10 Choices Successful Couples Make: A Review

The title of this book, written by Dr. Ron Welch reminds me of my wife Marthanne, and our wedding vows that we wrote for our April 4, 1982 wedding:

Since we believe that God has brought us together and feel assured that He has led in our decision to become husband and wife, we choose to make God first in our home. We choose to make our marriage a lifelong partnership not to be hindered by adversity or prosperity. We choose to promote each other’s happiness and to seek to bring out the best in each other. We choose to cultivate mutual love and respect, to trust each other, keeping a special circle of confidence around us. We choose to make ours a Christ-centered home with Marthanne supporting and encouraging Paul as he leads our home in the ways of the Lord, just as Christ leads the church. Paul will strive to combine gentle, tender and affectionate love with his leadership. Marthanne will seek to apply wisdom and tact to help keep our home running smoothly. We choose to keep a proper perspective, remembering that, as of today, we are a team in spite of differences that may arise between us and that God has made us both individuals and He has now made us one. We choose to hold hands through thick and thin and say daily, “I love you”. We choose to take time for each other so that we may be able to share that oneness which God intended that husbands and wives should have. We choose to love and cherish each other all the days of our lives. We choose to make our home a little heaven to go to heaven in. Since we realize that it is only through God’s strength that any of these choices can be carried out, we choose to seek that strength day by day for power to do these things.

Here are two other specific choices that Marthanne and I made that we have found helpful for us.

1-We chose to pay our credit card bills in full each month.

2-We chose not to have television in our home.

Now back to the book which claims that making these 10 Choices Successful Couples Make is The Secret to Love That Lasts a Lifetime.

Here are some of the choices that the author discusses:

 I Choose to Love You. The author contends that we do not fall into love, rather that we jump into love by our choice.

I Choose to Believe.  When you expect with confidence that things will go well, they more often do.

I Choose to Communicate Well. When was the last time someone really listened to you? When was the last time that you really listened to your spouse?

I Choose to Forgive.  It is important to choose to forgive in both the larger and smaller things.

I Choose to Be Unselfish.  Choosing to be unselfish means choosing sacrifice, compromise and commitment. These are not easy choices.

I Choose to Love You Forever.  This is a choice that needs to be made every day.

This book is for anyone who would like to improve their marriage- or even to read before they are married.  It provides lots of encouragement to make right choices every day.

I would encourage you to purchase this book at your favorite book store or order online. Click here for ordering online and also for more information about this great book.