Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage

Just bought the book from the Focus on the Family site after hearing a brief interview with the authors. I'm just finishing my 3rd beer before going to bed because my spouse doesn't care if I'm there or not.....problem is evident...I'll post after getting through the book...read the first 20 pages on the website and really looking forward to learning more....this seems like a great resource for folks like me who have tried about everything and are still looking for answers. Hope it sheds some light....I'll let you know....

How do you keep moving forward when your marriage is hurting? Often, when our marriage is unhealthy or even unsafe, we tend to avoid the people we love --- friends, family, co-workers --- so that no one asks questions. Why do we isolate ourselves? Maybe it's fear. Maybe we're ashamed of the condition of our marriage relationship. Maybe we feel guilty. For whatever reason, we withdraw and isolate, and things just get worse. "Thriving Despite A Difficult Marriage" offers honest, wise advice about what to do when things are tough. Nothing is sugar-coated here, nothing is phony or fake. Instead, the authors tackle the tough questions and show you the steps to take to move forward. This is an excellent book for anyone whose marriage is hurting. Don't worry about whether your spouse will read it: Buy a copy for yourself. Read it slowly and think about what you're learning. This book can help you change your marriage for the better; it can also help you feel better about yourself, while you wait for things to improve. Dr. David Frisbie The Center for Marriage & Family Studies Del Mar, California Author of: "The Soul-Mate Marriage: The Spiritual Journey of Becoming One"

Michael and Chuck Misja make it very simple to understand how marriages become "difficult" and how one can "thrive despite". I have been to numerous counceling sessions (alone..."since I'm the one with the 'problem'...") and have not received this indepth understanding nor practical ways to restore my dignity and learn to live again. I have a long way to go but feel hope for the first time after reading this book.

The Misja brothers despise pretense. So . . . if you are looking for a fairy-tale book about a fairy-tale marriage, please avoid "Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage." But . . . if you long to have a good heart even if you are experiencing a bad marriage . . . then "Thriving" is for you. Satan, the Thief, comes to steal and destroy--he comes to rob the heart of hope. The Misja's understand that Jesus came to offer the heart the hope of abundant living in an abusive world. In reality, "Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage" is a book about a well-lived life in spite of an unfulfilling marriage. It is about moving beyond suffering and mere surviving to finding joy and supernatural thriving. While this all may sound "deep," in the hands of master soul physicians like Misja and Misja, the hidden chambers of the heart come alive with wisdom for living. Their practical theology of desire, their explanation of the battlefield of the soul, and their relational process for moving from hoping in your marriage to hoping in God, are each worth the proverbial price of the book. Through a process of moving from awareness, to brokenness, to repentance, to forgiveness, to disengagement, to re-engagement, the authors walk readers on a journey whose final destination is God, the ultimate Soul Physician, performing open heart surgery, regardless of the state of one's marriage. "Thriving Despite a Difficult Marriage" is a hard book about a difficult topic. It is an honest book about real change from the inside out. It is the book for any spouse who wants to love well, hope endlessly, and rejoice deeply . . . despite external circumstances and relational disappointments. Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., LCPC, is the author of Beyond the Suffering, Soul Physicians, and Spiritual Friends.

This book is a solid Christian consoling based book about doing well in a difficult marriage when one spouse is unwilling, or can't, change for the better. Its not the step 1, 2, 3 work on a work book fill in the blanks DVD set with the bonus reflexology foot roller type thing. Joking aside, this book fills a needed void versus all the typical Christian marriage books where the goal is to make everything perfect. Get use to it, there will be problems, and Dr. Mike & Dr. Chuck tell you how to get on despite the problems in one's marriage. There is always hope provided for things to get really good in the marriage, but what do you do when that hope has to wait and you have to be patient? This book addresses that issue. I'm a conservative baptist and like it; its not wishy washy and filled with pop psychology that always blames the guy, there's equal blame to go around. But if you're the spouse that thinks him or herself right on everything and not the problem, be brave enough to read this book and examine your heart. WELL DONE. (Just don't buy it if you're engaged! If you do, hide it good)