Books

You and your husband should do your best to establish a devotional life together. Praying together and reading either the Bible or a devotional together will strengthen your bond. We have been reading Night Light: A Devotional for Couples by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson but I know there are many other options out there.

If your husband is willing to read marriage books together, this is a very good practice for added intimacy and understanding. Especially if you are unable or unwilling to pursue counseling.

I am working on reading and vetting more books for this list, but here are the ones I recommend so far.

Disclaimer: Most relationship books are written from perspectives not fully in line with Holiness theology. Always use your own discretion and follow your conscience in what you read, trusting the Holy Spirit to help you accept what is helpful and useful, and throw out what is not.

Created for Connection by Dr. Sue Johnson and Kenny Sanderfer. This book takes the EFT approach to counseling and applies it to Christian marriages, giving couples tools for dealing with conflict and staying connected to each other.

Making Your Marriage a Fortress by Gary Thomas. Here you will find personal stories showing a variety of situations that couples have found themselves in, from a health diagnosis to infidelity. This book gives hope that the difficult circumstances we face can actually be used as building blocks for a marriage stronger than we imagined.

Loving Him Well by Gary Thomas. This book is just for the wife. It has a lot of practical and helpful advice, as well as interesting information on the differences between a man and woman’s brain.

Good Pictures, Bad Pictures Jr. by Kristen A. Jenson. This book is for children, to help protect them from exposure to pornography. There is another version for older children, which I have not read yet. This book has a “sticky note” on one page with the word “pornography” on it, but I just skipped that part with my children who are too young to read it themselves. I am very open with my children about many things, but I am still trying to keep them innocent as much as possible from the ugliness of sin. We can teach our children how to protect themselves from bad pictures without them having to know all the ins and outs of pornography until that becomes necessary.