Marry Wisely, Marry Well by Ernie Baker (Book Review!)

Marry Wisely, Marry Well: A Blueprint for Personal Preparation

By Ernie Baker

(I received this book for review purposes.)

Genre- Religion / Christian Life / Personal Growth / Marriage
Published by- Shepherd Press
Copyrighted- 2016
Number of pages-192
Age Group- Adult and Young Adult
Description of Book- paperback, ISBN 978-1-63342-118-9, $14.95
Are you planning on being married at some point during your life?  Does marriage even matter?  It matters to God.  Can you have a stable marriage?  Yes, you can with God's help.

This book will help you begin to think about marriage, even if you aren't thinking about it seriously.  There is a blueprint that the author, Ernie Baker, would like you to follow.  You will need to have a good foundation (God), build a strong structure (your life), and add a good roof (the marriage).  If you know how to make the right choices by following God, you will have have a relationship that will be built on him.

About the Author- Ernie Baker (M.Div., D.Min) is married and has six children and seven grandchildren.  He is a Professor of Biblical Counseling at The Master's College and Seminary in Southern California.

My thoughts-
I have been married for almost sixteen years, but I would have welcomed a book like this before I was married.

Marry Well, Marry Wisely was full of solid biblical principles on how to approach a marriage based on the Bible, build your own faith dealing with marriage, and your resulting faith based marriage.  I enjoyed all of the different Bible verses that were used with the support of Ernie Baker's text.  I liked how he built a marriage as he would a house, with a blueprint, strong foundation, etc.

I liked the heading and subheadings in each of the chapters.  The questions at the end of each chapter were very helpful (you know I like questions at the ends of chapters).  They will help you grow and develop a stronger foundation of marriage through God.  There is a very good appendix, "Marriage Preparation Project."  It will help you gather all your thoughts together.

I think this book should be on the shelf of anybody who is planning on getting married, thinking about it, or who teaches about it.  This book will help you have a solid blueprint for your marriage.
 
Disclosure of Material Connection- I received Marry Well, Marry Wisely, by Ernie Baker, for free through Cross Focused Reviews.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.  All links were current when posted.

When Sinners Say “I Do” from Dave Harvey (Review)

When Sinners Say “I Do:” Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage

From Dave Harvey

(I received this book for review purposes.)

Genre- Religion / Christian Life / Marriage

Published by- Shepherd Press

Copyrighted- 2014

Number of pages- DVD

Age Group- Adult

Description of book- DVD (ISBN: 978-1-63342-092-2, $59.99)

Everybody is a sinner and when you add marriage to the mix, problems can and will happen if there is not a great deal of understanding and mercy.

In these eight sessions, Dave Harvey shares God’s word and his own story to help people who are thinking or marriage or already to overcome their conflicts.

The sessions are:

1. Sin – Part 1
2. Sin – Part 2
3. Design
4. Contentment
5. Mercy – Part 1
6. Mercy – Part 2
7. Sex
8. Stubborn Grace

About the Author (Speaker)- Dave Harvey currently lives in Florida with his wife.  He is the founder of www.AmICalled.com.  He is the Pastor of Preaching at Four Oaks Community Church.

My thoughts-  There was a lot I liked about When Sinners Say “I Do” and some I did not like about it.

I am going to talk about what I did not like first, that way we can concentrate on what I did like.  I found all of Dave Harvey’s movements very distracting.  I tended to concentrate on his swaying instead of what he was saying.  I would have had more luck listening to this as a CD or MP3.  The other thing I did not like was the retail price.  I think $59.99 is way to much to ask somebody to pay.  (I realize I received it to review, but I would never be able to afford it.)  It would be best purchased by a church or study group.

There were eight very interesting different lectures.  While they were all very different, they had several commons themes, marriage, sin, and mercy.  He also talked about being content.  I thought Harvey did a good job picking the best Bible verses and quotes to go with his discussion.

I would recommend this video to couples who are thinking of getting married or who already are. 

Disclosure of Material Connection- I received When Sinners Say “I Do,” by Dave Harvey, for free through Cross Focused Reviews.  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are my own.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.  All links were current when posted.

Prayer of the Week- Those in Need

Dear Lord,
Thank you for the wonderful sunny day you gave us.
Tonight I would like to pray for those in need.
Please help and heal those who have been displaced by the Australian bush fires. I also praise you for protecting many in those fires.
On this day be with those whose marriages have strayed from you. Please help those husbands and wives focus on you to help their marriages.
All over the world businesses are having financial difficulties and as a result many people are losing their jobs. Please help those people find new jobs in financially strong Christian companies. The strength of our future is in the younger generation. There are many colleges that have Christian organizations. Please be with them as they disciple to unbelievers at dances, forums and on the street.
With you we can be all we have wanted to be and more. Thank you for continuing to nudge our hearts in the right direction when we have needed it.
In your name we pray, amen.