Warning: Conviction Ahead

By Becky Lewis on July 30, 2015

Who better to get marriage advice from, than a couple who almost chucked it all, but found their way back together through the grace of God? Dave and Sue Lunde discovered that they could spend more time together in the shared interest of riding a tandem bike. As they worked on their marriage and spent time together on their hobby that requires great teamwork and cooperation, they realized many applicable truths they could impart to others.

With chapter themes of togetherness, teamwork, steering, creating a training plan, reserving the other seat solely for your mate, maintaining a safety net, and providing adventure, (plus others) the format is easy to follow and gels together well. 

Many points are memorable and convicting. "Make sure that your spouse feels they are the most important person in your world." "If we treat people with respect, love, and reverence, they react differently. They are more willing to work with you in marriage. As a result, you unleash positivity."

Wow, what marriage couldn't use a healthy dose of that!!

One last quote, also dealing with how you treat your spouse: "When you talk nicely, respectfully, and politely about your spouse to others even though it may be hard to find something good to say, you control your level of anger and the depth of feelings you have. If you manage your thoughts, feelings, actions, and words like this, you create the potential for healing to occur." Sounds like self-control the Bible urges us to have, coupled with kindness!!

The book does reference Scripture frequently. I hope to place this book in an easy to access place where I won't easily forget the practical applications and convicting power of its words, so influenced by the Word of God.

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"...using their approach to working through differences would have made the early years easier..."

By Jim Griswold on Feb 7, 2015

We had the opportunity to meet Dave first when he and two other men came into our bicycle shop representing a competitive cycling team. Dave was the President, and they were scouting bicycle shops looking for a sponsoring shop. The team and our shop seemed to be a match and soon, they were wearing jerseys that had the name of our shop on them.

It was a short time later that we met Sue and their children when they came in with Dave. They appeared to be your average American family with ups and downs as the majority of us have experienced. Having married young and having a child early added strain to their marriage and they were stumbling forward as many of us do.

Dave was an excellent velodrome racer and was on the radar of the US Olympic coaches. Trying to qualify for the Olympic team added strain as Dave had to travel to qualifying races taking him away from home.

Through these issues, Dave and Sue started looking for something to pull them together and that is what this book is about. They decided to purchase a tandem bicycle, not as a tool to strengthen their marriage, but because they enjoy cycling and their riding styles were completely different. Dave preferred to ride faster, and Sue enjoyed taking in the scenery, something causing conflict.

I recommend this book because it discusses not only the process that they used, but it spells out that we are created differently and need to work at understanding each other. The book also points out that once you start working on life as a team, you draw closer together and enjoy time spent together more.

Pick up a copy and apply their approach of working together through life together. For my wife and I now married forty-seven years, using their approach to working through differences would have made the early years easier than stumbling our way through.

                                                             ~ Jim Griswold