requiring and expecting good results in young children is a dangerous expectation.
May 26, 2019
I really liked this book! I loved her first one The way home so I had to read this one. It was written 30 years ago but it’s like she wrote it today. The range of topics were really informative and helpful.
January 3, 2023
Writer projects non biblical ideas about family and motherhood that can be harmful or toxic. Read this back in 1993 during my fundamentalist evangelical stage.
Life is much better without Christianity or the ideas in this book.
Life is much better without Christianity or the ideas in this book.
May 28, 2015
This book definitely gives you something to think about. I love how insightful it is. She talks about starting a family business in a way which gives a person confidence to try. She also doesn't make a woman feel that she is being selfish or lazy if she chooses to be a stay at home mom.
June 21, 2014
More from Mary Pride.. love it!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews