Hawkins, Ronald E. (1991) Strengthening Marital Intimacy, Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Book House.

The attachment style that an individual exhibits as an infant can affect their adult romantic relationships. An attachment pattern is established in early childhood attachments and continues to function as a working model for relationships in adulthood. This model of attachment influences how each of us reacts to our needs and how we go about getting them met. The ability to recognize one 's attachment can help someone to understand their strengths and vulnerabilities in a relationship.

In reading the work by Cloud & Townsend (1999) I found no real weaknesses but only strengths on how to improve a person’s marriage. Boundaries in Marriage are not only for the couples that are experiencing current problems; but for the newlyweds, more seasoned couples, and for the ones who are not yet married. Regardless of the persons situation being able to learn what boundaries are and why they are needed is an important part of a healthy marriage. Cloud & Townsend (1999) describes the values that a person must have in order to have a healthier marriage, this is a strength because they require a person to form a relationship that is closer to God first. If we put God first in our lives in not only

    Additionally, the authors assert that the values we hold have enormous implications for the establishment of boundaries, they state, “your values make sure that certain bad things are not present in the marriage and that certain good things are” (Cloud & Townsend, 1999, p.107). As this is the case Cloud and Townsend (1999) identified six values that are promoted in scripture and that they believe produce great boundaries in marriage. Those values include, “love of God, love of your spouse, honesty, faithfulness, compassion and forgiveness, and holiness” (Cloud & Townsend, 1999, p.112).

The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: ethical dilemmas in marriage and family counseling, premarital counseling qualifications of marriage and family therapists including licensure and certification. The biblical insight related to marriage and family therapy will also be

The couple will complete the 10 Things Expected Sheet and then discuss them with the pastor (See Appendix B). The pastor will also lead the couple in a discussion of “Why marry now?” in order to make both parties clear on why (or why not) this couple should be pursuing marriage now. The pastor will utilize Genesis 2:18 & 2:24, as well as other Scripture, in order to point out how God views marriage. The couple will be encouraged to turn to Scripture with their homework assignment. They will begin by attempting to understand what the Word of God says about the roles of the wife and the role of the husband (See Appendix C).

Marriage has often been described as one of the most beautiful and powerful unions one human can form with another. It is the sacred commitment and devotion that two people share in a relationship that makes marriage so appealing since ancient times, up until today. To have and to hold, until death do us part, are the guarantees that two individuals make to one another as they pledge to become one in marriage. It is easy to assume that the guarantee of marriage directly places individuals in an everlasting state of love, affection, and support. However, over the years, marriage has lost its fairy

The purpose of this paper is to examine the field of marriage and family counseling beginning with the history and development of the profession and its importance in the field of counseling. This paper will also evaluate five major themes relevant to Marriage and Family Therapy which include: roles of Marriage and Family Therapists; licensure requirements and examinations; methods of supervision; client advocacy; multiculturalism and diversity. The author will discuss significant aspects to the field of Marriage and Family Therapy such as MFT identity, function, and ethics of the profession. This paper will assess biblical values in relation to Marriage and Family Therapists and to the field

Biblical sexual fulfillment is only achievable in the covenant of marriage, which is how God intends sexual fulfilment to be. In marriage sexual openness and fulfilment brings the two individuals that are united together into a deeper more intimate loving state. This deeper bond and intimacy that sexual fulfilment creates in this covenant of marriage between the two individuals also creates an understanding of the spiritual intimacy and closeness our Creator desires to have with us as individuals. Sexual fulfillment does not automatically occur in marriage between the two individuals that have united as one. They have to purposefully and intently strive towards obtaining this goal together to deepen and grow the marriage relationship. “The Gift of Sex: A Guide to Sexual Fulfillment” by Clifford and Joyce Penner provides the information and guidance to understand and obtain sexual fulfilment in marriage the way God created and intended sex to be enjoyed, a wonderful gift from God, while learning together how to overcome the stumbling blocks Satan places in your path.

This paper will discuss developing beliefs and identity regarding marriage and family therapy. Over one’s life many beliefs are learned and become apart of who they are. These beliefs may be religious or just what they fell are right and wrong. These are the characteristics that will help or hinder them when it comes to being an effective counselor. Marriage and family therapist use psychotherapy to treat mental, emotional and interpersonal problems in the context of close relationships. Spiritual and or religious beliefs can also be incorporated into treatment. As a professional one must be aware not to impose personal beliefs into counseling.

Marriage requires effort and work. Many newlyweds come into a marriage thinking it is easy but do not consider the consequences of marriage that heavily rely on balances and partnership. Marriage is all about compromise. It is important to engage in a premarital program to allow both partners to learn what to expect within a marriage, how to face certain roadblocks, and to better communication when conflict is aroused so that divorce does not become an option. Gottman’s research (2009) has made a significant contribution to the study of relationship and marriage tying unity, harmony, and communication together to make relationship and marriage work. When a couple who does not have consummate love (intimacy, passion, and commitment), they often portray the six indicators of divorce: harsh startup, the Four Horsemen, flooding, body language, failed repair attempts and reflecting on bad memories (Gottman, 2009). Divorce often occurs within the first two years of marriages and almost half of divorces end within the first seven years (Bhutto-Ramirez, 2015).

Contemporary Home, by Jack O. Balswick and Judith K. Balswick comprise of various approaches in biblical, theological, cultural, and sociological perspectives. The author focus is strictly to “integrated view of contemporary family life based on current social-science research, clinical insights, and biblical truth. The background of the author’s work is from a previous edition upgraded with current changes in our “modern society including a section on marriage, mate selection, cohabitation, expansion of family life, parenting, rearing children, adolescent, challenges of the later-life premarital cohabitation, recognition of the importance of biosocial influence, and the interactive effect of bio-psycho-socio-cultural factors to understand family dynamics. The audience of this book are for families and marriage in conflict, every life stage, maintaining balance through the joys, pains, ups, and downs,

In contrast to Crabb, Worthington’s thesis for his guide is: “Hope-focused marriage counseling is a comprehensive and tightly organized theory of Christian marriage counseling based on promoting hope and teaching couples a strategy to build love, faith and work into their relationship.” Worthington’s approach and foundation for marital counseling is two-fold: research based and scripture based. The first part of his approach is evidence-based. He first studied trends and research in the field of marriage and family counseling, focusing on integrative behavioral couple’s therapy, cognitive-behavioral couples therapy, emotion-focused couples therapy, and insight oriented couples therapy. In this research, he found that it is important to change

There are many cultures around the world that do not expect clergy celibacy (Daly, 2009) including Christian denominations who allow ministers/priests to marry. These Churches demonstrate how marriage is compatible with the priestly life. These churches present a great example of how familial responsibilities are compatible with religious commitments. A study of married Evangelical ministers and Roman Catholic priests revealed that there were no significant differences in dimensions of religiosity or commitments to the parish between the celibate and married clergymen (Swenson, 1998). Both are

Because the Lord values the relationship of a man and his wife, he also gives us instructions as to how husbands and wives are to treat each other through Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33. The subject of Paul 's teaching in Ephesians 5:21-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Paul 's instructions here create a clash with the beliefs and practices of our culture today. However, a closer study of what God really intended sheds much light on what is really being taught in this hard saying of Paul. Paul is talking about the different roles the both the husband and wife has with each other in relationship with their relationship with Christ.

In the Christian religion, there are two basic laws allowing divorce without the commitment of sin, infidelity and marriage to a nonbeliever whom has abandoned the commitment. However, in today’s society divorce has become a very common thing, as people decide to split part in their many marital dissolutions, and only one of these are considered to be a top five reasons why married couples actually divorce. Furthermore, infidelity or parting upon religious conversions only take upon circumstances of high sin in the views of the Christian God, rather than depicting compelling rational views that affect couples in everyday life.