4 books on marriage (that won’t make you feel bad about yourself)
When we were packing up the bookshelves in our bedroom, I had to mark one box a little differently.
In big, black Sharpie, I wrote, “ONLY for Kayse & Jon to open!”
Most of our marriage books are pretty tame, but let’s just say I don’t want my 7-year-old helping mommy put away her books and start asking, “What’s sex, and why is it in the kitchen, mom?”
Right?
So that box got an extra label. ?
But while I was packing it, I found a few of our very favorite books on marriage, and I wanted to share those with you today. February can be a month where we try to focus on our marriages, and if you’re in a place where you’d like some extra reading material, these have been our favorites!
Here’s the thing about marriage books though – some of them can make you feel really bad about yourself. Maybe they assume things that aren’t true, or they present an idealized version of marriage. Those books are no good for me and my difficult marriage, thankyouverymuch.
So these are Kayse & Jon approved – great books on marriage that WON’T make you feel bad about yourself!
4 books on marriage that won’t make you feel bad about yourself!
Sacred Marriage, by Gary Thomas – This book is one of our favorites. (It comes as a devotional, too!) Thomas challenges us to consider whether marriage was intended to make us holy or happy. This is such a good read – one we come back to over and over again.
Sex Begins In The Kitchen, by Kevin Leman – This is one of the first books we ever read as a married couple, and it’s still one of our favorites! Awesome, practical advice for the more intimate side of things – plus, its hilarious.
9 Thoughts That Can Change Your Marriage, by Sheila Wray Gregoire – I love basically everything Sheila writes, and this book is so very good, especially for those of us who are maybe a few years into a marriage that’s never been all that easy!
Worth The Fight – This one is my own. It’s a short, encouraging compilation of stories and lessons from our own high maintenance marriage, plus a few bonuses at the end. (Also included in the Marriage Builder Bundle.)
Your turn! What are your favorite encouraging + honest books on marriage?
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Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.
I think I’m just about done with Christian marriage books and blogs. You say in your introduction that life isn’t meant to lived in a state of constant overwhelm. There is so much advice for Christian wives these days on the internet that I really am overwhelmed by it all. It’s so easy to get sucked into the rabbit warren of the blogosphere and it gives me no.peace. I can’t process any more of it, it’s all become noise in my brain which needs to be stilled and diminished.
I love The Mystery of Marriage, 20th Anniversary edition by Mike Mason. It’s one I want to put in the hands of every married couple. I think books other marriage books can be thrown away!