7 Secrets To An Awesome Marriage: A Book Review & Family Christian Giveaway #FCBlogger

** I received a copy of this book for review, all thoughts are 100% my own.

I love marriage. There is nothing greater than the idea of spending the rest of your life with the one you love, is there? I'm sure when most of us get married, that is exactly what we intend... to grow old together. To go through life, side by side, forever and always, living happily ever after. On that big day, we don't want to think about the hard times, we don't want to think that it might not last.

But did you know that 40-50% of first marriages in the United States end in divorce? 

That's a pretty scary statistic. As I said, when we are planning our weddings and just beginning to start these brand new lives together, we can never imagine that we might be in that 40-50% percent. We believe that that cannot be us, because we have great relationships. We don't always acknowledge that it won't always be that easy.

All too often we see the couples that we thought would beat the odds- the perfect couples- calling it quits. Perhaps you see this happening around you, and you find yourself wondering- if they cannot make it work- the perfect couple that they were- how do any of us stand the chance? I certainly have wondered this myself. My husband and I have been married for 8.5 years. In those 8.5 years, we have been through many hard times in our personal lives. We have faced deployments, raising a special needs child, moves, finanacial ups and downs and so much more. We have faced many obstacles that would send many couples to their breaking points. Around us, we have seen many marriages come and go, for much less.

Looking around, I often find myself asking- why are these marriages failing? Is it merely our stubbornness and our love for one another? Did we simply take our vows more seriously than others? What are the secrets to having a successful marriage? This is just what Dr Kim Kimberling discusses in his new book, 7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage:

All of us want an enduring marriage, a beautiful marriage we can believe in. That kind of marriage happens through intimacy. Intimacy requires hard work and a guide. Dr. Kim Kimberling is that guide, and this book and its tools will show you how communication and intimacy in marriage can be yours. 

Kimberling offers insights like connecting every day in spite of what’s in the way, learning how to fight in the right ways, stopping the insanity of doing the same thing over and over even when it isn’t working, and finding that the best sex ever is well within the context of Christian marriages. 

Once these 7 secrets are a part of your marriage, you can stand together and fight anything that would ever try to tear your marriage apart. 

Whether you have just celebrated your first anniversary or your fiftieth, 7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage by Dr. Kim Kimberling is for you. If you have a good marriage, this book can help you have a great marriage. If you are struggling, Kim Kimberling will help you turn the corner and make your marriage into what you want it to be.

Do you ever read a book on marriage and feel like it's just kind of preaching at you? Like it seems to be (intentional or not) written by someone who is perfect? Not human like yourself? 7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage is not one of these books. While it does encourage us to take a look at how we communicate and interact with our spouse, it doesn't make us feel like a failure when we are less than perfect. In fact, Kim himself shares instances where he and his wife had those moments as well. Now, knowing the counselor who has counseled hundreds of couples throughout the year doesn't always get it right either, makes you feel a whole lot better about your own shortcomings right? And it makes it a lot more relate-able too. 

For the most part, these secrets are nothing new... you might even read a few of the 'secrets' and think 'duh, isn't that obvious?', but obvious as they may be- we still find ourselves not always following them. This book offers practical advice that is both wise and relate-able. It takes those secrets that we all kinda know, and truly makes them much easier to understand and apply to our own lives. But perhaps my favorite part of this particular book, was that it reminds us that a marriage is NOT just two people. No, in order to have a successful marriage, we must be sure to include God as well. It is with His help that we can strengthen our marriages and live out those happily ever afters.

No matter how long you have been married, or where you are in your marriage, this is truly a great read! 7 Secrets to an Awesome Marriage comes out on July 28th, but you can preorder now at Family Christian.

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