This was actually my second reading of Sacred Influence, and I think it was just as great this time around as it was the first. I have to say before reviewing the book in detail that this is not just a book for wives who are in struggling marriages, although it is helpful for them. This is a book that ALL wives would benefit from reading, as it is a timely reminder of what biblical marriage should be and how we can be who God calls us to be as married women.

Gary Thomas is the author of Sacred Marriage, a fantastic book about how God uses marriage in our lives to refine us. In Sacred Influence, he draws on many of the concepts he discussed in Sacred Marriage, elaborating further on the role that wives play in marriage and how they have a distinct influence on their husbands through this God-ordained relationship. Though it is totally counter cultural, he discusses at great length the importance of biblical manhood and womanhood, focusing on the wife’s role as a helper to her husband, highlighting the differences in the ways men and women communicate, and finally, illustrating how many areas of concern can be improved by modifying our own behavior as wives. His words make great sense, the stories he tells make his points even clearer, and the advice he gives is invaluable.

Like I mentioned, this is a book worth reading more than once because there’s so much to process. I think we can fall into easy (and lazy) patterns in our marriages, when we become so comfortable that our first priority is no longer being Christlike in relation to our spouses. This book is merely a timely reminder to get back to the basics of relating well to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, not just as husbands and wives. Healthy, holy marriages can be the only result when we commit to love, honor, and serve one another.

What are some of your favorite marriage/relationship books?