Dale Mathis - The Remarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Lifetime of Love & Happiness

Praise for
The Remarriage Adventure

The high divorce rate among couples who remarry is about to drop dramatically. The Remarriage Adventure is a thorough, intensely practical, biblical, hands-on guide. If you want a successful remarriageand of course you doyou must get this book. I believe it will make a difference.

David Clarke, Ph.D., Christian Psychologist,
Speaker, and Author of Married But Lonely

In The Remarriage Adventure, Dale and Susan Mathis give hope to couples who are blending their families. This book is a roadmap for success, combining spiritual principles and practical strategies to empower couples to succeed in remarriage. A must-read for any couple on this journey!

Catherine Hammond, Trust Lawyer/Counselor
and Founder of Hammond Law Group, LLC

The Remarriage Adventure is an invaluable resource for couples who are setting out on the journey of remarriage and blending families, as well as for pastors who increasingly require insight into their unique challenges. The power of coupling their own story with those of others enables Dale and Susan to offer biblically practical wisdom from a foundation of compassionate understanding. Highly recommended!

Grant R. Walton, Senior Pastor, New Creation
Family Church, Johannesburg, South Africa

Journey with Susan and Dale Mathis as they lead you into a new adventure of preparing for remarriage and redemptive love. Written with warmth, wit, biblical encouragement, and practical insight, The Remarriage Advenure is a must-read for couples planning to marry again.

Jackie M. Johnson, Author of When Love Ends
and the Ice Cream Carton Is Empty

As in the reality show called Wipe Out, the complexity of obstacles like finances, blending children into a new family, in-laws, and healing from past wounds can make the average remarried couple feel like they are one step away from a huge wipe out! Fortunately, Dale and Susan Mathis have written a wonderful resource to help you navigate this obstacle course with biblical principles and practical advice. Most importantly, their emphasis on the redemptive love of Jesus Christ is the signpost that will encourage you through the most difficult of circumstances.

Dr. Juli Slattery, Author of No More Headaches
and Finding the Hero in your Husband

If you would like a deeper understanding on how to have a better marriage, The Remarriage Adventure is for you! With biblical practicality, sprinkled with situations that are unique to stepfamilies, this resource provides help, hope, and valuable insight for any Christian couple.

Laura Petherbridge, Speaker and Author
of When I Do Becomes I Dont

In The Remarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Lifetime of Love and Happiness, Susan and Dale Mathis share what they and other couples have learned as theyve blended their families, providing valuable tips and skills that will help your new marriage succeed and thrive.

Michelle Cox, Author of Simple Little Words
and Mothers Who Made a Difference

The Remarriage Adventure should be a mandatory read for any couple thinking about or planning to remarry. Susan and Dales rich biblical guidance will strengthen any couple and prepare them to marry and blend their family.

Mitch Temple, Author of The Marriage Turnaround,
Speaker, Consultant to Christian Organizations and Films

The Remarriage Adventure provides a wealth of information that will help you avoid common pitfalls as you chart a course for remarriage success. Dont embark on this lifelong journey without a plan, read The Remarriage Adventure.

Peter J. Larson, Ph.D., Co-Author of
PREPARE/ENRICH Life Innovations

Dale and Susan Mathis look at the elements of remarriage in a practical and realistic way, since they are living it themselves. The Remarriage Adventure is a great resource that addresses the complexities of remarriage and blending a family.

Scott and Bethany Palmer, The Money Couple,
Authors of First Comes Love, Then Comes Money

The Remarriage Adventure
Copyright 2012 by Susan and Dale Mathis
All rights reserved.

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, Colorado Springs, CO 80995.

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

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version.

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.

The use of material from or references to various Web sites does not imply endorsement of those sites in their entirety.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwisewithout prior written permission of Focus on the Family.

Editor: Brandy Bruce
Cover Design by Julie Chen
Cover photograph copyright Irene Suchocki. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mathis, Susan, 1957

The remarriage adventure : preparing for a lifetime of love and happiness / by Susan and Dale Mathis.
p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-58997-721-1 (alk. paper)

1. RemarriageReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Mathis, Dale, 1941- II. Title.

BV838.M38 2012
248.8'44dc23

2012015564

Build: 2016-02-23 15:47:34

We dedicate this book to the amazing second-marriage
couples who have become a special part of our lives through
sharing their stories with usand with you. These couplesand
many othersare walking out the reality that Gods
redemptive plan for marriage and family life can be sweeter
than any of us anticipated. These couples have marriages that
are strong and successful, blending-family journeys that are
adventurous, and lives that are testimonies of what God
can do in those who seek, serve, and follow Him.

We also dedicate this book to you, our readers, who are so
very wise in taking the time to prepare for the adventure of
your second marriage. May the journey be life-changing,
exciting, and filled with Gods love leading and guiding you.

So many people have touched our lives as weve walked together through lifes ups and downs. You have imparted your wisdom into our lives so that we can now share Gods redemptive plan with those we serve and with our readers. Thanks to all our friends and family members who have encouraged us during this adventure of writing, have shared your lives and stories with us, have given of yourselves in priceless ways, and have enriched our livesand now help us enrich the lives of our readers. Thanks to each of you who has encouraged us along the way and helped us see what God has in store for us. We trust you know who you are and how special you are to us. Thanks to Larry, Brandy, Allison, and Chris at Focus on the Family, who have worked with us on this project. Its great to have such a supportive team. Thanks to you, our readers, for allowing Gods Word and these pages to speak into your lives. We pray that they will empower you to better prepare for the adventure of remarriage and help you be successful in your blending-family journey. And most of all, thanks to God for allowing us to be a part of this project. We are humbled to serve You in making Your great redemptive plan known.