Marriage Growth

Equip yourself and your spouse with powerful and life-changing prayers that will strengthen your marriage and help you discover the peace, provision, and joy that comes from trusting God with your most important relationship. Regardless of where you are in your marriage journey—be it newly engaged, celebrating a golden anniversary, or weathering a storm—this book is your companion, guiding you to pray effectively for every aspect of your 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?

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.

As Jeremy and Audrey write, if you can fall into love, you can fall out. True love is something you choose to live out each day through your actions, decisions, and sacrifices. To find and still seek, now that is love. From the moment you meet your potential spouse, you can be intentional about shaping a beautiful love story, uniquely written for who God created you both to be.

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.

Ace Collins helps you uncover the background of 32 favorite Christmas songs. Learn the surprising tale of how each song was created. Explore specific times and places that gave birth to each message. Hear these familiar melodies with new understanding as their stories find their way into your heart.

Known from the television show Little People, Big World, their Behind the Scenes podcast, and their first book, A Love Letter Life, Jeremy and Audrey Roloff have shared over the years how their dating relationship grew into a strong marriage. Now they offer a sweet but practical book for anyone who wants to help a relationship thrive. Whether you are beginning a new dating relationship, are recently engaged, or have been married for decades, Creative Love provides fresh ideas on how to make a loving relationship sustainable.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rob and Kristin Bell introduce a startling new way of looking at marriage, The Zimzum of Love. Zimzum is a Hebrew term where God, in order to have a relationship with the world, contracts, creating space for the creation to exist. In marriage, zimzum is the dynamic energy field between two partners, in which each person contracts to allow the other to flourish. Mastering this field, this give and take of energy, is the secret to what makes marriage flourish.

The love that the world tells us to pursue is all about self, about following your heart’s desires. But what is the Christian worldview on love? When we follow Jesus, we realize that he invites us to reorient the focus of our lives, so instead of chasing love primarily for our own happiness, we are first and foremost to give love - to God and to others.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part of the book focuses on maintaining a single Christian life. This is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished by a Christian placing his or her trust in God. With God's help, a Christian can draw closer to God so that Satan won't fan the flames of a single Christian's sexual desires, causing him or her to fall prey to sexual immorality.

Nearly every marriage starts out happy, and if we're honest, nearly every marriage at some point becomes unhappy. Is there a solution? Kevin and Marcia Myers, married for 37 years through nearly every challenge a couple can face, emphatically say yes. Rooted in Scripture and contemporary insights from the Myers' marriage, as well as real stories from other couples, this revelatory book shows how any marriage can regain depth, meaning and, yes, happiness.

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.

Love is easy to give when you are getting it back. Are we still called to God's plan of how to love when we are getting none in return? Shauna Shanks's brave journey through obedience reveals the outcome of when we dare to follow God's ludicrous outline for love as described in 1 Corinthians 13. Wrecked with news of her husband's affair and his request for a divorce, Shauna finds herself urgently faced with a decision. Does she give up and divorce her husband and move on, or does she try to fight for her 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.

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.

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.