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Boundless Love: Healing Your Marriage Before It Begins
Do you want a marriage that lasts well beyond the national average of seven years and exceeds your expectations of love and intimacy?
Do you aspire to have a relationship that brings you closer to God, builds you up, and encourages you to be a better person?
In Boundless Love: Healing Your Marriage Before It Begins, down to earth book authors and married couple Javier and Christina Llerena share their expertise from facilitating over 1,000 individuals preparing for marriage.
In an intimate account of their relationship—one that has been transformed through faith—they reveal life-changing lessons they have learned as they almost ended their marriage after their second child.
Whether you are single, dating, engaged, or married, Boundless Love provides you with a spiritually-based path with clear cut steps on:
How to navigate modern-day dating and create a faith-filled courtship
How to create healthy boundaries with yourself, your partner, friends, and family members
How to stop your childhood from sabotaging your relationship and find opportunities for growth
How to leverage your faith to make optimal life decisions with prayer and spiritual discernment
How to surrender one’s need to be right to trust one’s spouse and God’s will.
If you want to build your marriage upon faith and like helpful examples, detailed action steps, with a touch of humor, you will love Christina and Javier’s powerful path to putting faith at the center of your marriage.
Boundless Love kickstarts your faith and reveals that what God has in store for your marriage is far better than anything you can create or imagine on our own.
Read this book and unlock the healing power of faith in your relationship today!
188 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 28, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 1, 2019
Just completed this book in one evening and two plane rides!
Great book with many insights on how to prepare yourself to give all you are to your spouse. Javier and Christina bared all to show how to love unconditionally. They spoke candidly about how each of them had to overcome past hurts and life experiences in order to not poison their marriage with that luggage.
Great book with many insights on how to prepare yourself to give all you are to your spouse. Javier and Christina bared all to show how to love unconditionally. They spoke candidly about how each of them had to overcome past hurts and life experiences in order to not poison their marriage with that luggage.
December 31, 2020
When you bookmark more than half of a book's pages you know it's a true gem; 5 stars, 5 stars, 5 stars, and, I'm going to read it again!
A book without equal in the sphere of helping others to prepare for marriage and marry well. I'll be buying this book for all engaged couples I know; as well as those that still fall into the category of newlyweds.
It's an encouraging read that delves deep; but, is also filled with mercy, love, and grace. Great Biblical references and quotes that add to, and flow seamlessly within, each chapter given. Plus, an accompanying FREE action guide that compliments this book as a whole! You will not be lacking in conversation starters that will take you to the very heart of the matter: Are you and your significant other compatible, and meant to become one, or not?
The only critiques I have are these: 1.) When writing from a Christian worldview and vantage point, and when including Scriptural references throughout what's shared, it's not advisable to then muddy the waters by including a Buddhist quote. Buddhism involves the theory of enlightenment and acknowledges no "supreme being". 2.) On page 35, Javier mentions how Christina, as a Capricorn, was his horoscope's compatible match. Again, when writing from a Christian worldview and vantage point, astrology (even if only briefly mentioned) truly doesn't have a place within the material at hand. It might be factual, based upon beliefs held by the authors themselves; but, it would be a fact that would be better left on the cutting room floor, via edits, than left in. Christianity is not a melting pot of belief systems. Christianity believes that there is only one, true God; the God-head three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. By including anything else, alongside this fundamental belief, is heretical.
Despite the aforementioned faults, this book is still a strong and informational treasure trove of what it takes to have a good relationship and subsequent marriage. There's much involved in becoming one with another; and, it goes far beyond just joining together sexually.
This book holds deep truths that should be read by all who are contemplating marriage. Read it solo, to acknowledge self, and read it together once a partner of merit is found. Read this book to grow and come away with a deeper understanding of what a good marriage truly takes; the best gift you'll ever be able to give another is the gift of yourself within your entirety. Know yourself so you may be fully known.
*I received an advance review copy, via Reedsy Discovery, in exchange for my honest review.
A book without equal in the sphere of helping others to prepare for marriage and marry well. I'll be buying this book for all engaged couples I know; as well as those that still fall into the category of newlyweds.
It's an encouraging read that delves deep; but, is also filled with mercy, love, and grace. Great Biblical references and quotes that add to, and flow seamlessly within, each chapter given. Plus, an accompanying FREE action guide that compliments this book as a whole! You will not be lacking in conversation starters that will take you to the very heart of the matter: Are you and your significant other compatible, and meant to become one, or not?
The only critiques I have are these: 1.) When writing from a Christian worldview and vantage point, and when including Scriptural references throughout what's shared, it's not advisable to then muddy the waters by including a Buddhist quote. Buddhism involves the theory of enlightenment and acknowledges no "supreme being". 2.) On page 35, Javier mentions how Christina, as a Capricorn, was his horoscope's compatible match. Again, when writing from a Christian worldview and vantage point, astrology (even if only briefly mentioned) truly doesn't have a place within the material at hand. It might be factual, based upon beliefs held by the authors themselves; but, it would be a fact that would be better left on the cutting room floor, via edits, than left in. Christianity is not a melting pot of belief systems. Christianity believes that there is only one, true God; the God-head three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. By including anything else, alongside this fundamental belief, is heretical.
Despite the aforementioned faults, this book is still a strong and informational treasure trove of what it takes to have a good relationship and subsequent marriage. There's much involved in becoming one with another; and, it goes far beyond just joining together sexually.
This book holds deep truths that should be read by all who are contemplating marriage. Read it solo, to acknowledge self, and read it together once a partner of merit is found. Read this book to grow and come away with a deeper understanding of what a good marriage truly takes; the best gift you'll ever be able to give another is the gift of yourself within your entirety. Know yourself so you may be fully known.
*I received an advance review copy, via Reedsy Discovery, in exchange for my honest review.
May 24, 2020
Great advice!
And, given the backgrounds of the two people involved, it really is only God's grace that enabled this marriage to survive. One remark I would make that would improve the book, I think, is not to assume that everybody is sleeping together before marriage. I know the Catholic church and all other churches are having trouble with this issue, so much so that it seems almost ridiculous to bring it up in marriage retreats or premarital counseling. However, refraining from sexual activity is one way to demonstrate your seriousness both about the other person and about God. How my husband , an Anglican priest, handles this, is to request that the couple who come to him for premarital counseling refrain from any further sexual activity until the wedding day. If a person cannot agree to do this in order to spend more quality time exploring other aspects of their relationship, how much do they care? There is a certain 'user' quality inherent in any premarital sexual relationship (And in many marital sexual relationships) and that needs to be ferreted out and dealt with. This is practically important as well because sex is a great addictive way to avoid dealing with the deeper emotional and relational issues. He's never had a couple refuse this challenge. And it is important to hold up the standard which God gave to us. He had a reason. A lot of the difficulties the partners in this marriage came in with could have been avoided if they had avoided multiple sexual relationships.The
But that's my only suggestion for improvement!
And, given the backgrounds of the two people involved, it really is only God's grace that enabled this marriage to survive. One remark I would make that would improve the book, I think, is not to assume that everybody is sleeping together before marriage. I know the Catholic church and all other churches are having trouble with this issue, so much so that it seems almost ridiculous to bring it up in marriage retreats or premarital counseling. However, refraining from sexual activity is one way to demonstrate your seriousness both about the other person and about God. How my husband , an Anglican priest, handles this, is to request that the couple who come to him for premarital counseling refrain from any further sexual activity until the wedding day. If a person cannot agree to do this in order to spend more quality time exploring other aspects of their relationship, how much do they care? There is a certain 'user' quality inherent in any premarital sexual relationship (And in many marital sexual relationships) and that needs to be ferreted out and dealt with. This is practically important as well because sex is a great addictive way to avoid dealing with the deeper emotional and relational issues. He's never had a couple refuse this challenge. And it is important to hold up the standard which God gave to us. He had a reason. A lot of the difficulties the partners in this marriage came in with could have been avoided if they had avoided multiple sexual relationships.The
But that's my only suggestion for improvement!
March 4, 2020
Hardest thing to open is a closed mind
It’s obvious that the authors can talk the talk and have walked the walk... there’s some excellent advice I’m this work all could learn from ... the religious connection with self and the relationship didn’t resonate with me - but the real-life lessons and problem solving did - nice work.
It’s obvious that the authors can talk the talk and have walked the walk... there’s some excellent advice I’m this work all could learn from ... the religious connection with self and the relationship didn’t resonate with me - but the real-life lessons and problem solving did - nice work.
December 11, 2019
This is an amazing book for anyone that's in a serious relationship or for anyone newly married! They give great advice to make it past the 7 year mark! A must Read!
September 2, 2019
Wow!! This book is so good and real to life. It is not only for couples thinking about marriage, it's also for couples who have been married for years. So many of the tips should be followed by so many couples who are currently having problems. Thank you Javier and Christina for being so honest and vulnerable!
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September 6, 2019First off, the cover of the book is gorgeous! Second, this book is very engaging and easy to read. I would recommend this every single, engaged person, and married person who wants to know God and themselves more deeply.
September 7, 2019
Great, practical book with great advice for couples entering into a new relationship and also for those who have been in a marriage for a long time like myself. There is a lot of wonderful ideas and things that can be applied immediately after reading this book
September 22, 2019
Truly a blessing! As someone who has been married for over 32 years, am just now understanding what it means to be in a relationship of boundless love. Karen Briscoe, author and podcast host 5 Minute Success
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews