Love & Respect by Dr. Emerson Eggerichs

Title: Love & Respect
Author: Dr. Emerson Eggerichs
Rating: Good
Reason for Reading: I received this book through Thomas Nelson’s BookSneeze program.
Summary: The book is based on Eggerichs’ research on Ephesians 5:33, where the apostle Paul commands husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands. Rather than merely focusing on the importance of unconditional love, the book adds the counterbalance of the need for unconditional respect, specifically for men. Eggerichs details how all throughout scripture, from his years of marital counseling, his parents’ marriage, and his own marriage, this principle of wives needing unconditional love and husbands needing unconditional respect works.
The author describes three cycles, starting with The Crazy Cycle, where a wife’s disrespectful attitude towards her husband causes him to be have an unloving attitude towards her, or vice versa, and the cycle repeats. But, there is also the Energizing Cycle, where a wife’s respect or husband’s love motivates the other. And ultimately, there is the Rewarded Cycle, where a wife’s respect or husband’s love is offered regardless of their spouse’s behavior, but as a sign of reverence for Christ.
Review: I found this book to be an exceptional treatise on marriage, based on both scripture and the author’s personal experience, of how men and women are different, speaking different languages and responding to different emotions, but are beautifully designed to work together. There is a ton of valuable insight into why you think and feel the way you do, why your spouse thinks and feels differently, and how to better understand these dynamics to improve your marriage. If you don’t understand why you and your spouse are different, and how to deal with it, this is a must read. If you want your marriage to be an example for your children and your community, this is a must read.
Devon
Other resources: http://www.love andresopect.com
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Grace of God by Andy Stanley

Title: The Grace of God
Author: Andy Stanley
Rating: Good
Reason for Reading: I received this book through the Booksneeze program.

Summary: The author demonstrates how God’s grace is woven all through the Bible, both Old Testament and New. His motivation was a comment by his wife that she preferred the God of the New Testament over the Old. But Stanley shows how grace is a consistent message throughout, reflected in familiar biblical characters and stories not typically used as examples of grace. The centrality of grace within the Bible is firmly established.
Review: I really enjoyed how the author focused on grace and grace alone. Through examples pulled from all over the span of the Bible, he finds how grace is present and indeed essential to God’s relationship with man. I found every example meaningful, whether it used a Biblical character I was familiar with or not. I’d recommend this book for biblical scholars and non-scholars alike who want to reconnect with how God’s grace makes all the difference.
Devon
Other resources: None
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. 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 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”