I’m going to just cut to the chase and say it. Marriage is tough. It’s great!.. but it’s a lot of work! Growing up I was completely oblivious to the amount of work and effort my parents put into their marriage. They talk openly with me now about their ups and down, but I never noticed it on my own. They made it look so simple.
The Marriage Mask
I think that’s typical of a lot of marriages. For obvious reasons, we masque our struggles so that nobody can see into them. On the outside things look great, and most times they are, but behind closed doors, a lot of marriages face struggles that are very real. If that’s your marriage, in a nutshell, keep reading. I want to share with you some of my FAVORITE marriage resources that I use to grow and strengthen my own marriage.
For the people who don’t know this struggle, I hope it stays that way. But if the day comes that you ever need some sort of inspiration or you want to find new ways to grow together, you’ll want to check out these marriage resources too.
But before we get there I want you to ask yourself this one question.
Where’s God In All Of This?
Have you ever asked yourself that? Where is God in your marriage? Does He consume it? Or is He absent from it? I’m going to go on the record and say that a marriage without God is a marriage that is less than it could be.
When we put a relationship with God at the forefront of our marriage we are learning to give and experience love in the same way that God loves us. We are His Bride after all, and He our Bridegroom.
So if you really want to see growth and positive change in your marriage I strongly suggest you start by inviting God to invade your marriage.
And next, I would suggest you check out some of these marriage resources.
5 Marriage Resources I Absolutely Love
I have personally used each and every one of these resources and I love them! There’s nothing better than biblical truth for you to back your marriage on and each of these resources does just that. They pull God from the sidelines and into your marriage.
So here we go! Let’s talk resources.
1. Fierce Marriage.
I typically follow them via Facebook but they have a blog, a periscope, and a YouTube channel too; so you have a few different options for following them. What I LOVE about Fierce Marriage is simply the fact that we have a passionate husband and a passionate wife partnering together, encouraging others, being 100% transparent in all that they have endured and enjoyed together as a married couple.
And this – I love that I found this statement in their “About Me.”
“We believe that building a Christ-centered marriage requires a fierce tenacity that never gives up and never gives in; there is no Plan B. When we vowed “Till death do us part”, we meant it!”
– Ryan and Selena Frederick
2. 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
This book forever changed how I interact with my husband! For the longest time, I was stuck in the habit of trying to show my husband I love him by doing things that, had he been doing them for me, would make me feel loved. We typically show the kind of love we want to receive.
The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman helped me identify how my husband best receives love and it taught me how to speak that language. I haven’t perfected it, but I’m getting better.
3. I Didn’t Want To Be That Girl by Sue A. Allen
This is an 8-week study written by Sue A. Allen. I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with her some and following her blog and let me just say, she’s an incredible writer.
This study, “I Didn’t Want To Be That Girl,” brings a whole new light and significance to the term “Bride of Christ.” We talked about, earlier, how marriage is an expressive love that is symbolic of our relationship with Christ.
4. The Word of God.
You know I can’t leave this one out, right? The Bible is like.. God’s history book. His words are in there. They are our source of wisdom. God didn’t intend for us to go through any part of our lives ill-equipped and that includes marriage. In His Word we find direction.
Genesis teaches us God’s intent for marriage and family.
1 Peter 3 teaches us how to honor our spouses in marriage and the characteristics of an honorable husband and wife.
1 Corinthians 6 & 7 teaches us about the principles of the marriage covenant.
Proverbs 31 share the characteristics of a devout Christian wife.
And the guidance isn’t limited to those verses. Take a look for yourself.
5. 40 Day Prayer & Fasting Challenge.
I’m no expert on fasting and to be honest the fasting aspect is not why I recommend this resource. Is it powerful? Yes. But what I appreciate most about this challenge is that it teaches wives how to pray the Word over their husbands.
This challenge is perfect for wives who want to pray over their husbands but struggle with knowing what to pray.
What are some of your favorite marriage resources? What are some tips you’d give to couples looking to strengthen their relationship?

The only one in this list I know of is the five love languages – and i LOVE those! I’ll be sure to check out the rest of these – thank you for taking the time to share these resources! 😀
Love Languages is amazing! I have read the original and also the one written for parents and children. Both are great.
Isn’t the five love languages sublime? It has revolutionized so many relationships. Thanks for this list!
It has! It’s do great! I use it across the board with my family relationships
Have you read the book, Love & Respect? we love it and it really changed the way we looked at each others needs, wishes, demands, etc. You’ll love it!
Ya know, I started reading it and just couldn’t finish it. I know the heart of the author is genuine and his passion for building marriages is genuine.. but the book felt like a male ego boost to me. Maybe I just didn’t give it enough of a chance.
The 5 Love Languages is a great book. I’ll have to check out some of the others you mentioned.
Thanks for these! Early in my marriage I had no idea how helpful and necessary it would be to have resources like this. We really liked a class called Dynamic Marriage, it really helped us!
For Women Only and Family Life Conferences are excellent! Intimate Life is great, too. Been married 30 years. Sometimes resources are costly- counseling, marriage conferences– but, when you think about it, can you think of a better way to spend your $$ than on your marriage? Your marriage is worth it. My husband and I try to get a tune up (conference, workbook, etc) annually.
That’s a cool thing to do annually! And I agree our marriages are WORTH THE MONEY!!
Gary Chapman’s been ministering in this area for a long time
Great resources! A few others that my husband and I have gone through include, His Needs, Her Needs by W. Harley; Sacred Sex (can’t remember the author off hand) and Love and War by John and Staci Eldrige. That last one is my favorite. Thanks for sharing. – Amy
http://stylingrannymama.com/
His Needs, Her Needs is on my book list for this year! I’m excited for it!
Oh those are great ones! If you are ever looking for others, Gottman’s 7 principals are awesome!
Thank you! I am always looking for good marriage resources. Adding that to my list!
Our greatest resource has always been the examples set by our grandparents and parents. My husband and I each had a set of grandparents married over 70 years and both of our parents have been married over 50 years.
I’m looking forward to checking out these resources! I have recently started reading the 5 Love Languages again!
These resources sound so great (though I’m not married, but I will remember them). The 5 Love Languages are great and the Bible is a must read!!!
Great resources! thank you for sharing!