Two People plus One Heart Equal a Saved Marriage

Marriage on the Mend is a book that will not only help couples but could also lend help for reconciliation for whole families in crisis. It has been a long time since a nonfiction book has inspired me as much as this one has.

 

Clint and Penny A. Bragg have paid their dues in hard work, study, application and more to bring us an example of God healing a marriage. I love the honesty of this couple. Transparency such as theirs is very seldom seen in the church and in the world.

 

For Clint and Penny to let the world know about the true intimate situations of their marriage and what led to their first breakup and then their remarriage is an awesome gift to us.

 

How interesting to me also were the QR codes that you can scan with a smart phone which were embedded within the chapters. They link you to free video pod casts which really enhance your reading experience. I love especially the pod cast themes starting with an introduction, prayer, roadblocks, discussions, margins, and also getting on the same page, which seems to be a common problem.

 

There is much wisdom given about blanketing your marriage in prayer. Sometimes that seems hard to carry out as we find ourselves in the daily "tyranny of the urgent" that life brings but this book includes excellent prayer prompts and sample prayers.

 

The marriage timeline suggested was the first thing that showed me that I was reading a well thought out book, similar to being in a counselor's office. Courageous conversations are an idea that I really need in my own marriage and elsewhere as how to handle conflict is something I struggle with personally. Some other things that I really needed was the Gradients of Agreement diagram, the sample of marriage standards and the book within a book with the Bible study on Nehemiah.

 

I wasn't sure what a marriage missionary was until I read this book and I must say that Clint and Penny Bragg represent the very best example in that category. I also found the answer to the question I've had about why they call their ministry Inverse Ministry, but you'll have to read the book to find it yourself.

 

I loved the word of hope towards the end that was, "This is our God. A God of healing and redemption. This is our God! A God who plucks sinners from the misery they've made of their lives, press their wounded souls tightly against His bosom, and makes them whole,"(Quote from Marriage on the Mend) Yes, yes, yes!

 

Although my husband and I have never separated or divorced, life itself presents enough crises to interrupt the "happily ever after" that we all so long for. I feel that this book will surely be a companion for us for the rest of our lives.

 

Donna Collins Tinsley Port Orange, FL