I was honored to be asked to review the book The Best Advice I Ever Got on Marriage, compiled by Jim Daly, the President and CEO of Focus on the Family.

Some of the greatest leaders in the Christian community share their experiences, good, bad, and funny, during their marriages. Each bring to the table great insight as they lay bare realities of spousal relationships. Their words grip your heart. While you’re reading, you feel as though you are staring into a mirror of your life instead of the thin pages of a book.

What can you expect from The Best Advice I Ever Got on Marriage?

Honesty.

Some of the authors are well-known public figures (Andy Stanley, Dr. Greg Smalley, Lee Strobel), and their marriages–to most–probably appear perfect. Unattainable. Yet the authors bravely share their struggles and how they overcame them. They explain the advice that they took to heart and nurtured, and how it helped them grow from a springtime bud to a fully-blossomed, strong love.

Humility.

It’s never easy to share the troubled or hard times, especially when you’re in the public eye, but the authors share their weakness with grace and strength. Each show how listening to sound advice, Godly wisdom, changes and saves a relationship. Each author points to Christ as the center of a relationship and never to themselves for making things work out.

Hope.

Regardless if you’re single, engaged, newlyweds, or married forever, The Best Advice I Ever Got on Marriage is a book that transcends a specific pinpoint of life. Some of the advice can be attributed to people other than your spouse, such as “Keep Your Commitment to Your Commitment” and “Attitude is a Choice.” Other sections of advice are strictly marital–“Putting Sex on the Calendar” and “Nine Words That Have Helped Us Stay Married.”

Interestingly, many of the authors refer to marriage counseling, which can be a daunting suggestion for any couple. Counseling? Us? Except none of the authors use counseling as a means of revenge or to get their spouse to find out how wrong they are. It’s a method of hope.

The culmination of wisdom in this book made me feel inspired, convicted, and hopeful. I felt excited to implement suggestions and eager to change my attitude in the areas I felt the Holy Spirit pull on my heart.

The Best Advice I Ever Got on Marriage is an excellent gift for newlyweds, as well as for anyone married. I wish I’d been given some of that advice years ago, but it’s never too late to start.

I’m including a link to the book on Amazon here. It’s worth reading, no matter the state of your relationship.

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