In a long-overdue expos of one of the world's most prevalent ceremonies, Geller gives a critical analysis of weddings from a feminist perspective and calls into question some of the deepest-held beliefs about this tradition.
This beautiful 52-week devotional provides Christian couples with an easy way to read Scripture, pray, and engage in spiritual discussions and activities to strengthen their relationship and marriage. Perfect for younger couples in building a strong spiritual foundation early on, it's a great resource for couples of any age or stage who want to grow closer as they follow God together. Presented in a relaxed and easy-to-use way and edited by Focus on the Family president Jim Daly and his wife, Jean, each devotional offers foundational, practical, and wise material from members of the Focus counselling staff. The content is divided into 13 sections, with topics including getting to know each other better, listening, mastering money, building a Christ-centered home, going the distance, and more. Each section is introduced by the Dalys, and each of the 52 devotions is followed with discussion questions and activities.
Profound reflections on the cross that help you to meditate on and marvel at the sacrificial love of Jesus. This book can be used as a devotional, especially during Lent and Easter. These profound reflections on the cross from David Mathis, author of The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, will help you to meditate on and marvel at Jesus’ life, sacrificial death, and spectacular resurrection-enabling you to treasure anew who Jesus is and what he has done. Many of us are so familiar with the Easter story that it becomes easy to miss subtle details and difficult to really enjoy its meaning. This book will help you to pause and marvel at Jesus, whose now-glorified wounds are a sign of his unfailing love and the decisive victory that he has won: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) This book can be used as a devotional. The chapters on Holy Week make it especially helpful during the Lent season and at Easter.
The wedding is planned, but are you spiritually prepared for your wedding day? Trusted relationship author Gary Thomas coaches engaged couples on how to grow closer to the Lord in the days leading up to the wedding as a means of preparing them for all the days after the wedding. Engagement is bursting with promise, hope, joy, and anticipation of all kinds. It can also be one of the busiest times your life. For some, planning a wedding, with all the decisions involved, can feel less like the exciting onset of marriage and more like a tedious to-do list. Amidst the busyness, this devotional is designed to encourage and guide you through the spiritual priorities and challenges that lie ahead in order to grow a joy-filled marriage filled with love, grace, and God's blessing. In addition to helping you celebrate the joys of marriage and become radically connected as you create an even deeper passionate relationship, this lovely book also provides encouraging entries that will help you deal with common issues such as: Building physical and emotional intimacy Repairing trust Celebrating differences Being a team player Managing finances With a special section on the marriage vows and thoughtful meditations for the bride and groom, Preparing Your Heart for Marriage will help you grow in your relationship as a couple on your journey from “me” to “we.”
A companion to the popular website APracticalWedding.com and A Practical Wedding Planner, A Practical Wedding helps you sort through the basics to create the wedding you want -- without going broke or crazy in the process. After all, what really matters on your wedding day is not so much how it looked as how it felt. In this refreshing guide, expert Meg Keene shares her secrets to planning a beautiful celebration that reflects your taste and your relationship. You'll discover: The real purpose of engagement (hint: it's not just about the planning) How to pinpoint what matters most to you and your partner DIY-ing your wedding: brilliant or crazy? How to communicate decisions to your family Why that color-coded spreadsheet is actually worth it Wedding Zen can be yours. Meg walks you through everything from choosing a venue to writing vows, complete with stories and advice from women who have been in the trenches: the Team Practical brides. So here's to the joyful wedding, the sensible wedding, the unbelievably fun wedding! A Practical Wedding is your complete guide to getting married with grace.
A Christy Award-winning novel chronicling the forbidden romance between Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina von Bora, set against the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. She was a nun of noble birth. He was a heretic, a reformer, and an outlaw of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 16th century, nun Katharina von Bora’s fate fell no further than the Abbey. Until she read the writings of Martin Luther. His sweeping Catholic church reformation—condemning a cloistered life and promoting the goodness of marriage—awakened her desire for everything she’d been forbidden. Including Martin Luther himself. Despite the fact that the attraction and tension between them is undeniable, Luther holds fast to his convictions and remains isolated, refusing to risk anyone’s life but his own. And Katharina longs for love, but is strong-willed. She clings proudly to her class distinction, pining for nobility over the heart of a reformer. They couldn’t be more different. But as the world comes tumbling down around them, and with Luther’s threatened life a constant strain, these unlikely allies forge an unexpected bond of understanding, support and love. Together, they will alter the religious landscape forever. - Christy Award: Historical Romance Fiction Winner
For readers enchanted by the bestsellers The Astronaut Wives Club, The Girls of Atomic City, and Summer at Tiffany’s, an absorbing tale of romance and resilience—the true story of four British women who crossed the Atlantic for love, coming to America at the end of World War II to make a new life with the American servicemen they married. The “friendly invasion” of Britain by over a million American G.I.s bewitched a generation of young women deprived of male company during the Second World War. With their exotic accents, smart uniforms, and aura of Hollywood glamour, the G.I.s easily conquered their hearts, leaving British boys fighting abroad green with envy. But for girls like Sylvia, Margaret, Gwendolyn, and even the skeptical Rae, American soldiers offered something even more tantalizing than chocolate, chewing gum, and nylon stockings: an escape route from Blitz-ravaged Britain, an opportunity for a new life in affluent, modern America. Through the stories of these four women, G.I. Brides illuminates the experiences of war brides who found themselves in a foreign culture thousands of miles away from family and friends, with men they hardly knew. Some struggled with the isolation of life in rural America, or found their soldier less than heroic in civilian life. But most persevered, determined to turn their wartime romance into a lifelong love affair, and prove to those back home that a Hollywood ending of their own was possible. G.I. Brides includes an eight-pages insert that features 45-black-and-white photos.
God is still writing your story What happens when life doesn't turn out the way you always imagined? How do you stay hopeful when disappointments, unfulfilled longings, and frustrating detours come knocking on your door? Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal have asked these same questions themselves. In Not Part of the Plan, they open up their lives in the most raw and relatable way, sharing their own journeys through unexpected seasons of infertility, singleness, loss, and heartbreak. But in the midst of it all, they've learned that true hope doesn't come from getting the life you always dreamed of but from trusting God with the life He has for you and believing that His plans truly are good. Sister, wherever you are on your journey, your life has purpose and meaning in Christ, and thriving is possible--right now. "If life has thrown you a curveball and your future feels hard and scary, Not Part of the Plan is the book for you. You'll laugh. You'll cry. But most of all, you'll appreciate the advice of these wise friends as they teach you how to walk through pain and uncertainty and lead you toward a hope-filled tomorrow."--Mary A. Kassian, author of Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild "Bethany and Kristen address the struggles we face when life takes unwanted detours and show us through Scripture and experience that our ultimate hope is found in Christ. Even in life's disappointments, we can be completely confident in God's greater plan that is for our good and for His glory."--Gretchen Saffles, author of The Well-Watered Woman, founder of Well-Watered Women
In her final novel, “a beautiful and devastating examination of family, society and race” (The New York Times), Dorothy West offers an intimate glimpse into the Oval, a proud, insular community made up of the best and brightest of the East Coast's Black bourgeoisie on Martha’s Vineyard in the 1950s. Within this inner circle of "blue-vein society," we witness the prominent Coles family gather for the wedding of the loveliest daughter, Shelby, who could have chosen from "a whole area of eligible men of the right colors and the right professions." Instead, she has fallen in love with and is about to be married to Meade Wyler, a white jazz musician from New York. A shock wave breaks over the Oval as its longtime members grapple with the changing face of its community. With elegant, luminous prose, Dorothy West crowns her literary career by illustrating one family's struggle to break the shackles of race and class.
Ryan and Selena Frederick were newlyweds when they landed in Switzerland to pursue Selena's dream of training horses. Neither of them knew at the time that Ryan was living out a death sentence brought on by a worsening genetic heart defect. Soon it became clear he needed major surgery that could either save his life--or result in his death on the operating table. The young couple prepared for the worst. When Ryan survived, they both realized that they still had a future together. But the near loss changed the way they saw all that would lie ahead. They would live and love fiercely, fighting for each other and for a Christ-centered marriage, every step of the way. Fierce Marriage is their story, but more than that, it is a call for married couples to put God first in their relationship, to measure everything they do and say to each other against what Christ did for them, and to see marriage not just as a relationship they should try to keep healthy but also as one worth fighting for in every situation. With the gospel as their foundation, Ryan and Selena offer hope and practical help for common struggles in marriage, including communication problems, sexual frustration, financial stress, family tension, screen-time disconnection, and unrealistic expectations.