Tricia Goyer is quite a remarkable writer. She’s written twelve books, both non-fiction and fiction. Her book, Generation Next Marriage: The Couple’s Guide to Keeping it Together, is a marriage manual specifically written for the “Gen-X” generation, those of us born from the 1960s through the 1980s. In nineteen chapters, she deals with everything from unrealistic expectations to romance, from money to parenting . . . and more.

I appreciated the chapter called “Under Pressure: Finding Balance.” Back when I was dating my future husband (in 1985!), he said all the time, “Balance is key.” We have been trying to keep our balance ever since, through my father’s terminal illness, through infertility, through job changes and moves, through parenthood, through everything that happens over the course of twenty years of marriage.

Tricia has some great suggestions for finding balance:

1) Say not to unrealistic demands on others.

2) Realize the impact of fast-paced lives.

3) Make a plan for peace. . . realizing how much your spouse desires it. (Boy, this is true for us!)

4) Focus on one thing. (Loving your spouse.)

While I am nowhere close to finding that elusive balance, I appreciate what Tricia has to say on this topic–and on many others. We are constantly pruning our schedules and obligations to carve out space for ourselves.
Oh, and you can go right here and enter a contest to win a dinner for two.

I am looking forward to reading more of Tricia’s work. It’s always nice to find a good writer with something valuable to say. (More reviews and stuff here.)