Cooking with author Janet Thompson

I'm doing a series on authors, their books, and food. I had a few authors last year post about these topics, and am thinking since all my novels have recipes at the back, I should make this food-author theme continue here. Well, this is a patchwork quilt blog for a reason. There are a variety of things I write about here and I tend to let a few have their season and then (could it be due to being a little over 50?), I promptly forget what I'd planned to continue. So, having said all that, we'll see how it goes.

Today I have Janet Thompson as my guest. Welcome Janet! Janet's recent book is, Dear God, He’s Home by New Hope Publishers. In this book, Janet offers practical and emotional support for wives with "Stay-at-Home" husbands.

I found the subject line interesting as my husband has been at home unemployed for over a year. He just started a small business in the garage, so while I write upstairs in the office, he's downstairs in his "office". I grew up seeing my parents live and work in the same house for their entire missionary career in Japan, so am quite familiar with this aspect of having to "share space and work together" as well as "work apart in the same space".

Janet has personally experienced three different life seasons with her "stay-at-home man." At age 50, her husband’s layoff left him unemployed—-at home—-for 18 months. Another layoff years later brought him home again. Then after several years of successful work in a new field, physical disability led to retirement.

"Regardless of the reason for this season," Janet says, "wives of stay-at-home men experience similar difficulties, hardships, and blessings." Dear God, He’s Home is a collection of biblical and life-tested wisdom. Janet not only writes from her own experiences, but she also includes stories from other women and men who have been through similar situations. She leads the reader through guided journaling and prayer and presents Scripture application for encouragement. The book’s epilogue, an entry from Janet’s husband, offers his perspective.

Janet is founder and director of About His Work Ministries. She developed the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church and served as a lay minister for 12 years leading Saddleback’s Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry. Janet continues to share the blessings of mentoring by training and speaking in churches around the world. She is author of several books including The Team That Jesus Built: How to Develop, Equip, and Commission a Women’s Ministry Team, as well as two other titles in the Dear God series, and seven books in the Face-to-Face women’s Bible study series. Janet and her husband, Dave, have four married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 beautiful grandchildren. "Refusing to grow old" and embracing their retirement years with great zeal, they make their home in Garden Valley, Idaho.

When asked about food, Janet says: "As for comfort foods, I eat super healthy raw organic so when I see organic fruit and vegetables I feel so loved by God that He created such wonderful food for us! Wild salmon is my most favorite food ever and I love spring and summer organic strawberries! Also when my hubby brings in the harvest from his vegetable garden and I look at all that fresh produce that he grew with love, well, that tops the comfort scale."

Thanks, for sharing with the readers here, Janet!


To order a copy of Dear God, He's Home, please click here.

View the YouTube video for Dear God, He's Home.