LOVE & RESPECT--A HAND IN A GLOVE

I'm reading a new book I just ordered from christianbook.com called Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs. My sister-in-law (she and her husband pastor suncoastcathedral.com in St. Petersburg) raved about it a few months ago. They'd taught it to their couples, and she said it was dynamite. So I ordered a copy for our couples class teacher at our church, and she taught it and raved about it.

So my daughter (its-all-about-him.blogspot.com) heard her aunt (my sister-in-law) raving about it, and I offered to order it for her. Then she started raving about it. "Mom, you've got to read this book. It'll transform your marriage. It has mine!" She said it's based on Ephesians 3:3:

"Each one of you also must love his wife as he loves

himself; and the wife must respect her husband (NIV)."

"The man isn't loving his wife, and the wife isn't respecting the man, and the man isn't loving his wife, and it's a vicious cycle," she said. "Doing the things this book says to do will do wonders for your marriage."

Now, I've read tons of marriage books. When I first got married, I decided I'd better learn everything I could about it. Some of the books were keepers, and I've kept buying them through the years. I figure if I want to excell in any area, I need to study the subject, even take "refresher courses" all along, and marriage is no different.

Looking behind me at the tall bookshelf, I can see The Marriage Affair by J. Allan Petersen, Love Extravagantly by Marita Littauer and Chuck Noonan, Intended for Pleasure, The Act of Marriage, Love Life for Every Married Couple, yada, yada, yada.

When Milton does premarital counseling (he's a pastor), he gives each couple copies of Intended for Pleasure by Dr. Ed Wheat and The Act of Marriage by Tim LaHaye (yes, you heard that right; before he wrote Left Behind, he wrote and taught about marriage). And when Milton and I teach Joy in Marriage seminars, we highly recommend these two books.

So I ordered a copy of Love & Respect for Milton and me, and last night, I opened it. It teaches the principle of the man loving his wife and the wife respecting her husband, as my daughter said, based on Ephesians 3:3. On paper, it sounds easy, doesn't it? But in reality, it's a challenge. The author gives examples from his own marriage, which makes it interesting.

The inside flap says,

Using Dr. Eggerichs' breakthrough techniques, couples nationwide are achieving

a brand new level of intimacy and learning how to:

* stop the Crazy Cyle of conflict

* initiate the Energizing Cycle of change

* enjoy the Rewarded Cycle of new passion

And if you'll take his biblically based counsel to heart, your marriage could be next.

The subtitle of the book is "The Love She Most Desires...the Respect He Desperately Needs."

Love and respect...they go together like a hand in a glove.

For most of us, it's a work in progress!