Welcome to Mondays @ Soul Survival. Each week I feature a book that I consider a valuable resource. This week’s selection is Sweethearts for a Lifetime: Making the Most of Your Marriage by Wayne and Carol Mack.

I’m frequently asked about good devotionals for couples. Sweethearts for a Lifetime is one of my favorites.

Wayne and Carol Mack have been married almost 50 years. Wayne was a pastor for many of those years. He has taught college and graduate school courses in biblical counseling at The Master’s College and Seminary; Westminster Theological Seminary, Biblical Seminary and the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation. He has conducted seminars and conferences and been the Director of a Counseling Center and Training School. He is a charter member of the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (formerly NANC).

He and Carol are both Certified Biblical Counselors and have done hours and hours of counseling. Their ministry has helped many couples throughout the years. And, through this book, their wisdom and insight are available to us.

Who would benefit from a book like this?

Maybe you’ve been married for decades. Maybe you’re a newlywed. Maybe you already know your marriage needs some work. Maybe your marriage is basically solid, but like all marriages, can use ongoing tune-ups to keep things running smoothly. Maybe you and your spouse aren’t a divorce statistic but have long since ceased to be sweethearts. Or maybe you’re engaged and don’t want your marriage to end up like so many others. Is this book for you?

Yes … yes … and yes!

What can you expect to find?

The book is divided into three sections. Part 1 covers “the six P’s” of a good marriage relationship. Parts 2 and 3 discuss how to be a fulfilled and fulfilling husband and wife, respectively.

The chapters are short, making it possible to do one each day. Many include inventories and assessments to help you see where your marriage needs work and most have discussion questions and application exercises at the end. Most importantly, the book is biblically solid and packed with references from God’s Word.

Chapter 1 starts out with this anecdote:

In 1975, on the day that would have been her thirty-sixth wedding anniversary, Ann Landers wrote a very unusual column, admitting to her readers that the queen of newspaper advice columnists simply had no answer for why her own marriage had fallen apart. After thirty-six years she and her husband had decided to call it quits and get a divorce. At the end of the column she admitted that she simply had no explanation. The answer lady had drawn a blank.

While Ann Landers may not have had an answer, I believe that I do. I believe that what happened in her marriage is the very same thing that happens in countless other marriages every day. I also believe that it does not have to happen, for one very good reason: God-the Author of marriage-has given us a marriage blueprint that is foolproof. And if we are willing to follow His plan, we may be sure that we will never have to wonder why something that started out so good ended up so bad. The truth is that with God’s help, husbands and wives can remain sweethearts for a lifetime.

As I became involved in planning and writing this book, I decided, for what I think will be obvious reasons, to call it The Sweetheart Book. Yet for what I think will also be obvious reasons, I also thought about calling it The Excellent Marriage Book because in it we will be explaining, illustrating, and applying the directives and principles that God, the originator and designer of marriage, has to teach us about how to have, and continue to have, a maximum marriage. In scholastic terminology, I want to help people to have an “A” rather than a “B,” “C,” or “D” kind of marriage. In this book, I am going to focus on what it means and what it takes to have an “A” kind of marriage because I believe that an “A” kind of marriage not only is possible for God’s people, but is His will for them.

Dr. Mack goes on to quote R.C. Sproul who said:

In every single marriage that ends in disaster, some stupid decisions were made with respect to God’s regulations. If God’s regulations were followed scrupulously, there would not only be no divorce, there would be no unhappy marriages. To violate the regulations of God is not only an exercise in disobedience, but an exercise in foolishness as well. If you want a happy marriage, the most intelligent thing you can do is to submit to God’s regulations.

The book, not only helps couples understand what R.C. refers to as God’s regulations, but gives them the blueprint for achieving a joy-filled marriage between two sweethearts for a lifetime. So what are you waiting for?

Blessings,
Donna

Quotations taken from:
Wayne A. Mack. Sweethearts for a Lifetime: Making the Most of Your Marriage (Strength for Life). Kindle Edition.

Sign up here to receive future posts.

I sometimes LINKUP with these blogs.