As For Me & My House: Crafting Your Marriage to Last (Walter Wangerin, Jr., 1990)

Walter Wangerin, Jr., Lutheran pastor and author of the superbly crafted novel, The Book of the Dun Cow, has written what must be one of the very best books on marriage that is available on the market today. As For Me & My House is a delight to read for its refreshing honesty, its wonderful prose, and for the biblical instruction that is woven creatively into the story of the author’s own marriage. There is nothing dry or academic here, but a living story which makes us fall deeper in love with both our spouse and our heavenly Bridegroom. Those who are planning to get married and those already married would do well to read this book, and to work through the study guide with their beloved. The story Wangerin tells is lovely, but never sentimental. He allows us access into the reality of his own marriage to Thanne, and we are richer for it. Each step of the way he is guided by the greater Story of Creation, Fall and Redemption, which is the larger reality in which we live and move, and marry. As For Me & My House is not another how-to book, thankfully, since we already have too many of those around, but it is practical. He doesn’t load us down with rules, but thrills us with grace, and as a result a yearning for an ever deeper covenantal relationship is nurtured within us.