Title: Enter the Ring: fighting together for a gospel-saturated marriage

Authors: D. A. & Elicia Horton

Publisher: Navpress

Overview

Enter the Ring is a book that was written by church planters, D. A. and Elicia Horton to help people who are looking to do marriage in the right way.  They focus on showing what it means to have a “gospel-saturated” marriage by using wisdom from the Bible along with personal stories of their own struggles, mistakes, and victories.

Thoughts

I completely agree with a statement that is on the back of this book: Marriage is hard! Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful and enjoying the wonderful marriage that I have with my wife.  But the truth is that this thing called marriage is hard work.  There are so many things that are at war with marriages in our world today.

I really enjoyed reading Enter the Ring.  I have been following D. A. Horton for a little while now, especially after hearing him share at the SEND Conference this past summer.  I found that this book was very helpful in that it was not just throwing a bunch of “teachings” out there, but the Hortons pull back the veil and are very transparent about their own relationship.  It really felt like you were sitting down with them at a coffee shop and sharing experiences.

D. A. and Elicia Horton do a great job of bringing to light many of the truths found in the Bible pertaining to the marriage relationship.  They also give some good practical steps in working through some issues that a couple might face. (The chapter dealing with finances and the budget layout was really good!)

Recommendation

I would highly recommend this book to any couple out there.  It is rich in gospel truth and practical thoughts.  I really believe that any couple – thinking about marriage, newlyweds, or even further down the line – would greatly benefit from what is shared by the Hortons in Enter the Ring. The marriage relationship is definitely worth fighting for, and this book is a great tool to help a couple win the fight!