Erin Smalley - The Wholehearted Wife: 10 Keys to a More Loving Relationship

Whats better than a book with the name Smalley on the cover? How about a book with three Smalleys! Erin and Greg, along with Gregs dad, Gary, offer women a powerful message that will help strengthen and reinvigorate their relationships with their husbands. This is a great book for Christian women.

JIM DALY

President, Focus on the Family

As a radio host Ive talked with a great number of relationship experts but I must say, Ive never met a family more committed to the success of your marriage than the Smalleys. Theyre passionate about your having a marriage thats a safe place for you and a great example for others. If youre a wife and you want to move beyond the status quo, if you long for a strong and thriving marriage, then youve come to the right place. Take your time as you work your way through the pages of this book. Embrace a teachable, hopeful heart as you consider a new approach to your husband. Your story is far from over. Gods about to do a new thing in you!

SUSIE LARSON

National radio host; speaker

Author of Your Beautiful Purpose

I am so grateful the Smalleys have written this book. These hard-learned lessons will steer all of us to more meaningful relationships and stronger marriages. I love the real-life honesty coupled with big splashes of fun that is shown in this book.

BRADY BOYD

Senior Pastor, New Life Church

Author of Addicted to Busy

This book is full of practical advice for women. Lets face it... being a wife is far more complicated than most of us realized when we said, I do. Greg and Erin do an excellent job of equipping you to honor God and your husband, regardless of the current state of your marriage.

DR. JULI SLATTERY

Author; clinical psychologist; co-founder of Authentic Intimacy

What a fantastic book! Every wife regardless of age or stage in her marriage will benefit from this inspiring, humorous, and practical message.

DR. LESLIE PARROTT

Marriage and family therapist

#1 New York Times best-selling author of The Good Fight

The Smalleys bring both professional expertise and personal experience to the important conversation of what it takes to nurture a loving marriage. The Smalleys have successfully combined their humor and personal experience with their expertise from years of marriage ministry, making The WholeHearted Wife a great resource for any married couple.

DR. TONY EVANS

Pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, Texas

Author of Kingdom Woman

The Wholehearted Wife: 10 Keys to a More Loving Relationship

2014 by Erin Smalley, Greg Smalley, and Gary Smalley

ISBN: 978-1-62405-146-3

A Focus on the Family book published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188

Focus on the Family and the accompanying logo and design are federally registered trademarks of Focus on the Family, 8605 Explorer Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80920.

TYNDALE and Tyndales quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise without prior written permission of Focus on the Family.

Peoples names and certain details of their stories have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. However, the facts of what happened and the underlying principles have been conveyed as accurately as possible.

Excerpts from Making Love Last Forever used by permission. Gary Smalley, 1996. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise marked, scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ( NASB ) are taken 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). Scripture quotations marked ( NCV ) taken from the New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NKJV ) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( NLT ) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ( MSG ) are taken from The Message [paraphrase]. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations marked ( TLB ) are taken from The Living Bible [paraphrase], copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked (Phillips) are taken from J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English, 1962 edition, published by HarperCollins.

Editorial contributors: Lisa Frieden, Jennifer Lonas, and Marianne Hering

Cover design by Jennifer Ghionzoli

Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this book can be found at the Library of Congress website, http://www.loc.gov.

ISBN 978-1-62405-148-7 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-62405-149-4 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-62405-147-0 (Apple)

Build: 2016-07-19 16:06:32

To three amazing men in my life:

My dad, Patrick Murphy. We were joined through the gift of adoption and shared loving one amazing woman Rosalie Antoinette. I am thankful for your constant presence in my life. I love you!

My second dad, Gary Thomas Smalley. Thank you for loving me as your own daughter. Thank you for all you have taught me starting back in chapel at GCU before I ever imagined Id marry your son.

My amazing husband, Gregory Thomas Smalley. Thank you for encouraging me to pursue my dreams truly you have been my dream maker. You have given me four amazing children Taylor, Murphy, Garrison, and Annie three through biology and one through the gift of adoption. Thank you for loving me and the kids wholeheartedly. You are irreplaceable! I love you dearly!

E RIN S MALLEY

Preface

For Women Only?

You may be wondering why weve written a book on marriage thats just for women. Great question! As youll see in the pages that follow, you have the ability to influence the overall temperature of your marriage. You may think that improving your marriage requires your husbands participation. Ideally it does, but even if he isnt motivated to work with you, a stronger, more satisfying marriage is still within reach. Ultimately, the key to a more loving, vibrant relationship with your husband lies in discovering how you can become a wholehearted wife.

You may be reading this book for any number of reasons. Perhaps you have a good marriage, but you want it to be great. You know that even the best marriages encounter challenging times. After all, in the chaos of life, its easy to grow increasingly disconnected from your husband. So youre reading this book to find ways to reconnect and deepen the love you share.