Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happily Ever After by Gary Chapman Book Review

Gary Chapman is the best sell author of The Five Love Languages has written a insightful, relevant, practical book "Happily Ever After".  Gary tackles some of the most common challenges marriages face today.  He uses real life examples, which helps the readers understand that they are not alone.  Often, many couples who are experiencing a challenge in their marriage feel that they are by themselves, but the reality is they are not alone.  This book helps the readers know that they are not alone and learn from others at the same time.  Gary discusses what he calls the Six Secrets to a Successful Marriage - Gary maintains that if we navigate these six areas successfully, we will have a successful marriage.  The six areas are:  1) Solving Conflicts without Arguing
                 2) Negotiating Change with Your Spouse
                 3) Making Money an Asset in Your Marriage
                 4) Marriage After the Children Arrive
                 5) Making Sex an Act of Love
                 6) Becoming Friends with Your In-Laws
As you can see this list is a pretty conclusive list, I can assure you that after you finish reading this book you will have insight into what can be done to help you in your marriage.  I want to be clear, this is not only a book for those who find themselves in challenging situations, its also for marriage counselors, leaders, Pastors, etc.  Its a great resource for a newlywed couple or it could be an anniversary gift for a couple celebrating many years of marriage.  I really enjoyed this book. I highly recommend it!

Note: I received this book free from the publisher through the Tyndale Blog Network book review bloggers program. Other than that, neither the publisher, author nor anyone connected to them offered any influence on the content of my review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own

Why Men Hate Going to Church by David Murrow Book Review

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I found this book to be very interesting and relevant to the present times.  The author David Murrow uses the premise that the global church is predominately made up women and pushes men away from church and thus the shortage of men in church.  The book is divided into three parts, the first part lays out data to support his premise of men shortage.  The second part discusses the church culture and how church cultures are overly effeminate and caters to women.  The third part lays out practical ideas and ways to get me engaged in the church.  As a man who regularly attends church and serve with other strong, I am encouraged by the level of activity and involvement of men in my church.  Could it be better? Of course, but as with anything I've learned to rejoice in the small victories.  I have seen more churches spring up with an emphasis on reaching men and they have been very successful.  I think as God continue to raise up church planters who have a heart for reaching men and seeing a strong representation of men.  There will be a greater intentionality in reaching and developing men and as a result men will be greater force in the local church.


If you are a pastor of a local church or Men's Pastor or Leader, this would be a great resource for you to have on your shelf.  It offers great insight, strategy on how to reach men and create a culture that embrace men in your church.

Note: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. Other than that, neither the publisher, author nor anyone connected to them offered any influence on the content of my review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.