Dwelling in the Land by Jeanette Howard

Howard was in a same sex physical relationship when she became a Christian. She was soon convinced that God's design for sex is within heterosexual marriage and all other sexual activity is outside of God's plan for mankind. While she ended the same sex relationship, she has continued to struggle with same sex attraction. This book is her account of choosing God's ways over her own desires.

She tells her story of trying to do away with her feelings for fifteen years. She concluded that God was not going to change those feelings. She began to concentrate on trusting God and putting her own desires under His Lordship and has been doing that for the last fifteen years. She says these thirty years of following Christ have been costly but ultimately worth it. She is convinced that every believer's identity is in Christ alone and one can enjoy a full and content life in Him.

This is a very honest and encouraging book. Howard gives hope to the man or woman who chooses to be a faithful follower of Christ, who started out gay and has not reached the point of being ex-gay. She prefers the term “post-gay” as describing one who has stopped the sexual involvement but still has the desires. She is clear in pointing out that same sex attraction is something one experiences but does not define who they are. She has included a number of stories of people who have successfully found their way through the process of bringing their same sex attraction under the Lordship of Christ.

I recommend this book to Christians struggling with same sex attraction, wondering if God will ever change them. Howard encourages you to trust God to know what is best for you, to “...take courage as you learn to dwell in the land you have been given.” (27) She has found her contentment in allowing God to have His rightful place in every area of her life, including same sex attraction. This book is full of hope for those who desire to bring every aspect of their life under the Lordship of Christ.

My rating: 5/5 stars

Jeanette Howard is the director of Bethany Life Ministries in the United Kingdom and author of Out of Egypt and Into the Promised Land. She is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world and lives on England's southern coast.

Monarch Books (distributed in the U.S. By Kregel), 288 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Kregel for the purpose of an independent and honest review.