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Gary Smalley hit the target again with his recent Making Love Last Forever. He has the God-given strength to look at marriages, including his own, and cast a blessing on all of us as he says what we need to hear. Consequently, the phrase "Forever-Love" is making its way into our speech as a new and vital idiom.
Using it as a title, his new book Forever-Love is a collection of sayings about the many things that help married love grow and last forever, everything from "Forever-Love steers clear of manipulative, subtle criticism" to "Forever-Love assumes things will get better, not worse." Many of these sayings are practical and to- the-point like "Resolve today's conflicts today, not tomorrow." (If anybody knows the cost of broken marriages, it's longtime marriage counselor Smalley.)
But some are softer, more ethereal: "Forever-Love is bonded by a shared personal faith in God," and "Forever-Love relies on God as its enduring source of power."
There are "119 ways to keep love alive" in this small, gift-sized book. Each has a saying about Forever-Love at the top and a sentence or two of explanation or commentary.
Smalley starts Forever-Love by reminding readers in his Foreward that love is really our choice. "Do you want to know the deep satisfaction that comes from being in love? It's simple -- choose to love life and love your mate." And in his Epilogue at the end, he says, "When a husband and wife both want their partner to receive life's best before they do, you have a marriage that's going to exceed every wedding-day dream. This love not only lasts, it continually grows."
A bordered presentation page at the front suggests the book's use as a gift, and Valentine's Day is the perfect time to concentrate on keeping love alive -- forever.
Anne Callahan is a freelance reviewer from Chicago, IL.
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