Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.
- Goethe
I picked this up at the store this morning and read it all in about 45 minutes. If you have been reading my book blog for a while you will discover that self-help and marital/relationship type books are not the kind of thing I read much (maybe I should read more?) but this book addressed a topic that caught my eye and has been on my mind off and on the last few years: How can I better support my husband as the spiritual leader of our home?
John Bytheway has a talent for taking a gospel/spiritual/temporal principle and approaching it in an organized, well-researched, personal-but-not-too-personal, approachable, and hilarious format. This was no exception. One thing that drew me to the book is that it was written by a man and since Brother Bytheway is a man I thought that he just might have some experience and insight to help me out.
Here are some main objectives he addresses on the subject:
1. If you have a strong marriage you can discuss any topic comfortably
2. The guidance of the spirit is key
3. Criticism in any form does not help change your spouse
4. Words of love, praise and encouragement go a long way
Each chapter is short, meaningful, and to the point - not just watered down advice. It's not just a book about everything that women are doing wrong and they just nag their husbands all the time - all the advice that he shares he has tried to internalize in his own life and marriage with his wife. I'm not going to expound much further because then you would not need to purchase this little gem of a book yourself and the publisher might not like that...
I was able to take some time while reading this book to think about my husband, our relationship in general, my strengths and weaknesses in my treatment of him, etc... There is some definite room for improvement on my part and I feel like I have some specific tools to help my husband and support him rather than nag him to an early grave.
Check this book out at the link below:
deseretbook.com/store/product/5014311
This morning I also purchased The John Bytheway Collection - a fifteen year anniversary collection on CD of some of his most popular talks. This will come in handy for our family's drive to Utah this summer (it will be a very LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNGG drive)!
2 comments:
Im going to have to get this book now. Thanks for the heads up!
I found your blog as I was searching for an avenue to purchase several used copies of this book for each of my adult children. My husband brought this home from a recent trip and while one might think that it is aimed at women, we found several items to talk about. And while I, as you said, "was able to take some time to think about my husband, my relationship in general, my strengths, weaknesses in my treatment of him etc...", I found that my husband took the same type of inventory regarding me. It was good for both of us. We are up for an 18 hour trip to take our daughter to the MTC and think I'll check out his anniversary collection also. Thanks for the idea!
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