Gil Stieglitz

I remember the day I had my first child and thinking “Now what do I do?” My husband and I were all alone with no help so off we went to our home as new parents. Boy were we scared with this new responsibility. Many years later, I laugh at our many mistakes we made but through it all we have been blessed with three amazing sons.
This book is one I wish I had all those years ago. It is chocked full of helpful information and encouragement. Children need stability and a deep relationship with their parents. God gave us our children to nurture, love and guide. It is something I have never taken lightly. I liked how the book has scriptures that you can read to help you as you go through raising children.
The authors talk about The Six R’s of Wise Parenting and breaks each one down into their own chapter. Each one builds on the other and I found them to be easy to follow. Children need boundaries and as parents we need to show them the Godly way to live. The book talks about routine and I loved this chapter. We need to be consistent in our discipline and have a united front as parents. It is also important to have a time where you pray with your children. I found it helpful to pray as a family every night before bed.
One of the main goals is to be loving, patient and available. Children will make mistakes, and as parents we need to correct them in a loving way. We want them to feel comfortable enough to come to us with anything. I loved the subject about forgiveness. We want to teach our children to forgive in a Godly way. I also think it is important as parents to ask forgiveness from our children when we make a mistake. I know first hand how powerful it is to hear a parent say “I’m sorry. Will you forgive me?” I had to swallow my pride and ask forgiveness from my children one time and the freedom I felt was undeniable.
The book has many guidelines and suggestions for parents. Some of the suggestions may not work in your family but overall the book is a tool that could be helpful in some areas.
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.… (mais)

There are numerous books written on the subject of marriage. They all have different perspectives of what works and what doesn't. I know the number one reason marriages fail is lack of communication. If you don't talk to your spouse and share your feelings, you are living in an empty shell called "faking it til something better comes along." It may be harsh words, but I know from personal experience what a lack of sharing will do to a marriage.

I opened this book ready to see what the author had to offer on the subject of marriages. To my delight the first subject is called "Debrief Daily." I was intrigued and had a dash of hope that this book would speak to couples in a way that was compassionate but truthful. Our spouses come home and usually the wife is cooking dinner, taking care of kids and gives her husband a nod or short greeting and keeps on going. Lets learn from this first chapter to take time to share your day with each other. Ask questions and listen with an open heart so you will know what to pray over your spouse if they are struggling in an area.

The author shares fifteen habits to Building a Ridiculously Great Marriage." Each chapter also includes examples that help you apply the topic to your marriage. One of the chapters I really liked was about praying. I'm sure many of us have our alone prayer time, but do we also have a time where we pray as a couple? This hit hard with me. My husband and I have been really good about praying together until this last year. It hasn't been a good year for us with family deaths, health issues, family problems and other struggles. We seemed to have forgotten God in our daily time as a couple. The enemy came roaring in our lives and we allowed him to take over. We didn't have our covering and we have had attacks after attacks. I loved when the author said, " Another reason why it is great to pray together daily is to hear your spouse's heart." "It is not enough to know why we should pray; we have to actually do it."

I have always said that my best friend is my husband. It is true, but now I realize that I have left him out of prayer time and forgotten to share things that are stressing me out. I will be holding on to this book and begin to apply the chapters to our marriage as a couple. This would be an excellent tool to use in churches for small groups for married couples and engaged couples.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion… (mais)

Okay, I need to start off by saying the title of this book grabbed my attention. I do not necessarily think of “ridiculous” as being a good way to describe a marriage. But as I began reading Dr. Stieglitz explanation about “ridiculous” in terms of marriage, I found myself caught up in his explanation. After all, my husband and I have been married for over 27 years, and I want to be able to say that we have a “ridiculously great marriage.”

As I look back on the marriage of my husband’s paternal grandparents, I can honestly say they had a ridiculously great marriage. The type of marriage they had is the type of marriage I want to have with my husband.

This book does an excellent job of providing guidance for steps to take to protect, strengthen, and nurture a marriage. While I know our children will always be our children, I also recognize the fact that our children range from 23 to 17 and will eventually leave our home. I want to know my husband and I have taken steps to create a lasting, meaningful, and Biblically-based marriage that will stand the test of time. This book provides tools and techniques for doing exactly that. From things such as spending time alone together to scheduling a weekly “Staff meeting’, the ideas are ones that any couple can do (even those without a lot of extra money floating around.

So if you are looking for a book to strengthen and enrich your marriage, check out this book for yourself.

I received a copy of this book for my fair and honest review.… (mais)