I'm two-thirds of the way through C Through Marriage: Revitalizing Your Vows, by Jim Hughes. Normally I'd wait until I finished a book to review it, but life is about to remove my reading time for me, and I don't want to leave this book hanging.
Rev. Jim Hughes has hit upon a unique concept. C Through Marriage [Tate Publishing, 2009 ISBN 0978-60696-419-4]. He found 46 words beginning with "c" that apply to marriage. From "calamity" to "cuddle", Rev. Hughes takes us through a marriage. Bill and Barb's situation is briefly described at the start of each chapter. In chapter 1 they face a calamity. Hughes then uses the word and how it affects a marriage, how it can weaken a marriage or how the marriage can be strengthened through it.
The theme that I drew from the book, however, begins not with "c" but with "w": Work. You have to work at a marriage to make it last and make it satisfying. It doesn't happen by chance, and it doesn't happen by neglect. In virtually each chapter Hughes tells us to work at our marriage. Don't take it for granted.
Before I read the book, I was expecting it to be a reference type of book. Since the chapters were arranged alphabetically, I figured it didn't follow a marriage from its beginning through its maturity. The didn't seem to mesh with the alphabetical arrangement. However, it's not a reference book. You wouldn't have this on the shelf and, when faced with say a "conflict" pull the book out, turn to that chapter, and find help. This is a book that should be read from the beginning all the way through. After that, it's possible that some of the chapters can stand alone for crisis guidance or closeness building. But it's a read-through book, not a reference book.
And I will complete it, just as soon as my life circumstances and my publishing schedule permits. This will be the first of the three I'm reading that I'll pick up again and finish.
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