When Couples Walk Together

Cindi McMenamin

Description

The demands of everyday life almost always pull husbands and wives in different directions. And even when they are together, there's very little opportunity to just be a couple. Work, children, and other commitments make it a constant challenge to find quality time alone.Hugh and Cindi McMenamin have put together an innovative devotional about meaningful ways that husbands and wives can draw closer together. Each reading in this 31-day book offers simple, helpful (and fun!) steps a husband and wife can take to nourish closeness and intimacy. Among the topics arethe power of a notemaking a memoryextending gracesplurging on lovefinding a getawaylighten the loadflirting againsharing your heartKey thoughts from Scripture are interwoven into each devotion, and each ends with "Points to Ponder Together" as well as a couple's prayer. Especially helpful are the frequent anecdotal tips from a woman's perspective (Cindi) and a man's (Hugh).

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736940801
• Langue: English

Extrait

WHEN COUPLES WALK TOGETHER
C INDI H UGH M C M ENAMIN

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.
Verses marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible , 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. ( www.Lockman.org )
Verses marked CEV are taken from the Contemporary English Version 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society. Used with permission.
Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Italicized text in Scripture quotations indicate authors emphasis.
Cover by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon
Cover photo Yuri Arcurs / Shutterstock; Backcover author photo by Karlyn Dagraedt Savvy Snaps Photography
WHEN COUPLES WALK TOGETHER
Copyright 2010 by Cindi McMenamin and Hugh McMenamin
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McMenamin, Cindi, 1965-
When couples walk together / Cindi McMenamin and Hugh McMenamin.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7369-2947-9 (pbk.)
1. Spouses-Prayers and devotions. 2. Marriage-Religious aspects-Christianity-Meditations.
I. McMenamin, Hugh. II. Title.
BV4596.M3M448 2010
242 .644-dc22
2010028731
All rights reserved . No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 / LB-NI / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is dedicated to the countless committed couples who have come in and out of our lives and blessed us with their example, experience, and encouragement. You have left a legacy for us. We hope to do the same for others.
And to every couple who picks up this book and is committed to going the distance for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ: We look forward to completing the journey with you.
A CKNOWLEDGMENTS
Our heartfelt thanks to:
Our beautiful daughter, Dana. All we do is first for God, and then for you. May you reap the blessings of parents who loved each other and experienced God s grace daily.
Uncle Owen and Aunt Alice-your legacy has touched our lives and will, prayerfully, now touch many more.
Our faithful friends (and awesome couples) in ministry who provided rich examples for this book: Dick and Shirley Caldwell, Dan and Chris Castillero, Bob and Mary Beth Maass, Guy and Allison Martin, Dan and Debbie Olson, Steve and Sophie Olson, Kurt and Sara Staeuble, Alex and Mitzi Steele, Steve and Rhonda Stoppe, Don and Barbara Willett, and Lance and Pam Workman.
Our family at Harvest House Publishers for believing in us for yet another book.
And above all, we are grateful to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who makes all things possible.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Isn t It Time to Start Walking Together ?
Day 1: Enjoying the Journey
Day 2: Leaving Self on the Shelf
Day 3: From Tense to Tender
Day 4: Praising the Positive
Day 5: The Power of a Note
Day 6: Giving Each Other Space
Day 7: Extending Grace
Day 8: Taking a Walk
Day 9: Checking the Baggage
Day 10: Finding Encouraging Words
Day 11: Making a Memory
Day 12: Sharing Your Heart
Day 13: Talk More, Touch More
Day 14: In God We Trust
Day 15: Simple Acts of Love
Day 16: Laughing Together
Day 17: Splurging on Each Other
Day 18: Finding a Getaway
Day 19: Flirting Again
Day 20: Lightening the Load
Day 21: Keeping It Simple
Day 22: Disconnecting from the World
Day 23: A Day to Play
Day 24: Sharing a Project
Day 25: Respecting Each Other s Uniqueness
Day 26: Pursuing Personal Growth
Day 27: Remodeling the Temple
Day 28: Having a Mission
Day 29: When Troubles Loom Large
Day 30: When the Path Looks Impossible
Day 31: When the Path Leads You Home
Notes
Other Books by Cindi McMenamin
An Invitation To Write
Introduction: Isn t It Time to Start Walking Together?
D o you remember what it was like when you first fell in love? Admit it-you had the picture-perfect idea of what your relationship would be like. You d do everything together. Life would play out like a fairy tale (or, as Hugh would say, an adventure). You d understand each other and roll through the situations that trip up most other couples. And then reality set in. You realized you are two people who are a lot more different from each other than you originally thought. Two people desperately trying to figure out how to do life together.
For years, we were just like that. We were two people who, in some ways, walked alone in our marriage. We never intended for it to be that way. That s just the way it was. Sure, we lived in the same house, slept in the same bed, spent nearly every Friday of our married life together on a date day. We even raised a daughter, although I wouldn t necessarily say we were good at raising her together. Hugh did his part. I did mine. And that s the way it was.
I (Cindi) was independent, yet needy (if you can imagine that). I kept telling Hugh I wanted him to be a close part of my life (and I really did), but I wasn t really living like it. I continued to do things my way, and was unintentionally pushing him further away. And I (Hugh), a born introvert, was used to doing things on my own and alone. I knew what marriage was supposed to be all about-two people living as one-but in a lot of areas I continued to operate solo.
Both of us had no idea how to give up our own ambitions, expectations, and conveniences in order to really walk together .
But then we started doing some really simple things to change that-things we wish we d done years ago-and they had a profound effect on our marriage.
This book is for every couple who knows they have potential but aren t living it to the fullest. It s for every couple who wants to draw closer to each other but doesn t know how. It s for young couples starting out and not wanting to make the mistakes most couples make and it s for seasoned couples who are going the distance and want to take advantage of another resource to help them get there.
This book is not a counseling manual. And it s not filled with fluff (Hugh will personally see to that!). And ladies, it s not an attempt to bang your husband over the head and make him wake up and get a clue as to what you need. It s simply a book to encourage you, motivate you, and even excite you to draw closer to each other because of the wonderful benefits of intimacy, oneness, companionship, and unselfish love. Because you two at one time really enjoyed being together and you might ve forgotten just how much. Because life is short and what you waste away now you can never get back.
And men, if you re the kind who has to be dragged, bribed, or made to feel guilty before you ll read a devotional with your wife, relax. I (Hugh) know exactly where you re coming from. This is not a warm and fuzzy piece on how to make your wife happy or a counseling program on The 31 Things You re Doing Wrong. Rather, think of it as a user s guide to your wife s heart that will unleash some passions in her and get you in touch with some of your own that you didn t know were there (translate: that will press your wife s buttons and will ultimately make you as happy as her). It is our hope and prayer that you ll both enjoy reading through this book together .
In every chapter we have a section called Taking the Next Step. This is where we give some practical advice on how to start walking together. Often this comes down to simply taking the next step. We ve tried to cover areas in which we ve often found ourselves standing still and we ve had to swallow our pride, put self on the line, and with an eye toward a closer connection, take the next step toward walking together.
At the end of each chapter is a section called Going the Extra Mile. Perhaps you are the kind of reader who skips over the application section or saves the questions for some later time. But we encourage you to go the extra mile together by talking through those questions after you finish reading each chapter. These sections will help you to actually start walking together instead of just reading about how to do so.
Finally, each chapter closes with Going the Distance Through Prayer. We strongly believe that if any marriage is to go the distance, prayer must be a part of it. So instead of just learning how to walk together today, you ll also cultivate a habit of prayer that will help you continue to walk together tomorrow and each day thereafter.
So, are you ready to fall back in love? Are you ready to experience a closer connection? Are you ready to quit thinking primarily about you and start thinking about the two of you? We are. So let us share our path with you that we began to walk-a path that finally, after more than 20 years of marriage, had us walking much closer together in 31 days!
D AY 1
Enjoying the Journey
Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.
P ROVERBS 3:6 CEV
G o ahead. Admit it. Your marriage isn t everything you expected it to be, is it? But that s okay. That doesn t mean it can t someday be what you d always hoped it would.
We all enter a relationship-or marriage-with a pie-in-the-sky dream of what it will be like. Then we find we married someone who was more different from us than we thought. But mar