Jeff Helton - The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge. One Question a Week. One Incredible Marriage

Praise for

The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge

Most couples desire a loving, supportive marriage in which husband and wife are helping each other reach their potential for God. However, many couples do not have a plan for creating such a marriage. In The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge , Jeff and Lora Helton provide a plan. I highly recommend it.

Gary Chapman, PhD, author of The 5 Love Languages

The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge is a terrific adventure worth your time and focus! The Heltons have masterfully woven together fifty questions that will result in you growing closer to God and one another. My only complaint is that its two Fridays short of an entire year!!!

Dr. Dennis Rainey, host of FamilyLife Today

Ive been married to my beautiful wife, Sharon, for thirty years. Weve laughed, worked, played, talked, and argued our way through some pretty incredible times, and trust me, it wasnt always easy! Marriage is hard work, but its the best, most rewarding work Ive ever doneand its something you need to work at, too. In The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge , Jeff and Lora will walk you and your spouse through a fantastic yearlong discussion that will totally change your marriage!

Dave Ramsey, New York Times bestselling author
and nationally syndicated radio show host

Most men avoid talk about the relationship conversations, fearing the inevitable feelings of inadequacy and unmet expectations. But Jeff and Lora Helton have developed fifty conversation starters that will have you relishing your time together. Youll not only strengthen your marriage, youll have fun in the process!

Marshall Shelley, vice president, Christianity Today

I have had the privilege of knowing Jeff and Lora while they were on staff at our home church in Brentwood, TN. When my husband, Stu, and I were approaching the twenty-year mark of marriage, we felt the need to recalibrate and take some time to get to know each other again. With the constant pull of his work, our kids, and my years of traveling, we had come to a place of coasting. We didnt want to be one of those couples whose kids went off to college and they sat staring at one another not knowing who each other were anymore. Many of the suggestions in this book are questions that Jeff had us ask each other. Whether married one year, twenty years, or fifty years, we could all use a tune-up. Marriage is worth it.

Denise Jones, Point of Grace, popular Christian singing group

This book is a true gift to all of us who are seeking stronger marriages. Jeff and Lora have provided us with an incredible guide to help challenge and revitalize our relationships. My wife and I are so thankful for The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge .

Pete Wilson, senior pastor, Cross Point Church, Nashville, TN,
and author of Plan B

Sometimes you recommend a book based just on its content. Other times you might recommend a book because of your relationship to the author. And occasionally you recommend a book based on both. I have the privilege of knowing and serving with Jeff and Lora Helton. The principles and concepts of this book are far more than content; they are the realities of married life being lived out, modeled, and shared by these two wonderful friends. The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge will do just that; it will challenge you to rethink, refocus, and recommit to your marriage. This is not just another book on marriage, this is a book of encouragement written by two very authentic people who are committed to helping others build better marriages.

Rick White, senior pastor, the Peoples Church, Franklin, TN

The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge is a fun way to use conversation starters for husbands and wives. They open the door for meaningful discussions in a nonthreatening way. Praying for and with one another is a way for your marriage to thrive and survive. Learning more about each other makes for a solid, exciting relationship. Lora and Jeff cover real issues with tried-and-true ways to have a strong, healthy marriage. We have enjoyed going through the book ourselves and look forward to sharing it with those we mentor.

Marsha and Jack Countryman, bestselling author
and creator of Gods Promises line

I remember the year that Jeff and Lora wrote these questionsone Friday after another, after another, after another. And I remember the change that God wrought in themJeff in particularas I saw the very questions he was asking reshape and refine his own heart. It will do the same for every couple who refuses the default mode and chooses to take the challenge.

Lloyd Shadrach, teaching pastor,
Fellowship Bible Church, Brentwood, TN

The 50 Fridays Marriage Challenge is a fun and practical approach to strengthening marriages. Each challenge is thought-provoking, intentional, and encourages an opportunity for true intimacy. Weve personally encountered Jeff and Loras love and counsel in our own lives. What a treasure it is to now have access to their wealth of wisdom through this book. If youre willing to take the challenge, you will definitely be inspired to pursue the marriage God intended for you to have.

Joe Katina, The Katinas

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To our parents, who taught us that fifty years of marriage happens one Friday at a time.

To Loras parents, Lionel and Marion: fifty-three years and going strong as trendsetters in multicultural marriage. Your faith, commitment, and care for others are a model worthy of imitation.

To Jeffs dad, Ray, who experienced more than fifty years of marriages by loving and burying two wives (Mildred and Nancy). Your eternal perspective and confidence in Gods goodness and plan inspire us daily.

What Will Your Marriage Be Like on Your Fiftieth Anniversary?

In 2009, we traveled to Bismarck, North Dakota, to celebrate Loras parents fiftieth wedding anniversary. My in-laws have spent their entire marriage in vocational ministryserving as missionaries in Indonesia and Malaysia and traveling around the globe. Overall, they have aged really well and have remained in good health. As we watched the slide show of their fifty years together, I was struck with the reality of what fifty years do to a persons hair color, muscle tone, skin elasticity, and waistline.

At the time, Lora and I had been married for twenty-two years, and I found my mind wandering and wondering about what our fiftieth anniversary would be like. More accurately, I started thinking about what we would look like. I did the math. Ill be seventy-seven. Lora will be... well... less than that.

I glanced at my in-laws and thought, What will we look like? Will there be more wrinkles? A few more pounds? What color hair? Will I even have hair?

If we ever do stop and think about what our marriage will be like at fifty years, we all too often think only about the externalthe physical. But the truth is, theres a far more important question to ponder: Should the Lord allow us to make it to fifty years of marriage, what will we be like at our fiftieth anniversary?

In other words... will we finish strong?

Will we be thriving? Or will we be surviving?

Will we be enjoying an intimate and connected marriage? Or will we be two strangers living in the same home?

Will we intentionally be wise in how we spend our days? Or will we foolishly let the months and years pass by?