The Marriage Recipe: A Guidebook for Wives—Biblical Principles to a Better Marriage

By Mfon B. Nwabuoku

With a straightforward style, Mfon Nwabuoku shares what it is that has made her marriage so happy.

“A happy marriage is not something you can wish into existence”

Using practical tips from the Bible and her personal experience, Mfon Nwabuoku shares how you can by applying Biblical principles create a marriage paradise.

In this book for wives and those preparing for marriage, you
will learn about:
- God
- Love
- Honour
- Lovemaking
- Commitment

and how you can by introducing these ingredients into your marriage, create a happy home.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Nov 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546261353

Mfon B. Nwabuoku

Mfon Nwabuoku is a writer, speaker and counsellor committed to helping women discover how to live purposeful and successful lives. She encourages them to discover and walk in divine purpose and shows them how to do so from the Word of God. Mfon is passionate about teaching the Bible and she’s been sharing truths from God’s Word for over a decade. She holds a Diploma in Ministerial Studies from Kenneth Hagin’s Rhema Bible Training Centre Nigeria where she is also actively involved in Campus activities. But her greatest sense of accomplishment as she puts it, comes from being a wife and mother.

Book preview

© 2018 Mfon B. Nwabuoku. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 10/29/2018

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6136-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6134-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-6135-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018911935

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version.

Copyright © 1982 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 ERV are taken from Easy-to-Read Version, Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International

Scripture quotations marked AMP are from The Amplified Bible, Old Testament copyright © 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified Bible, New Testament copyright © 1954, 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

NRSV

Scripture quotations marked CJB are taken from Complete Jewish Bible, Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword

Introduction

I God

II Love

III Honour

IV Love Making

V Commitment

Conclusion

References

Osita and I

dedicate this book to

Kenechukwu Nwabuoku- our priceless gift from God!

You add a myriad of blessings too numerous to count to our lives- you truly make us RICH!

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks to everyone whose support has been invaluable!

God- the Author and Finisher of my life: Everything I am and everything I have comes from You. I would be nothing and can accomplish nothing without You!

My husband-Osita: You are proof that God truly loves me! Every good memory I have, has you interwoven in it. I look into your eyes and believe I can do anything. Thank you for your endless love and support!

My son-Kenechukwu: I will forever praise God for the treasure that you are. My unequaled jewel, I look forward to all God has made you! Thank you for your love and support!

Pastor Ose Imiemohon: Thank you for taking the time to read my manuscript and for the feedback. And most importantly, thank you for always teaching me to believe in myself!

Pastor Lawrence Ladokun: I’ll always credit you with kicking me into action! Your lessons on personal management and life course setting remain principles I work with. Thank you for always encouraging me to do more and be more!

Liz Heaney: You are a gift from God! Thank you for showing me how to turn my ideas into words that truly express the message I wanted.

Funmi Obabire: In the time I’ve known you, I’ve found a true friend and sister. Thank you for all your encouragement and support!

Foreword

When Mfon and I decided to get married, we agreed that no matter what might come, the constants in our marriage would remain God and our love for each other.

We have kept to that promise by applying God’s principles to our marriage and that has helped to bring out the best in us and has made our marriage something we’re both happy about.

The ingredients mentioned in this book are the same ones Mfon and I have used in our marriage over the last fifteen years and are based on the Word of God.

I am sure that this book will bless the reader- whether you are married or are planning to be.

Osita Nwabuoku

Introduction

Anyone Can Have a Successful Marriage

Marriage is a God-designed, intimate, and complementary union between a man and a woman in which the two become one physically. But it’s not just any sort of union; it is a covenant—a sacred covenant.

What is God’s purpose- His desire for this union? Why did God introduce marriage in the first place?

Marriage was created primarily for companionship:

Then the Lord God said, I see that it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make the companion he needs, one just right for him. Genesis 2:18 (ERV)

Checking up on the meaning of those two underlined words, here’s what I found-

To be alone is to be "without others’ help or participation: single handed"¹

And for the word ‘companion’, one definition struck me-

‘Each of a pair of things intended to complement or match each other’²

So, here’s the key thought here, marriage was intended to provide ‘help’. It was intended to make life’s assignment easier to fulfill. Here’s the picture- let’s say I was given the task of cutting down 100 trees, it would take me less time and effort to do so if I had someone helping me and it would be more enjoyable too.

That’s why God gave Adam a wife. Not because Adam could not fulfill purpose without Eve- he was doing so before she came along- but because with Eve by his side helping, he could achieve much more and better enjoy the journey.

In marriage I find a partner to complement me; one to match me, one to help me. In marriage I find a mutually beneficial relationship.

Not to be taken lightly, marriage is a man and woman taking an oath publicly before God (with God as witness and upholder) to be to each other all God desires them to be as man and wife.

I remember how excited I was as I was getting ready to take those vows. Even back then, I knew marriage was a big deal: I would be choosing one man to spend the rest of my life with. I wanted to be prepared for the journey, so I took our premarital classes seriously.

One statement from the seminarian who taught those classes has stuck with me through the years. He told us that marriage could either be a prison or a paradise. Using my imagination, I envisioned what each of those kinds of marriages would look like for me.

For me, a marriage prison would be a place where:

🍴 I feel lonely and unloved, as if I don’t matter to the one I love the most.

Even though I have the physical presence of my husband, I feel as if I were alone and on my own. My pain, fears, dreams are important only to me, and even if I do share them with my husband, they fall on deaf ears, unacknowledged. Rarely, if ever, does my husband show me affection through a hug, a kiss, or kind words. I don’t experience romantic moments except for those I read in magazines or observe in other couples.

🍴 I feel hopeless, stuck.

Gone are all my childhood dreams of a happy home. I am bitter, disillusioned, and cynical, and believe that happy couples are a myth. If I see a couple that appears happy, I tell myself they are simply putting up a façade and are just as miserable as I am.

Angry because I feel powerless to change and blaming myself for my misery, I do hurtful things to myself: eating my way up the weight scale or constantly criticizing the way I look (I would want to be taller, slimmer, have more cleavage or a different nose). My self-image is so poor that I want to be every other woman but myself. I hear innuendos where none exist, see conspiracies in every relationship, hate in every act.

And I blame others for my unhappiness. I blame God: where is He? Why hasn’t He done anything? Why is He punishing me? I blame my family: it is their fault I married him in the first place. After all, they drummed it in to my psyche that I had to get married when I grew up. And my friends! Oh, they were likely gossiping and chuckling behind my back, realizing I was about to make a mistake but lacking the courage to tell me. And of those who did speak up? Well, they should have tried harder!

🍴 I feel violated, taken advantage of, and deliberately exposed to hurt and harm.

My spirit is broken; I have lost sight of who I am. My talents and resources are devalued and unappreciated. I get no credit for any good thing but bear the brunt of every perceived wrong. I believe I have no protection or recourse for absolution. Wallowing in self-pity, I lose my essence.

🍴 I have lost my vision.

So concerned with simply surviving, I forget all that God made me to be and to do and I slowly and