Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring

Andy is and awesome lady. I had the privilege of attending a seminar with her and her husband Charlie Peacock. Her book is a very good read. Every woman should be encouraged and uplifted by it.

Andi Ashworth's Real Love for Real Life is an excellent treatment of the Christian call to hospitality. Subtitled "the Art and Work of Caring," the book is of particular encouragement to those who are serving as caregivers on a full-time basis. In a world that pushes efficiency, speed and uniformity, Ashworth fights for the personal touch, for giving others our time and energy. Through her wonderful anecdotes, she helps readers to understand the importance giving of ourselves to create beauty and to make others welcome. Ashworth helps readers to navigate the path of hospitality not entertainment and of true caring and not martyrdom. She doesn't sugar coat caring or pretend that each day will be wonderful and feel fulfilling. She is also careful not to overwhelm readers and spends time explaining that giving care does not mean always saying yes or seeing yourself as the only one capable of caring. She emphasizes the importance of making room in our busy lives to care for others well. Real Love for Real Life was a call for me to glorify God in the details, not to impress people but to show them that I love them. It was a reminder that even if I don't always feel validated or encouraged for what I do as a full-time caregiver, I'm valuable and my work is of tremendous importance. I'd recommend this to any Christian woman, single or married, stay at home or working. It will be a tremendous encouragement to you.

Andi clearly presents the biblical view that extending to others that gift of care is a gift of grace. She validates that being called to caring is as valid a call to any other vocation. Hes helps me percieve that caring, however simple, can be a form of art. In our world of great cruelty and suffering real hospitality becomes the very opposite of cruelty. Cruelty is about one having power over others that debases others. Hospitality is about mutual sharing in an interpersonal atmosphere of respect, love and affirmation. Our worlds cries out for more real hospitality. I encourage peolple to read this book to gain a genuine uknderstanding of this grace called caring hospility.

One afternoon while browsing around various websites, I landed on Charlie Peacock's site for a bit. While there, I discovered Real Love for Real Life: The Art and Work of Caring written by his wife, Andi Ashworth. Intrigued by the title and idea, I placed an order for the book.Andi begins by calling the work of caregiving a "misunderstood art." She says, "Full-time caregiving in its many forms can be difficult to describe in the usual introductory conversations when people ask the question, 'What do you do?' Most caregivers are at a loss to know how to answer. We know we're exhausted at the end of a day, but knowing how to explain the exact nature of our work is baffling. The work is varied, and each new day or season brings with it a different set of needs."When I actually picked the book up and started reading it, I think I'd only read about three pages before I put it down, crying. I vividly remember saying out loud, "Okay, that's all the validation I can handle in one sitting, thank you!" It's not that I don't see the importance or value of what I do, or even necessarily that I need someone to say it all the time. But at the moment that I began reading her words of encouragement, I realized then that I really needed to hear them.Andi goes on to say, "This idea [of success being equal to wealth or recognition] is so deeply ingrained in our thinking that people who are quietly and faithfully caring for one life at a time behind the scenes wonder if anyone considers the work of their hands and heart to be of value."I've always viewed my role at home to be my calling. I'm supposed to be here with my girls. I'm supposed to take care of my family's daily needs. I'm supposed to, I want to, and, for the most part, I enjoy what I do. But not until I read this book, did I really consider that making an occasional meal for our church's benevolence freezer or hosting our annual "White Trash Super Bowl Party" or inviting over all of our friends without families in town to share a holiday meal with us were also aspects of my calling.I had never before considered that spending hours painting giant flowers on my girls' bedroom wall might possibly matter in the grand scheme of things, but Andi reminded me that "we were created to love the beautiful," and "since we have been made in the image of God, the Creator of all the diversity and beauty in the universe, part of our image-bearing capacity is to create. We have an inner urge to do so."Andi is quick to recognize the various seasons of life and their conduciveness (or lack thereof) to meeting extra needs. She talks about how different the needs are in a family with small children and newborns, as opposed to a family with older kids. The need to give care is still present, but the application is so drastically different.There have been many times I've felt guilty for not being able to say yes to someone or something because I didn't feel I had the capacity to care adequately for the situation due to the stag

Andi has written a call to arms. Let's not talk about "caring" and relegate it simply to the care of the elderly and emptying bedpans. This is a plea for us - no matter gender or age - to rise up and care for each other. The world would be a better place if this primer to living was read by all. Heartily recommended.