Be sure and read to the bottom to find out about the amazing deal going on right now. (You can get this book for 38¢)
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Is your husband driving you crazy? Or Do you feel alone in your marriage?
I can empathize because I’ve been there. It’s a yucky place to be. And it certainly isn’t a place that makes me say “Hmmm, what can I do to be a better wife?” No. Unfortunately, in those seasons, I can only see the improvements that he needs to make. Worse, I may not see the value in trying, because for the moment, I’ve given up on my desire to have a thriving marriage.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Crystal shares that she had gotten to a place in her marriage where she was focusing on her husbands weaknesses, and her own needs. Instead of responding like many of us do (as I mentioned above), she chose to challenge herself to intentionally invest in her husband and love him well for 31 days. Not because everything was “her fault” but because she only had the power to change herself.
“This book is written for wives. Not because I believe that all of the problems in your marriage are your fault. But the fact of the matter is that focusing on your husband’s faults breeds discontentment, and it isn’t productive.You cannot nag, pout, argue or complain enough to change your husband. What you can do though, is change yourself.” Crystal
While there is always room for improvement on both parts, the raw truth of the matter is, you can only change you. And here is the beauty of this approach. When we seek to change ourselves, there is often a warm reception and changed behavior from our husbands.
“The even more amazing thing is that the change that took place in me changed my husband. When I started submitting to him, serving him, and intentionally loving him, he responded tome in completely different ways.” Crystal
God also blesses our lives in other ways when we decide to intentionally invest in our marriages.
“It radically changed my life. Even though this was a marriage challenge, the change went beyond my marriage. My walk with God was strengthened as I sought to honor Him through my marriage and my actions toward my husband.” Crystal
Maybe you’re not in the mood to intentionally love your husband. Maybe you think your ability to do so is gone. I challenge you to put aside your feelings for 31 days and just do the exercises outlined in this book. What have you go to lose? If you’re like me, maybe just some pride. I can almost promise that if you’ll take the time and energy to walk through this challenge, good things will happen.
So what’s this challenge all about?
It’s 31 days of doing just one thing a day to bless your husband. Sometimes it’s cooking his favorite meal, sometimes it’s greeting him warmly when he arrives home, sometimes it’s making an uplifting comment. It’s always within your reach, always just one thing, and always accompanied by a relevant scripture for you to cherish.
Being a busy mom herself, Crystal was careful to value your time and keep each daily challenge short; not an entire course on marriage each day.
Each day you will have a challenge which will include:
- A relevant scripture from the Bible
- A simple assignment for the day. This will be just one thing for you to do.
- A spot for personal reflection where she asks questions and you can respond by writing in the space given.
Will you like doing each of the challenges?
Honestly, maybe not. It’s my guess that you will squirm at the ones that you most need to do. Why? Because those are the ones you never enjoyed or felt comfortable with in the first place. But they need to be done if you are to have the marriage you want. I encourage you to go about this challenge prayerfully, asking God for His perfect strength in your abundant weakness. He wants a beautiful marriage for you so if you lay yourself down and “just do it”, you will be amazed at your own growth and at the healing that takes place in your marriage.
I’m keeping it a secret.
I’m going to do this challenge but I’m not going to tell him. (Oh shoot, he reads everything I write. I’ll have to tell him he can’t read this one just yet.) I think it will be more fun this way. Plus, it will just be more natural. He won’t be watching my every move or trying to respond the way he thinks I want him to. And, I can quit if I decide to.
WAIT. NO. I DID NOT MEAN THAT! (I actually wrote it to point out that this is not the reason to keep it a secret. And just to make sure that I don’t quit I’m going to tell a few friends when I start the challenge and ask them to keep me accountable.
I’d very much love to hear from you if you choose to get this book and walk through the challenge. I beleive God has great things in store for those who will.
BONUS:
I’ve had this book for several months now and I must confess, I just didn’t “feel like” picking it up. But I’m so glad I did. And the timing is perfect, because this book is one of the 78 e-books you can now buy for only $29.97. (That’s 38¢ a book, plus over $200.00 worth of free bonuses.) My book, “It’s Me or the Coupons” is also included.
It’s a pretty sweet deal.
Or, if you just want the one book, you can purchase it at Crystal’s site, Serving Joyfully.
The post Intentional Marriage: Book Review appeared first on Beth Cranford 2014.