Heart of Marriage , livre ebook

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128 pages

English

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The best marriages are not necessarily the most perfect and picturesque. Marriage is about walking together through all of life's ups and downs, its challenges and triumphs. And no relationship offers more chances for personal and spiritual growth, love and support, and just plain fun.Collecting true stories from some of today's best writers, Dawn Camp offers readers a chance to sit back and reflect on the heart of marriage. With beautiful photographs and poignant prose, this collection is a great gift for the bride-to-be, the couple celebrating a significant anniversary, or for any time readers need a lift. Contributors include Holley Gerth, Kristen Welch, Emily Wierenga, Renee Swope, and many more.

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Publié par	Baker Publishing Group
Date de parution	14 février 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781441220653
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	2 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0490€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2017 by Dawn Camp
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-2065-3
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations labeled ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations labeled NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations labeled NKJV are from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations labeled NLT are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
All photos courtesy of the editor and may not be used or reproduced without permission.
All text reprinted by permission of its respective author.
“The Good Wife: How I (Thought I) Failed My Marriage” by Ann Swindell originally published at TodaysChristianWoman.com .
Published in association with William K. Jensen Literary Agency, 119 Bampton Court, Eugene, Oregon 97404.
Endorsements
“Whether you’re a blushing bride or blowing out the candles on your fiftieth anniversary cake, The Heart of Marriage will take you to a new place in your most significant relationship on this earth. The words on these pages will make you laugh, cry, nod your head in understanding, and hold on to the hand of the one you love a little bit tighter today . . . and for a lifetime.”
— Holley Gerth , bestselling author of You’ re Already Amazing
“In The Heart of Marriage , Dawn Camp has put together an incredible collection of stories that are brimming with love and compassion, challenge and inspiration, humor and passion. Just as marriage is a complex relationship, with layers of mess mixed up with layers of beauty, this book is also a multifaceted look at a life shared by two people. By featuring stories from writers with varied perspectives and experiences, Dawn has created a meaningful mosaic of marriage that will encourage the heart of every married person, from the honeymoon to their final days.”
— Mary Carver , coauthor of Choose Joy
“Ecclesiastes 4:12 says that a cord of three strands cannot be quickly broken. In The Heart of Marriage , Dawn Camp has gathered story after story of marriages that reflect this truth. It’s a wonderfully encouraging book to pick up and read again and again. This one is a keeper!”
— Dee Kasberger , artist, RedLetterWords.com
“There are lots of great books that can teach you how to have a great marriage—the how-to of marriage. But there are not many books that can remind you why working hard to have a great marriage is so vitally important—the motivation behind a great marriage. The Heart of Marriage stands apart as a collection of marriage stories that will make you laugh, cry, and remember why you fell in love and got married in the first place. After thirty-plus years of being married and working with countless other married couples, we can wholeheartedly recommend this much-needed book and look forward to The Heart of Marriage inspiring couples in their marriage journeys for years to come. Well done!”
— Brad & Tami Miller , TandemMarriage . com
“The best marriage books tell stories because stories penetrate the deep places where rules and regulations cannot go. Dawn Camp has gathered a glorious kaleidoscope of true tales, reminding us that every marriage is unique because every marriage is created between two unique people. This is a book for the newlywed and the one celebrating a hard-earned anniversary. This is a book for the disillusioned and the starry-eyed. The stories in this collection are as varied as the marriages behind them, but together they offer needed wisdom for the always good but sometimes difficult work that is the making of a marriage.”
— Christie Purifoy , author of Roots and Sky
Dedication
For Bryan, my love, and for Jacob, Hayden, Christian, Sabra, Chloe, Clayton, Felicity, and Lily, the fruit of it
Contents
Cover 1
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
Endorsement 4
Dedication 5
Foreword by Edie Wadsworth 9
Acknowledgments 14
Introduction 16
With This Ring (Part 1) 25
To Have and to Hold 29
Shannon Lowe • Lisa Jacobson • Francie Winslow • Liz Sagaser • Marci Stevens • Dawn Camp • Shawn Smucker
Through the Eyes of Love 53
Erin Mohring • Lisa Jacobson • Robin Dance • Holley Gerth • Edie Wadsworth • Alexandra Kuykendall • Shelly Miller
As Long as We Both Shall Live 77
Dawn Camp • Gregory Bledsoe, MD • Lisa-Jo Baker • Deidra Riggs • Shaunti Feldhahn • Dawn Camp • Diane Bailey
With This Ring (Part 2) 101
For Better, for Worse 103
Laura Parker • Richard Paul Evans • Shannan Martin • Crystal Stine • Emily T. Wierenga • Alia Joy Hagenbach • Kelley J. Leigh
Great Expectations 137
Ashleigh Slater • Dawn Camp • Mary Carver • Ann Swindell • Joy Forney • Dawn Camp • Lynn D. Morrissey
The Refining Power of Marriage 169
Holley Gerth • Kristen Welch • Angela Nazworth • Crystal Paine • Mo Isom • Sheila Wray Gregoire • Edie Wadsworth
Writing Our Love Story 197
Laura Boggess • Rachel Anne Ridge • Kris Camealy • Mandy Arioto • Renee Swope • Kristen Welch • Shawn Smucker
With This Ring (Part 3) 223
Contributors 227
Books by Dawn Camp 239
Back Ads 240
Back Cover 244
Foreword
M y adorable, almost-twenty-six-year-old medical student was recently home for just a few days. He’s been so busy studying and preparing for his board exams that it’s rare for us to have time to chat about the good stuff of life. That day, we talked about everything under the sun. Maybe I’m just prejudiced because I’m his momma (almost certainly true), but he’s one of my favorite people to spend an afternoon with. He’s smart, funny, passionate, and really interested in our advice on important things.
As it often does with twentysomethings, the subject of marriage came up and we all (including my husband) tossed around our ideas about the ideal time to get married these days. Is early marriage better? Should you wait until you have a more stable income? Until you’re done with all your schooling? Until your bank account reassures you that you’re ready? (That usually never happens, by the way!)
Then my winsome husband, Stevie, piped up, “Well, you just need to decide when you want the real suffering to start, that’s all.”
Yep, that’s what he said. And we all started laughing—me, especially hard. Because it’s true. And it’s so rare that someone will just say it.
I even added, “Yeah, you just have to decide when you’re ready to take up your cross, Tay.”
And coming off Easter weekend, the metaphors were easy to see.
Yes, of course, there’s the really wonderful side of marriage—the sheer joy and love you feel when everything is right and there’s no tension and no misunderstanding and no disappointment.
But the part nobody talks about is how hard it all is. The part you’re not ready for is the fact that marriage is by far the most daunting thing you’ll ever do. Nobody tells you how much sacrifice and forgiveness and dying to yourself there will be. Nobody warns you that the feelings will come and go, that the fire in your belly will peter out and you’ll be left with a gnawing sense that maybe it’s supposed to be better than this.
And nobody tells you that all of that is normal.
This relationship has been given to us primarily as an instrument of our sanctification and only secondarily as a way for us to find contentment and fulfillment. But we have it backward. We chase after some elusive dream of superficial happiness when no such thing has ever been promised us.
Every Sunday, Stevie and I sit together and publicly confess our sins to each other and to our congregation—that we have not loved God with our whole heart and that we have failed to love our neighbor as ourselves. Without exception, the neighbor I fail the most is him. Always. Every single week.
Why? Because he’s the one I can’t hide from, the one who sees the best and the worst of me, the one who really knows me and all my stubbornness and sin and frailty.
And then we walk together and kneel at the communion rail, holding out our hands like beggars, believing that this meal will do what Jesus said it would do—bring life and forgiveness and salvation, His very body joining to ours and uniting us both to Him and to each other.
And this is how we finally have peace, when we begin to submit to the sanctifying—dare I say crucifying—work of Christ in our hearts.
The very fact that it feels hard doesn’t mean you’re failing; it means you’re trying, and when you take a closer look you’ll see that this very person and this difficult circumstance may be the exact thing God is using to remake you into who He created you to be.
It’s hard because it’s supposed to be hard. But if you just hold still and stay in the murky mess of it all, a miracle will begin to occur. More likely than not, it’ll be the miracle in your own heart that will surprise you the most.
Jesus is the skillful potter, chipping away at our rough edges—our bitterness and hardheartedness and s