Love and War ~ Book Review

Love and War
By John and Stasi Eldredge

Ever wonder if you married the right person? Do you honestly believe that there is someone out there for each of us, our soul mate, yet perhaps we may have missed the mark with our current spouse? If you are in the midst of a marriage struggle, possibility contemplating divorce or just wanting to strengthen your marriage, then you must read this book!

I got this book from Waterbrook Multnomah publishers at just the right moment in my current marriage. The thing I must say that I love about the authors is the way that they have put this book together really speaks to you like a close personal friend would. You can relate to their own situations and personal struggles that accompany each chapter. It makes you feel like you are not alone in your struggles. Even Christian marriages struggle. That was a relief to me!

Yet the advice that you find from chapter to chapter is truly simple yet mind blowing. It really feels as if God is speaking directly to you through the words in this book. My recommendation is to read this book with your spouse, a chapter at a time together, and really discuss what it means to each of you.

The book opens with the marriage of a couple, Daniel and Megan, and marriage vows unlike any you have heard from a minister, but one that literally brought me to tears, and one that you wish were given to every married couple. It is a very real look at just what the newly married couple is undertaking by committing to those vows.

If you think about it, the Bible begins with the marriage of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and it ends with the marriage of the Lamb of God, so it is critical to realize just how important traditional marriage between a man and a woman and love is to God. The book is based on that perfect love story that is created the moment we enter our marriage with all the love that accompanies it, based in the heat of the war that the world wages against it. Makes sense doesn’t it. Why we all struggle at times in our own marriages? Its because we aren’t living in the Garden of Eden! We, like Adam and Eve, have fallen into our own sin filled world.

Too often praying together as a couple is something that we all must try to incorporate into our day no matter if we are doing it together or just individually, but in agreement knowing that your spouse if offering up that same prayer. The enemy will often try to distract you both from doing this. Yet if you can pray together it is the most powerful thing you can do to create a united front for your marriage, your kids, your love, your home, and your financial situations. Prayer offers a godly shield and protection around your marriage from the enemy and the fruit that comes from this one simple act will change your marriage and your relationship forever. It also provides a doorway of intimacy between a husband and a wife!

As you can see, I am completely sold on this book and I can honestly say it has changed my personal view of marriage from God’s perspective and the relationship I have with my husband now. I would highly recommend this book to any couple and what a great gift for Valentines Day or an anniversary. You will love it and want to make it a permanent part of your library. I received a copy of this book for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

If you are interested in picking up a copy you can click on the link http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780385529808

Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
On Sale: December 15, 2009
Price: $22.99
ISBN: 978-0-385-52980-8 (0-385-52980-5)