Marriage is one of those areas of life that takes a lot of work. Don’t get me wrong, the rewards are well worth the effort, but marriages take a lot of work to maintain and to grow.

And, for the Christian, marriage takes on even more significance due to the parallels with the area of discipleship. In fact, that is the main thrust of Gary Thomas’ book Sacred Marriage. He poses the question, “What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”

I firmly believe that one of God’s intentions in marriage is our happiness. And when we base our marriage on the foundation of Christ, happiness is one of the by-products. But I think Thomas may be correct in his statement that there is something deeper and more foundational than our happiness.

Paul uses the idea of marriage to communicate several key truths about Christ’s relationship with the church. And if Scripture exposes that symbolism, then it’s well worth our efforts to examine and understand as well.

So Sacred Marriage isn’t so much a book about marriage as it is a book about discipleship, within the context of marriage. As you seek to build a marriage upon the foundation of Christ, you’ll see how to discover and grow more in the character of Christ in the process.

And that is goal worth chasing.

If you are married, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. If even if you aren’t, there are several key principles of discipleship contained in these chapters. It’s well worth reading. You can find it on Amazon.

Several years ago, I met Dean Trune at a Christ In Youth conference. He spoke to the teens at that conference about spiritual disciplines, and especially the discipline of journaling.

I have put much of what I learned from him into practice in my own life with tremendous effect. His insights about journaling just seemed to make sense in my own thinking, and I have found them to be helpful in making my own habit of journaling much more impactful.

Since that first encounter with Dean, I have run into him a few times at different conferences and events. The last time I saw him, I picked up his book, The Path Toward Passion.

In this book, Dean outlines nine simple disciplines that can help us develop a greater passion for Jesus in our lives.One of these disciplines is journaling. Others include Bible reading, study, and memorization, praying, listening, fasting and worship. Each of these disciplines are laid out in simple, easy to read chapters, and can help you pursue a greater level of passion in your own life as you follow Jesus.

This is a short and simple book to read, but is proving to be a life-changing book for me. There isn’t really anything new to me in here, but the reminders it brings to light are well worth the time it takes to read it.

I highly recommend you pick up a copy of The Path Toward Passion. You won’t regret it. You can find it on Amazon.

Ministry requires that I wear many different hats. And while I provide a lot of team leadership to the staff I work with, and other leaders within the church, I’ve never though of that role in terms of being an executive. That has always help corporate overtones in my thinking.

But that’s not necessarily the case. According to the back of the dust jacket, “it doesn’t matter what size your organization is, or even whether you run an organization at all. Anyone who has responsibility for getting the right things done — anyone who seeks how best to self-deploy on the few priorities that will make the biggest impact — is an executive.”

In that light, I think The Effective Executive may be a helpful book for my leadership growth. It will encourage maintaining the right priorities, and help accomplish them effectively. And it has helped people for more than fifty years.

If you are in a position of leadership, no matter what the organization might be, you should probably read this book as well. You can pick up a copy on Amazon.