10 Great Dates Before You Say "I Do"

10 Fun, Innovative Relationship-Building Dates for Seriously Dating and Engaged Couples!

10 Great Dates Before You Say 'I Do' combines the best of marriage preparation research with a fun, easy-to-follow format. Couples will love growing together while going out together.

Share your hopes and dreams Appreciate your differences Communicate and connect Develop spiritual intimacy Evaluate your relationship Celebrate romance And more!

A unique approach featuring fun-filled dates to help seriously dating and engaged couples strengthen their relationship. Couples will soon discover whether or not to go to the next level of commitment, and will spend quality time together now while preparing for a great marriage in the future.

Library Journal

This fun little guide helps readers objectively confirm their marriage commitment over the course of ten meaningful dates. Though some might consider such a compatibility primer unromantic, as anyone married for more than a few years can usually attest, good intentions aren't enough, and practicality is important. Arp and wife Claudia (The Second Half of Marriage), founders of Marriage Alive, and coauthors Curt and Natalie Brown (marriage ministry, Wellshire Presbyterian Church) encourage readers to "relax and enjoy focusing on the present while preparing for the future." Each date emphasizes a general issue, e.g., money management and problem solving, for relaxed discussion. Each also corresponds to a fill-in-the-blank exercise that focuses on bonding and mutual learning. Constructive and lightly sprinkled with biblical and Christian references, this is a bit more interactive than Sam Hamburg's amiable Will Our Love Last?: A Couple's Roadmap, which also stresses compatibility. Pitchers of woo might also consider Paul Joannides and Toni Johnson's straightforward Guide to Great Dates. Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Claudia Arp and David Arp, MSW, are founders and directors of Marriage Alive International, a ground-breaking ministry dedicated to providing resources and training to empower churches to help build better marriages and families. Their Marriage Alive seminar and 10 Great Dates program are popular across the U.S. and in Europe. The Arps have authored over 30 books including the 10 Great Dates series, No Time for Sex and the Gold Medallion Award-winning The Second Half of Marriage. Frequent contributors to print and broadcast media, the Arps have appeared as marriage experts on the NBC 'Today' CBS 'This Morning', Public Television and Focus on the Family. Their work has been highlighted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. David and Claudia have been married for over 40 years and have 3 married sons and 8 grandchildren and live in Northern Virginia. Visit their website at www.marriagealive.com. Claudia Arp y David Arp, MSW, fundadores de Marriage Alive Interntional, son educadores, voceros conferencistas populares, y frecuentes contribuyentes a la prensa y los medios de comunicacion. Han aparecido en NBC Today, CBS This Morning, y Television Publica. Sus articulos han sido publicados en USA Today, Reader's Digest, y Focus on the Family. Sus numerosos libros incluyen 10 Great Dates Before You Say I Do y The Second Half of Marriage, este ultimo, merecedor del premio Gold Medallion.

Curt and Natelle Brown, MA, MFT, are directors of marriage ministry at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado, and advisors to the Colorado Marriage Project. They are experienced mentors to engaged couples, marriage coaches to newlyweds, and developers of the Marriage Alive 'Before You Say 'I Do'' seminar.

Curt and Natelle Brown, MA, MFT, are directors of marriage ministry at Wellshire Presbyterian Church in Denver, Colorado, and advisors to the Colorado Marriage Project. They are experienced mentors to engaged couples, marriage coaches to newlyweds, and developers of the Marriage Alive 'Before You Say 'I Do'' seminar.