With No Strings Attached: 28 Days of Blessing Your Wife - Softcover

Steven H. Bell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1492774146 ISBN 13: 9781492774143

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013

Synopsis

Marriage for many women is simply miserable. And if that’s not bad enough, what makes this even worse is that oftentimes it is we men who inject the misery into the marriage (like injecting our favorite marinade into the Thanksgiving turkey). We judge our wives, criticize them, gripe, complain, and fail to appreciate them. Is this behavior helpful? Is it effective? Is it Christ-like? No (and no wonder why the divorce rate among professing Christians is not much different from those who do not follow Jesus)! To tell you the truth, God’s plan for the way you treat your wife looks very different. Throughout With No Strings Attached: 28 Days of Blessing Your Wife, Dr. Steven Bell details twenty-eight unique ways for you to love your wife unconditionally. Each approach to blessing your wife is simple, yet immensely challenging (and well worth your time). The days of the “status quo” husband are quickly coming to an end, and our wives need more from us than we’ve been giving them. Grounded in scripture and a number of other helpful resources, With No Strings Attached: 28 Days of Blessing Your Wife provides a clear blueprint of how to take your marriage from miserable to magnificent.

About this title

About the Author

Steven is a native of Northwest Louisiana, being raised in the small town of Coushatta. He loves to be outdoors, running, hiking, camping, kayaking, and fishing. By far, his favorite activity is to hang out with his three girls, his dog Kate, and spend time with friends. Steven, his wife, Meredith, and their two daughters, Ann and Lia, currently reside in North Richland Hills, TX. He is an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, and earned his doctorate in Church Leadership from Perkins School of Theology/SMU in Dallas, TX. Steven serves as the Executive Pastor for Family Ministry at White’s Chapel, a United Methodist congregation in Southlake, TX.

From Kirkus Reviews

A sometimes-humorous, biblically grounded guide for husbands seeking to enrich their marriages.

In 28 short, daily readings focused around four themes (“Bless Her Self,” “Bless Her Sense,” “Bless Her Status, “Bless Her Soul”), Bell applies the concept of “no strings attached” to the most committed of relationships. He suggests that husbands bless their wives with their thoughts, words and deeds, with no set expectations (“bless her daily with no strings attached, and just trust that she will do the same”). He believes rewards—including a deeper relationship with God—will then follow. The advice ranges from simple and straightforward (“Create time for your wife to take a nap”; “Open the door for your wife”) to the selfishly pragmatic (“listen to her...you’d rather her be having these conversations with you than with some other guy!”). The brief “Task to Consider” emphasizes suggesting things rather than commanding them. There’s no scolding here, just an upbeat acknowledgement of the overwhelming nature of modern life and an egalitarian perspective on marital roles: “The Bible doesn’t give us permission to bully our wives; it encourages us to bless them. We are men, not patriarchs!” A relaxed tone, a generous use of the phrase “my friend,” and references to hunting, fishing and triple-dog dares suggest familiarity with a rural audience and a sense of camaraderie with “macho men” who “mutter things under [their] breath, grunt, scratch and go to work.” Frequent Old and New Testament references and rationales further suggest that this book is aimed at a specific audience of Christian husbands, but the thoughtful contemplations and specific actions could benefit and strengthen any committed relationship. It also includes well-chosen, often entertaining thoughts and inspirations from George Washington, Mark Twain and Maya Angelou, among others.

An advice book that astutely recognizes that what benefits one partner ultimately benefits both.

Edition details

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1492774146
• ISBN 13: 9781492774143
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 86