Fifty stories of marriages brought back from the brink of disaster. Fifteen more stories of heroic spouses standing for their marriages after spousal abandonment.

"People say our marriage is impossible." Laurie and Matt Krieg are in a mixed-orientation marriage: a marriage in which at least one partner's primary attraction isn't toward the gender of their spouse. In the Kriegs' case, Laurie is primarily attracted to women—and so is Matt. Some find the idea of mixed-orientation marriage bewildering or even offensive. But as the Kriegs have learned, nothing is impossible with God—and that's as true of their marriage as anyone else's. In An Impossible Marriage, the Kriegs tell their story: how they met and got married, the challenges and breakthroughs of their journey, and what they've learned about marriage along the way. Christianity teaches us that marriage is a picture of Jesus’ love for the church—and that's just as true in a mixed-orientation marriage as in a straight one. With vulnerability and wisdom, this book lays out an engaging picture of marriage in all its pain and beauty. It's a picture that points us, over and over again, to the love and grace of Jesus—as marriage was always meant to do.

Seventy now-adult children of divorce give their candid and often heart-wrenching answers to eight questions (arranged in eight chapters, by question), including: What were the main effects of your parents' divorce on your life? What do you say to those who claim that "children are resilient" and "children are happy when their parents are happy"? What would you like to tell your parents then and now? What do you want adults in our culture to know about divorce? What role has your faith played in your healing? Their simple and poignant responses are difficult to read and yet not without hope. Most of the contributors--women and men, young and old, single and married--have never spoken of the pain and consequences of their parents' divorce until now. They have often never been asked, and they believe that no one really wants to know. Despite vastly different circumstances and details, the similarities in their testimonies are striking; as the reader will discover, the death of a child's family impacts the human heart in universal ways.

Nearly all couples experience seasons of relational stress. But as clinical psychologist David Hawkins shows, these times are predictable and manageable. In fact, they can even lead to positive changes and renewed growth. This easy-to-read handbook highlights important warning signals, helping readers avoid many serious consequences of relational trouble. Couples will discover how to call a truce, create stability, and reestablish trust. They'll also learn to... explore the causes of conflict, including longstanding patterns and recent trauma humbly and honestly commit to the process of change eliminate barriers to growth, such as denial, shortcuts, and simplistic solutions identify and build on good things in the relationship develop new skills for communication and conflict resolution Packed with biblical wisdom and practical information from the counseling office, 10 Lifesavers for Every Couple affirms the value of marriage and empowers couples to grow through their times of crisis.

"Molly Taylor's never had a problem trusting God, and she's got Tanner Walters to thank for that. Best friends since kindergarten, Tanner's faithfully walked by her side through all life's ups and downs. And he's been biding his time, too, waiting for just the right moment to ask Molly to take the next big step with him. Dating. Before he can make his move, though, Jason Moore returns to town, stealing Molly's heart-and Tanner's chances. As their relationship blossoms, so do Tanner's fears. There's just something about Jason that doesn't sit right with him. He's dangerous. Something Molly doesn't realize until after he derails her life in a single night. Ashamed, Molly buries the truth of what happened that night and does her best to get her life back on track-with Tanner this time. As she slowly begins to heal, one final, stinging betrayal ushers in a new realization for Molly. That healing from what Jason did to her isn't possible, especially not at the hands of a God who didn't protect her from him in the first place. So, she sets off in search of healing apart from Him. What will it take for Molly to turn around and face her darkness-and the God who's followed her into that darkness, beckoning her out?"--Back cover.

The recent controversy over Joe Kennedy's annulment gave only a glimpse of American Catholicism's open secret: that contrary to official Catholic doctrine, American churches grant annulments wholesale, freely declaring marriages nonexistent so that one or both partners can remarry in the church. The United States is home to only 6% of the world's Catholics, Robert Vasoli points out, but it now accounts for 75% of all Church annulments, two-thirds of which are granted on ostensibly psychological grounds. The real scandal, though, is not simply the numbers, but that Church marriage courts annul thousands of marriages that are actually valid according to Catholic teaching. Drawing on considerable research, the author details precisely how these courts let divorced Catholics--and many non-Catholics as well--bypass Catholic teaching and law. He shows, for instance, how they often help petitioners manufacture grounds for annulment, which are justified with specious psychological reasoning that are counter to the letter and spirit of canon law. Indeed, it may even be alleged that "lack of emotional maturity" at the time of the wedding can invalidate marriages that have lasted 30 years. The result has been a tidal wave: in 1968, the American church granted fewer than 600 annulments; today it hands out more than 60,000 a year. But Rome has not smiled on the performance of U.S. tribunals: of those psychological annulments appealed to the Roman Rota (the Vatican's highest marriage tribunal), more than 90% are overturned. This revealing look at annulment weaves painstaking analysis with a wealth of evidence as it illuminates the degree to which the U.S. Church has gone its own way since Vatican II on what constitutes valid marriage.