Marriage Mania

Bruce and I went to see a movie Sunday afternoon after church.

Stop the presses! We actually went to see it in the theater. And we took out a small loan to fund our outing, too.

But it was so worth the time and money. We saw this one:



Bruce and I laughed like crazy in this movie. We had such a fun time pointing out characters who also appeared in "Facing the Giants", another movie by the production folks who did "Fireproof."

We saw the dad of the smart-mouthed football player in this movie's train scene. We saw the lollipop-sucking hyper rival coach in a scene near the very end of this movie. The football player who carries another player on his back across the field has a good supporting role in this movie. There's a bit part for the soccer-player-turned-football-kicker in "Fireproof"... that kid is just too cute for words. And the main character from "Facing the Giants" also has a small part at the end of this movie.

There's suspense in this movie, too. So don't think the fellas won't like it. I was clenching my fists at one fire scene.

But there are a couple of scenes that are just painful to watch, like some of the dialogue between the main character and his dad... about his mother. But the hardest for me was an argument between the two main characters near the beginning of the movie.

I think that hit me hard because we were watching the characters from the outside, like Peeping Toms. And sometimes you see things more clearly when you are outside of them. But Bruce and I have been in arguments every bit as ugly as the one on that screen. And this movie made me think about what the Lord felt when He viewed us hashing it out.

Kirk Cameron is fantastic in this movie. And I'm hoping his name will lend even greater weight to this movie and get more people out there to watch it. I've heard some great press about him and I have such respect for him as an actor and as a Christian.

I have a pretty good marriage. But I've been in a bad marriage before, too.

And I've never been married to anyone but Bruce.

I pray that he and I will never fall for the lie that divorce will make things easier. I see from the fall out of my parent's own dissolved marriage that walking away does not make life better. And even adult kids suffer. Sometimes greatly.

One more plug. Of a different nature.

Our Sunday school class is reading this book right now:



If you want to challenge the way you view marriage, read "Sacred Marriage". The subtitle is "What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy."

I am not a fan of self-help books, even if they are Christian living books. I typically read a chapter or two and then set the book aside... for good. I get bored.

But this book makes me think.

I told my mother-in-law that I think every engaged couple should be required to read this book when they go through pre-marital counseling. And then read it again when things get rough (notice I said "when" and not "if").

This is not a book that will pinch the conscience of one gender more than another. That kind of agenda bugs me. This book holds both the wife and husband to a higher standard... and it isn't the world's standard either.

I scanned the back few pages yesterday and found that the author, Gary Thomas, also wrote a book called "Sacred Parenting".

I'm feeling a trip to Lifeway is in order. Soon.

Spencer and I cracked skulls last night when our hard heads hit one another.