Preparing for Marriage Devotions for Couples: Discover God's Plan for a Lifetime of Love

by Dennis Rainey, Barbara Rainey

Overview

It can be tempting for engaged couples to focus on planning their wedding day and ignore preparations for the lifetime commitment that begins after the cake is cut. Now the bestselling resource for couples Preparing for Marriage has a companion devotional that includes fifty short devotions written by Dennis and Barbara Rainey. Preparing for Marriage is a program created by FamilyLife, one of America's leading marriage and family ministries, and is designed to help Christian couples lay the foundation for a strong, lasting, and biblical marriage.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441266842
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/07/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Dennis Rainey is president and CEO of FamilyLife, a division of Cru. Dennis and his wife, Barbara, have spoken at Weekend to Remember conferences around the world. Dennis serves as the daily host of the radio program FamilyLife Today. He and Barbara have authored more than two dozen books, including the bestselling Moments Together for Intimacy and Moments Together for Couples. The Raineys have six children and nineteen grandchildren.

Barbara Rainey and her husband, Dennis, have spoken at Weekend to Remember conferences around the world. Dennis and Barbara have authored more than two dozen books, including the bestselling Moments Together for Intimacy and Moments Together for Couples. The Raineys have six children and nineteen grandchildren.
Dr. Dennis Rainey is the cofounder of FamilyLife, a Cru ministry, and has authored or coauthored more than 55 books and Bible studies. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and hosts conferences on marriage, men's ministry, and parenting globally. For more than 26 years Dennis was the host of the award-winning nationally syndicated radio program FamilyLife Today, and he continues to be a contributor to the broadcast. He and his wife, Barbara, live near Little Rock, Arkansas, and have six married children and 24 grandchildren. More about their work and resources can be found at DennisandBarbara.com.
Barbara Rainey (www.familylifetoday.com) is a wife, mother of six adult children (plus three sons-in-law and two daughters-in-law), and "Mimi" to twenty-one grandchildren. After graduating from the University of Arkansas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, Barbara joined the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ in 1971. Her husband, Dennis, whom she married in 1972, is the president of FamilyLife, a ministry of Campus Crusade that is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Barbara has published articles on family-related topics and is the author and coauthor of many books. She speaks at FamilyLife's Weekend to Remember marriage conferences and is a frequent guest on FamilyLife Today, a nationally syndicated daily radio program. Having faithfully served alongside Dennis for more than forty years both in ministry and at home, Barbara has recently launched a new endeavor called Ever Thine Home. This line of decorative home products for women makes it easy to express faith at home in a way that is both biblical and beautiful (www.everthinehome.com).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Introduction 11

1 Eleven Rules About Marriage chat You Won't Learn in School 13

2 Building Your Home on the Rock 17

3 Marriage Is a Gift 21

4 The Year of Wet Cement 25

5 Facades and Storefronts 29

6 The Seven Nonnegotiables of Life (Part One) 34

7 The Seven Nonnegoriables of Life (Part Two) 38

8 Marriage Is Not About You 42

9 A Grander Plan 46

10 Leaving Your Parents: The Balancing Act 49

11 Till Death Do Us Part 54

12 Sex Outside of Marriage: Where Life and Truth Collide 58

13 The Big Day 63

14 About Your Honeymoon 68

15 Don't Be a Grasshopper 72

16 The New Normal 76

17 The Very Best Single Piece of Advice I Can Give You 80

18 A Marriage with No Hope (Part 1) 84

19 A Marriage with No Hope (Parr 2) 88

20 Who Is Your Closest Neighbor? 92

21 Marriage Secrets from the Real Experts 96

22 You Have the Power 100

23 The Shattering of Glass 103

24 Emotional Adultery 106

25 Setting Up Guardrails 110

26 The Shadow of the Past 113

27 When Conflicts Keep Popping Up 117

28 Frequent Forgiveness 120

29 The Grand Illusion 123

30 What About Children? 127

31 You're Joining a Family 131

32 If Only We'd Known 135

33 What Robs Men of Courage? (For the Husband-to-Be) 139

34 Five Marks of a Man (For the Husband-to-Be) 143

35 Becoming a Spiritual Leader (For the Husband-to-Be) 147

36 Essential Number One: Make God's Word a Priority (For the Wife-to-Be) 151

37 Essential Number Two: Love Your Husband Unconditionally (For the Wife-to-Be) 154

38 Essential Number Three: Become a Helper to Your Husband (For the Wife-to-Be) 157

39 Who Does the Housework? 161

40 Making Decisions as a Couple 165

41 Keep on Running 170

Appendix: The Secret to Building a Great Marriage and Family 175