Marriage Growth

Seven Desires explores the common desires to be heard, affirmed, blessed, safe, touched, chosen, and included. Using stories, biblical references, and sound psychological principles, Mark and Debra Laaser explain each desire and show us how we seek it and what it feels like to have it truly fulfilled in our relationships with God and others.

Only when you and your mate know and respect each other's needs, choices, and freedom can you give yourselves freely and lovingly to one another. Boundaries are the "property lines" that define and protect husbands and wives as individuals. Once they are in place, a good marriage can become better, and a less-than-satisfying one can even be saved. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, counselors and authors of the award-winning best seller Boundaries, show couples how to apply the 10 laws of boundaries that can make a real difference in relationships.

Are you emotionally connected with your spouse? Can you trust him or her with your heart? Creating a safe haven for each other in a marriage can enable a couple to weather any storm. Having a marriage safe haven is an accomplishment that is certainly easier said than done. Psychologists Arch Hart, Ph.D, and Sharon Hart Morris, Ph.D., present a detailed blueprint for establishing a marital safe haven so that couples can count on each other and avoid criticizing, blaming and shutting out their partners during tough times.

You Can Start Over Again...Many Christians become so discouraged because of their sins and failures that they give up on ever having fellowship with God again. They also fear that their broken relationships will never heal. For everyone who has wished for a fresh beginning, here is good news. This gentle, affirming work emphasizes how much God wants his wandering children to return to him.

Your parents’ marital choices have greatly affected your own attitudes and actions in marriage, for better or worse. Your choices will affect your children, and grandchildren, and so on. It’s time to get proactive about your marriage legacy. Dr. Crawford and Karen Loritts have been married 45 years and have spent the last 30 years speaking on marriage. This book contains their most successful, proven material.

Many pastors feel ill-equipped to handle the challenges that arise when a couple is going through marital difficulties. If you are or have been in this situation before, this book shows church leaders how to counsel married couples from both a logical and biblical perspective. Author and pastor Jonathan Holmes offers you a practical guide to get started with the first sessions and then offers specific guidance on nine of the most common topics that come up in marriage counseling.

How to keep your marriage together when the trials of life threaten to rip it apart. It's not a question of if your marriage will face trials. It's a question of when. Illness or injury. Job loss or financial burdens. Addiction. Anxiety. Infidelity. Loss of faith. Whether you've been married for five months or fifty years, it's within you and your spouse's power to ensure your marriage is prepared for those seasons and situations—a place of refuge and safety for both of you.

It was only a few years after the starry-eyed young couple got married when scary news threatened to take the wind out of their sails. But Sean Dietrich's wife, Jamie, wouldn't let it. She dared to hope for and plan for a great big adventure, and she made him promise to do it with her. For love and the promise of biscuits along the way, Sean—who was never an athlete of any kind—undertook the bike ride of a lifetime and lived to talk about it. In this true-life tale, storyteller Sean Dietrich shares their hilarious, touching, and sometimes terrifying story of the long bike ride.

Strengthen your marriage with empathy, spiritual connection, and resilience—without feeling overwhelmed.

We're facing an identity crisis. For decades our culture has tried to blur the lines between men and women, to make gender irrelevant, all in the name of equality. It’s a message that has slowly infiltrated our marriages, our homes, and even our churches. Yet instead of creating harmony, this message has only caused confusion, ultimately leading to a tragic breakdown of relationships and families. Divine Design calls us back to God’s original intent for men and women.

A husband's God-given responsibility to his wife is to be her shepherd: to love her, serve her, comfort her, protect her, provide for her, sacrifice for her, and lead her. Like the Shepherd guides men on how to embrace the role of shepherd, drawing on the wisdom of the Bible to give men practical, powerful advice on how to take responsibility for their relationships and realize the Christian ideal of a healthy, happy marriage.

Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family, is an expert in fatherhood - in part because his own 'fathers' failed him so badly. His biological dad was an alcoholic. His stepfather deserted him. His foster father accused Jim of trying to kill him. All were out of Jim's life by the time he turned 13. Isn't it odd - and reminiscent of the hand of God - that the director of the leading organization on family turned out to be a guy whose own background as a kid and son were pretty messed up?

Gabriel Conte has created a life that others dream of—he's married to the love of his life, he's an entrepreneur in multiple fields, he nurtures great relationships with his parents and siblings, and he's sustaining a vibrant relationship with God that's at the heart of everything he does. But it didn't happen overnight. He's worked with intention to get to where he is today. With encouraging and uplifting stories from his personal journey, A Mission for Meaning highlights what he's learned about life, love, and being accountable for the consequences of your decisions.

What do you do when someone you love leaves? And how do you pursue someone who has hurt you, who has sinned against you? In Letting Go, pastors Dave Harvey and Paul Gilbert share stories of pain and stories of hope as they reveal how to care for the prodigal who has strayed. Whether you are dealing with an unfaithful marriage partner, a rebellious child, or a wayward friend, the counsel they offer will help you to pursue a gospel-rooted approach, grounded in truth and practiced in the midst of Christian community.

Males look to be served. Men look to be of service. Emmy Award - nominated actor best known for his role on Queen Sugar and transformational speaker Dondré Whitfield challenges us to be real men in this provocative look at the power found in serving others.

In this groundbreaking book, New York Times best-selling author and Hollywood producer DeVon Franklin dishes the real truth about men by making the compelling case that men aren’t dogs, but all men share the same struggle. He uses the metaphor of a dog that needs training as a way to explore why behavior persists in men that can lead them to act against their vows, their integrity, and even their character.

If you've ever felt this way about your marriage, you're not alone. Marriage is hard. Every couple comes to a place of disappointment and distance at one point or another. The good news is that your relationship can get better. If you're both willing to work at it, it can work out. Teacher, author, and creator of "Living the Sweet Wife" Chelsea Damon has coached thousands of couples through the hardest seasons of their marriage. In I Thought This Would Make Me Happy, she'll help you take your first steps to a renewed and life-giving marriage.

Strong, successful marriages requires hard work and a guide. Dr. Kim Kimberling is that guide, and 7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage and the tools within show wives and husbands how they can have the kind of communication and intimacy that results in loving, lifelong marriages.

Beautiful isn’t likely the first word that comes to mind when we think about sex. Our reactions are as varied as our experiences and backgrounds. Around us, our culture is divided by this topic. On one side, “progressive” voices seek to dismantle historic Christian teachings to fit current norms. On the other side, “conservative” voices can reinforce messages of shame, judgement, and repression. Beautiful Union offers a third way, one that is both true and beautiful.

Wesley Hill writes for gay Christians and those who love them. Part-memoir, part theological reflection, Hill shares the struggles that gay Christians face as they seek to live faithful to God's "no" to homosexuality.