CREATIVE CONVERSATION STARTERS FOR COUPLES
Author: Robert and Pamela Crosby
Published by: Focus on the Family
ISBN: 1-56292-587-3
Paperback: 160 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
This small book contains varying questions to ask for those longing for more intimate conversations. The questions included range from light-hearted and friendly topics to intimate, more personal subjects that will help you establish a lifetime of effective communication. You'll be amazed how these powerful techniques can impact the interaction in your marriage.
COVENANT MARRIAGE: Building Communication & Intimacy
Author: Gary Chapman
Published by: B&H Publishing Group (September 2003)
ISBN: 0805425764
Hardcover: 224 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
The Covenant Marriage program encourages Christians to exercise the promises and expectations of God’s covenant love in marriage. Practicing Covenant Marriage means couples must offer each other steadfast loyalty, forgiveness, empathy, and commitment to resolving conflict so as to encourage each other in spiritual growth. In this new book, Dr. Chapman shows how communication and intimacy are two of the most important aspects in developing a successful Covenant Marriage. At the heart of it all are the principles that lasting answers to marital growth are found in the Bible, your relationship with God enhances your marriage relationship, communication is the primary vehicle by which two persons become one in the marriage relationship, and the idea of biblical oneness involves not only sex, but intellectual, spiritual, emotional, and social oneness.
THE FOUR SEASONS OF MARRIAGE
Author: Gary Chapman
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers (September 30, 2005)
ISBN: 1414300204
Hardcover: 218 pages (also available in paperback)
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Dr. Gary Chapman, author of the perennial best seller The Five Love Languages, provides an easytograsp framework to help couples understand their marriage and seven practical strategies for strengthening or improving their marriage relationship. A valuable resource for couples regardless of how long they've been married, this biblically based book is a reference tool to help couples through every season of marriage. Take a free online marriage quiz - see what season your marriage is in.
FINANCIAL PEACE: Restoring Financial Hope
to You and Your Family
Author: Dave Ramsey
Published by: Viking Adult (January 1, 1997)
ISBN: 0670873616
Hardcover: 270 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
The author's own experience with debt and bankruptcy is the backdrop for the story of his journey from financial riches to loss of everything and then to survival when he found new success through his counseling efforts, which are framed by his religious beliefs. Ramsey determined that his personal experience with financial pain was an ideal foundation for a career in assisting consumers in handling debt. The reader learns that it takes considerable sacrifice, discipline, and patience to control money, and Ramsey contends that a huge percentage of Americans, caught in a web of instant gratification, need help in managing their finances. The core of the book reflects on 25 principles, which the author calls " peace puppies," great creatures that are eager to please and love their master but, without discipline, will become wild and mean. These puppies include avoiding the worship of money, giving money away to worthy causes, living substantially below one's income, and laying out written details of a cash-management plan. visit daveramsey.com
WHEN TWO BECOME ONE
Author: Christopher and Rachel
McCluskey
Published by: Revell (July 1, 2006)
ISBN: 0800731158
Paperback: 192 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Ignite the intimate, passionate love God created you to enjoy with your mate. That's what this book is all about. Now in paper, When Two Become One shows couples how to make their love life the fulfilling experience it was meant to be. Christian counselor and certified sex therapist Christopher McCluskey and his wife, Rachel, introduce The Lovemaking Cycle©, an innovative model that helps readers see the difference between sex and making love. Much more than a how-to book, this practical, detailed resource offers a vision of lovemaking that facilitates a deeper experience of intimacy on all planes of marriage. Discussion questions and honest advice make this a must-read for all married couples, counselors, and anyone considering marriage.
TEN MINUTES TOGETHER WITH GOD: A Devotional for Couples
Author: Jan and David Stoop
Published by: Vine Books (April 2004)
ISBN: 0830735062
Paperback: 188 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Dave and Jan Stoop, authors of the popular When Couples Pray Together, offer this devotional to help couples grow closer to each other and to God. Thirteen weeks of daily readings provide husbands and wives with thought-provoking reflections. Each day's readings includes "Talking Together," a brief set of questions and topics that suggest lines of conversation. The highlight of each daily reflection is " Praying Together," a prayer starter that helps the couple come before the Lord together.
A TIME TO DANCE
Author: Karen Kingsbury
Published by: WestBow Press (April 11, 2006)
ISBN: 159554187X
Paperback: 384 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
They celebrated their love with a dance. But will it end in divorce?
John and Abby Reynolds were the perfect couple, sharing a love born of childhood friendship and deep family ties. They are envied by their friends, cherished by their children, admired by their peers. But John and Abbey are about to lose it all. On the verge of having an affair, John is no more the man Abby married than she is the long-ago girl of his dreams. They are strangers whose days of dancing seem gone forever.
They gather their three children to announce their plans, but before they can speak, their daughter makes an announcement of her own; she's getting married in the summer.
Abby and John determine not to ruin their daughter's season of happiness, but as the wedding nears they are haunted by questions. Is the decision they've made irreversible? Are there times when marriage--even the marriage between two people of faith--is truly beyond repair? And is it possible, alone in the moonlight on an old wooden pier, to once more find...a time to dance?
Discover the resiliency of boundless love, the power of commitment, and the amazing faithfulness of God in A Time to Dance.
DIVORCE PROOF YOUR MARRIAGE
Author: Gary and Barbara Rosberg
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers (June 2003)
ISBN: 084236577X
Paperback: 352 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
The book covers six "types of love" one needs to nurture in a marriage: "Forgiving Love", "Serving Love", Persevering Love", "Guarding Love", "Celebrating Love", and "Renewing Love". The Rosberg's use many examples from real-life couples they've either counseled in Dr. Rosberg's practice, or people they've met in life or through their radio show, "America's Family Coaches Live". It's through the radio show that I found out about this book. Biblically-based, the book can help you wherever you are on the "marriage map", as the Rosberg's call it. Do yourself and your "significant other" a favor, and invest in your relationship by buying this book.
ONE MARRIAGE UNDER GOD
Author: H. Norman Wright
Published by: Multnomah (September 16, 2005)
ISBN: 1590524845
Hardcover: 192 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
God's Dream for Marriage Can Be Reality! Who still treasures God's dream for marriage? The institution of marriage has been assaulted with a vengeance, bringing high divorce rates, widespread cohabitation, and a sharp decline in esteem for traditional marriage; but a ray of hope burns steady and bright. By returning to God's original intent for marriage, we can overcome all of this world's attacks against it. One Marriage Under God, by bestselling author and educator Dr. H. Norman Wright, unfolds in a fresh way what God's dream for our marriages really involves, and how to recover it - for good. Couples find hope, healing, and new joy in their God-ordained union.
LOVE AND RESPECT
Author: Emerson Eggerichs
Published by: Integrity Publishers (September 7, 2004)
ISBN: 1591451876
Hardcover: 240 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Discover the Single Greatest Secret to a Successful Marriage! Psychological studies affirm it, and the Bible has been saying it for ages. Cracking the communication code between husband and wife involves understanding one thing: that unconditional respect is as powerful for him as unconditional love is for her. It's the secret to marriage that every couple seeks, and yet few couples ever find.
LOVE TALKS FOR COUPLES
Author: Gary Chapman and Romon Presson
Published by: Northfield Publishing; Spiral edition (January 1, 2002)
ISBN: 1881273482
Flipbook: 216 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Your spouse is a unique person, filled with amazing insights, thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Communication is key to really knowing and fully loving that person. Best selling author and marriage counselor Gary Chapman has developed this handy tabletop resource to get you and your spouse talking. With 101 probing questions, couples will find their relationship enhanced, their intimacy deepened, and their romance ignited. Love Talks for Couples is the perfect companion to the best-selling book, The Five Love Languages. It also makes an excellent Valentines Day, wedding, and anniversary gift. It helps you and your spouse get the conversation flowing.
A MARRIAGE AFTER GOD'S OWN HEART
Author: David Clarke
Published by: Multnomah (February 5, 2001)
ISBN: 1576737551
Paperback: 224 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Isn't sexual -- or emotional -- intimacy enough? "No," says Christian psychologist Dr. David Clarke. "Spiritual bonding is the process by which a couple cultivates the presence of God in their relationship," he says, "and it's the only 'glue' that sustains relationships long-term." Working with hundreds of couples, Clarke observes that when we take specific steps to keep God at the center of our relationships, every area of intimacy is energized. This book teaches men and women in a committed relationship how to pray together, create "spiritual conversations," read and study Scripture together, hold private worship sessions, and allow the Holy Spirit to guide them. It's extremely practical counsel all couples need today.
REKINDLING THE ROMANCE
Authors: Dennis and Barbara Rainey
Published by: Nelson Books (September 1, 2004)
ISBN: 0785200010
Hardcover: 224 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Deep within every marriage is a God-given desire for intimacy. By God's design, romance is supposed to be the flame in the fireplace. It includes warmth, security, and, of course, sexual intimacy. Yet far too many Christian couples feel cheated because their marriage produces about as much spark as a book of wet matches. For them the kids, the long hours at the office, the bills, health issues, and even feelings of guilt leave them drained. Others have neglected to fan the flames of passion for so long that they have lost hope of experiencing romance. In short, romance in marriage can be a challenge and a mystery.
FIRST 90 DAYS OF MARRIAGE
Authors: Eric & Leslie Ludy
Published by: W Publishing Group (April 11, 2006)
ISBN: 0849905249
Paperback: 240 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Most married couples look back on their first few months of marriage as a roller-coaster time of surprises, awakenings, and lots of ups and downs. But Eric and Leslie Ludy, bestselling authors of When God Writes Your Love Story, show couples in this practical, inspirational book how to transform the whirlwind of the first days of marriage into a sure foundation that will support them for a lifetime.
DEVOTIONALS FOR COUPLES
Authors: David & Teresa Ferguson
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers (November 30, 2004)
ISBN: 1414301707
Paperback: 400 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
The 365 meditations in this couples' devotional are arranged around 52 themes--one theme for each week of the year--such as affection, compassion, forgiveness, honor, leadership, mercy, respect, security, trust, and understanding. Scripture passages, real-life stories, prayers, and daily challenge questions give couples a dose of truth, encouragement, and direction to strengthen their marriages. Husbands and wives will learn to give and receive love in a whole new way.
10 GREAT DATES
Authors: David and Claudia Arp
Published by: Zondervan (May 4, 1997)
ISBN: 0310210917
Paperback: 208 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
This book is organized around ten dates that couples will experience to learn five basic skills and five advanced skills to revitalize their marriages. Small groups of couples can learn important skills and revitalize their marriages with this fun and unique approach.
EVERY MAN'S BATTLE
Author: Stephen Arterburn
Published by: WaterBrook Press (July 18, 2000)
ISBN: 1578563682
Paperback: 256 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Shattering the perception that men are unable to control their thought lives and roving eyes, Every Man's Battle shares the stories of dozens who have escaped the trap of sexual immorality and presents a practical, detailed plan for any man who desires sexual purity--perfect for men who have fallen in the past, those who want to remain strong today, and all who want to overcome temptation in the future.
EVERY HEART RESTORED
Author: Stephen Arterburn
Published by: WaterBrook Press (October 19, 2004)
ISBN: 157856784X
Paperback: 272 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Filled with stories from wives and husbands at every stage in the struggle for sexual purity, Every Heart Restored addresses the questions and real-life issues that matter to you most. Whether you are facing the startling new revelation of your husband's sin, dealing with a long-term problem, or cleaning out an old wound, Every Heart Restored will meet you where you are and guide you to healing greater than you imagine possible.
THE POWER OF THE PRAYING WIFE
Author: Stormie Omartian
Published by: Harvest House Publishers (July 1, 1997)
ISBN: 1565075722
Paperback: 208 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Omartian shares how wives can develop a deeper relationship with their husbands by praying for them. Packed with practical advice on praying for specific areas, including decision-making, fears, spiritual strength, and sexuality, this book helps women discover the fulfilling marriage God intended.
REDEMPTION
Authors: Karen Kingsbury and Gary Smalley
Published by: Tyndale House Publishers (August 2002)
ISBN: 0842356223
Paperback: 373 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Laura Baxter Jacobs has a fulfilling relationship with the Lord, an exciting life of modeling and volunteer work, and a wonderful marriage. Then an anonymous phone call reveals her husband's infidelity, turning her world upside down. Laura prays and forgives Tim, deciding to use this break as a springboard to rebuild their marriage. Tim, however, wants a divorce. The reappearance of an old boyfriend and the constant harping of Laura's sisters to divorce Tim also upset her, but Laura plans to stick with her decision to love her husband and win him back with a little help from God.
BOUNDARIES: FACE TO FACE
Authors: Henry Cloud and John Townsend
Published by: Zondervan (October 1, 2003)
ISBN: 0310221528
Paperback: 272 pages
Review or Purchase: amazon.com
Successful people confront well. They know that setting healthy boundaries improves relationships. They have discovered that uncomfortable-even dangerous-situations can often be avoided or resolved through direct conversation. But most of us don't know how to go about having difficult conversations. We see confrontation as scary or adversarial. We're afraid to ask a boss for a raise or talk to a relative about a drinking problem, or even address a relational conflict with a spouse or someone we are dating.
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