Wrap Up - Marriage God's Way

The Joy of Marriage God's Way
Marriage-Building Messages featuring
Beverly LaHaye,
Julie Clinton,
Joyce Penner,
Barbara Rosberg,
Deb Laaser,
Carrie Oliver
and Laurie S. Hall

I thought I wouldn't really enjoy this book, but I figured it might still have some useful knowledge scattered throughout.
I was pleasantly surprised, I did enjoy the book and it had a lot of good knowledge concerning marriage.

This book was written by six female authors, and it was written for a female audience, but I still very much gained from it. (a man can never complete the quest of understanding women)

I can still remember, off the top of my head, the last two chapters. One was penned by a woman whose husband was a famous counsellor and pastor. He ended up getting found out as a sex addict. The author talks about the struggle of dealing with that, and the intimacy issue of their marriage which perpetuated her husbands problem. The last chapter was interesting because resolution was found in the author leaving her marriage. Her husband struggled with pornography and prostitution, (if my memory serves me correctly), and he continued to choose those vices before and above his marriage.

This is a book I borrowed so I didn't highlight in it. I'm going to try and look up some of my #MGW tweets on twitter so I can share, and remember, a few nuggets:

This is the great gift of despair: It strips us of that which we think is important in order to awaken us to that which is essential." #MGW

.. joy burns brightest after hope has entered into the dark agony of despair." #MGW

(I think twitter is limiting my search to tweets from within the last week, let me try facebook):

Life is all about the choices we make. The choices I have made in the past have led me to where I am today. The choices I make today will lead me to where I will be tomorrow. My tomorrow is full of promise and that promise starts with who I am today." #MGW

Hope requires us to risk trusting that the dreams God has given us will come true without the foundation of knowing exactly how things will play out or when resolution will occur." #MGW

Seeking forgiveness is a matter of the heart, purposely turning away from a specific infraction and making the promise not to inflict harm in that way again. It's not something you simply do for the sake of restoring peace." #MGW

The Chapters and Authors were:

The Joy of Marriage God's Way
Beverly LaHaye

Spiritual Intimacy in Marriage
Julie Clinton

Sexual Fulfillment in Marriage
Joyce Penner

Making Your Marriage a Great Marriage
Barbara Rosberg

Can God Heal a Marriage?
Deb Laaser

Talk, Touch, and Tenderness in Marriage
Carrie Oliver

Beyond Betrayal
Laurie Sharlene Hall

Book Report - Kissed Dating Goodbye

Joshua Harris - I Kissed Dating Goodbye

AfterThoughts:

It was a pleasure to read this book again. I did a lot of highlighting.

It was fascinating to me to look at my personal growth between when I first read the book and now. The principles were new to me, but they were very much in accordance with the approach I was starting to take towards relationships at the time.
The principles and guidelines are no longer new to me. I've come to value them wholeheartedly. I can always get down with anything that supports a reverence for human beings, human hearts and human relationships.
This book is a great tool to help young people steer away from the fruitless heartache of detrimental relationships that is ever so common in this day and age.

SnapShots:

- Chapter 15 - Principled Romance
- "Strong marriages are built on a solid foundation of the mutual respect, appreciation, and camaraderie of friendship."
- "No matter what response you receive from the parents, be humble enough to listen and honor them. God will bless you for doing so. Remember, they've invested a big part of their lives in their daughter. And God has placed them in her life to protect her. Don't try to circumvent their authority. Instead, work with it and benefit from their wisdom."

- Chapter 6 - The Direction of Purity
- "The path you take with your feet should never contradict the conviction of your heart."

- Chapter 4 - Looking Up "Love" in God's Dictionary
- "We shouldn't allow our feelings to set the tone or the pace for our relationships. Instead, we need to allow wisdom and patience and selfishness to guide us."
- "As we relate to others today, we form patterns that we'll take with us into our marriages. For this reason, we must not only practice sincere love but also practice commitment-based love."

Tool Books - Prayers for Emotional Wholeness

I think it's worth paying homage to prayer books.

Prayers for Emotional Wholeness
- 365 Prayers for Living in Freedom
- Stormie Omartian

This is definitely my most used prayer book. It was on display and on sale for a few bucks a couple years ago at the christian bookstore at kipling and steeles, that's when I got it and it has been well worth the financial sacrifice.

I love it. It has 24 different topics. 10-20 short prayers for each topic, and a bible text with each prayer.
Some of the topics are:
 - When I Need Hope and Joy in My Heart
 - When I Need to Renew My Mind
 - When I Need Help in Tough Times
 - When I Need Comfort and Guidance
 - When I Need Help in My Relationships
 - When I Need to Feel Close to God
 - When I Need to Understand My Purpose and My Future

I use this book especially to pray for other people, and then while I'm doing that I end up using it to pray for myself. One of the reasons I really gravitate to this book, to put it simply without getting into any theology, is because it focuses primarily on the person instead of the person's circumstances.

I tweet and facebook a lot from this book. I'll usually put #prayer and #SO for Stormie Omartian. She has some other prayer books in the same format that I may get into later on.

Let me wet your tongue:

When I Need to Be Free of Anxiety and Depression

Lord, I put my hope in You. I refuse to look to other things or other people to give me purpose, fulfillment, and peace. I confess any anxiety I have as a lack of trust in Your ability to sustain me. I submit my life to You and put all my expectations in Your goodness, power, and love. Help me to pray about everything and trust You in every part of my life.

My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.
Psalm 62:5