I’m very excited to introduce the first Book of the Month for 2020: Simple Habits For Marital Happiness: Practical Skills And Tools That Build A Strong And Satisfying Relationship. I sincerely enjoyed the book, and I plan to implement several of the lessons within my own marriage.
Whether you are engaged and planning your life together, newly-weds, or have been married for thirty years, the lessons in Randall Schroeder’s Simple Habits For Marital Happiness (ISBN: 978-1633571754) can help you have a strong, satisfying relationship. Schroeder teaches 90 lessons that span seven chapters. The seven chapters deal with the following themes: forgiveness, strengthening the martial bond through commitment and closeness, the importance of enhancing emotional and spiritual oneness, communication, protecting and “guarding” your relationship, respectful disagreement discussions and keeping the “bond of peace,” and financial harmony.
Each lesson can be read in roughly 5 minutes, so they can easily be woven into daily reading for couples to grow together. Even after reading through one time, readers will want to revisit the lessons again and again to develop healthy habits within their marriage. The lessons in chapter three, Habits That Promote Spiritual And Emotional Closeness, provide important foundational lessons. For example, it is important to pour into each on a daily basis. Each day, spouses should fill each other’s cups through respectful dialogue. Through pouring into one another’s cups, or pumping water into their water towers, it decreases tension and increases emotional closeness.
Emotional closeness is a large theme within the book. Emotional closeness is achieved through various words and actions including appreciation and public praise, “quick connects,” “date your mates,” laughing together (but never at each other’s expense), politeness, and healthy habits for communication, guarding your relationship, and financial harmony.
Despite the vast wisdom in the book, Schroeder acknowledges that several of his lessons may be hard to digest by couples or indiviudal spouses. One of such lessons, is that spouses should never have opposite-sex friends outside of other couples. The rationale behind it is that closeness with an opposite-sex friend may lead to unfaithful actions and adultery. What is your opinion on this topic?
Overall, Schroeder’s Simple Habits For Marital Happiness is a fantastic guidebook for couples and individuals looking to grow in their relationships. The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Check out the link below to order yourself a copy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR Title 16, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Wow! 90 lessons sound like a lot! But they are seemingly packed with solid advice. I especially connect with the idea of building each other up through public praise and never laughing at the other person’s expense. As far as the question regarding opposite-gendered friends, I think that one’s tricky. It’s hard to deal in absolutes; however it does invite temptation and a wise choice would be to steer clear.