Loving Your Wives and Improving Your Marriage

How many men do you know can quote Ephesians 5:22&23 from the Bible? Many men can't quote more than 5 scriptures in full, but they can recite the first parts of Ephesians 5:22&23 which says, "Wives submit to your husbands," and "For the husband is the head of the wife.". They don't seem to recall the last part of these verses, "As to the LORD.", and "as Christ is the head of the church." nor do they seem to recall the verses about husbands. Ephesians 5: 25-28 tells husbands, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself."

God does not call men to dominate their wives, but to cherish and love them and treat them as equal partners in your marriage. Men should work with their wives to make their marriages the strongest they can be, and do everything they can to increase their love for their spouses. In that spirit, I am listing some web-sites and books that have helped my wife and me to grow in our marriage.

Marriage web-sites: VOW: A Healthy Marriage Program and Family Dynamics.org

Books on Marriage and Communication: Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti by Ben and Pam Farrel, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus by John Gray, His Needs Her Needs and Love Busters by Willard F. Harley, Jr., Becoming One by Joe Beam, Love and Respect and Cracking the Communication Code by Dr. Emmerson Eggerichs, What Every Man Wants in a Woman & What Every Woman Wants in a Man by John & Diana Hagee, The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and The 5 Love Needs of Men & Women by Dr. Gary and Barbara Rosberg.

Books on Romance and Dating: Simply Romantic: Tips to Romance Your Husband by Family Life Publishing, 2002 Things To Do On a Date by Cyndi Haynes & Dale Edwards, Romance 101, 1001 Ways to be Romantic, and 1001 More Ways to be Romantic by Gregory J.P. Godek, Solomon's Song of Love by Dr. Craig Glickman, The Book of Romance by Tommy Nelson, and The Christian Bed & Breakfast Directory edited by Ellyn Sanna.

The most important book of all is the Bible. It has many guidelines and tips and commandments on how to love your spouse and improve your marriages. My wife and I have also attended several marriage enrichment seminars and classes in order to improve our marriage. In fact we are going to one this weekend. Men don't dominate your wife into submission, love her as Christ loves his Church.