WhatWishMARRIAGE
Have you ever wished your mom would have filled you in on the REALITY of marriage?

BEFORE you got married?

Julie Gorman wished exactly that. And so have I, by the way. The difference between Julie and me:

she wrote a book on it.

What I Wish My Mother Had Told Me About Marriage is a practical gem filled with scripture and Julie’s warmth and authenticity. The subhead — unlocking 10 secrets to a thriving marriage — describe the hope inside. Julie wrote this second addition with her husband, Greg. These secrets are not so secret. They are timeless truths that are always good to remember. Julie is the founder of His Love Extended Ministries as well as a conference speaker, radio show host and, of course, a wife and a mom.

10 (Not So Secret) Secrets

As you go down the list, think about the ones you need God’s help for your Christian marriage. I added my thoughts under a few of the items on Julie’s list.

1. Surrender, Completely

When you and I worship the one true God, loving him with all our heart and believing he is who he says he is, we surrender our desires and say, “God, I want what you want for my marriage.”

2. Forgive, Freely

It doesn’t look like this, friends, when I tried an experiment: Make the offending kid — you know, the one who called her sister a name or stuck out her tongue — say, “I’m sorry” whether she was sorry or not. The other kid had to say, “I forgive you” whether or not she truly forgave her. The idea was instilling a humble, contrite spirit leading to true repentance. The experiment failed.

3. Don’t Shift the Blame

4. Resist the Devil’s Lies

I used to believe countless lies. Then one by one I held up the lies and asked — maybe for the first time — is this true? My barometer? God’s Word. It was tough, beyond tough. Yet I began to replace the lies with the truth.

5. Replace Unrealistic Expectations

6. Tame Your Tongue

Words are powerful. They can build up or tear down. They can affirm and teach or criticize and condemn. By God’s grace, a mouth makeover can improve our relationships and affect our attitude toward life. Our words can enrich our connection to God as we spend more time in prayer and praise. Most important, God desires that we use the gift of speech to give Him praise, encourage others, and verbalize our faith in Christ as Lord and Savior.

7.  Be Intentional

8. Pursue Intimacy, Not Just for Sex

9. Fight For, Now With, One Another

God’s plan involves both husband and wife working together to lead their homes. To make this work, He gives different responsibilities to husbands and wives. God calls husbands to the biblical leadership model of Christ. This type of leadership looks quite different than how our culture often defines leadership.

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25

10. Dare to Dream Together

Resources!

Counseling: Are you interested in marriage counseling in person or by Skype? Please contact me and we can we if biblical counseling is a good choice for you.

Sharing Hope with Your Heart,

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