Movies, Books, and Conferences for Stronger Marriages and Parenting
While we think these books are helpful, that does not mean UBC necessarily agrees with or endorses everything written in the books. Some are written by non-Christians, plus every author is fallible to some degree. Everything we read should be judged by the truth of Scripture and read with discernment. If you have any questions, please ask Pastor Bryan.
- The Five Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts, by Gary Chapman
- Discovering Your Heart with the Flag Page: A Simple and Powerful Way to Truly Understand Yourself and Others, by Mark Gungor
- His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair-Proof Marriage, by Willard Harley
- Boundaries in Marriage: Understanding the Choices that Make or Break Loving Relationships, by Henry Cloud & John Townsend
- The Five Love Languages of Apology, by Gary Chapman & Jennifer Thomas
- Can My Marriage Be Saved: True Stories of Saved Marriages, by Mae and Erika Chambers (UBC has free copies available at our “Free Resources Table”)
- Yes, Your Marriage Can Be Saved, by Joe & Michelle Williams
- 10 Great Dates to Energize Your Marriage, by David and Claudia Arp
- 10 Great Dates: Connecting Faith, Love, and Marriage, by Peter & Heather Larson and David & Claudia Arp
- Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage DVD by Mark Gungor (UBC has a copy to loan.)
Marriage Seminars, Conferences, and Retreats
- Marriage Encounter (www.wwme.org)
- Retrouvaille—for couples in crisis or considering divorce (www.retrouvaille.org)
- Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage (www.laughyourway.com)
- Weekend to Remember Conference (http://www.familylife.com/conferences/marriage.asp)
- Forest Home Couples (http://www.foresthome.org/index.cfm?i=999&fha=7)
- Hume Lake has several different Couples conferences (www.humelake.org)
- UBC does not approve of everything within these movies.
- UBC believes that each movie offers potential for valuable and beneficial discussion between a husband and a wife.
- If you would like to talk with someone about your marriage, please contact Pastor Bryan.
Select a movie from the list below and watch the movie together. Afterwards, answer the discussion questions together. (listed alphabetically)
A Star is Born, 1954
Adam’s Rib, 1949
Away from Her, 2006
The Awful Truth, 1937
Barefoot in the Park, 1967
The Best Man Holiday, 2013
The Blind Side, 2009
Coal Miner’s Daughter, 1980
Crooklyn, 1994
Date Night, 2010
Days of Wine and Roses, 1962
Deliver Us From Eva, 2003
Desk Set, 1957
Dying Young, 1991
The Egg and I, 1947
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004
The Family Man, 2000
Father of the Bride, 1991
Fireproof, 2008
Fool’s Gold, 2008
Fools Rush In, 1997
Forget Paris, 1995
Funny Girl, 1968
Gone with the Wind, 1939
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, 1967
Guess Who, 2005
Hope Springs, 2012
The Horse Whisperer, 1998
Iris, 2001
It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946
Julie and Julia, 2009
Jumping the Broom, 2011
Just Married, 2003
Life as We Know It, 2010
Love Story, 1970
Made for Each Other, 1939
Make Way for Tomorrow, 1937
The Male Animal, 1942
Marley and Me, 2008
Meet the Fockers, 2004
The Mirror Has Two Faces, 1996
Monster-in-Law, 2005
Move Over, Darling, 1963
Mr. Blandings Builds his Dreamhouse, 1948
My Favorite Wife, 1940
Nine Months, 1995
October Baby, 2012
On Golden Pond, 1981
The Out of Towners, 1970
Pat and Mike, 1952
Penny Serenade, 1941
Phffft, 1954
Rabbit Hole, 2010
Sense and Sensibility, 1995
She’s Having a Baby, 1988
The Song, 2014
Steel Magnolias, 1989
The Story of Us, 1999
Sweet Home Alabama, 2002
Terms of Endearment, 1983
The Thin Man, 1934
Think Like a Man, 2012
Unfaithful, 2002
Untamed Heart, 1993
The Way We Were, 1973
When a Man Loves a Woman, 1994
With Six You Get Eggroll, 1968
You, Me and Dupre, 2006
Yours, Mine and Ours, 1968
Post-Movie Discussion Questions
- What was the main relationship portrayed in the movie? (This is the relationship you will focus on in the following questions.)
- What main problem did this couple face? Are any of these similar to the problems that the two of you have faced or might face as a couple?
- Did this couple strive to understand each other? Did they tend to accept one another, even if they were very different? Or did they couple tend to attack each other’s differences?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- Did the couple have a strong friendship with each other? Were they able to support each other through bad moods, stressful days, and hard times? Did they listen to each other like good friends? Did the couple in the movie do considerate or affectionate things for each other?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- How did the couple handle arguments or differences of opinion? Were they able to open up and tell each other how they really felt, or did they tend to just snap at each other with anger? Did they try using humor to keep things from getting nasty? Did it feel like they were really trying to understand each other?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- If the couple got into arguments, did they tend to become heated? Did the couple ever start attacking each other, getting increasingly mean and hostile? Did they end up saying things they didn’t really mean? Once this started happening, how did the arguments tend to end?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- When one of the partners brought up a problem, did they seem to do it in a constructive way (keeping things specific, explaining their feelings without attacking), or did it seem more like an attack? Did it seem like bringing up a problem became an assassination of the partner’s character?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- How did the couple in the movie handle hurt feelings? Did they apologize to each other? Did the apologies seem sincere? Did they tend to jump to negative conclusions when their feelings got hurt, or did they tend to give each other the benefit of the doubt?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- Did the partners seem to have similar expectations of their relationship? Where did their expectations differ? Did it seem like they were aware of their own expectations? Were their expectations reasonable? Did they share their expectations with each other?
- In what way was this relationship similar or different from your own relationship in this area?
- What other things happened in the movie that might lead you to think differently about your relationship/marriage?
While we think these books are helpful, that does not mean UBC necessarily agrees with or endorses everything written in the books. Some are written by non-Christians, plus every author is fallible to some degree. Everything we read should be judged by the truth of Scripture and read with discernment. If you have any questions, please ask Pastor Bryan.
- The Five Love Languages of Children, by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell (free assessments available at www.5lovelanguages.com)
- The Five Love Languages of Teenagers, by Gary Chapman
- Discovering Your Child’s Heart with the Kids Flag Page: What To Do With Each Child and Why, by Dr. Tim Kimmel (can only be found within the Kid’s Flag Page GAME www.laughyourway.com) – or borrowed from Rebecca
- Boundaries with Kids: When to Say Yes, When to Say No, to Help Your Children Gain Control of Their Lives, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (UBC also has DVD series)
- Raising Great Kids: A Comprehensive Guide to Parenting with Grace and Truth, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend
- The Whole-Brain Child:12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, by Daniel J. Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson
- How to Talk so Kids will Listen and Listen so Kids will Talk, by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
- ScreamFree Parenting: Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool, by Hal Edward Runkel
- The Strong-Willed Child: Birth through Adolescence, by James Dobson
- The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children, by Ross W. Greene
- The Kazdin Method for Parenting the Defiant Child, by Alan Kazdin
- Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, by Ellen Galinsky
- Bringing Up Boys: Practical Advice and Encouragement for those Shaping the Next Generation of Men, by James Dobson
- Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls, by Mary Pipher
- Sex Smart: 501 Reasons to Hold Off on Sex: A Sexuality Resource for Teenagers, by Susan Browning Pogany
- Can’t Buy My Love: How Advertising Changes the Way We Think and Feel, by Jean Kilbourne
- 1-2-3 Magic, Effective Discipline for Children 2-12, by Thomas Phelan
- Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: A Step-by-Step Program for a Good Night’s Sleep, by Marc Weissbluth
- What Every Mom Needs, by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall
- Sex, Dating, and Relating DVD, Teen Edition (www.laughyourway.com)
- William Lane Craig’s “What is God Like” series of children’s books helps explain theological truth to kids. Find them at: www.reasonablefaith.org/store/popular-books
The best way to teach our children how to live a Christian life is to role model it for them: make Sunday church participation a weekly priority, pray with our family regularly, read the Bible regularly, be a part of a small group Bible Study, and serve in the church.
UBC’s Sunday Night Adult Class (5:30-7:00) uses the Explore the Bible curriculum – the same curriculum that UBC Kids Church uses. That means parents can study the same passage that their children learned that same morning, allowing parents to be able to follow up, teach, and lead their children through the Bible. This is one of the best ways UBC equips parents to teach their children how to live a Christian life. Weekly church attendance is great, but it’s not enough to battle against the opposing onslaught of world’s messages shouted to our children 7 days a week. Take advantage of this free adult class, all while your children benefit from Sunday Night Kids Church (5:00-7:00)!
Lead your family in a daily morning devotional. Set a time where you all snuggle on the couch for 15 minutes. Open with prayer, read (or have your children read) the devotional and specified corresponding Bible passage, discuss, and close in prayer. There are many books that make it easy for parents to provide this time in a meaningful and enjoyable way. The one our family currently uses is called “The One Year Book of Devotions for Kids.” We have several in the Children’s Library that you can borrow. There are also several other great family devotional books, including more recent publications of the same title, all of which can be found on Amazon. Please let Pastor Bryan know if you would like assistance with beginning a Family Devotional time.
There are a ton of Christian songs on Pandora. This is such an easy way to get a variety of Christian music in our homes and cars. Playing Christian songs throughout the day is a great blessing to us and our families. It helps us remember that our lives have a greater purpose, beyond the details of our every day lives. It helps us remember to look to God for our strength and guidance, rather than only relying on ourselves. It helps us to remember that He is God, and we are not! It teaches us Biblical Truth throughout the day, rather than being bombarded with the opposite through billboards, music, TV, movies, and the Internet. It encourages us and refreshes us! It is a blessing!
We also have a Children’s Library at UBC (the bookcase in the Family Room) which has a lot of Christian children’s books and children’s Christian music CDs and worship DVDs available for you to borrow. There is no check-out system. Just borrow what you’d like and return items when you’re finished. Fill your homes and cars with the Truths about God!
Parents in Prayer, offered every Sunday morning at 10:15 am, is based upon the book “Watchmen on the Walls, Praying Character into Your Child” by Anne Arkins and Gary Harrell. Come pray for your children, and learn how to pray more effectively for your children as well.
We have Explore the Bible Family Cards for families with children in the Cheetahs and Eagles classes. Please take a ring of cards from the check-in table, and use it every week. It provides one card for each week’s lesson, equipping the parents with tools to discuss the Cheetahs and Eagles lesson every week. We provide a new ring of cards every quarter.
We show Explore the Bible Lesson Videos during snack EVERY Sunday morning at 10:30. They do a great job of highlighting the lesson that the kids will be learning in their Sunday Morning Kids Church classes that morning. As parents, you are welcome to join us and watch the video, equipping you with more tools to follow up with your children about their lesson that morning, or you can join the Adult Class that meets every Sunday morning at 10:00 am in the Coffee Room.
Do your kids ever ask you questions about the Bible to which you don’t know the answers? A great resource is www.gotquestions.org. It has over 460,000 Bible questions answered. Just type in a question and it offers excellent, solid, Biblical answers.