Overcoming Stress in Your Marriage

Overcoming Stress in Your Marriage

Manage stress and build harmony in your home! Time pressure and today's fast pace can put a strain on anyone's marriage. Use the "right-where-you-live" insights and practical Bible principles in this small group study to help diffuse stress in marriage relationships. Couples will better understand how their partners manage stress and discover how to help each other overcome it. They'll establish life priorities based on the Bible and personal family values, develop healthy attitudes about money and available resources, and learn the vital importance of resolving conflicts and forgiving offenses. Perfect for Sunday school class, small group or Bible study, or any area of adult programming. Each individual will need his or her own copy of this convenient personal workbook journal. Manage Stress and Build Harmony in Your Home! In today's fast-paced society, people are so busy. If you aren't careful, stress and time pressure can put a strain on your marriage. This study is packed with "right-where- you-live" insights and practical help to diffuse stress in marriage relationships. Learn how to work together to make life less crazy, and more meaningful. Focus on what's most important and satisfying. Together with other couples, you and your spouse will learn how to *Understand how you each manage stress and work to help one another overcome it *Establish priorities in life based on biblical principles and your personal family values *Develop healthy attitudes about money, and your available resources *Learn the importance of resolving conflicts and forgiving offenses INSIDEFLAP Doug Daily is a teacher pastor at Grace Church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He and his wife, Patty, are speakers at FamilyLife? Marriage Conferences. Doug is a graduate of Mississippi State University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He and Patty have three children. Introduction When a man and a woman are married, they stand before a room of witnesses and proclaim their commitment to a lifetime of love. They recite a sacred vow "to have and to hold from this day forward to love, honor, and cherish for better, for worse for richer, for poorer in sickness and in health as long as we both shall live." It's a happy day, perhaps the happiest in their lives. And yet, once the honeymoon ends, once the emotions of courtship and engagement subside, many couples realize that "falling in love" and building a good marriage are two different things. Keeping those vows is much more difficult than they thought it would be. Otherwise intelligent people, who would not think of buying a car, investing money, or even going to the grocery store without some initial planning, enter into marriage with no plan of how to make that relationship succeed. But God has already provided the plan, a set of blueprints for building a truly God-honoring marriage. His plan is designed to enable a man and woman to grow together in a mutually satisfying relationship and then to reach out to others with the love of Christ. Ignoring this plan leads only to isolation and separation between husband and wife. It's a pattern evident in so many homes today: Failure to follow God's blueprints results in wasted effort, bitter disappointment, and, in far too many cases, divorce. In response to this need in marriages today, FamilyLife has developed a series of small-group studies called the HomeBuilders Couples Series. You could complete this study alone with your spouse, but we strongly urge you to either form or join a group of couples studying this material. You will find that the questions in each session not only help you grow closer to your spouse, but they help create a special environment of warmth and fellowship as you study together how to build the type of marriage you desire. Participating in a HomeBuilders group could be one of the highlights of your married life. The Bible: Your Blueprints for a God-Honoring Marriage You will notice as you proceed through this study that the Bible is used frequently as the final authority on issues of life and marriage. Although written thousands of years ago, this Book still speaks clearly and powerfully about the conflicts and struggles faced by men and women. The Bible is God's Word--his blueprints for building a God- honoring home and for dealing with the practical issues of living. We encourage you to have a Bible with you for each session. For this series we use the New International Version as our primary reference. Another excellent translation is the New American Standard Bible. Ground Rules Each group session is to be enjoyable and informative--and nonthreatening. Three simple ground rules will help ensure that everyone feels comfortable and gets the most out of the experience: 1. Don't share anything that would embarrass your spouse. 2. You may pass on any question you don't want to answer. 3. If possible, plan to complete the HomeBuilders Project as a couple between group sessions. A Few Quick Notes About Le