If you are anything like me, you are always on the hunt for great marriage building materials. I’m always on the look out for good books to read partly because of my work as a FertilityCare Practitioner. I encourage growth in marriage and having a bookshelf worth of fantastic materials to lend out brings me joy. This year, my husband and I are coming up on a decade of marriage ourselves.
At the same time, I’ve become skeptical. You can only read so many books or devotionals before most of them seem to blend into slightly different variations of the same book by various authors.
Read more: 3 Things the Book of Proverbs Taught Me about Marriage
While newly weds and older retired couples certainly have a lot to offer, it’s hard to find couples in the same busy time of life who are willing to spend their precious time to write anything quality for those of us in the thick of it. The honeymoon phase long since ended, and has likely come back and gone away a couple times already. We are in the middle of the sleep deprivation, play dates, babysitters, and starting to have kids old enough to help, building careers that will take care of retirement- there is no romanticizing what once was and wishing our kids were still tiny, because they still are tiny.
Jackie and Bobby Angel have knocked it out of the park with their refreshingly honest and beautiful devotional! It stands out as easily one of the best marriage devotionals I have ever read. They tackle the joyful, the sad, the funny, the hurtful, and the beautiful. They don’t pull any punches, and even address subjects that many shy away from. NFP, theology of the body, pornography, living faithfully together in the wisdom of the church are all topics covered in their new book.
They somehow do this in time-budget friendly daily devotionals. While short enough to be manageable, they can also spark great conversations which can be expanded upon for however much time you have to spend.
After each devotion you’ll find a “cheese-free” daily challenge and prayer. If you did one devotion a day, it will take six weeks to complete this book. Taking a glance at the table of contents was enough to hook me to give this book a chance. Each week has a theme, including “Why am I Here?”, “What is Love”, “How Can Our Love Last”, “What Endangers Our Love?”, and “What is God’s Plan for Our Family?” The gorgeous picture on the cover (from the Author’s own wedding), certain drew me in as well.
I have also really enjoyed the podcasts that they have done in promotion for “Forever,” which you can find by clicking here. Leah Darrow, Catching Foxes, and Among the Lilies have all done great interviews which caused my appreciation of this book to grow even more.
Get your copy of “Forever, A Catholic Devotional for Your Marriage” at your local Catholic bookstore. If you prefer an e-book of the marriage devotional click over here!
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