Customer Reviews

The Husband Project: 21 Days of Loving Your Man--on Purpose and with a Plan

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It's easy to become comfortable once you've been married awhile. We stop trying to impress our spouse and often take them for granted. Kathi Lipp's book puts your husband on project status. It doesn't take much to show how much you appreciate your spouse. A few minutes a day and you'll be feeling like you did when you first got married. I recommend this book to put the spark back into any marriage.

Marriage starts with being totally enthralled with the most amazing man you've ever met. Then ... life happens. Kids, bills, illness, family issues, not to mention stubble, belching, and raggedy underwear. You love your husband, but you don't always LIKE him. The Husband Project is for us, women who have fallen into a comfortable marriage routine, meaning "you don't bug me and I don't bug you." This book offers hope that there's more to marriage than just a lukewarm partnership stuck in neutral; in just 21 days you can jump start your marriage. Kathi Lipp's writing is clear, real, and hilarious as she challenges you to put your marriage on "project status" and shows you how to work her plan with very little effort and lots of results. The book also offers lots of practical info, such as a list of great guy movies, man-pleasing recipes, and "The Real Woman's Guide to Lingerie Shopping." If "a simple word can renew hope (Lois Rabey)" then this fun and friendly book can help you renew your marriage. It's like a kick in the pants from a wise and wonderful best friend, and Lord knows we all need that from time to time!

It's so easy for marriages to stall out, slip into neutral, or flip over to automatic pilot. In our rush-rush culture, marriages often fall to the bottom of priority lists in favour of more urgent tasks and projects. Husbands and wives pass like ships in the dark; occasionally brushing past each other in their journeys, but all too often gliding past without connecting.

In The Husband Project author Kathi Lipp challenges women to revive their relationships and put their husbands at the top of their to-do-lists for three weeks, 21 days of non-stop loving. Woah nelly, that seems like a huge commitment - making a concerted, even planned effort to shower love on our husbands for three entire weeks? With preschoolers underfoot all day, meals to cook, diapers to change, the house to clean and educational goals to meet, the goal seemed daunting at first glance. Thankfully Lipp is a real woman, the projects are realistic and attainable - even for a busy mom like me.

Coming alongside wives from all walks of life, Lipp knows what it is to balance marriage, children, work and the home. She comes alongside women to encourage them, hold them accountable, and provide a solid plan to express love and affection towards the ones God has called us to cleave to. Although firm in her insistence that the entire 21-day project be completed (enlisting real-life accountability chums helps this process), she acknowledges that real life happens. Some projects will need to be altered or substituted in accordance with your own husbands preferences, your family's financial situation, illness and other potential emergencies. However, she calls wives to press on to completion, even if delays are encountered and the 21 days stretches into 30... or so.

Lipp launches the project with a section dedicated to laying the foundation. After establishing the need for The Husband Project she tackles planning, secrecy, motivation from the heart, dealing with difficulties and customizing the project to your marriage. It's a quick-start followed by a dive into the three weeks of plans to express your love and adoration for your mate.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that each day's project is actually quite achievable. With a small amount of planning, I can see how nearly any woman can be successful in fulfilling the three-week commitment to bless her husband. Coming from a planning impaired woman like myself, that's really saying something. Each project is small enough to accomplish, yet significant enough to express love, particularly for those men -- the vast majority of them -- whose language of love is made up of acts of service.

Each daily project receives its own chapter, headed by an inspirational quote, followed by the project plans and suggested prayer to keep your heart focused upon the task at hand for the day. Then commences real life suggestions to implement and customize the plan, and "project reports" from real wives who have successfully completed the project, their plan of attack and the results they experienced. The project reports provide more ideas and thoughts on how to put the plans into action and work within them, according to your husband's makeup to bless his socks off.

Lipp knows what makes most men tick and has enlisted wives around the U.S. to test out specific daily projects on their men. Those that clicked stayed in the book; those that flopped were pitched. What remains is a practical list of suggestions that rotate around food, sex, and service. If we're honest with ourselves, women know how to light their mans fire - it's just a matter of putting a practical, realistic plan into action, and Lipp provides the tools to do just that.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend The Husband Project to any woman looking to infuse her marriage with a bit more sizzle. While the language is Christian, I found faith-based references to be fairly light for a Christian non-fiction title. Scriptural analogies pop up, and prayer suggestions are provided for every project, but the mood is friendly, casual and authentic. All marriages need regular reinvigoration and Lipp's book fits the bill regardless of the faith of you and your spouse.

The book is just what it says it is - projects to strengthen your marriage. Some of the activities (like send a flirty note) seem overly simple - but this is exactly what your relationship is lacking in the world of kids and work and broken toilets... I've been married for 12 years - we almost didn't make it past 10. I read several similar books at the time and was dumbfounded that at the basis of our troubles was not that someone cheated or was wronged in some awful way - it was little things like not handing out praise and compliments, not taking the extra 2 minutes to bring tea out to hubby while working on the lawn - little things that show you care.
The book gives you a motivation (and ideas) of how to keep the little things in check and at the front of your mind - not on the back burner.
I loved it - and so did all my friends!

This book makes it very simple & realistic to make your husband happy.
I didn't follow the 21 days exactly but it was still effective. This is a great book for someone who is too busy to put much time into improving your relationship ;-)

This book is totally worth your time, effort and money. Kathi Lipp is so funny and practical. She has great ideas in the book for shaking things up in your marriage and blessing your husband (and yourself in the process). If your marriage has gotten way too comfortable and routine, this is for you!

This Book has been great for my marriage! A couple of friends and I are in the process of going through the 21 easy to do projects right now and we are having a blast!
The project not only blesses our husbands but is working on our attitudes too. So far the project has resulted in a spicier relationship and it becomes a two way street where my husband wants to do things for me. Great book and worth reading for practical ideas and so much more.

Arm Around Shoulder/ Hand Over Mouth
I absolutely loved this book. Her practical, yet often humorous, steps encourage even the most discouraged wife to give these a try. You will be pleasantly surprised how well this project will work for your marriage. Way to go, Kathi!

This book is so entertaining and simple. It makes it easy to love your husband on purpose. The projects in the book are not out of reach at all and the results are tremendous. My husband noticed the smallest little things and it feels like we're newlyweds all over again. I appreciate the way she makes light of such real situations and makes me feel like I am not alone in my actions, thoughts and emotions and most importantly...I'm not crazy!!

I'm glad my friend asked me to be her accountability partner because it has truly blessed my marriage and I plan on sharing it with my friends that are wives.

If you're one of those wives that wonders where the romance has gone and despairs of ever getting it back (worse yet, you'd just as soon not!), then stop whatever you're doing and read this book! Seriously. If your marriage matters, then it's time to put into practice what Kathi Lipp has so clearly outlined in this simple but profound "hot pink" book. Read it now--and report back after the fire truck leaves--cuz you'll be smokin', and so will your man!