Real Marriage–Mark and Grace Driscoll

In Real Marriage, Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, share how they have struggled and how they have found healing through the power of the only reliable source: the Bible. They believe friendship is fundamental to marriage but not easy to maintain. So they offer practical advice on how to make your spouse your best friend – and keep it that way. And they know from experience that sex-related issues need to be addressed directly.

I received this book from Thomas Nelson Publishing, in exchange for an honest review.

 

What did I like most about this book?  Probable the honesty.  It starts with a very real story about how Mark and Grace Driscoll came together, and the challenges that they faced for years in their marriage.  No holds are barred, with frank discussion of adultery, abuse, lies and all manner of sin being put on the table.  They speak from a perspective of not just a couple who read 187 books to prepare for writing this one, but also a couple who have lived every page.

I loved the chapter called “Friends with benefits”, which has some very real advice on how to make your spouse your best friend, as well as the importance of doing that. 

I loved the chapter called “Can we…” which took a very honest view at all sorts of sexual activity, and whether they were permissible or not.  What I liked about this chapter was that it did not just give answers, but that it gave a detailed process for how to make that determination for yourself.  (Or maybe I just like it, because the process was very similar to the one I use when assessing similar questions.)

The book had no new or profound insights for me, and did not teach me anything I did not already know.  However, it made me think about a lot of issues of marriage and my relationship in a new way, or maybe just a deeper way. 

I would recommend it to anyone who has been married for years, and also to anyone who has been married for only months.  It is even useful for singles and engaged couples in learning to prepare for the right attitude to marriage.

There is a companion DVD and study series available, which I review here. 

 

 

Fuse – S.A. Partridge

I hadn’t even heard of this book until my friend Moonblue left it with me a few months ago to read.  So don’t worry if you haven’t either.

The scene is set rather convincingly as Kendall Mullins is introduced to us as a misfit in a typical South African school.  He makes friend with another misfit, Craig, and together they face the world.  Except Craig has something more sinister planned for their tormentors.
Things go very wrong, and Kendall ends up on the run from the police, and his family.  He is accompanied by his older brother, Justin, and the two of them move from place to place. 

It is lovely to find a book with such a rich South African texture, without being overly stereotypical of SA culture.  It could be set anywhere, but it is clear where it is set.  As a work of Youth fiction, the book manages to avoid coming across as childish or patronising.  The emotions and decisions are very real, and the language is simple, but effective.

Well worth the read I think.

 

Living with confidence in a chaotic world.

 

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The book claims to be “Practical instruction for living a confident life in a world filled with chaos and crisis” and contains lessons about re-connecting with God and his message, with particular emphasis on the current worldwide financial crises.

The book did not really do a great deal for me.  The theology was sound, if a little cliched, and the ideas were good.  I just felt as if it was better suited as a series of sermons than a single written book.  Take note as well that while the book is not exclusively for US citizens, the language shows is a definite prejudice that way.  All the statistics are based on the US only, and the author refers to “we” as being US citizens. 
Read it and see what you think; take out some good ideas; but don’t expect anything groundbreaking, unless you haven’t read many other books of this kind in the last 10 years.

(I reviewed this book as part of the Thomas Nelson : Book Review Bloggers Programme. )