OK...I am biased on this book. My wife Brenda and I met Anne Trippe in the mid to late ‘90s as we were learning about God’s grace and what is sometimes termed as the ‘exchanged life”. As we were training to become lay counselors, we were also struggling in our relationship. At that time Anne was teaching a class “Journey to freedom in marriage” and we were excited to be a part of it. God used Anne’s unassuming teaching style and grasp of the truth to get our attention and move our relationship forward. Her book expands on much of what was taught in that class and introduces the reader to a few brave couples who share their personal struggles while Anne guides them to the truth.
Anne structures the journey as a parallel to the children of Israel leaving Egypt and heading to the promised land...that’s where we all want to be in our relationships, right? Anne describes the “survival strategies” we’ve learned over the years, relationships that seem to go in circles, couples who get “stranded”, what “law” does to a relationship, myths of marriage, the role of adversity, our emotions and much more. You may find this is a radical departure from coping strategies, etc. found in most teaching. As Darryl pointed out in her book on page 87, “Depending on Christ for my emotional protection will be totally unfamiliar. I’ve never heard anything like this”.
Here are a few myths Anne exposes in her book (pg. 56)
-My spouse is to be my completer, otherwise, why marriage?
-I am entitled to my husband being the spiritual leader
-I am entitled to my wife being submissive and compliant
-If I serve my spouse, it makes me a doormat
-I need a person (spouse) to be fulfilled, complete, secure and validated
I still have so much to learn here but “God is faithful”; I trust this book will be an encouragement to you as it has been to me...get a copy at Amazon or most Christian book resellers, I highly recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment