Table Of ContentPraise for Messy Beautiful Love
“In an age when wives often pride themselves on being right, Darlene shows the
power of doing right. The timeless truth in this book will help any marriage.”
— ARLENE PELLICANE author of
31 Days to Becoming a Happy
Wife
“I love Darlene’s writing! This book both challenges and motivates me to
exchange God’s ideas and ideals for my own. Her hope-filled story of a marriage
changed by the grace of God reminds us that no marriage is ever beyond God’s
redeeming grace.”
— COURTNEY JOSEPH author of
Women Living Well and the blog
WomenLivingWell.org
“Life is messy. Relationships are messy. And marriage is a beautiful messy
blend of both! Yet with Christ as our Messiah, those messes can become a
mosaic of grace, hope, wonder, and redemption!”
— RENEE SWOPE best-selling
author of A Confident Heart,
Proverbs 31 Ministries radio
cohost, and blogger at
ReneeSwope.com
“Most of us will agree that marriage can be messy at times. Even the strongest,
most intentional ones. Darlene doesn’t dwell on the disarray we often selfishly
create. Instead, she poignantly spurs us on to embrace hope in the ups and
downs. She reminds us that when we shift our focus from ourselves to Jesus and
His perfect work on the cross, our marriages can indeed be beautiful.”
— ASHLEIGH SLATER author of
Team Us: Marriage Together
“Marriage is . . . messy, beautiful love! The greatest message in this book is the
amazing grace that can be experienced between a husband and wife, true love
among the messes. Darlene’s marriage is inspiring and fills people with hope
because it is a powerful testimony of God’s amazing grace.”
— JENNIFER SMITH author of
Wife After God and
UnveiledWife.com
“It’s easy to be pulled in by the chorus (friends, media) of voices that say,
‘Marriage is hard and it will never get better,’ but Darlene challenges you to live
beyond those messages and embrace a new mantra, ‘Marriage may be hard, but
it can also be extraordinary.’ She challenges you to rise to God’s plan for your
marriage, not sink into the mediocrity of the world’s expectations. Highly
recommended.”
— KATHI LIPP speaker, and author
of The Husband Project and The
Cure for the “Perfect” Life
“Darlene writes with authenticity leading us to discover a life-changing truth: a
beautiful marriage is not only possible, it’s inevitable when a wife is transformed
by the wisdom of God. Thank you, Darlene, for a powerful and honest look at a
God-centered marriage.”
— LYNN DONOVAN author of
Winning Him Without Words and
Not Alone: Trusting God to Help
You Raise Godly Kids in a
Spiritually Mismatched Home
“Obedience to God’s plan for each of our lives in marriage can get us through
any bump we may encounter along the road of love and faith. I couldn’t help but
ask myself ‘how many marriages might be saved if this book and its message
were sincerely read and taken to heart?’ ”
— NAOMI STRIEMER Christian
Contemporary singer, speaker,
and best-selling author
“Marriage is messy. Appliances get broken. Sometimes promises do too. Clutter
happens—both in our homes and our hearts. Soon our happily-ever-after turns
into a ‘what was I thinking?’ Darlene’s honest and insightful look—at both our
role and at God’s—will empower you and your spouse to carefully craft a
marriage that truly glorifies Him.”
— KAREN EHMAN Proverbs 31
Ministries; author of seven books
including Let. It. Go. How to Stop
Running the Show and Start
Walking in Faith and Everyday
Confetti
“Darlene writes in such a powerful and yet gentle way that I couldn’t help but be
moved—and challenged—as she so effectively captures both the beauty and
messiness of real love. Whether you’re newly married or have been married for
many years, you will find Messy Beautiful Love an inspiring and compelling
book to read again and again.”
— LISA JACOBSON author of 100
Ways to Love Your Husband
“God took Darlene’s mess and made it beautiful. Now she’s calling other
women to follow not her but Jesus as He helps us find peace, joy, and
contentment—even in our own messes.”
— SHEILA WRAY GREGOIRE
author of The Good Girl’s Guide
to Great Sex and blogger at
tolovehonorandvacuum.com
“Messy Beautiful Love touches on real marital topics, which are meaningful and
quite common, but are unfortunately often discarded. Darlene gives excellent
biblical wisdom on how God can get the glory out of the seemingly impossible
marriage.”
— JANELLE M. NEHRENZ author
of Comfy in the Kitchen
“Darlene weaves a story of mercy, putting others before ourselves, laying down
the need to be right, and, above all, loving even when we don’t feel like it. It’s
the gospel, really, wrapped up in a story about redeemed marriage. It’s how God
loves us, and how He can help us love our spouses.”
— BROOKE MCGLOTHLIN
cofounder of the MOB Society
(for mothers of boys) and author
of Praying for Boys: Asking God
for the Things They Need Most
© 2014 by Darlene Schacht
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means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered
trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.
Thomas Nelson titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information,
please e-mail [email protected].
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from THE NEW KING JAMES VERSION. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from Holy Bible, New Living Translation. © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of
Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the English Standard Version. © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News
Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984,
2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com ISBN 978-1-4002-
0621-6 (eBook)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schacht, Darlene.
Messy beautiful love : hope and redemption for real-life marriages / Darlene Schacht.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-4002-0620-9
1. Marriage—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BV835.S33 2014
248.8'44—dc23
2014004901
14 15 16 17 18 19 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
