Book Review for Mission Possible by D.L. McCarragher

Have you ever considered the origins of marriage?

Genesis 2:23
Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman, ' for she was taken out of man."  For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
• Genesis 2:18 
  The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

Most women, Christian or otherwise want a help mate. We get married and hope to enjoy the company of the person we've chosen to spend our lives with. But what if things go wrong?

While there are many ways a marriage can go wrong this post is going to focus on one particular tragedy that afflicts many marriages:

What does a Christian woman do when she finds herself married to an unbeliever?

D.L. McCarragher's book Mission Possible addresses this situation. Mission Impossible is a short book, only about eighty pages long but it's a book that packs a powerful punch. Divided into seven chapters and an epilogue, McCarragher breaks down for the Christian woman what model she should base her prospective husband (Jesus) on and what to do when when her spouse does not conform to that model.

McCarragher shares her own personal journey with her unbelieving husband and gives much insight into the road mines (the Abigail Syndrome) and barriers that can discourage a woman who has prayed and begged God for years to change her husband into a man of God.

She gives a new and thoughtful approach to using scripture as the powerful weapon it is meant to be. In Chapter 3 “Faith as a Mustard Seed” on pg. 30 she states:

I recommend speaking varied scriptures for salvation over your husband daily. One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 10:20, where Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah 65:1, “I was found by those who did not seek Me; I was made manifest by those who did not ask for Me.

Whoa! Praying over your husband is an aggressive act and an optimistic one at that. How many of us have considered doing that? How many of us want to instead enjoy Abigail's fate and prayed for God to get rid of our husband so we can have our “David”? (Come on, be honest.)

In Chapter 4, “Painful Reality” she admonishes wives not to be a Jonah and run away but to be sincerely devoted to the salvation of their husband's soul. She gives an example of her own prayer, a prayer that envisions the sort of Godly man her husband is intended to be.

I thank you, Lord, that my husband will be a mighty man of God; a man so in love with you that he will not be able to satisfy the hunger he has for you... he will reach for his Bible instead of the TV remote, he will desire to be with your people and enjoy their fellowship. He will be the priest of his home and take on his priestly duties with godly reverence. He will pray with his family and long to serve you...(pg. 42)

Chapter 5, “Timing is Everything” discusses God's perfect timing using the book of Esther (for such a time as this). She reminds the reader that even though things seem to be going bad that God is indeed working

...behind the scenes with your husband. The time spent waiting is both for his benefit and for yours. Just as Esther spent much time in preparation for an audience with the King, so too are you being readied. (pg. 51)

Chapter 6 admonishes Christian women in this same situation to form prayer groups and pray for the salvation of each other's husbands and Chapter 7 is a brief discourse on Victory which she freely admits has not happened with her own husband. Nevertheless she has seen many miraculous transformations in him.

The thing I appreciate the most about McCarragher's book is how she backs everything she asserts with scripture. In fact each chapter is followed by a question and answer section which makes Mission Possible not only an invaluable read but a great Bible study.

To conclude, “Mission Possible” would make a wonderful Bible study for an individual but it would be especially effective for group study. I recommend this book to church groups that have members married to unbelievers. (In other words, every church should get this book!) It would be a great way to serve an, unfortunately, large people group that have to come to church to worship and serve God without their helpmates.

Thanks to the author for giving me a copy of Mission Possible book to review. I pray that my post serves in getting this book in the hands of those who need to read it.

For more information go to : www.Godmissionpossible.com
Ms. McCarragher has e mailed this to me which I am repeating verbatim:
 If there is a women's Bible study group or other group of women at your church that are interested in my book, I would ask you to have them contact me (thru Contact Form) on my website to let me know that they want a "volume discount" - for anything over10 books.  I would sell them for $5.00 each and just add actual shipping costs via UPS for them.  I generally give a discount to churches and ministries instead of the price on my website