(Guest Post by Jessie Clemence)
I am stumped. Just plain stumped. I need a title for a book proposal I’m putting together, and I have nothing. If the proposal is accepted the book will be on Christian marriages, more specifically, how to set ourselves aside to find Christ’s best for our marriages in every situation. While that sounds kind of stuffy and serious, I assure you that it’s not. My primary spiritual gift is ridiculousness, and the book will be full of it. But I’m having a heck of a time finding a title for the thing.
My friends on Facebook have been useless. Hysterical, but useless. For example, my friend Shannon suggested titling the book Did You Even Move the Milk Before Asking Me Where the Juice Is? or, No Honey, I am Okay, I just Fell in The Toilet. Kim suggested From Dinner and a Movie to Folding Tighty-Whities: My Life As a Wife. These are all excellent titles, but I don’t think they’re going to fly with the publishing team.
My personal favorite came from my own husband: Seriously, We’ve Been Married 15 Years: I’m UP HERE. So there’s a little peek into our marriage that you probably didn’t want, but there it is. Let’s move along.
You see my trouble, don’t you? Anyone who has been married for more than twenty minutes knows that marriage is hard. It requires compromises. It requires sacrifices. It’s a daily opportunity to get over ourselves for the good of another person, much like parenting. And for me, that has been possible because of the sacrifices Christ made for us. I sacrifice because He sacrificed. I love because He loved.
But how do I get that into a fun title? Any suggestions out there?
Well we have been racking our brains here across the water and it is difficult. The only thing we have come up with so far is ‘Joint Venture.’
But I just had a thought – soon after we were married my fantastic cake making wife had a disaster with the first cake she baked in our new oven. She was inconsolable. We did not have a telephone at the time (this was 1979 and it took weeks to get a phone line). In the end I had to drive Marilyn to the nearest telephone box so that she could phone her mother. After that she was fine. So how about …. ‘When the Cake Explodes’ (which is what it did in our oven).
Oh, that is priceless! I wish I could have seen it.
Thanks for the suggestions!
How about “Equally Yoked” …a reference to 2 Corinthians 6:14.
You could even subtitle it with something like: “Maximizing Your Marriage with Christ at the Center” or something to that effect.
Thanks, Andrew! The subtitle is exactly what I’m going for. I do get some raised eyebrows at the length of my first book’s title, and I’m wondering if maybe I should cut this one down a bit. Apparently many books these days are one word: Unglued, Platform, etc. But I don’t think in one-word terms.
How about “Every Second of Every Minute: Choosing to Love because Christ Loves” or “Every Second of Every Minute: Choosing to Love When You’d Rather Throw a Brick”
I have been reminded lately that love is a choice. We must choose to love God and prioritize him in every second, and the same goes (I assume) for a successful marriage. We must choose to love our spouses when the fluffy feelings aren’t as strong as they once were.
Good luck!
I’ve been married 18 or 19 years, I forget how long and I’m too lazy most days to calculate it. But I still don’t have any suggestions on marriage except stay together. I mean, that’s what you vowed to do, after all. It’s the second most important vow of faithfulness a person can make. The first being to Christ. Both are hard to maintain, and both require selflessness. And if a person says they haven’t fallen short in any way to both, I’d call them a liar. I think the title should have something to do with faithfulness. Like ,”Keeping the Faith: A Marriage Handbook.”
Good thoughts, thank you! 🙂
“God’s Gift to Man … and Wife”
“Happily Knotted”
Those are the ideas my wife and I came up with. We wanted to suggest “Good Spousekeeping”, but it was taken (we have a copy of that). It is the same kind of book.
I love your ideas! The “Happily Knotted” one is really catching my eye. “All Knotted Up” comes to my mind, too. 🙂
Hmmm, not sure I have a suggestion, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t use the husband’s suggestion as a subtitle either. That’s priceless! Uptight conservative or not, 90% of us are gonna go, “Oh yeah, been there!” 😉
Ha! It is a universal sort of issue, I believe. 🙂