Review: Real Marriage

Real Marriage: 

The Truth about

 Sex, Friendship, and Life Together

by 

Mark & Grace Driscoll

Quote:" The greatest gift a grace a man can have is a pious, God-fearing, home-loving wife, whom he can trust with all his goods, body, and life itself, as well as having her as the mother of his children." ~ Martin Luther pg 23

Started: March 4, 2013

Finished: March 14, 2013

Hardcover/249 pages

From the cover:

Traveling the world, raising five kids, speaking to thousands, Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, don't live in a bubble. They know we live in a " hook-up, shack up, and break up" culture. They've seen the divorce rates, heard the sexual abuse statistics, they've been statistics themselves. All of which makes them realistic and sympathetic.

But that's not why we are qualified to write this book.

Mark and Grace know and respect God's Word, and they've experienced it's power to transform their marriage. Today, In this culture. Those are their qualifications.

Unflinchingly honest and direct, they describe God's plan for marriage, explain how it has changed their marriage, and dive into the issues that keep us from it, including a lack of friendship in marriage, previous sexual abuse, and the use of pornography. and you'll find the answers to some sex-related questions that you just can't ask your own pastor.

If you want the straight truth wrapped in the grace of the gospel, read this book. If you're asking questions you think the church would never answer, open the pages. And if you're not sure lifelong soul-mates are even possible in the 21st century, read and be encouraged by what the grace and power of God can do for your marriage.

My Review:

I absolutely loved this book. It was so well written, wonderfully descriptive and truly honest. I know, little by little and through God's grace this book is and will continue to be a blessing to myself and my marriage.

No matter how many or how few issues you feel your marriage has, this book can and probably will help you and your spouse in some way!

The book is divided into specific topic chapters. 

1.New Marriage, Same Spouse

2.Friend with Benefits

3. Men and Marriage

4. The Respectful Wife

5. Taking out the Trash 

and so on.

This book covers everything from porn obsession and how it can destroy a marriage to what is the difference between lawful and helpful.(Just because you CAN do it, doesn't mean you should. Is it helpful to YOUR specific marriage?)

It uses reference to scripture in almost every question or subject(which I LOVED). It gives tons of helpful statistics, testimonies and study results to help you understand better.

This book shows you right from wrong, how to prioritize(take out the trash) and how to be open, honest and start over from any stage of marriage.

You learn tips, prayers and methods to slowly, gradually transform your marriage into what God had planned for you and your spouse! It even has a "plan" for you to set up and use as a guideline for goals, dreams and things you want to accomplish as a married couple.( How can we get where we want to be next week, year, in 5 years?)

I highly recommend this book to any Christian couples. No matter how wonderful you think your own marriage is, everyone can benefit from this book!

Definitely 5 stars*****

Review: The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Quote: " A little longer, and thou needest not to be afraid to trace whose child she is. But how strangely beautiful she looks, with those wild-flowers in her hair!"` Hester pg. 186

Started: Feb.20, 2013

Finished: March 1, 2013

paperback/ 247 pages

From the cover:

Hailed by Henry James as " the finest piece of imaginative writing yet put forth in the country," Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter  reaches to our nation's historical and moral roots for the material of great tragedy. Set in an early New England colony, the novel shows the terrible impact a single, passionate act has on the lives of three members of the community: the defiant Hester Prynne; the fiery, tortured Reverend Dimmesdale; and the obsessed, vengeful Chillingworth.

With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne became the first American novelist to forge from Puritan heritage a universal classic, a masterful exploration of humanity's unending struggle with sin, guilt, and pride.

My Review:

I loved the story and the how the book teaches us somewhat about how society treated sins. I wasn't thrilled with the writing style. I felt like the whole Introductory threw me off into what the story was actually about. I wasn't interested in that much detail about Hawthorne himself. Also, this version/print is categorized a teen read and honestly, I do not feel any teen would have read the first 45 pages of how Hawthorne became who he was and why he wrote a story such.

On to The Scarlet Letter. My impression as a whole was that it was...sad.

Sad, and tragic.

Hester, while feeling she had made the only choice she could after her "sin" was committed, put herself more so into a place of isolation and loneliness. By choosing not to reveal who her husband truly was or her lover(father of the baby) she set herself up for more heartache. I realize times were much different than today, but I can't help but feel she caused her own burden and with it a distance from her own child. She seemed to use the child as a punishment rather than a blessing and I cannot agree with that at all.

I detested Chillingworth. He was selfish, whiny and too woe is me. Dimmsesdale didn't fair much better, in my opinion. What a coward! All because he wanted to save his own reputation and ego. How could he live within the same community, seeing them so often and never acknowledge what part he had played??? How could he let Hester take all the shame and responsibility on herself and watch his own child become the next generation of target to those who knew?

Shame on him!

3 stars* for Hawthorne's, The Scarlet Letter

Review: The Last Sin Eater

The Last Sin Eater

by Francine Rivers

Quote: " Of myself, I'm saying nothing. I'm telling you what the man of God told us. There is only one Lamb of God, and he is Jesus Christ. We've no need of a scapegoat anymore. We need him." ~ Fagan pg. 247

Started: Feb.6, 2013

Finished: Feb. 19, 2013

paperback/ 324 pages

From the cover:

All that matters for Cadi Forbes is finding the one man who can set her free from the sin that plagues her days and nights... the sin that has stolen her mother's love from her and made her wish she could flee life and its terrible justice.

She knows it's forbidden, that doing so will bring curses down on her- but something deep and instinctive moves her, against all dire warnings, to find the "sin eater".

Before their journeys are over, Cadi and the sin eater must face themselves, each other- and the One who will demand all from them in exchange for the answers they seek.

My Review:

This is my first Francine Rivers read. I did like this book, however I did not love it. While it is considered an adult, Christian novel I found the book as a whole too drawn out as if the author really thought we needed so much repetition to hold our suspense and keep us reading. To me, it was dragged out into what could have been a great story if wrapped up in 200 or less pages. It seemed like I should have been reading aloud to my 9 year old and asking questions at the end of each chapter. e.i. "Do you understand why this and this happened?" 

Maybe it is because the story is mostly told from Cadi's point of view. I'm not sure.

Again, it had the most wonderful message, just not written to make the story "wow" me personally.

4 Stars* simply for the message aspect.