The Marriage Challenge

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Take the Marriage Challenge!

No matter where your marriage stands, we can all do something more to better our relationship with our spouses and communication is key. Strong relationships are built upon good communication and marriage is no exception. But what do you talk about and how can you bring up subjects that are difficult to discuss? How do you start?

That is where the book “The Marriage Challenge – 52 Conversations for a Better Marriage”comes in.

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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. To learn more about ’em, click here.

***Giveaway has ended – see below for winner or for the link to purchase your very own book***

Here is how this book works: there are 52 relationship conversations – one for each week of the year. The goal is find one hour, once a week with your spouse to read the section and discuss the topic. One conversation a week for a year, and the results? A better marriage.

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Each section is fairly short (3-4 paragraphs) and very simple to read. The reading is followed up by discussion topics, questions or conversation starters to get the communication flowing.Topics include discussions of money, children, boundaries, vacation, romance and more. The idea is to never feel limited by the suggested conversations, but to let it be a starting point for  your own topics and thoughts.

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Here is what I love about this book: 

  • The challenge can be applied to ANY marriage. In fact, it is suggested that this be used by marriages that are considered “pretty good”. The authors suggest that with consistent communication your marriage can transform from “pretty good” into “envy-of-all-the-neighbors amazing” and who wouldn’t want that?! 
  • The tone of the book is relaxed. Sometimes when you think about discussions with your spouse things can suddenly turn serious. Often in marriage we do have to discuss serious things, but this book focusses on talking beyond just problems. Discussing hopes, dreams, preferences etc. are part of what should be included in regular conversations with your spouse.
  • The challenge is flexible. If your family calendar doesn’t provide a chance for solid conversation time one week – no worries! Just pick up where you left off and keep going.You can always move through the book at your own pace.
  • This book and the challenges within it offer structure to everyone’s goal of strengthening their marriage. A goal of communicating more with your spouse is somewhat vague without some practical application, which is why this book is so great. The book gives you a place to start and an excuse to start talking too!

As the book itself states: “Better marriages don’t just happen, they take time and work. But you might be surprised at how much you can accomplish in just a little bit of time and just a bit more effort.”

That is all it takes. A little bit of time and a bit more effort. So are you up for the challenge? One hour a week, once a week toward a better marriage.

You can get the book HERE.

or enter our giveaway where one lucky winner will get the book for FREE!

For another great way to get the conversation rolling check out these conversation starters for couples!

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WANNA WIN???

One lucky reader will win a copy of “The Marriage Challenge” book! Enter this giveaway via the Rafflecopter widget below. Good luck to you!!

Giveaway has ended! Congratulations to our Winner! 

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Sarina

I met my husband, in a beginning ballroom dance class at the age of 15. He was my first crush, my first date, and twelve years (to the day) later we married. Together we enjoy traveling the world, and, of course, going on creative dates! I am a former theatre teacher who now stays at home with a spunky little boy. I love dancing, hosting parties, photography, organizing & chocolate!

Learn more about Sarina
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Recent Comments

  1. Stephanie –
    I am looking and I don’t see it anywhere else either. Keep checking back and Amazon and I will ask around to a few more people and see if I can find one for you!

  2. Hi! My hubby and I would love to do this but you are all sold out on Amazon. Do you have any other places it’s offered?

  3. How to transition from being a couple to a family with a young child would be a great topic for us (with how to get started on having date nights)

  4. My Husband and I offer marriage preparation courses for couples and often work with couples in crisis also. I fully believe if couples would have healthy conversations (during peace times) about setting up and sticking to a budget as well as marriage protecting bondaries with the opposite sex — marriages would be revolutionized!

  5. No specific topic but just making sure that we do always have good conversations with each other even when life gets crazy busy and making sure we both make the time to listen to each other.

  6. We have recently suffered a devastating miscarriage. Prior to (surprisingly) getting pregnant, we were settled with just having the two kids we have now, but ever since we lost the baby, I’ve been thinking that maybe I WOULD like to have another one. He, on the other hand, has said that he doesn’t want to try again. I’ve brought it up to him a a couple of different occasions, and he just smiles and says, “we’ll figure it out…” . OK, I’m sure we will….but when??! I know that if *I* want another one, he will eventually give in to make me happy, but I don’t want him to just give in. I want him to want it, too….just wish I knew how to pull the words out of him instead of “We’ll figure it out….”

  7. The topic that we need the most at this time in our lives is money…husband is working and I am staying at home with the kids…it causes him stress and me to feel like one of the children begging for an allowance…

    1. I totally know how you feel! That is what we struggle with as well. Have you found a compromise or any sdvice that has helped you? If you ever need someone to talk to about it I would love to hear from you. None of my friends are in the same situation so it’s hard to vent without them thinking my husband is a total jerk 🙂

    2. Emily,
      Sit down with your husband and explain that you need a “paycheck” weekly/bi-weekly whatever works for your finances. Determine how much you will need to manage the home and have an account for those expenses. Scheduled electronic transfer is easiest and allows you to budget week to week. He will hopefully appreciate not having unexpected requests for money and you will hopefully feel empowered by your financial freedom to run the home.

  8. If our home were hit by a tornado/hurricane/flood/fire, and we lost everything material that we own, but everyone in our family were safe, how might that change our relationship/family – good and bad?

  9. A great topic would be about balancing it all, between work, the kids, family and friend events, household work it seems like couple time gets put to the back burner.

  10. I desire deeper communication with my husband about issues that truly matter. I imagine this book will be really helpful for that. Thank you for sharing such great resources with us to strengthen our marriages!

  11. This book would be really great to read. I think talking about future plans and dreams would be beneficial.

  12. What’s the next step in our relationship. We have jobs, we had kids, we’ve got the house…now what about us?

  13. I think a great conversation starter would be to ask each other what the other’s opinion is on a particular view.

  14. This book looks awesome and doable. For something as important as strengthening your marriage, anyone can find an hour a week. Would love to win it! Thank you!

  15. A conversation that would help my marriage would be on how we could keep up the housework daily so we could spend more family time on the weekend.

  16. What are some things that I can do to make you feel more loved and appreciated? In theory we all know that we are loved and appreciated by our spouse, however, in reality we often feel unappreciated and taken for granted. If we could find a way to be more open about this topic I feel that it would definitely strengthen even the best of marriages!

  17. A conversation around language and how we use it with each other would be nice. We have developed a bad habit in our house of using the word “someone” when the blame is being directed at the partner and need to work around stopping that behaviour. I need this book, I wish I thought my husband would read it with me.

  18. So often our deep communication turns into me talking and him listening and doing whatever makes me happy. I’d love ideas to get him to speak up and share his opinions, even if I may not always appreciate them at the time.

  19. Too often our conversations are surface stuff. I’d like a copy of the book to help us discuss more important issues than work and the daily grind.

  20. This would be so amazing to win! As a navy couple little things like this help during deployment!

  21. I think for us the topic would be parenting because we disagree on how to discipline our kids. Also, for how to make time for us.

  22. Expectations for the future. For what it’s worth, I think Cindi above deserves to win, for fighting so hard for her marriage!

  23. I think a good topic would be in-laws and how to meet in the middle. Like how to deal with them without having your spouse get upset.

  24. I have the “envy all of your friends” kind of marriage. (Mostly because I am married to the most amazing man EVER). We talk about everything at great lengths but I think it would be fun to have a specific topic to start with. I love the idea of this book because I do think communication is the key to fabulous. Because we are always talking we know what things irk each other, we know where we stand on stuff and when we have an issue we don’t agree on it’s resolved quickly with a little extra talking.

  25. I think something revolving around your dreams. You get so busy with life and kids and sometimes we forget to continue to dream together about what’s next. I love it when those conversations happen but it doesn’t happen nearly as much as it should

  26. With a new baby at home (and a 9 year old) we get so busy in the every day business that sometimes all I’d like to to have a nice conversation with my spouse but something that isn’t “how was your day”, “how was your workout”, “How was the baby for you”.

    I think talking about our life plan together is in depth would be a great topic! This would allow us to really set some goals for the future.

  27. What ways do you show your love for me? How can I best show my love for you? (What is your love language?)

  28. Communication is the key!
    Would love this book not only for me and my spouse but would be interested in purchasing more for our young married group too!

  29. Last year was a horrible one for my marriage … leaving a stressful job, relocating, cancer… neither my husband nor myself handled it well and after a foolish mistake, my husband is now in prison for a year. He has never been in trouble before! It has been such a difficult time for us, and our families have turned their backs on us. We are struggling to stay strong, and keep God in the center of all of this. We have been working on our marriage through letters and once a week visits. I’m struggling to just survive on a part time income, facing eviction due to foreclosure, and this book would be such a positive thing for both of us. We have been falling in love again, and I know that when he gets out this fall, there will be such an adjustment for us again. Having this book to guide our conversations and keep us focused on God would be a blessing.

  30. A good conversation to have with each other before and after marriage is expectations about intimacy. This is a big problem for some marriages and sometimes it just needs to be talked about.

  31. A conversation topic that I think needs to happen frequently is expectations. What do you expect of your spouse? I think we get caught up in our own heads about our spouse NOT doing things that we think they should but did we remember to express our expectations to them. Did you agree on a plan that would work for both of you??

  32. A conversation about rules and expectations for our kids. This is the biggest area we struggle to agree on.

  33. Finances is always a necessary topic in marriage. It would be great to have pointers or help on how to keep that conversation from being monotonous and boring.

  34. What a great book! I would like to discuss parenting with my husband. He always has such great wisdom and I love hearing what his thoughts are on our children.

  35. I think the topic of how best to bring up criticism or to discuss things that are going on that the other partner wants to work on!! At least in our marriage we really really struggle with this!!

  36. This looks amazing! We’re adding our 2nd daughter to the family in just one week, and this is a great way for us to stay connected as we go through changes over the next year. 🙂

  37. It’s SO important to talk about the role of yourselves as parents vs. a couple. I know we spend a lot of time and energy being with, planning for, caring for, and talking about our young kids…and when we forget that we are a couple BEFORE we are parents, things get tense.

  38. My husband and I love talking about the future and where we plan to go when we finish school. It really gets us thinking about the long run, and that strengthens us 🙂

  39. I love the idea of this book. My husband and I have a good marriage, but I think there is always room to make it the envy of the neighborhood! I have been looking for something like this, thank you!

  40. I think the topic of deeper communication is a great topic. Too often we speak to each other using light conversation when we should be discussing the bigger things with each other.

  41. I think a great topic for us is conversation. Being able to talk about whatever may be bothering us without it turning into a fight.

  42. i would love to have this book. we are on a tight budget these days and spend a lot of time at home. it would be great to add a little spark.

  43. Communication. How do you know if what used to be effective communication Is starting to be less effective or if he Is going deaf???

  44. I think a great topic would be learning how each spouse needs to be cared for during stressful or tragic times. Talking about this before something happens can be an eye opening, marriage strengthening experience.

  45. A great topic that my husband and I have been discussing lately is just intimacy. We’re re-discovering each other’s expectations and how best to meet those in a way that makes the other person feel loved.

  46. The thing that would be something that my husband and I need to talk about is how to strengthen our marriage due to a lack of spending time with each other because of the places that his job has taken him. We get to Skype for about an hour each day, but it’s still hard.

  47. I totally agree that you shouldn’t wait until your marriage is difficult to start these sort of things. Everyone in a “good” relationship should work with communication so their marriage never gets lax and starts to decline! Do it early too! The better you lay your foundation the better it is in the years to come 🙂

  48. I love any opportunity to strengthen and work on my marriage 🙂

  49. I’ve been married a year and a half and its definitely harder than I thought it would be. We have a good marriage but we want a great marriage. We know we have areas to improve on and we look forward to learning and growing together. Thank you for what you do to encourage better marriages.

  50. I think the topic of romance would be great. I think guys and girls think different things are romantic and it’s a great reminder to talk about what makes you feel special, important, and loved and to learn what makes your spouse feel special, important, and loved.

  51. I’m always open to finding more ways of strengthening my marriage! Going on 8 years in December!

    1. Oh, guess I should read the instructions first, huh? 🙂 A great conversation topic to strengthen our marriage would be how we can support and participate in each others personal goals.

  52. Our daughter is getting married this summer would love to share this with her and her soon to be…..

  53. I love this concept. Have been married for two years and always love to discuss topics with my spouses this would be so much better than trying to come up with random topics.

  54. I think a good question would be about seemingly impossible dreams and how we can make them happen.

  55. I would love to see a topic on how to pray together and have a devotional time together (good resources, etc.).

  56. One conversation starter u think would be good would be ask your spouse what they are most grateful for for a value their parents instilled in them when they were growing up.

  57. Such great advice! One hour a week is worth the time and effort to improve any type of marriage! I think I know what book I’m getting for friends who are about to get married. Thank you for the suggestion!

  58. I think one good topic would be what moments do you think will be your favorite from our marriage when we look back when we’re old…

  59. A good conversation would be finding ways to bring back that spark you used to have like remembering how those feelings were brought and doing those things again.

  60. This sounds like a great book and a good conversation starter, when there is nothing else to talk about!

  61. I think a good conversation about how you express love, and how you feel loved from each other would be good.

  62. I think family values need to be discussed long before children come. If they are established early, there will be no question to how you run your household when little ones come along.

  63. Great conversations happen when we ask a question & listen for the response and engage in a conversation. It’s easy to ask a question but takes more effort to listen & be actively engaged. I love having conversations with my spouse. I would love to win this book & see where the topics go 🙂

  64. I think that discussing communication is always important! It’s such a big part of a happy marriage! 🙂

  65. I think any topics that have positive responses are best. ie “What have you enjoyed doing together this past week”

  66. Love your site, love putting your ideas into use in my marriage. Would love to win this book.. will be buying it if I dont

  67. I know time of the most important topic/conversations to talk about with my spouse is where do we want to be in the next 5, 10, 15 years and what goals do we want to reach individually and as a family and to also help ourselves and each other to accomplish anything and everything that comes our way.

  68. A good topic for us would be talking about how we can best help each other get through each day – what would benefit our well-being most and help us grow as individuals as well as connect as a couple.

  69. Thank you so much for your great give-aways and suggestions on making marriage great!! Love it 🙂

  70. I think this would be a great resource for my husband and I’ve been looking for ways for us to communicate better with one another

  71. A good conversation for our marriage would be our expectations for our future and how we will work towards it together.

  72. A good topic for our marriage would be future goals and how to meet them without leaving the other person behind.

  73. for me personally and our current personal struggle this book would be amazing to put back some of the missing pieces in our marriage. a good topic for us would be what are your personal thoughts today. that way we can talk about the feelings we keep inside.

  74. A great conversation would be sharing with your spouse the thing that they bring out most in you and why you love it so much, and vice versa!

  75. I think a good conversation would be: What do you primarily need from me? How have I done a good job giving you that? How can I improve? (and both answer)

  76. I love the “Love on the Run” series. More simple things like that to let our spouses know that we love them everyday.