Summary: Michael discusses chapter 2 from Mark and Grace Driscoll's Real Marriage. Learn the importance of building a lasting friendship with your spouse and how that impacts your happiness with each other. NOTES EPISODE 20 A book report: Real Marriage: the truth about sex, friendship, and life together; Friends with Benefits (Chapter 2) THIS EPISODE BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Smalley Center, find out why over 96% of our former clients would recommend our 1, 2, or 3 day marriage intensive to a friend or family member in need of help. Rediscover happiness at SmalleyCenter.com. KEY VERSE “This is my beloved, and this is my friend.” Song of Songs 5:16 NOTES Chapter 1 is their life story - pretty awesome testimony and worth a read! Chapter 2: Friend with benefits: The chapter is basically about how to develop a friendship with each other. “But by the grace of God, Luther had an epiphany that changed not only his life but also the lives of countless others. While studying the Bible, he learned that righteousness is a gift God gives by grace from and faith in Jesus Christ and not something earned or merited through human religious and moral performance. (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (pp. 19-20). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) “One of the reasons Martin gave for his marriage was to spite the devil, which is perhaps the least romantic statement ever uttered.” (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (p. 20). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) BUT BY THE END OF THEIR MARRIAGE THEY WEREN’T JUST FRIENDS, BUT LOVERS WHO TRULY CARED FOR EACH OTHER. “Husbands and wives who want their marriages to be enduring and endearing must be friends.” (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (p. 24). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) “Friendship is costly in everything— time, energy, emotion, and sometimes money.” (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (p. 26). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) “In closing, the earnest pursuit of a good marriage can quickly become overwhelming there are so many things to work on. We, too, have felt this anxiety: Where do we start? How can we possibly work on spirituality, communication, scheduling, sex, spirituality, finances, family-of-origin issues, and so forth, all at once? But we’ve also found that by always working on our friendship, the rest of marriage seems to sort itself out in time. So we would commend to you the goal of devoting the rest of your life to being a better friend to your spouse.” (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) NEXT EPISODE The chapter: Men and marriage leave your parents’ home; finish your education or vocational training; start a career-track job, not a dead-end-Joe job; meet a woman, love her, honor her, court her, and marry her; parent children with her (Gen. 2:24). (Driscoll, Mark (2012-01-03). Real Marriage: The Truth About Sex, Friendship, and Life Together (p. 42). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.) THIS EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY The Smalley Center, find out why over 96% of our former clients would recommend our 1, 2, or 3 day marriage intensive to a friend or family member in need of help. Rediscover happiness at SmalleyCenter.com.
