Love to Stay: Sex, Grace, and Commitment
By Rev. Adam Hamilton
Published on August 2013
Published by Abingdon Press
Source: Author/ Publisher for Review
Published by Abingdon Press
Source: Author/ Publisher for Review
In this book, Adam Hamilton explores how, with God’s help, we can make love last. Drawing upon a survey of thousands of couples and singles, interviews with relationship and marriage therapists, the latest research in the field, and wisdom from the Bible, Hamilton looks at what it takes to create and sustain healthy, meaningful romantic relationships across the course of a lifetime. Contents include: More Than a Piece of Paper; What She Wants; What He Wants; The Significance of Sexual Intimacy; Habits That Hurt, Habits That Heal; Clothe, Bear With, and Forgive; A Love That Lasts a Lifetime
Reverend Hamilton is on my radar. If you didn't know this about me, my husband is a pastor in the United Methodist Church. Reverend Hamilton is also a pastor for the UMC and is a pastor at the church that all the others want to be. They are massive. Rev. Hamilton's voice is a loud on in our denomination. People listen to what he has to say. Recently, what he has had to say has been pretty controversial in my neck of the woods, so it made me even more curious about this book.
I have to say- I REALLY enjoyed Love to Stay. To be honest to my readers, I haven't finished it- for a reason. I got most of the way through the book and decided to stop and am reading it and doing the actual study with my husband. I have reviewed many studies in the past and I have to say- I rarely actually DO the study when I review them. I just read it like a book and then write what I think. This book is so well done- it asks the right questions and really makes the reader vulnerable and really think. There is no surface skimming here.
I love that there is a section for singles- that is incredibly inclusive and so thoughtful for the author to do. I really like how the sessions are broken up. There is a short chapter to read, followed by journaling or discussion questions.
All in all, I find this book to be one that I am so happy to make a place for on my shelf. I know I will be recommending it to others in our conference and I am looking forward to finishing the study with my husband.
