Marriage Mondays ~ Reading 2gether?

How much of your talk time with your spouse do you spend on things of this world? If you're like us, your answer is probably "most of it."  Recently our conversations included topics like:

• getting the house painted (must. do. this. asap.)
• taking the dog to the vet  (never like to do this ... dog doesn't either)
• the headlight out on my car (hate to spend time on things like this)
• where to eat out for our anniversary (or ... what coupons do we have?)
• how to pay for college (never ending conversation ......)
• the mountain we call the ironing basket (in denial about this one)

What's on your list? Paul addressed marriage in 1 Corinthians 7 and described lifestyle differences for those who remain unmarried and those marry. He wasn't "marriage bashing;"  he was being honest about how marriage adds to our worldly concerns.

"The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband."  1 Corinthians 7: 32b-34 (ESV)

If we aren't careful, all our conversation and companionship can center around temporary things and the "stuff" of this life, with the potential to become rather narrow and "all about us."  

One way to broaden what we share and care about is to read together. Shared reads inspire, inform, and enrich.  Long drives or times away provide "windows of opportunity" to read together.  Even being apart presents a chance to read the same book and then share thoughts and impressions when you're back together again. Reading together mixes fresh ideas into our relationships, challenging us together, helping us grow together, and broadening our world together. 

Jeff and I just finished two books that have done just that for us.We just finished reading:

• One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda  (I picked this one and gave it to Jeff.)
• Radical Together by David Platt  (Jeff picked this one and gave it to me.)

Paul is right in saying married people often become "anxious about worldly things," and too much of that distracts us from the bigger purposes of life and marriage as followers of God. Sharing a good read together gets the conversation started and reminds us of what lies beyond the laundry room, driveway, kids' backpacks, and bills. 

If you want to mix fresh ideas into your relationship, be challenged together, grow together, and broaden your world together, you might just start with a great book.

Jeff and I have just started to share our thoughts about our 2 great recent reads, and the Lord has planted common thoughts into our hearts and minds to use in our family. It doesn't just change us "individually," it changes "us" as "one."  


Pick a book you're excited about, and be flexible to embrace your spouse's idea and read their suggestion. Don't turn it down just because it's called something like "A Look at Life from a Deer Stand."  :)  In the pages of a book and in follow up conversations, you just might find hidden treasures in the heart and mind of your beloved!

Are you reading together? If there a book you've shared and been touched by together?

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