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Marriage is an incredibly beautiful relationship. There is no closer connection than the intimacy between a husband and wife. But, it takes a lot of work to maintain that close of a
Having a strong, thriving marriage requires forgiveness, grace, kindness, selflessness and a lot of other things that go against our natural desires. It means putting the other person first, choosing to love them even when you don’t feel it and holding fast to your commitment in hard times.
There are a number of wonderful resources out there to help you take steps to improve your marriage and make it a thriving, fruitful reflection of the Gospel to the world.
Tools to Strengthen Your Marriage
Naked Conversations is a monthly marriage encouragement streaming service provided by Marriage 365. Founders Casey &
This streaming service is $11.99 per month (less than the cost of 1/2 of a date!) and you can start your 7-day FREE trial today!
Cultivate What Matters is a Christian-based company that helps people turn their God-sized dreams and goals into bite-sized action steps. I use their PowerSheets Goal Planner to set and attain my biggest goals and they have created a tool to help you do that as a couple.
It’s important to set goals separately AND together to move your marriage forward. The goal guide is
Audrey and Jeremy Roloff of Beating 50 Percent have created this beautiful marriage journal for couples. It is meant to be used on a weekly basis and includes a devotional, a calendar, and 6 questions that you answer together to cultivate communication and connection.
My husband and I love how this journal keeps us connected and on the same page while we are in an incredibly busy season.
My husband is a full-time Young Adults Pastor and also in the Army Reserves. We have a small toddler and I run Faithfully Planted in the margins. We are BUSY. But these intentional questions every week help us to stay connected.
This tool is actually one that I personally created to help our date nights be as effective as possible. I want my marriage to remain fun and deeply connected so I created a tool to help us do that.
Using date night questions gives you specific topics to discuss and takes the extra brain work out of the date so you can focus on having fun and spending quality time with your spouse.
These questions also bring up
This link is to a post I wrote about how the Enneagram personality framework improved my marriage. The Enneagram helps you to discover
Knowing more about yourself and your spouse helps you to better communicate, connect and forgive one another. I highly encourage you to read the post and explore the books and resources linked there.
The 5 love languages test tells you which of the 5 ways you receive love the best. Knowing how you receive love and knowing how your spouse receives love helps you both to show love to one another better.
My husband and I do not speak the same love language but we didn’t realize how much this affected us until we read the book and took the test.
My love language is Acts of Service and Quality Time while
If we aren’t intentional about speaking the other person’s language, we each can start to feel neglected and unloved, which couldn’t be further from the truth! We love our spouses, but for them to feel it, we have to speak their language.
Books For A Christ-Centered Marriage
You & Me Forever by Francis & Lisa Chan
This book is one of my favorite books on marriage because it focuses on this wonderful relationship in the light of the Gospel message. It is not a how-to book or a book on communication or tips for making you happier. It truly is a book that seeks to center your focus on Jesus and not on your spouse.
Marriage is not our most important relationship and can easily become an idol. This book helps to put that into perspective and helps you both to stay Christ-centered in your marriage.
The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
The Meaning of Marriage is an incredible tool for gaining a deep understanding of Biblical marriage. It combats a lot of the beliefs that our culture perpetuates about relationships including the concept of soul mates, divorce, romance and the role our spouses are supposed to play in our lives.
This book answers the question of why marriage exists and and what it means for everyone,. Whether you are married, single, dating or engaged, this book will bless you and help you understand the true purpose of marriage.
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
What if the ultimate purpose for marriage was not to make us happy, but holy instead? Gary Thomas explores this topic in his book, Sacred Marriage. He asserts that marriage is a spiritual discipline
My husband and I also went through the devotional that accompanies this book and some profound conversations about the missional purpose of our marriage. I highly recommend both books to any couple looking to deepen and improve their marriage.
The Mingling of Souls by Matt Chandler
This book follows the relationship from attraction, dating, courtship, engagement, wedding, marriage, and beyond. Told through the lens of Song of Songs, this book covers everything from romance to arguing and hits on topics many church leaders shy away from discussing, such as sex and what to do when there is a lack of romance in a relationship.
This book presents Christians and all people with a Biblical view of true commitment and discusses what it takes to hold fast during the hard times, the poor times, and the times of sickness that marriage vows talk about. Any marriage, new or old, will be blessed by this book.
The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work by John Gottman & Nan Silver
This book was actually recommended to me by a couple in our small group.This book is based on research (which my Master’s degree-holding self LOVES) extensively done by the
This book has practical advice for dealing with issues that plague many marriages including sex, money, religion, work, family, conflict and more. It even covers the main attributes of marriages that do not last and how to make sure yours isn’t one of them.
This book is by far one of the best, most practical books on marriage. Any couple (even strong ones) who reads this book will find something to improve in their marriage.
Those are it, friends! I hope you find them to be blessings and that you return to this post for resources in the future.
Marriage is work, but the more we work the more they bless us. If you know of a married couple who would benefit from any of these resources, would you share this post with them?
Your Sister In Christ,
