Everyone has expectations, but not everyone acknowledges them. In marriage, unrecognized expectations can be especially dangerous--when couples expect each other to be and act a certain way without communicating their assumptions, disappointment is never too far away. Now, relationship expert Gary Smalley and his pastor and friend Ted Cunningham show couples how to defuse the ticking bomb of unrealistic expectations and arm their marriage with healthy communication and honest intimacy. As Long as We Both Shall Live will help couples acknowledge their unexpressed assumptions, understand one another's genuine needs, and talk openly about their hopes and desires. Women and men will find the tools they need to build lasting and loving marriages.

Marriage is under attack now more than ever. Even within the church, homosexuality, divorce, and shallow, sentimental views of love are subverting God's design for husbands and wives. To help Christian couples counter these trends and recover marriage as God intended it, Dr. Michael A.G. Haykin has compiled a rich anthology of love letters from saints of the past. Each letter gives us a glimpse of what marriage should be: joyful companionship, deep passion, and unfailing commitment through the ups and downs of life. At its best, Christian marriage is a foretaste of eternal bliss--and it's far more satisfying than any of the substitutes this world has to offer.

n many Christian circles this may be a taboo subject-spoken of in hushed tones or behind closed doors. But it is a very real problem that must be brought into the light of Scripture. Abuse in the church takes different forms, but it is alive and active even in nice families in our churches. Typically, the abuser is male, usually a husband--and his character is that of a manipulating deceiver! Countless women and children even many faithful pastors--have been abused by these deceivers. Have you, or someone you know, been a victim? Has an abuser: Threatened physical violence if he does not get away? Intimidated you with abusive language? Denied you affection? Denied you medical attention? Manipulated friends and acquaintances in order to gain allies? Pastor Jeff Crippen uses his over thirty years of experience to rip the lid off this most insidious behavior that is often hidden in plain sight. He not only maintains that Bible believing churches have ignored or failed to face the problem, he insists that when they do counsel a victim of abuse, they get it all wrong! The result is that the victim gets pulled into deeper-even life threatening-danger! This book will come as a life-saver in a raging sea for those under the thumb of an abusive spouse of friend. The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be free in him: spiritually, emotionally, and, yes, physically. Every pastor also needs to read this book, either because they too have been a victim, but, more importantly, so that they properly counsel those caught in a cycle of abuse.

Something Has to Change...

You can't put it into words, but something is happening to you. Your stomach churns, your heart aches, and the tension in your marriage is making you feel weary and a little crazy. The constant criticism, disrespect, cruelty, deceit, and gross indifference are eroding your confidence and breaking your spirit.

For any woman caught in an emotionally destructive marriage, Leslie Vernick offers a personalized path forward. Based on decades of counseling experience, her intensely practical, biblical advice will show you how to establish boundaries and break free from emotional abuse. Learn to:

- identify damaging behaviors
- gain the skills to respond wisely
- promote healthy change
- stay safe
- understand when, why, and even how to leave
- recognize that God sees and hates what is happening to you

Trying harder to be a perfect fantasy wife won't help fix what's wrong your marriage. Discover instead how you can initiate effective changes to stop the cycle of destruction and restore hope for the future.

"Women in an emotionally abusive marriage do not need another book on how to have a good marriage; those books rub salt in raw wounds. No, they desperately need this book so that they can diagnose just how bad their marriage is and then, with Leslie's clear expertise, develop a plan that will either begin to turn their marriage around...or give them a wise route of escape."
--Dee Brestin, author of Idol Lies and The Friendships of Women