A good marriage isn’t something found; it’s something made. In this revised and updated edition of the bestselling book A Lifelong Love, author Gary Thomas shares that when couples pursue spiritual purpose and worship it builds lasting intimacy and friendship between them. In A Lifelong Love, Thomas takes couples on three essential journeys leading to a strong marriage: The journey toward each other The journey toward God The journey toward love Whether readers are feeling discouraged about their marriage or simply want to infuse their relationship with greater spiritual and relational passion, A Lifelong Love offers the guidance they need to embrace the eternal intentions that God has for them.
The wisdom and insight every couple needs to keep your marriage together when the trials of life threaten to rip it apart and how you can fortify your marriage ahead of time. Every marriage will face disaster. Illness or cancer. Job loss or financial burdens. Addiction. Anxiety. Infidelity. Loss of faith. It's not a question of if your marriage will face trials. It's a question of when. Whether you've been married for five years or fifty, your marriage will either become part of the problem or part of the solution, and it's within your power to ensure your marriage is prepared for those seasons, is a place of refuge and safety throughout those seasons, and can recover well after those seasons. In Making Your Marriage a Fortress, Gary Thomas, bestselling author of Sacred Marriage, guides you and your spouse in building a marriage that can withstand any storm or difficult season. In these pages, you will . . . Discover helpful and practical principles to protect your marriage from any struggle Learn to detect the warning signs of trouble and how to act on them Understand how the state of your marriage is magnified during a crisis and how to improve it Be encouraged through stories from Gary's marriage, as well as others, that you and your spouse are not alone Gain spiritual insight about God's view of marriage and how to live it out in all circumstances--for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health, till death do you part Every marriage will face setbacks and seasons of disappointment, but this book will help you keep your marriage strong before and after a setback happens.
What if God designed marriage to make you holy instead of happy? What if your relationship isn't as much about you and your spouse as it is about you and God? In Sacred Marriage, bestselling author Gary Thomas uncovers the ways that your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and with each other. Join over one million others who have already uncovered Thomas's tips for fostering a sacred marriage. Within the pages of Sacred Marriage, Thomas invites you to see how God can use your relationship with your spouse as a discipline and a motivation to love God more and reflect more of the character of his Son. In addition to life-changing insights from Scripture, church history, and time-tested wisdom from Christian classics, you'll find practical advice and techniques to make your marriage happier by becoming holier husbands and wives. In Sacred Marriage, Thomas will give you all of the tools you need to: Turn marital struggles into spiritual and personal appreciation Love your spouse with a stronger sense of purpose Confront your weaknesses and sin in order to grow your relationship with God and with your spouse Partner in the spiritual growth and character formation of your spouse Transform a tired marriage into a relationship filled with awe and respect Thomas reveals that sacred marriages teach us to love God and others well by fostering a healthy sex life, a strong prayer life, and a rich spiritual life. God uses our marriages to help us grow in character, in prayer, in worship, and in service--we just have to recognize that the purpose of marriage is holiness, not happiness. Each copy also includes thought-provoking discussion questions designed to spark conversation between couples and small groups, allowing you to dive deeper into the lessons that Thomas shares in Sacred Marriage. Join the one million others who have already started on their journey to transforming their relationship with their spouses and with their Creator.
Gary Thomas, one of this generation's most trusted writers about the spiritual life, explores what it means to build a life of true pleasure - one that will liberate your spiritual life, marriage, family, community, and outreach. Many Christians assume "pleasure" and "sin" are synonymous. Others define godly pleasure so narrowly that they drastically minimize the powerful and holy role that pleasure can play in their lives. Still others feel guilty even thinking about how to build a life of pleasure. For all of them, Pure Pleasure provides an entirely new paradigm. It invites Christians to embrace a life of true pleasure as a pathway to obedience, worship, and service. Building on his bestselling books Sacred Pathways, Sacred Marriage, and the ECPA Gold Medallion-winning Authentic Faith, Gary Thomas takes readers to a new level of faith by providing a theological and inspirational framework to help them cultivate the kind of life that pleases God. Abounding with spiritual insights and practical exercises, this book invites you to shake off the shackles of misunderstanding about sin, provides the freedom to approach life in Christ with new wonder and joy, and challenges you to experience life as God meant it to be: overflowing with pleasure. Also available: Pure Pleasure small group video study and study guide, Spanish edition, and more.
Gary Thomas, pastor and bestselling author of Sacred Marriage, believes that one simple word can bring hope, light, and life into any marriage: Cherish. Most marriages survive by gritting teeth and holding on. But what if surviving marriage wasn't the goal? What if we aimed to thrive instead? In Cherish, Thomas teaches us that although there are a countless number of marriages consisting of two people just going through the motions, there are real ways this pattern can be reversed: when husbands and wives learn to cherish one another in their everyday actions and words. The way we treat something acknowledges whether we cherish it or hold it with indifference or contempt. To truly cherish something is to go out of our way to show it off, protect it, and honor it. We want others to see and recognize and affirm the value that we see. Thomas reminds us that in a world desperate for marriage redemption, the act of cherishing is needed now more than ever. Cherishing your spouse will elevate your marriage relationally, emotionally, spiritually, and even physically. You will set different goals for your relationship, and you'll see your marriage with fresh eyes. Through personal stories, real-world examples, and timeless biblical truths, Thomas shares the tools you need to turn your marriage around, including: Using your mind to change your heart Sacrificing for your spouse Praying with intentionality Prioritizing your life partner Through the biblical act of cherishing, we can empower our spouses to become who they are called by God to be, and in the process to become more of who we are called to be, creating a marriage that feels more precious, more connected, and more satisfying. If you're ready to revolutionize your relationship, it's time to learn how to truly Cherish it.
The perfect gift for engaged, newlywed, or married couples! This two-in-one book and devotional from bestselling author Gary Thomas helps couples discover how marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God and each other. Marriage is much more than a union between you and your spouse. From the love you share to the forgiveness you both offer and seek in turn, it is a spiritual discipline ideally suited to help you know God more fully and intimately. Shifting the focus from marital enrichment to spiritual enrichment, Thomas offers practical tools and techniques to make your marriage happier by becoming holier husbands and wives. This special-edition two-in-one book and devotional includes: Sacred Marriage Starting with the discovery that the goal of marriage goes beyond personal happiness, writer and speaker Gary Thomas invites you to see how God can use your marriage as a discipline and a motivation to love him more and reflect more of the character of his Son. Devotions for a Sacred Marriage A companion to Sacred Marriage, this book of 52 devotions encourages you to build your marriage around God's priorities. From learning to live with a fellow sinner to the process of two becoming one to sharing our lives as brothers and sisters in Christ, Devotions for a Sacred Marriage challenges couples to embrace the profound and soul-stretching reality of Christian marriage.
“Jones’s radical, detailed vision of what extremes it might take to unlearn misogyny is rendered with insight, immediacy, and painful honesty. This gut-punch of a story is sure to start conversations.” — Publishers Weekly, starred review A searing examination of the dark heart of masculinity confronted by a women-led society. The Handmaid’s Tale meets Herland at a party thrown by Anaïs Nin. Jonathon Bridge has a corner office in a top-tier software firm, tailored suits, and an impeccable pedigree. He has a fascinating wife, Adalia; a child on the way; and a string of pretty young interns as lovers on the side. He’s a man who’s going places. His world is our world: the same chaos and sprawl, haves and have-nots, men and women, skyscrapers and billboards. But it also exists alongside a vast, self-sustaining city-state called The Fortress where the indigenous inhabitants—the Vaik, a society run and populated exclusively by women—live in isolation. When Adalia discovers his indiscretions and the ugly sexual violence pervading his firm, she agrees to continue their fractured marriage only on the condition that Jonathan voluntarily offers himself to The Fortress as a supplicant and stay there for a year. Jonathon’s arrival at The Fortress begins with a recitation of the conditions of his stay: He is forbidden to ask questions, to raise his hand in anger, and to refuse sex. Jonathon is utterly unprepared for what will happen to him over the course of the year—not only to his body, but to his mind and his heart. This absorbing, confronting, and moving novel asks questions about consent, power, love, and fulfillment. It asks what it takes for a man to change, and whether change is possible without a radical reversal of the conditions that seem normal.
Intended for couples about to be married, this book offers a sound, practical approach to such topics and concerns as expectations, decision-making, intimacy, friendship, communication, conflict, children, and looking to the future. Questions for discussion and reflection are included for each chapter.
The bestselling author of Sacred Marriage offers hope to women who want to strengthen and transform their marriages into the profoundly deep relationships God intended. Women: you're not alone in your marriage. You never have been, and you never will be. While it may not always feel like it, God wants you to have a relationally healthy, emotionally engaged, and spiritually mature husband. In Loving Him Well--previously titled Sacred Influence--Gary Thomas builds on concepts from his bestselling book Sacred Marriage to reveal the inner workings of a man's heart and mind. He delves into Scriptures that help women gain biblical insight to influence their husbands. Exploring the research of neuroscientists, trained counselors, and abuse victim advocates, Gary also interviews dozens of wives to find what has worked and what hasn't as they've sought to build the best marriage possible. With new stories and fresh illustrations to help wives understand, love, and influence their husbands, Loving Him Well offers encouragement, biblically based support, and practical applications for the transformation of your marriage, drawing you and your husband closer together, the way God intended. Perfect for . . . Women in good marriages who want a great marriage Women who feel invisible or marginalized in their marriage Engaged or newly married women who want to start investing in their marriage from the start You'll discover the influence you can gain and the peace of mind you can build when you go first to God for your worth, validation, protection, and provision and then learn how to use that platform to help your husband draw closer to you and closer to God. Loving Him Well includes study questions at the end of each chapter and is also available in Spanish, Amándolo bien.
