Review: I Choose You Today by Deb DeArmond

Title: I Choose You Today: 31 Choices to Make Love Last
Author: Deb DeArmond

Publication Date: January 6th, 2015

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Genre: Marriage, Christian Non-Fiction

Pages: 257

Source: Paperback from Litfuse Publicity

Rating:

Synopsis (from Litfuse): How would your marriage change if you and your husband made the spoken declaration "I choose you" every day? Even when "for better or worse" is disappointing, we need to remind ourselves that love is a choice. And it's God's grace that makes that choice possible. 

I Choose You Today offers 31 practical ways you can make love last, by choosing to:

*    Pursue your spouse

*    Challenge one another

*    Listen mindfully

*    Love fiercely 

*    And twenty-seven other opportunities to choose wisely.

 

Deb DeArmond is an author, a speaker, and relationship coach—helping her clients improve their interactions at work and at home. Her first book, Related by Chance, Family by Choice: Transforming Mother-in-Law and Daughter-in-Law Relationships was released in November 2013 by Kregel Publications.

Deb’s passion is family dynamics and her writing explores marriage, grandparenting, in-law and extended family relationships. She’s currently working on two new books about marital conflict and keeping your marriage fresh and God honoring. Look for them from Abingdon Press.

Deb is wife to her high school sweetheart who showed her the path to become a Christ follower 38 years ago. Mom to three incredible sons and daughters-in-law. Gigi to three perfect grandboys (with one more on the way). But Jesus is her favorite, and the others have learned to live with it.

Deb loves to travel, and considers herself a foodie. Her idea of the perfect job would be to travel on someone else’s dime, writing about her experiences, and eating her way around the world!

Deb and her husband Ron, live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest

I'm glad to have a Deb DeArmond book on the blog again! This falls into the "self-help" category and is a good book for Christian couples looking to recenter their marriage (or serious dating couples). As someone who has experienced a broken marriage and ultimately a divorce, there are so many things that I either could have done better, or tried but realized it's vital that you both want to make it work.

Now I'm in a serious relationship and we are talking about getting engaged soon. We've discussed premarital counseling and things we can do together to strengthen our relationship and work together within the same page. This book came across my table at the perfect time, and it's definitely something I'll be using for a while (maybe forever).

I Choose You Today is a fairly small book and is very to-the-point. DeArmond gives 31 ways to help your marriage, almost like a couple's devotional. You can go through a new one every day, or you can reflect on a single choice per week (my recommendation). DeArmond gives real-life examples either from her and her husband's relationship, or someone she knows. 

One of my favorite things about this book is that it emphasizes the fact that marriage is a choice. "Love is not a feeling, and neither is marriage. Each is a choice-one that must be made every single day, even if it’s spoken through gritted teeth." It is a choice, but let me add one more thing: it is a choice for BOTH of you. If you work together and choose each other every day, if you keep God center, then no doubt you'll experience a marriage better than you've ever imagined.