One More Try

One More Try: What to Do When Your Marriage Is Falling Apart

by Gary Chapman

• Separation is not final. It sometimes leads back to marriage.

• Chapter one: pep talk.

• Look beyond feelings: remember commitments and dreams.

• Change yourself. You can't change your spouse.

• Book has many small, made-up anecdotes.

• Guard your attitudes and actions: stay positive. Your spouse would be less excited to reunite with a negative person.

• Divorce makes things worse.

• Do not date during separation.

• Unhappy marriages are made of unhappy people

• Reality check about inferiority concept

• Spoiled child grows up to blame others

• We must accept our history / past.

• Be realistic about strengths and weaknesses.

• Take care of yourself.

• Confess all known sin. God will forgive.

• Psalm 66:18 God will not listen to our prayers when we excuse our sin.

• Develop relationship with God. Read Bible. Pray.

• Go to church. Sure, there are hypocrites. Be prepared to give, not just receive.

• Act warmly to spouse.

• Do not try to hash out all differences.

• Seek the happiness of the spouse.

• 1 Corinthians 13:5 love keeps no record of being wronged

• Trust dies when integrity dies.

• Trust is not fall apart overnight (obviously wrong).

• Allow spouse to investigate behavior to rebuild trust.

• Some things are not acceptable in marriage such as abuse.

• Confront sin.

• Set and maintain boundaries.

• Loneliness is so real that it has physical consequence for health.

• Combat physical loneliness by developing healthy relationships such as those in church or at work.

• Chapter 8 is about anger

• Chapter 9 is about reconciliation. It gives the basic outline including making a choice, praying, having a dinner date, counseling, moving in together, and more counseling.

• Chapter 10 about divorce.

• It takes two people to reconcile, but one person to cause a divorce.

• In case of a conflict, the couple will need two lawyers to represent them.

• Does God allow remarriage?