Below are a number of web sites and recommended resources that can help you as you navigate the many stages of marriage.
If you know of any additional web sites and resources on the stages of marriage that Christian married couples would benefit from exploring, please let us know. We’d truly appreciate it.
STAGES OF MARRIAGE WEB SITE LINKS:
• About.com has an on-line page called “Understand the Stages of Marriage” As they say, “The stages of marriage include newlyweds, midlife, sandwich generation, grand parenting, long lasting marriages and being widowed. The more you understand how the stages can impact your relationship, the better you two will be able to deal with the changes and issues.” You can read more about the stages by clicking HERE.
• 4 Stages of Marriage These are four stages of marriage that the ministry of Retrouvaille has listed. Their aim is to help couples survive, and eventually thrive through the stages of marriage, as they live out their partnership with each other.
• Griefreliefministries.com Have you suffered a loss? David Knapp will walk with you through that experience. That is because he has walked through each of these himself. Grief does not discriminate. Additionally, grief can blindside the youngest to the oldest. As friends and family watched him walk with his second wife through the throes of cancer, many realized that this man does not deny the sorrow. But it will not master him. He shares kindly, intimately and with wisdom not only how to cope in the darkest of days, but also how to go through the process finding relief and into a winning attitude for the next chapter or phase of your life.
• Readers Digest Living.com has a web page dedicated to the “7 Stages of Marriage.” It’s not a Christian web page, but what we’ve seen seems to be pretty tame and you might enjoy reading and seeing what it has to say. You can see what they have by clicking HERE.
• Widowschristianplace.com Widow’s Christian Place is a ministry where their goal is to let you know that “you’re not alone. Here’s a safe place, a growing place, a way out of the shadows of grief… This blog provides resources and Biblical direction for helping you trust Jesus through one of life’s most difficult challenges.” They “are an organization dedicated to helping widows, widowers and their children in times of loss. Our goal is to assist widows and widowers walking the unwelcome path and devastating loss of a spouse by providing educational, emotional, spiritual, physical and financial resources needed to move forward.”
• Widowconnection.com This is a web site devoted to helping widows in a time of need. Author Miriam Neff, the widow of Robert Neff, put this web site together.
• Widowmight.org “The Widow Might ™ organization exists to serve today’s community of widows, and is an expression of God’s Might at work in their world.” They are “a Christian organization, obeying God’s command to care for widows.” They “are led by servant leaders who are part of, and in intimate contact with, the widow community.” They “understand the burden the widow carries is fit for her shoulders alone.” They “desire to extend a helping hand and walk beside her in her journey.” They “are available to widows of all ages.”
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES CONCERNING THE STAGES OF MARRIAGE:
- Falling for You Again, written by Catherine Palmer and Dr Gary Chapman, published by Tyndale House. “This is the third book in a fiction series from authors Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer, based on the marriage principles found in Gary Chapman’s nonfiction book The Four Seasons of Marriage. Each book includes a study guide that talks about the four seasons of marriage and the healing strategies depicted in that particular storyline.” “This is a very real-life book that could have happened in any small town across the USA. The people are very true to form, and the events are happening everywhere. The faith that the characters have is very inspiring, and motivational. The book deals with every day living and life events, like love and death, plus family life with combined families.”
- From One Widow to Another, written by Miriam Neff, published by Moody Publishers. One testimony, concerning this book reads: “As a recent widow, I thought the book was the closest to the reality that I experienced during the grieving period. It was the most realistic of the books I had read regarding this topic. I highly recommend it for widows and those who want to interact more appropriately to be supportive of them.”
- I Didn’t Know What to Say: Being a Better Friend to Those Who Experience Loss This book is written by David Knapp, and is published by Grief Relief Ministries. In this book, David Knapp draws on his own experience of losing both his first and second wife to cancer to provide insight into some of the unhelpful responses we often make. He presents a repertoire of ideas on how to be a genuine friend and helper to a grieving person. Various chapters in the book deal with different kinds of losses, including the trauma of losing a spouse or child, divorce, loss of pets, and other losses that we sometimes fail to recognize need to be grieved over if healing is to occur. A veteran teacher, Knapp supplements his chapters with practical lists of responses that may be helpful at different points in the grieving process. His book is a wonderful tool for preparing ourselves for the inevitable human experience of dealing with others’ grief, or our own.
- It Happens Every Spring, written by Dr Gary Chapman and Catherine Palmer, published by Tyndale House. This is the first of a 4-part series of marriage books that mix fiction and marriage truths together. In this book, “Relational expert Chapman rewrites his core message in fiction, teaming with Christian novelist Palmer, highlighting the concepts taught in Chapman’s The Four Seasons of a Marriage. The plot and characters evince Chapman’s thesis that marriage is a journey back and forth through different ‘seasons,’ while the neighborhood of Deep Water Cove and little town of Tranquility, Mo., provide the settings… The novel’s scenes often conspire to illustrate a counseling point, and the included study guide reinforces the idea that this is self-help disguised as fiction.”
- Summer Breeze, written by Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman, published by Tyndale House. “This story is based on Gary Chapman’s belief that marriage changes like seasons and those in which the couple communicates their fears and desires will only get stronger. SUMMER BREEZE is an entertaining stand alone tale of two generations sharing a household that leads to conflict ironically because everyone ‘knows’ what is best for Luke while Lydia feels left out. Using hyperbole to make the point that relationships run into storms followed by SUMMER BREEZE, this is a family drama filled with emotional people frightened that everything sacred to each of them is falling apart.”
- The Four Seasons of Marriage, written by Gary Chapman and published by Tyndale House. In this book, Dr Chapman “uses his years of marriage counseling and leading marriage seminars as the basis for his thesis that marriages repeatedly go through periods that can be characterized by the seasons of the year. He begins by describing winter, times when marriages are marked by ‘coldness, harshness, and bitterness.’ Spring is “where most marriages begin,’ while summer is filled with fun. He compares an autumn marriage to ‘the falling of the leaves.’ Chapman offers detailed explanations of the emotions, attitudes and actions of the marriage seasons as well as the pros and cons of each.”
- Winter Turns to Spring, written by Catherine Palmer and Dr Gary Chapman, published by Tyndale House. This “is the fourth installment of the ‘Four Seasons of Marriage’ series that started with ‘It Happens Every Spring.’ The ‘Four Seasons of Marriage’ principle was developed by the co-author Gary Chapman who believes that marriage is a continuous journey back and forth through different seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. ‘Winter means difficulty. Marriage is harder in this season of cold silence and bitter winds.’ This installment revolves around newlyweds Brad and Ashley Hanes who find themselves living separate lives. …Marriage is not easy. It takes effort, understanding, forgiveness and love. Like the seasons, it is forever evolving and changing.” This book reads “like a stand-alone novel. The characters are well-developed so you feel like you personally know each and every one.”