In this moving devotional filled with Bible-based advice, Scripture, prayer and exercises, couples can spend time working toward the marriage they have always longed for; a marriage destined and encouraged by God.
Before I go further, let me tell you this won't be one of my strictly professional tell you about the book reviews. First of all, I can't remember for the life of me what organization I received this from. I had signed up to review for Tyndale and another place, and received two different books. Life got hectic and my TBR pile grew. I can't identify who I am supposed to be reviewing the book for or what site this should be posted on, so I'm posting it here. Yes, I am embarrassed.
The other reason this will be a more personal review is that I was drawn to this book at a moment when I was struggling, not as a wife, but as a mother. If anything, my marriage is the one thing I feel confident in. My husband and I have been together for 22 years, married for 11, and every day I fall more in love with him. He is truly a gift from God.
Parenting, however, has never come easy to me. I feel less than adequate. After a very stressful week, in which I swore I could not have been a worse mother, I sought out a new book to read while relaxing in the tub. God must have wanted me to read this one, because even though this is a devotional geared toward building up a marriage, the verses, prayers, and some of the advice could apply to my role as a mother. He must have known I needed to read that book just at that moment.
Now, hopefully more on topic, what the reader will find in Love & War is a small book that is packed with tons of encouragement and inspiration. Small enough to slide into your purse or a laptop bag, the enormous value of this book shouldn't be discounted. Broken down over eight weeks, couples explore different aspects of their marriage.
As the authors admit, marriage is hard. Love and passion attracts us to each other, but we need something else to build on to develop a life-long marriage. It's hard work, but God wants this for us, just as much as we want to have it--maybe more. It talks about the Fall and how hard it was even for Adam and Eve who didn't come with all that baggage that we do and did not know sin, to have a relationship with God and with each other. Love & War encourages the reader not to seek his/her happiness from a spouse, but from the only One who can truly provide it. By doing so, we are free to love our spouses more fully.
This book explores the high calling of marriage and what an honor it is when it is bestowed upon us, but it also talks about the costs. It discusses how men and women were created as opposites, but how despite that, Jesus, who came to save what was lost will help couples along the way.
I could go on and on about how wonderful Love & War is. I'm not certain if I can get my husband to go through this book with me, but I am going to try. Though we don't have any problems right now, we can all use a little building up in our marriage. I'm glad the Lord led me to it.
If your marriage is floundering or if you want to be reminded how precious your marriage is, read this devotional together.
Title: Love & War Devotional for Couples
Authors: John and Stasi Eldrege
Publisher: WaterBrook Press
ISBN-10: 9780307729934
ISBN-13: 978-0307729934
SRP: $14.99
Hi Cheryl. Thanks for sharing your review of the book.
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