5 Books that Every Christian Couple Needs to Read – YWGtv Episode #6
I get asked all the time what books I recommend for married couples to read together. Reading is something that Jason and I both love to do and reading books together is one of our favorite ways to draw closer together, grow in the Lord, and work on our marriage.
But I know it can be hard to find solid, Bible based books to read together. There is so much fluff and junk out there written on marriage. But here are 5 recommendations of Christian books that Jason and I have read together and love! Pick one out and start reading together 🙂
And as a note – if you’re husband is not interested in reading with you, that’s okay! Don’t let that stop you from investing in your marriage. Pick up a good book on marriage and start reading today. If you want a great recommendation you can read on your own about being a wife, then I highly recommend The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace.
5 Excellent Books to Read With Your Spouse
Watch the video below or keep scrolling for my top 5 book recommendations. Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel so you never miss an episode!
Jason and I both love to read and one of our favorite things to do is read together at night before bed. We cuddle up in bed and read out loud to each other. Or Jason will read out loud to me while I do my 15 minute nightly pickup, load the dishwasher, or put away laundry (this is how I usually get my cleaning done)!
We have found that reading together really draws us together, helps us learn together, and often sparks really good and deep conversations. So we typically cycle through different kinds of books because we don’t want to get stuck on just one subject. So for example, we might read a marriage book, then a parenting book, and then a theological or christian living book and then come back around to a marriage book and so on.
This helps us have a really good variety in our reading. Each of these 5 books would be excellent to read together with your husband. These 5 suggestions are all Gospel-centered and Christ-focused so it’s going to help you draw closer to your husband, but also focus on God more and draw closer to Him as well.
1) Tying the Knot Tighter by Martha Peace and John Crotts
This is the shortest of my recommendations today and so for that reason, I suggest you start with this one if you are really short on time and don’t know how you will fit this into your busy schedule. It seems that the more you fit reading into your schedule, the easier it can become to actually do the reading. So start with this one because it’s a quick short read and because it’s a fun one.
Martha and John first focus on the basics of a Christian marriage and then move on through the husband’s role and the wife’s role and then dives into responsibilities within marriage. The book is written in a light conversational tone and each chapter is only 2-5 pages. So it’s perfect to read out loud before bed, plus each chapter ends with some good discussion questions to get the two of you talking.
2) Sweethearts for a Lifetime by Wayne and Carol Mack
This is my next recommendation because while it’s a much larger book, the chapters are short and sweet. It’s really focused on how you can build your marriage to be sweethearts for a lifetime. Jason and I loved reading through this one and will one day read it again.
There are 41 chapters in the book, but like I said the chapters are super short. The really fun thing is that there are quizzes and exercises in a ton of the chapters. We found these to be really eye opening and fun! It’s Biblically rooted but it’s also one that has fun exercises, questions, and discussions.
3) When Sinners Say “I Do” by Dave Harvey
Our home group Bible study just got done studying through this book together. It makes for a great group study book or one on one with your husband. Throughout this book we found so many other nuggets of truth and wisdom, not only on marriage, but for parenting and life as well.
This book is thoroughly focused on how the Gospel impacts our marriages, or at least, how it should! The chapters are longer in this one than the previous two, but not too long. It’s 10 chapters and makes for a good one to read together.
4) What Did You Expect? by Paul David Tripp
Has your marriage turned out to be different than you expected? Has the romance fizzled a bit and you’re left wondering what your marriage should stand on? If you’ve ever wondered this or struggled in your marriage at all, then I highly recommend this book.
In reality, marriage is hard and it’s not all romance and ooey gooey feelings all the time. So where do we turn when things don’t go as we plan? Tripp helps guide you and remind you throughout that we stand upon God’s Grace and that needs to be the center of our marriage. The book takes you through 6 commitments that you need to have in a godly marriage. For example, commitment #1 is: We will give ourselves to regular lifestyle of confession and forgiveness.
5) Strengthening Your Marriage by Wayne Mack
This is the strangest of the five books because the whole thing is essentially written as an outline. Instead of the standard paragraph and chapters format of normal books, this one kind of gives you an outline and bullet points as you go through. This might sound strange and it was a little at first, but it really just helps you guide discussion and conversations as you work through reading the points.
It almost feels more like a workbook with fill in the blank spots and questions throughout it. This book takes you through God’s purpose for marriage and then the husband’s roles and wife’s roles. If you need to study more on God’s definition of marriage, this is the one to get!
Want to Reignite the Spark in Your Marriage?
I also wanted to mention this fun resource that my husband and I put together a few years ago. It’s a printable pack of resources called the Rekindling the Romance eKit – 7 Ideas to Help Reignite the Spark.
We’ve made it easy to reconnect with your spouse, draw closer together, and have a little fun along the way! You can find a peek of what’s inside here. The Kit includes:
- 13 page eBooklet with date and gift idea details
- Coupon Book Printables
- Romantic Gift Basket Checklist
- A Strip Newlywed Game
- 10 Things I Love About You Printables
- 10 Quotes on Love and Marriage Printables
- Scavenger Hunt Printables
- Romantic Night In Printables
- Mix CD Cover Printable
Come on over and download it instantly!