The Homefront Devotional

Military spouse Kate Taliaferro reviews a new devotional for families in and out of the Armed Forces.

The Homefront Devotional: Navigate Military Life with Courage, Hope, and Faith

By Tara McMullen

Published by Ave Maria Press

As a military wife, I initially thought I would be able to skim through Tara McMullen’s The Homefront Devotional in a few days, connecting with bits and pieces about military life, the ups and downs, moves and separations, maybe a few chuckles about uniforms and haircut obsessions. I’ve lived this military life for 15 years; I’ve experienced a lot. I’ve got this life pretty well figured out. I was sure this book will be a nice add to my shelf but probably won’t be world-altering. 

Was I wrong. First, Tara is not just a military wife. She is an Air Force wife. The wife of a pilot. I am an Air Force wife who also happens to be the wife of a pilot. While our paths have not crossed (our husbands’ fly different planes), I was not prepared to instantly connect with Tara on so many different levels throughout the book. As an aside, you do not need to be an Air Force spouse to gain valuable insights from this book; you don’t even need to be a military spouse to find both beauty and challenge from Tara’s writing.  

Lifeboats  

From the very beginning, I knew this book was going to be different. Tara is up front and honest about something that I think many struggle with but don’t take the time to deal with: lifeboats. I know, Tara is an Air Force wife, but she does try and succeeds to incorporate all the military services into her analogies and examples. I’ll let Tara explain what it means to be a lifeboat:  

While I knew deep down I played a critical, if not life-saving, role in our family’s journey, I often felt as if I was just along for the ride. While my husband, the cruise ship, charted our course, negotiated our destinations, and motored us from here to there, I bounced along with the stream, occasionally glancing at the wake below, knowing it wasn’t truly mine.  

I know this feeling, I have owned and been held captive by this feeling. There are days I still struggle with it. Reading through Tara’s own experience and hearing the wisdom she has gleaned from fellow spouses, prayer, and Scripture has opened my eyes not only to my own deeper struggle but has offered me practical ways I can grow from it. I am a military spouse, yes. However, this is not my only identity. Indeed, it isn’t even my primary identity. First and foremost, I am a beloved daughter of God: a God who, incredibly, has designs for me beyond my wildest dreams that are even bigger than whatever the Air Force can come up with.  

Deployment  

After taking in the introduction and first chapter, I knew that this wasn’t going to be a book I could just get through and then move along from. I’m going to take my time, really soaking in the different chapters. Tara recommends utilizing this book in a group, perhaps monthly or weekly. There are 12 chapters so it would work out to meet once a month for a year or once a week and be done in a quarter. It can absolutely also be read and pondered individually.  

For myself, I am jumping around a little bit. As it happens, my husband is going to be heading out on a 6-month deployment this fall. While we did experience a rapid deployment tempo when we were first married (Tara’s own experiences in Chapter 4 felt like she was pulling memories out of my own heart and soul to put on paper), we have not experienced a deployment for this length of time. So, I will be spending a great deal of time pondering the pre-deployment and deployment chapters these next few weeks.   

Something for Everyone 

This book is obviously written with the military family in mind. However, I have learned something in the course of my own military experience. The “military family” extends well beyond the four walls that happen to house a member of the armed forces. Every military member is someone’s son or daughter. They are a brother or sister, aunt or uncle, cousin, or extended cousin you know you’re related to but can’t quite remember how. They are a friend, co-worker, member of your community. Even if you don’t have a blood relation with an official military rank, I would not be surprised if you have a friend who does, no matter how distantly related.

The genius of The Homefront Devotional is that it offers a glimpse into life, not just military life. How do we handle periods of stress? Moving locations? Uncertainty about the future? Letting go of a dream and forging a new one? Being of service to others? Where is God when things are messy? These are universal experiences. Through the lens of military life, anyone reading this book can come to better understand the unique experiences of military families while also considering their own journey through life. 

Ask for The Homefront Devotional at your local Catholic bookseller, or order online from Amazon.com or the publisher, Ave Maria Press.

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Copyright 2025 Kate Taliaferro
Images: Canva