A Lifelong Love {a Flyby Review} PLUS Giveaway

 

About the Book:

Discover how to live out a sacred marriage. You believe your marriage has eternal purposes. you long for it to reach beyond your home and encourage others. But what does it look like to have a spiritually intentional relationship in the midst of dirty dishes, work deadlines, and car pools? In Sacred Marriage, Gary Thomas showed us that God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy. Now, in A Lifelong Love, Thomas gives us the practical tools to craft our marriages into inspiring relationships that breathe spiritual life to others. Whatever season of marriage you are in, A Lifelong Love gives your the practical help you need to infuse your marriage with a spiritual passion that will not only change you but will change the world around you.

 

What I thought:

First, I have to admit that at the time of writing this I haven't finished reading the book. The 316 page book is divided into three parts. I am still in the second part. There's just so much good, biblical advice given that I found myself wanting to take my time, absorb and remember what I was being taught or reintroduced to. Reading books for knowledge or pleasure is one thing but reading to apply biblical truths to your life and marriage is another. Some things you just can't rush.

 

Thomas covers a vast area of marital ground in his book. Something that really stuck out to me was the "God the Father -in-law" thought process. This was a totally new concept for me. It's simple but profound. If we are all children of God, then consider Him your spouse's Father which would make him your Father-in-law.

 

Think about that.

 

If we went through our days, weeks and years with the thought of being married to God's son (or daughter) in the forefront of our minds, how much different would our actions or words be? Would we dare make snide remarks or use sarcasm? Probably not. But the reality is that whether we take that thought train or not, it's true. We are married to His child and we will be held accountable for how we treat him (or her).

 

One snippet that was particularly convicting (personally)...

 

But marriage does call us to at least try to understand our spouses' struggles as God understands them- looking through the kindly, paternal eyes of our loving heavenly Father-in-law instead of through our angry, resentful eyes of judgment.

 

Ouch.

 

When it comes to trying to see things from someone else's point of view, I fail 99% of the time. Unfortunately, I assume. A lot. One of my biggest faults is actually finishing other people's sentences- especially my husbands. I think I know what is going on or why things are happening- which I don't! And sometimes I take it a step further and form emotional decisions before even speaking to him to find out what's going on. I know, poor guy.

He takes it in stride, God love him. I am making an effort to stop.

Back to the "angry, resentful eyes of judgment"... That line stuck with me for days. How may times had I hurt my husband (and by extension our marriage) due to my angry, resentful eyes of judgment? How many blessings have I robbed myself(and him) of?

 

Lord help me.

 

Whether you have been married 10 minutes or 10 years, this book is for you. I read it alone this time but I think once I finish it I'll ask the hubby to go through it with me. There are questions at the end of each chapter, some are just recapping but the majority of them are thought provoking and really cause you to examine yourself and your marriage. It would be a good idea to have a journal to go along with this so you can write your answers down.

 

I haven't read the first book, Sacred Marriage, but it is definitely on my To Read list now.

 

About the Author:

Gary Thomas is writer-in-residence at Second Baptist Church in Houston, a frequent guest on Focus on the Family and FamilyLife Today radio, and a popular speaker. His award-winning books, including The Sacred Search, have been translated into over a dozen languages and together have sold more than a million copies worldwide. Thomas and his wife have been married thirty years and have three children.

Connect with Gary on his Website, Twitter and Facebook

 

A Lifelong Love retails for $18.99 and is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Christian Book and other retailers near you!

 

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Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.