ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As always, I am grateful to David McCormick and Brian Tart, whose editorial and literary skills continue to make my writing possible. I also thank Janice Worth as well as Tim and Mary Courtney Brooks, who made it possible for Kathy and me to get away to finish the book. A thank-you also goes to Jennifer Chan, Michael Keller, Martin Bashir, Scott Kauffmann, and John and Sarah Nicholls, who read and commented on the manuscript before it was published.

A huge thanks to Laurie Collins, who first transcribed the tapes into hard copy; also to Marion Gengler Melton, who did another version—and anyone else who gave us hard copy in the hopes it would result in a book.

Thanks also to Susie Case and Dianne Garda, who funded/worked on Laurie’s transcriptions. Though my rambling expository style defeated the attempt, it was a noble sally.

Over the years, we have been encouraged by many people who have listened to the 1991 sermons that used to be called simply “The Marriage Tapes.” For a long time, listeners have written us or called us and urged us to put the substance of those recordings into a book. Thanks to all of you who nagged us so lovingly toward getting this thing written. Here it is!

Finally, we are so grateful for those named in the book’s dedication, whose years of friendship and of navigating our marriages together have borne fruit in all our lives. Much of that hard-won wisdom appears in various forms in this volume. Thanks for all you mean to Kathy and me, friends.