Preparing for Marriage

As a pastor, I use this for premarital counseling with couples. It is very in depth (8 sessions -- takes about 2 months to complete).I will warn you -- the beginning of this book is a personal illustration from his own marriage that is really awful (the illustration, not the marriage). Once you get through that, the book is excellent.Some folks may struggle with this a bit, because it is so in depth. It takes you to a level of self-examination and vulnerability that some people cannot accept. However, for those that can walk that path, this book is very useful, particularly for those who have been married before. The book includes extra materials for those who have been married before. It can help you leave behind old baggage from past failures before you carry it into your new marriage.The entire FamilyLife ministry is really excellent. Their Home Builders materials and conferences are wonderful. If you and your spouse are struggling in your marriage, the FamilyLife "Weekend to Remember" could be just the cure. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to strengthen their marriage.

I am a pastor and do pre-marriage counseling. I used to use parts of many books but that is expensive and often a bit daunting. I have found that this book covers so much so well. I really love the many questions in the book that the couples do separately and then we go over them. It is so fruitful. One of the goals of marriage counseling is to help them see reality - this book does that. It's not perfect and I have things I add. Overall, it's the best one stop resource I've found. The leader's guide is helpful, especially for the questions it has for the first session. I think it's both simplified and improved pre-marital counseling for me.

We got this book for our premarital counseling class and fell in love with it. The questions don't iceberg you, it dices deep to the root of the situation or problem you have. It helps us with out communication well.

This is the workbook chosen by our pastor for premarital counseling. I love the topics the conversations it forces. As well as how it makes you open your eyes to the other’s perspective.

Good kick start for preparation to get married. There are better books.

I found this book and just started it. I like how the author has a down to earth, and practical approach at looking at, processing and deciding weather two people should be together. I’m dating and in the process of finding my way in figuring out Gods will for my future. It feels big, and I’ve been enjoying working through this book.

This book is a must have! The chapter really helped my husband and it uncover and align on ideas and convictions we were not aware of before marriage prep. We’ve been gifting it to our friends and family.

My daughter and future son-in-law are going through this book with our Pastor for premarital counceling. I read through most of it before they started. It has a lot of things in it most people don't ask each other or consider before getting married. Not that it has to be a deal breaker for the marriage, but things that can cause struggles later on because they were never discussed or just assumed based on your own upbringing and influences in life. It's a great book and highly recommended from a parent who loves seeing the spark in their eyes when they learn something new about each other. We recommended they take the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class too, so this is a great foundation before they are married!