Every marriage needs a mentor

Every marriage needs a mentor

Steve and Rhonda Stoppe help couples discover

the marriage they have always longed for.

To attain any goal, it is helpful to have a support system to offer encouragement in the tough times, wisdom based on personal experience, and an example to aspire to. Having a mentor can make all the difference in the world. The same is true when it comes to marriage. Every couple needs a more experienced couple to come alongside them, dedicated to helping build the marriage they’ve always dreamed of. In The Marriage Mentor: Becoming the Couple You Long to Be (Harvest House Publishers), Steve and Rhonda Stoppe are that couple.

After three decades of doing life together, raising four children, and helping other couples build no-regrets marriages, the Stoppes have compiled their success secrets into an easy-to-read, fun, and interactive book. Every page feels like a candid conversation with a friend. Readers will laugh and learn from a biblical perspective the secrets to enjoying a marriage that lasts a lifetime.

“As a young bride, I knew I was not the wife I had hoped I would be. I would buy books about being a better wife, but I soon learned the books did not have the power to change me,” Rhonda admits. “My husband and I were in youth ministry, so I looked to the marriages of the parents of the teens for help. The Bible calls the older women to teach the younger how to love their husbands and their children, so I asked women with marriages I wanted to emulate to be my Titus 2 mentors. What I learned from these women transformed my marriage and my parenting.”

The Stoppes explain that mentoring is not a program. Rather, mentorship is building relationships with people, so you can do life together. They give the example of the way Jesus taught the disciples while they walked, camped and fished together as the perfect illustration of mentoring. Mentors should share with transparency what they have learned from their own successes and failures. When someone believes a mentor emphasizes with their struggles, they earn the right to speak truth into the lives of their mentees. “With every wedding ceremony that Steve agrees to perform, we spend six weeks in premarital counseling with the couple. We don’t think anyone should get married without having this type of focused interaction with a seasoned couple. Not only do the sessions open conversations to teach them how to manage carefully conflicts down the road, it also builds a relationship between us and the couple. So, after they are wed, they’re more likely to reach out to us when they have questions or struggles,” Rhonda shares.

Recognizing most books are bought by women, and most men don’t love to read, The Marriage Mentor is broken down into small sections with separate sections for the husband and wife to read. Each chapter includes:

·         Man to Man: A short section printed in gray so men can’t miss it, written by Steve talking specifically to husbands.

·         From a Husband’s Perspective: A segment written from Steve to wives to offer insight to the male point of view.

·         From a Wife’s Perspective: Rhonda jumps in to give husband’s an explanation of how a woman thinks.

·         Thinking it Through and Living it Out: Discussion questions that will prompt healthy conversations.

·         Marriage Mentor Videos: Fun and lighthearted online videos of Steve and Rhonda discussing each chapter.

“After a game, a good coach will have his players watch replays of the game—instructing them to evaluate their performance. This process is effective in coaching and is also an important practice for any man who wants to better himself as a husband, father and man of God,” Steve explains.

For anyone who tells themselves they’ll work on their relationship tomorrow, but tomorrow never seems to come, this book is the resource they need to get their marriage on track. With practical application, The Marriage Mentor will help readers: learn to engage in meaningful conversation, break free from regrets that hold them back, renew their hope for lifelong love.

“Steve and Rhonda Stoppe debunk misleading myths with grace, humor, and candor and leave you with hope that your marriage can become more than the stuff of your dreams,” said Richard Blackaby, author of The Seasons of God.

About the Authors

Rhonda Stoppe is the No Regrets Woman. With more than 30 years of experience as a marriage mentor, pastor’s wife, author and speaker, Stoppe leads women of all ages to live lives of no regrets.

Using sound biblical teaching through humor and honest communication, Stoppe teaches women how to apply God’s word to live boldly through the power of the Holy Spirit. Stoppe has appeared on radio programs and has spoken at women’s events, MOPs groups and homeschool conventions around the nation.

Stoppe is the author of Moms Raising Sons to be Men, which mentors thousands of moms to guide sons toward a no-regrets life, If My Husband Would Change, I’d Be Happy & Other Myths Wives Believe, helping countless women build no-regrets marriages and Real-Life Romance, a collection of real-life love stories. Her latest release is The Marriage Mentor, written with her husband, Steve.

Steve Stoppe has pastored First Baptist Church, Patterson, California, for almost 20 years. After 37 years of marriage, the Stoppes are still head-over-heels and ready to share their secrets to building a no-regrets marriage. They’ve appeared on Focus on the Family and together write books, speak at marriage conferences, and rescue troubled ministry marriages.

The Stoppes live in California. They have four happily married adult children and ten grandchildren.

Visit Rhonda Stoppe’s website www.NoRegretsWoman.com for more resources on love, marriage and parenting. She is also active on YouTube (Rhonda Stoppe No Regrets Woman), Facebook (RhondaStoppeNoRegretsWoman) and on Twitter (@RhondaStoppe).