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A couple of weeks ago I was super excited to be asked to do a book review for my friend Brittany of Equipping Godly Women. She wanted to answer a question for her readers that they had told her was their most pressing issue. Finding the time and knowing how to keep God first in their lives.
This book is full of practical ways to keep God first in every area of our lives. No matter if you are a stay at home momma, a working momma, married without littles or a single girl or guy this book is sure to give you new ways to put God above all.
One of my favorite chapters in the book talks about keeping God first in our marriages. Lately it seems like there has been an attack on marriage from every direction. Our culture tells us that love is a feeling and when that feeling dies then it is time move on. Our world says if that we can just take the easy way out, divorce. We ourselves talk to others about our spouses in ways that are not uplifting.
Of all of the relationships you’ll have during your adult life, your relationship with your spouse is
arguably the most important (other than your relationship with God, of course!). For better or for
worse, no other individual will impact you, shape you and affect your life the way your spouse will.
That’s why making God a priority in your marriage is so important. Center your marriage around God,
and you can create a rock-solid marriage that will form the basis for a God-centered, joy-filled,
missional life. Center your marriage on your own selfish needs and desires, and you are far more likely
to experience dissatisfaction, discontentment and trials of all kinds.
Brittany has some great ideas and tips that will help you to put God first in your marriage! The best part about this book? It’s on Amazon right now for an amazing price! {As of 9/6/15 it is $0.99 but Brittany is thinking about raising the price in the future.} You can get it through this link here: Putting God First: How to Make God the #1 Priority in Every Area of Your Life.
In the midst of toddlerhood and the season of littles taking time for your marriage can be hard. But it is needed and important. Your littles need to see that your marriage is a priority to you and they need to see momma and daddy working through things together, as a team.
I love books! I especially love books that teach me something. Whether it is about marriage, health, fitness, pregnancy or mothering I love books that speak to me where I am. I hope you find this list helpful as you work on strengthening your marriage. I will update the list every once in a while as I find books that are helpful for my husband and I and may be of use to you.
Here are some more of my favorite books on strengthening your marriage:
Created To Be His Help Meet This is one of the first books that I read while Ben and I were going out and talking about marriage. I love Debi Pearl’s writing style, it is down to earth and full of motherly tones. Not only is there advice on marriage and housekeeping there is also some candid advice on child rearing and sex.
Becoming the Woman of His Dreams: Seven Qualities Every Man Longs For I haven’t read this book in a while, but I do remember it was great and it has been on my list to reread this year. Sharon Jaynes writes about being the woman of your husband’s dreams. One who will pray for him, encourage him, be his cheerleader and one who will initiate intimacy.
To Love, Honor and Vacuum: When You Feel More Like a Maid Than a Wife and a Mother This book I first read a couple of years ago. I remember talking to some friends about it and how perfectly I could relate to feeling like a maid at that point {and I only had one child at the time! :-)} Sheila Gregoire shares stories that made me laugh and cry when I read this. It felt like we were sitting together talking. Sheila shares strategies and tips on how to talk to your family and get them to help more around the house. Soon after reading I made Seth a chore list and Ben and I talked about the things that he could just go ahead and do rather than waiting for me to ask. It was awesome!
Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage The title pretty much explains it all. 😉 But hey, busy and tired momma, if you are like me then I know there are always points in your marriage where you could use a little encouragement to step things up in the romance department.
The Bible If you are looking for advice on strengthening your marriage than the best place to go is to God’s Word. There is no other book that will be able to give you better advice or wisdom. All the other books are written by people and while they are good and biblically based I couldn’t write a post on books that can help strengthen your marriage without mentioning the true Word of God. Every time we read we can discover new truths and the Word of God is living and active and able to speak to us when, how and about what we need to hear.
Do you have any favorite books on marriage? What are they? Have you read any of the ones I mentioned?
Don’t forget to go grab your copy of Putting God First!!
Thanks for sharing this. As part of my blog I have a book club, and I’m always looking for great marriage books to read! I especially loved that you included the Bible. I think we sometimes get so focused on contemporary literature, that we forget about the most important piece of literature that we have.
Yes! So many times I get caught up in all the self help books that are out there and I forget that I have the best book right at home.