So to help couples build their relationship upon a firm foundation, we’ve rounded up some of our favorite Christian-centered resources for the newly engaged and newlywed!

For the Newly Engaged…

Catching Foxes: A Gospel-Guided Journey to Marriage by John Henderson

Do you feel prepared for marriage? Well, biblical counselor, John Henderson, has written a book to help you gain the understanding needed to ensure a happy and thriving marriage. In Catching Foxes Henderson refers to the “foxes” inside our relationships – the idols and selfish appetites that can destroy and cause heartache. By identifying these dangers and confronting them before the wedding takes place, couples can refer to God’s gospel to overcome them all. Catching Foxes is a fifteen chapter book containing interactive questions for personal response and discussion that guides couples toward a Christ-Centered marriage.

Before You Say I Do: A Marriage Preparation Guide for Couples by H. Norman Wright & Wes Roberts

Communication is key, right? So, before you “tie the knot”, take some time to get to know each other by discussing important topics like children, money, and spiritual beliefs. This popular interactive workbook aims to help assist you through this process by providing prompts for thoughtful discussions to help you explore these vital areas. Drawn from years of marriage preparation seminars and counseling sessions, these insightful questions will help to strengthen your relationship and deepen your bond with one another. With Jesus as your cornerstone, you can create a loving and successful marriage.

Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married by Gary Chapman

Gary Chapman is the bestselling author of The 5 Love Languages, so it is safe to say when it comes to love and marriage, he knows what he’s talking about! In Things I Wish I’d Known Before We Got Married, Chapman helps couples to work together as an intimate team by sharing practical tips he wishes he knew before getting married. Key topics in these discussions include love, romance, conflict resolution, forgiveness, and sexual fulfillment. Through insightful questions, suggestions, and exercises, Chapman aims to to help couples develop the loving, supportive, and mutually beneficial marriage they envision. A book that will help you prepare for the challenges of marriage.

To Have and To Hold Bible Study Book by Byron and Carla Weathersbee

Investing time and energy into building a lifelong partnership is key as you approach your wedding day – or even in the early years of your marriage. To Have and to Hold comprises over 8 sessions designed to develop your foundation as both individuals and a couple. It also helps you to grow in your understanding of Christ and ultimately, His divine goal for marriage. This book features interactive questions and tools to guide discussion as well as tools and suggestions for pre-marital education and counsel. A seriously great Bible study book for couples looking to keep Christ first and grow in spiritual maturity as a couple!

For the Newlyweds…

After the Honeymoon: 90 Days to a Thriving Marriage by Rod Loy

So, you’ve had the ceremony, you’ve been on your honeymoon… now what? This is where Rod Loy steps in! Originally written as Facebook posts to his engaged son, the ninety devotions in After the Honeymoon provide insight and wisdom based on biblical principles and personal experience. Loy tackles a range of topics including money matters, balancing roles, finding time for each other, forgiveness and more. Alongside each devotion is a “Thought for the Day’ as well as an activity for couples to complete. Added bonus, this book also includes “90 Dates for $10 or Less” – perfect for making sure you spend time together, no matter what your financial situation!

Fierce Marriage: Radically Pursuing Each Other in Light of Christ’s Relentless Love by Ryan & Selena Frederick

Fierce Marriage is a call to put Christ at the center of your marriage. With passionate, personal stories along with practical, gospel-centered advice, the Fredericks help you handle five key areas of marriage – priorities, communication, money, sex, and conflict. Their fresh approach will help you to see marriage as not just a relationship you should keep healthy, but also one that is worth fighting for – no matter what. An incredible read for all newlyweds!

Making Marriage Beautiful by Dorothy Littell Greco with Christopher Greco

A wedding binds together two imperfect people who cannot completely satisfy each other’s expectations – of that we can be sure. How a couple respond to the inevitable conflicts and disappointments determines the kind of people they will become and the kind of marriage they will have. Equipping couple’s to deal with these conflicts and disappointments is the goal of Making Marriage Beautiful. Through grounded faith, humor, and disarming candor, Dorothy Greco helps readers to build flourishing, Christ-centered marriages that last a lifetime. A great read for newlyweds, but just as important a read for those celebrating their 40th anniversary!

101 Secrets to a Happy Marriage: Real Couples Share Keys to their Success 

101 Secrets to a Happy Marriage provides words of wisdom and anecdotes from 87 couples who have been there done that! Whether these couples were married for three years or fifty years, they deliver invaluable knowledge fo helping you to create a fulfilling and joyful marriage. It’s also a friendly reminder to any couple that they’re not alone! Alongside these anecdotes and nuggets of wisdom are practical steps and ideas that are easy for couples to apply to their own relationship. A wonderful gift book for the newlywed couple, if you ask us!

For more great reads for the happy couple, click here!

The post Books for Newlywed and Engaged Couples appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.

As a source of great guidance for humanity, the Bible can often provide timely teaching, instruction and correction for married couples, newlyweds and the newly-engaged. A verse from the Scriptures can often communicate our love and gratitude for our significant other in a wonderful way as well.  So, whether you’re recently engaged or soon to be celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary, here are some of the most valuable Bible verses about relationships, marriage and love.

Verses for Newlyweds and the Soon-to-be-Wed

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. –  1 Corinthians 13:4-5 [NLT]

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. – Romans 12:10 [NIV]

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. – 1 John 4:7 [ESV]

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. – 1 Corinthians 13:13 [NIV]

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. – James 1:19 [NIV]

Scarcely had I passed them when I found him whom my soul loves – Song of Solomon 3:4 [ESV]

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.- Proverbs 31:10 [KJV]

Verses to Help Strengthen a Marriage

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. – Ecclesiastes 4:12 [NIV]

So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate. – Matthew 19:6 [ESV]

Let all that you do be done with love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14 [NKJV]

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. – 1 John 3:18 [NIV]

Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. – Colossians 3:13-14 [NLT]

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins – 1 Peter 4:8 [NIV]

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. – Philippians 4:6 [NLT]

The post 14 Bible Verses About Love & Marriage appeared first on Christianbook.com Blog.