Monday, December 6, 2010

Ten books that have helped my marriage



The Gman and I are coming up on our 19th anniversary next week. We have no plans yet, since it falls on an evening of church, play practice and many appointments surrounding them. I'm not a sentimental legalist. We will celebrate sometime a few days later. I wanted to share one thing that has helped our marriage. 
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I studied marriage. No, I didn't go to college as a marriage major, it may not be a bad idea for some. Before we tied the knot, our pastor had given us a list of recommended books to read. And do you know what we did? We read them. I am not going to give you that list, because I lost it. But some of the books were so helpful, I still have them. Some of these books are from my own list.

  1. The Bible 
  2. The First Years of Forever by Ed Wheat
  3. Love for a Lifetime by James Dobson
  4. The Act of Marriage by Tim LaHaye
  5. The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
  6. Created to be His Help Meet by Debi Pearl
  7. Love Life for Every Married Couple by Ed Wheat
  8. Creative Counterpart By Linda Dillow
  9. Letters to Karen by Charlie W. Shedd
  10. Strike the Original Match by Charles Swindoll
Just the very act of owning these books does not make a great marriage. They must be read, studied, reread, prayed about and most importantly, acted upon. Some of these books I have reread many times, some I have loaned out in the hopes to never see them again. Some have challenged me more than I can handle. Nevertheless, this is my crash course in marriage. 


In case you were wondering after 19 years, how I am doing in the class.  Understanding that a great marriage is no accident, I'm constantly striving for an A+. Once in while, on my self-inflicted report cards, I give myself "a needs improvement in behavior and attitude", but for the most part: I am still an enthusiastic student.




Do you have any books that have blessed your marriage?



I welcome reader comments with open arms. I also understand if you aren't the commenting or hugging type of person, you can drop me an email at accidentallyhomeschooling@gmail.com.




10 comments:

Dawn said...

Loved this post! Always interested in good books to read so thanks for the list! Have a wonderfully blessed day!

Laurie said...

Great list! Happy soon to be anniversary. My dh and I are coming up and 30 years and I am still learning about marriage. I think it is going to be a lifelong study. Thank you for sharing your list.

Bobbi said...

oooo...I"m always on the scout for new reading material...thanks!!

Julie Arduini said...

I wrote about marriage books I recommend earlier this fall. I'm not sure if this will take links but I'll try. Great post, I'm such a fan of marriage books but you're right, they have to be implemented.

http://www.juliearduini.com/Blog/tabid/72/EntryId/300/Marriage-Books-and-Other-Resources-I-Highly-Recommend.aspx

Susannah said...

A wonderful list!!! I recognize many titles, and I gather we were "schooled" in the same era. Creative Counterpart was truly impactful to me, as was Letters to Karen. Whatever happened to those great classics? (Also, The Act of Marriage.)

Your Q: As for additional books I would recommend to younger women, I would include His Needs Her Needs by Harley (somewhat of a classic now too) and Love & Respect by Eggerichs.

I agree, the study and implementation of marriage skills is unending. We just celebrated our 32nd, and we haven't "arrived" yet! (I do admit, it's MUCH easier now than in the first few years.)

Happy 19th Anniversary, and thanks for joining us for Marriage Monday today, Terri G!

Merry Christmas,

e-Mom ღ

TerriG said...

Julie: I read your list. I forgot about The Love Dare. That was a very timely one for me. I'll have to be on the lookout for some of the other ones.

Thanks to everyone for their encouraging comments. I look forward to next months "mission".

Jessica said...

I've read #1 and #6 on your list. I would probably enjoying reading some of the others as well! Congrats on 19 years!

gemini said...

I found you in Marriage Monday and I enjoyed your post for this week. Thanks for sharing books for marriage and am grabbing copies of it. Happy Holidays ahead!

JonaBQ said...

The Act of Marriage two points already. It was also recommended to all of us during our Marrieds' Retreat. Hope I can have a copy of these books in your list. And be able to read, study and apply them in our marriage. we're in the same boat with "needs improvement" thing.
we're married for 7 years still excited for more. thanks for sharing!

Marriage Monday

Aimee Larsen said...

#1 and #6 are my favorites!