Seven months and twelve days. As I’m typing this, that’s how long Brian and I have been married. On our one year anniversary of dating, Brian dropped to one knee and asked me to be his wife.
“Are you serious?!” was my response. How romantic, right? He just laughed.
“Yes, I’m serious!” and pulled out the most exquisite diamond ring I’d ever seen.
And thus began our nine month engagement. We were married on a perfect June day, and drove off into the sunset on our honeymoon.
Since then, we moved 1,518 miles to a new climate, a new city, and a new home in Arizona. Brian accepted a job here two days before the wedding, so we moved without knowing anyone where we were going, or even where we would live. God has provided for our needs over and over in wonderful ways, and through it all, He’s taught me quite a lot about marriage…
In my guest post, I mention several resources that have had an impact on our marriage. I wanted to list those for you here, so that after you visit Rediscovering Domesticity, if you’re curious about the books I mention, you can find them all in one place!
The first is “Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs
” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. I don’t think I can recommend this book too highly! This book filled in the blanks for me: I learned what “respect” means to a man, how to give it, why love matters so much to a woman, why conflicts happen, and how to resolve them without all the emotional rampage. It shed light on the differences between men and women and how we can be sensitive to those differences and achieve greater harmony in our marriage.
The first is “Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires; The Respect He Desperately Needs
” by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. I don’t think I can recommend this book too highly! This book filled in the blanks for me: I learned what “respect” means to a man, how to give it, why love matters so much to a woman, why conflicts happen, and how to resolve them without all the emotional rampage. It shed light on the differences between men and women and how we can be sensitive to those differences and achieve greater harmony in our marriage.
If you’re thinking about going through this book in a small group, I recommend the Love & Respect Workbook
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| $13.39, regularly $22.99 |
Another book I mention is Sacred Sex: A Spiritual Celebration of Oneness in Marriage
by Tim Alan Gardener. This is a great book to read if you, like me, struggle with understanding how sex can be good, let alone holy. It delves into the scriptures and the spiritual side of the married physical relationship, and I can guarantee you’ll have a better understanding and a greater desire to “become one” after reading it.
by Tim Alan Gardener. This is a great book to read if you, like me, struggle with understanding how sex can be good, let alone holy. It delves into the scriptures and the spiritual side of the married physical relationship, and I can guarantee you’ll have a better understanding and a greater desire to “become one” after reading it.
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| $11.19, you save 20% when buying on Amazon |
I also mention For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men
. This book is a quick but powerful read, with short chapters combining life changing truth with fascinating statistics from surveys of thousands of men. It’s a true inside look at how men think! After every chapter, I’d ask Brian, “Is that really how you feel?!” and I was shocked to discover that I really didn’t know him as well as I thought! I’ve recommended this book to many friends and family, because it’s a fun, fast read, but packed with life-changing truth.
. This book is a quick but powerful read, with short chapters combining life changing truth with fascinating statistics from surveys of thousands of men. It’s a true inside look at how men think! After every chapter, I’d ask Brian, “Is that really how you feel?!” and I was shocked to discover that I really didn’t know him as well as I thought! I’ve recommended this book to many friends and family, because it’s a fun, fast read, but packed with life-changing truth.This is a fun one for a women’s bible study! It’s great for engaged, newly-wed, and been-married-awhile women.
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| On sale now for $10.19! |
For all you married couples, you’ll enjoy this book’s candid, fun loving, spiritual, and practical information for a more fulfilling intimate relationship. Sheet Music: Uncovering the Secrets of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage
by Kevin Leman is also a great tool for pre-marital counseling, with specific chapters for engaged couples to read. I know those chapters were really helpful for me! We really enjoyed reading the rest of the book on our honeymoon!
by Kevin Leman is also a great tool for pre-marital counseling, with specific chapters for engaged couples to read. I know those chapters were really helpful for me! We really enjoyed reading the rest of the book on our honeymoon!
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| $8.58- you save 43%! A crazy good deal on this book! |
What books have had an impact on your marriage? Share them with us in the comments!
I'm a big fan of Love & Respect too!
Sacred Marriage and Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas are constant go-to books on my shelf (although usually when I need a little marriage encouragement).
A Wife (and A Mother) After God's Own Heart by Elizabeth George are two I go back to over and over when I think things are ok, but I just need a little revival in my own heart.
And I really recommend The Power of a Positive Wife (or Woman, or Mom) to my friends that aren't big readers. They are great books and quick to read with lots of good quotes and stories to keep the text light.
Now that I've proven without a doubt that I'm a total bookworm…I'm heading over to your guest post!
I love For Women Only too! I did the same thing you did: I kept asking my husband, "is that what you really think?" And of course, he said it was accurate. I also agree with the previous commenter about A Wife After God's Own Heart (as well as A Woman After God's Own Heart…I haven't read the other one she mentioned, but it's probably great too…Elizabeth George is awesome!) Every Woman's Marriage by Shannon and Greg Etheridge is a great one too. I will have to get a copy of Sheet Music…that sounds like a good one!
Thanks for guest posting! Feel free to interact in the comments!
Another great read about marriage is Intended for Pleasure – designed more for pre-marrieds and newly marrieds. There are quite a few on your list that I hadn't heard of that I will be checking out!
Yay! Your guest post is finally up!
Aside from Love and Respect, I haven't read any of these…I'll have to check them out!
My husband and I took the Love and Respect course and it was fantastic. Really gives a lot of insight into how men and women think and communicate and how to improve your relationship with this knowledge. And Sheet Music is really fantastic.
Thanks for stopping by! Always happy to see you.
how lovely! these books all look interesting!!! I actually have 2 marriage books given to me. I haven't completely read them but the chapters I've read were all good.
*Courtship after marriage
(Zig Ziglar)
*Marriage takes more than love (Jack and Carole Mayhall)
im glad you are enjoying your marriage! send my regards to brian!
http://www.theblogforbrides.com
These are wonderful books. I'm so glad you are recommending them to others. For a little bit of fiction fun read the wonderful allegory of Christ's love for us in Streiker's Bride by Robin Hardy.
Blessings from Edge of Escape
Congrats on 7 months and 12 days! It sounds like you two have begun well. Blessings, Emily!
This is such a great list of books! I need to read more of them. 🙂