It's no secret that men and women are different. And it's no secret that they don't always get along because of these differences, even when they love each other. But having a successful marriage is not about finding the perfect person to marry. It's about loving someone in an unselfish, Christlike manner. Whatever we want out of marriage--unconditional love, forgiveness, passion--that is what we have to give to our spouse. Rick Johnson shows couples how to go beyond merely tolerating each other's differences to using those God-given differences to add spice and passion to their relationship.
Your Recipe for Marital Success
Having a successful marriage is not about finding the perfect
person. It's not even about always getting along. It's about loving
the imperfect person you married in an unselfish manner.
Just as a great meal is made from many ingredients, a great
marriage is a combination of different traits. If men and women
were the same, life would turn out pretty bland. In this witty and
insightful book, Rick Johnson shows you how to go beyond merely
tolerating your spouse's differences to using them to add spice and
passion to your relationship.
"Rick Johnson understands the dynamics of a great relationship, and
he's really good at helping others understand them too."--Will
Davis Jr., author of Pray Big and Pray Big for Your
Marriage
"Rick Johnson shows us how men and women are wonderfully different
by design. His incredible understanding of how men think and how
women think will give you much better insight into that person you
married who sometimes seems like an alien."--Jim Burns, PhD,
president of HomeWord; author of Creating an Intimate
Marriage and Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples
Together
"Conventional thinking wants us to believe that 'compatibility' is
the golden key to a lasting marriage. But here Rick Johnson
explains the real truth: it's our differences that make us
interesting, engaged, and intimate."--Paul Coughlin, author of
No More Christian Nice Guy and Married But Not
Engaged
Rick Johnson is a bestselling author of That's My Son;
Better Dads, Stronger Sons; and The Power of a Man.
He is the founder of Better Dads and is a sought-after speaker at
many large parenting and marriage conferences across the United
States and Canada. To find out more about Rick Johnson, please
visit www.betterdads.net.
“Guys, your wife needs to hear that you love her, and she needs to hear it frequently. Women tend to place more value on verbal communication than men and so need to hear our love for them.” (source)
“Most people are more concerned about how to be loved than how they can give love. They are more concerned with having their needs met than meeting the needs of their spouse.” (source)
“Romance is not just a stop along the way to sex. It is an essential part of fulfilling your wife’s need to feel loved and desired. She has a compelling need to know she is beautiful in your eyes, and that need requires frequent and consistent reinforcement. Just like men’s egos require consistent reinforcement because we secretly feel inadequate, your wife secretly feels undesirable and thus unworthy or even unlovable. Tell her every day that you love her. Then show her you love her by giving her a little romance. You won’t be sorry.” (source)
“Discussing numerous relevant topics such as religious expectations, number of children, parenting styles, familial obligations toward extended family, sexual expectations, and the roles and duties of each spouse (to name just a few) before entering into marriage is a crucial factor to preventing problems later on.” (source)
“Equality in a relationship does not mean sameness—it means each person is valued for the contribution they bring to the table. In fact, the very differences we have are perhaps our greatest strengths when they are recognized and used effectively instead of being at odds with one another.” (source)