Brian Goins - Playing Hurt: A Guys Strategy for a Winning Marriage

Playing Hurt helped me remember that during my baseball career I played hurt and in pain many times because I wanted to win; the prize was worth the pain, so I didnt give up or give in. However, there are times in my marriage when my feelings are hurt and my natural tendency is to run to the bench and take a seat because I didnt get what I thought I deserved. Playing Hurt has helped me get back in the game because my wife, marriage, and family are more important than any game I ever pitched or golf tournament I have ever played.

Jose Alvarez, Retired Major League pitcher for the Atlanta Braves,

professional golfer, and chaplain to PGAs Nationwide Tour

Ive played nine years in the NFL, won two Super Bowl Championship rings, and had five surgeriesinjuries are inevitable in the game. You cant help your team when youre on the bench. The same is true in marriage. Brian coaches you on how to get back in the game and start winning again.

Ken Walter, NFL punter for the Carolina Panthers,

Seattle Seahawks, and New England Patriots

Playing Hurt is a book all men will benefit from if they will rise to the challenge to read it. As men, we can either run into passivity, or we can play hurt and enjoy the blessing of a fulfilling marriage and life.

Doug Hudson, founder and president of

The Hub, www.gotothehub.com

If married men are looking for encouragement in dealing with the real issues of marriage[in a book] that is written in a way they can relate to and understand and in a way that applies biblical standardsthen they will find it in Playing Hurt. Brian Goins does a great job of combining insight and reality, especially in a mans world.

Tom Nelson, pastor of Denton Bible Church and

author of The Book of Romance

Playing Hurt: A Guys Strategy for a Winning Marriage

2011 by Brian Goins

Published by Kregel Publications, a division of Kregel, Inc., P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.

With the exception of persons described in chapter 9, and figures of public and historical record, names and identifying details have been changed.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible. Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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I LOVE SPORTS OF ALL KINDS. Baseball, basketball, football, trackyou name it. I inherited it from my dad.

My dads nickname was Hook Rainey, not because he was a Captain Hook look-alike, but because he had a wicked curve ball that would blaze its way to the plate and fall off the table. He played in the St. Louis Cardinals farm system, and in his prime his crooked curve opened the door for him to pitch a game against legendary Hall of Fame pitcher Dizzy Dean.

Hook was a tall lefty who could have made it to the big leagues, but he never had a coach who really trained him. As a result, he played hurt and permanently injured his arm. Who knows what this talented country pitcher could have done with the right coach?

Truly great coaches, ones who are wise, are scarce.

Life coaches, those who know the game and are skilled in truly training another man in life skills, are harder to find than box seats to Game 7 at the World Series. And six decades of living have taught me that every man needs life coaching. He needs training in three relationships that hes not naturally good athis relationships with God, with his spouse, and with his children. Without such a coach, a man is simply not going to take his life and his most important relationships to the level they were designed to be played.

Gentlemen, may I introduce you to your life coach, Brian Goins.

I first met Coach Goins when he and his wife joined a team of over 130 elite communicators who are committed to training the next generation of marriages and families through FamilyLifes Weekend to Remember marriage getaways. It didnt take long to understand why Coach Goins is so effective in helping men succeed in their marriages. His passion to come alongside men and equip them is contagious.

He speaks a mans language, and he knows how to move a mans heart. He is one of those rare leaders who not only understands men, but also has a game plan to develop them.

Men respond and play up to their potential when they rub shoulders with Coach Goins. He isnt a critical, verbally abusive teacher; instead, his winsome style motivates them to get into the game with God and with their wives. His chalk talks arent warmed up leftovers from the Casey Stengel era. His fresh, edgy style is more like ESPN Sports Center, making you move forward on the edge of your seat to hear what he has to say next.

He may get in your face, give you a chest butt, and call you to man up. In the end, you know hes right and all the pain will definitely be worth it.

Brian is a no-baloney man. He doesnt sanitize the stories about his marriage. As you read his book, youll not only be able to relate to him as an imperfect husband, but you will also benefit from his transparency and the hard lessons hes learned in life.

All of this is why Im honored to introduce you to Coach Brian Goins and his playbook, Playing Hurt. Im confident that if you listen to the Coach and run his plays, you will get into the game and improve your relationship with God, with your wife, and with your children.

So lace em up, suit up, and get ready to step up and break a sweat for the game of your life!

DENNIS RAINEY

President of FamilyLife and

host of FamilyLife Today

To MY BRIDERemember the dream box? One down.

To BRANTLEYNever forget...

To PJKeep jumping into cold water.

To GIBBERSMeet me at the tire swing.

To MY AND GUYSJim, Walls, Werner, K-Rant, the Good Doctor, Mets, Elder Hartsock, Knepp, Fite, and Crotts.