I am also an avid reader. So in addition to hearing a lot of great speakers, I have also read several great books on the subject of marriage and family. Here are a few that I would recommend. Whether you are dating, engaged, married, starting a family, or just hope to be doing one or all of these things in the future, these books have a lot of good, godly principles for great relationships.
ROCKING THE ROLES: BUILDING A WIN-WIN MARRIAGE BY ROBERT LEWIS, WILLIAM HENDRICKS
This book shows that the traditional view of marriage is not necessarily the biblical one. The authors make their case for the correct biblical marriage: the husband as the servant-leader of the family, and the wife as the supporting nurturer. They also give a lot of practical ideas of how to best fulfill your role—and help your spouse fulfill theirs—in your marriage.
A SEVERE MERCY BY SHELDON VANAUKEN
Vanauken writes an autobiographical account of his relationship with his wife. The first chapter beautifully describes their seemingly perfect love for each other. However it is not until after they get saved that their marriage truly takes life. This couple becomes friends with C.S. Lewis, who then helps Vanauken cope with the tragedies he faces in life.
BEFORE YOU SAY “I DO” BY H. NORMAN WRIGHT AND WES ROBERTS
Many premarital counselors have engaged couples use this great workbook. This book deals with the spiritual aspects of marriage as well as many practical ones. Even if you don’t go through counseling, or use a different tool during that process, it is a great book for opening up discussions between couples who are about to walk down the aisle. Wright has many other books on the topic of marriage and family that are great as well.
THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES BY GARY CHAPMAN
Chapman explores the idea of how different people give and receive love in different ways. He emphasizes the importance of discovering the “love language” of your spouse to maintain open, effective lines of communication. There are other versions of this book dealing with other types of relationships as well.
Walking into any bookstore or browsing online will show that these four books are but the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of great books out there with good biblical insight into these important relationships. These are good start.
[Ryan Blanck teaches English, writes, spends most of his spare time reading and probably needs to get out more often.]
RELATED LINKS:
- ADVICE FOR THE ENGAGED MAN
- FOR BETTER OR NOT SO BAD
- PREMARITAL COUNSELING: THE ART OF WAR
- SOLOMON DESCRIBED MY MARRIAGE … SORT OF
- WHO’S A WEDDING REALLY FOR?
- CHEAP WAYS TO PLAN A WEDDING
READ MORE LIFE | POST COMMENTS BELOW
