How and Why to Get Married

The title of my post may promise a lot. I was trying to summarize the several recent articles I've read that seemed to be connected. While I've found points in these various articles to be interesting and encouraging, I have to disclaim and say that some of these articles contain items with which I don't necessarily agree. However, I would love for you my readers to study them, contemplate, and comment with your thoughts.

First I have a review of a book by Debbie Maken about getting serious about getting married. The 24-year-old single author of the review says that the book deepened and even changed her perspective on the self-centered delay-marriage generation in which we live. Read the rest here.

Carolyn at Solo Femininity has been doing a series on relationships, one of which highlights a book she was reading, Relationships: A Mess Worth Making by Paul Tripp and Tim Lane. The focus is that though being in relationships promises suffering, there are other sides, and they are worth the pain. (This reminds me of the last line of one of my favorite movies, Shadowlands: "Twice in that life I've been given the choice: as a boy and as a man. The boy chose safety, the man chooses suffering. The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal.")

From Homeliving Helper, Mrs. Alexandra, come thoughts on the right-ness of girls wanting to find a husband and some tips on how to (at least) not scare the men away.

Lanier is beginning a series on YLCF about preparing for marriage. Her first rule is believe that your God is good, and that a beautiful, godly marriage can happen. Stay tuned to YLCF for future articles in the series.

This last article is one about which I posted already, but since it also applies, I'm linking it again (this time straight to the source). Carmon praises the fact that her daughter for being unashamed of her choice to study homemaking and marriage.

As a final note, these articles focus on women preparing for marriage. One of the main frustrations I've discovered is that getting married is a two-way street. Preparing for marriage goes both ways. And I won't be the first young woman to bemoan the shortage of sober-minded Christian men.

To God be all glory.