Kathi Lipp - The Marriage Project: 21 Days to More Love and Laughter

Some Impressive Results:
Reports from The Marriage Project Test Group

The Marriage Project has challenged us to remember the many different creative ways there are to connect in expressing our love for each other. Im still learning about how to best love my husband, but The Marriage Project was a wonderful help in giving our marriage tools to express our love for each other.

Karyn

Thank you for following your heart and Gods prompting. This project has started new traditions for our marriage. God bless you.

Mark and Barb

The Marriage Project has given my wife a better understanding that other men have similar interests as mine. It has also made me more aware of the assistance that I can offer and perform for my wife. She would say its okay, no problem, or dont worry about it when she really wanted me to be involved and help her out. Thank you for making The Marriage Project a reality.

Frank

What an amazing project. This helped bring us closer together in a world where many marriages are falling apart. Thank you for The Marriage Project!

David and Lisa

Since The Project, Chris and I thank God each day for each other, we communicate more intimately and with purpose, we say please and thank you (not to model the behavior for our kids but because we really mean it), we make arrangements for a date night at least once a month, and instead of the TV, we use each other as entertainment (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). When I feel disconnected from Chris, I suggest we do some of our favorite projects for a week or so, and that always brings us closer. Thank you for bringing this project to our church and helping us make our marriage a priority.

Camila

Kathi Lipp

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189 USA. All rights reserved.

Verses 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.

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

Cover design by Left Coast Design, Portland, Oregon

Cover illustration Krieg Barrie

Back cover author photo by Jessi Enguerra

Published in association with the literary agency of WordServe Literary Group, Ltd., 10152 S. Knoll Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130

THE MARRIAGE PROJECT

Copyright 2009 by Kathi Lipp

Published by Harvest House Publishers Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lipp, Kathi, 1967

The marriage project / Kathi Lipp.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-7369-2528-0 (pbk.)

1. MarriageReligious aspectsChristianityTextbooks. I. Title. BV835.L53 2009 248.844dc22

2009017189

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 / VP-SK / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

This book is lovingly dedicated to my parents,
Bill and Connie Richerson.

Thanks for the care, love, and support shown to me and to
everyone that God has brought into my life. Every child should be
blessed to have parents that encourage with such reckless abandon.

I pray that through your legacy of love,
I will have the same fearlessness and boldness when it comes
to encouraging my own kids to pursue their dreams.

Project 1In Less Time Than a Bad Sitcom:
Give Each Other 30 Minutes

Project 2Its All About Her:
Make Her a Hallmark Holiday

Project 3Getting to Know You:
Get the Vital Stats on Your Mate

Project 4Sweet Treat:
Doing Something Special Just for Him

Project 5Turning Up the Heat:
Cooking Together

Project 6Burning Passion and Burning Calories:
Getting Active Together

Project 7A Day to Pray:
Present Your Spouses Requests to God

Major Project 1Date Your Mate:
Half and Half

Bonus Project 1Sex:
Circle It in Red on the Calendar

Project 8A Little Hands-On Attention:
Give Each Other a Massage

Project 9Its All About Her:
Love, Love, Love

Project 10Bella Notte:
Have a Treat by Candlelight

Project 11Its All About Him:
R-E-S-P-E-C-TWhat it Means to Him

Project 13Check Mates and Check Marks:
Getting the Job Done

Project 14Candlelight Weather Report:
Carve Out Some Time to Just Sit and Talk Over Your Day

Major Project 2Date Your Mate:
Do Something You Enjoyed Before You Got Married

Bonus Project 2Sex:
Having The Talk

Project 15Look to the Example of Others:
Who Do You Admire? And Why?

Project 16Its All About Her:
Couch Time

Project 17Removing Obstacles:
Getting Rid of Something that Drives Your Spouse Crazy

Project 18Its All About Him:
Couch Time

Project 19All the Kids Are Doing It:
Text or Email Some Sweet Nothings

Project 20Clean Toilets Are Sexy:
Help Out with One of Your Spouses Chores

Project 21What I Like About You:
You Really Know How to Dance, How to Pay the Bills,
How to Be Nice to My Mom

Major Project 3Date Your Mate:
Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

Bonus Project 3Sex:
Ladies, Its Ladies Night

Roger Lipp

Come on guys, admit it. If youre like me, youve started a lot of projects before. Some of them lie in various stages of done or done-enough.

For me, reading an entire book is a monumental challenge. I recently went through my bookshelves and found all kinds of great books that Ive purchased. Man, do I need to read that one. Wouldnt it be great if I mastered that bit of knowledge. My books call out to me.

But as I was pulling the books down in one last admission that I probably wont read them, I noticed a strange pattern. Most of my books have something odd about them: they all have a bookmark in them somewhere between . Some other project comes along, some other item of great importance develops (hey, Ive been meaning to fix the garage door), and my best intentions get set aside leaving a memorial marker.

So let me make a few bold promises. First, this is an easy read, even for those of us who may not be into reading that much. Second, youll discover that The Marriage Project is a lot of fun. Who knows, you might find some fun in some unexpected ways. Finally, this project is worth seeing it through. We all admit that our relationship with our wife is the most important relationship we have, but its all too easy to let it ride (a strategy that is suspect in Vegas and downright devastating in relationships). See this through. You will be amazed at the change in yourself and your spouse!