Good communication skills are essential in marriage, and we could all improve in this area! Whether you’re engaged or already married, this book will be a helpful resource!
This post may contain affiliate links. At no extra cost to you, we may receive a small commission if you purchase through our links. Thank you for supporting this ministry!
With These Words: Five Communication Tools for Marriage and Life
New Growth Press has published yet another excellent book on the Christian life. This one is specifically on marriage and communication. The title is With These Words: Five Communication Tools for Marriage and Life by Rob Flood.
About the Author: Rob Flood
Flood serves as a community and care pastor, and he is also a married man with six children. Though he by no means claims to have perfected these biblical principles relating to marriage, he is not lacking the experience and wisdom to write a book on this very important topic.
Flood divides his book into three sections:
- Truth for Communication
- Tools for Communication
- Working It Out
Section One: Truth for Communication
In section one, Flood provides the foundation of the book by providing the truth of God’s Word on the topic of communication. This section isn’t very long, and is by no means exhaustive. However, it contains some excellent teaching on select passages about marriage and communication. It doesn’t take long to pick up on Flood’s nicely added humor along the way, as well as real life examples to work through. It is also very evident that Flood practices what he is preaching. He sees himself in great need of grace and help from the Lord, so he doesn’t come across as a prideful expert who has conquered marriage. He is really humble and tender in his care for the reader.
Section Two: Tools for Communication
Section two provides the five tools mentioned in the subtitle of the book, which are:
- The tool of first response
- The tool of prayer
- The tool of physical touch
- The tool of mirroring
- The tool of proper timing
I found this to be the main course (and even possibly the dessert) as it got into very practical tools to aid communication in marriage. This section of the book provides a great deal of hope!
As the reader works through these different tools for communication, Flood is very authentic and approaches this section with reality in mind as opposed to the ideal. For this reason, he addresses challenges and potential obstacles that will accompany the utilization of a specific tool. In other words, he doesn’t simply say “just repeat back what you heard your spouse say.” He walks the reader through the why and the how of this “mirroring”.
Section Three: Working It Out
The last section is essentially an encouragement to keep on putting these marriage tools to use even when things don’t go as planned. Forgiveness, grace, and compassion are all emphasized so that a couple can persevere and continue striving after great communication.
I Highly Recommend With These Words: Five Communication Tools for Marriage and Life
I found this book to be a delight to read, and I truly believe that it can be a great resource for marriage! If you’re already struggling in this area of marriage, or you’re engaged to be married and desire to begin learning these tools for successful communication in your upcoming marriage, or you’re a married couple who has excellent communication already but wants to be proactive in keeping things great, then this book is for you! I highly recommend it!
Disclaimer: My thanks to New Growth Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.
Matt became a joyful follower of Jesus at the age of 21. He is very grateful to be a husband to Lindsey, and a father to four boys. He is an ordained minister (teaching elder) in the PCA. He previously served as a pastor of biblical counseling and is currently a corporate chaplain in southern Delaware. Matt received his Master of Divinity degree in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and holds an advanced certification in biblical counseling from the Association of Biblical Counselors. In his free time, he loves playing with his boys, traveling with his wife, and reading (and buying!) books.
Leave a Reply