Teddy and Lynn finished school, got married, and embarked on their respective careers. They both agreed that their marriage would not be like the marriages their parents endured.

Ken and Sandra finished school, got married, and embarked on their respective careers. They both agreed that their marriage would not be like the marriages their parents endured.

Marriage was harder than they expected. A lot harder. Whoever said that living together before marriage made sense, just like taking a car on a test drive before buying it, was nuts.

Marriage was harder than they expected. A lot harder. Whoever said that living together before marriage made sense, just like taking a car on a test drive before buying it, was nuts.

Teddy had a friend at work named George. George noticed Teddy's personality changing and asked him about it at lunch. For the next hour, Teddy unloaded on how he and Lynn were NOT getting along.

George offered the best advice he could, "I was in the same boat as you, but my wife and I found a great church and --"

Teddy didn't want to hear about it. George usually tried to sneak church and God stuff into the conversation.

Why did Teddy bother confiding in George, anyway? God was for chumps.

Ken had a friend at work named Frank. Frank noticed Ken's personality changing and asked him about it at lunch. For the next hour, Ken unloaded on how he and Sandra were NOT getting along.

Frank offered the best advice he could, "My wife and I had some huge troubs -- almost divorced. Then we started going to this church that --"

Ken didn't want to hear about it. Frank always seemed to try and sneak church and God stuff into the conversation.

Ken said, "You know what? I was going to try a little romantic Sunday brunch on Sandra, you know, try and ease the tension." But then he thought of the times he'd tried the exact same thing before: a fix that fixed nothing. There was a long pause. "Church, huh?"

Frank said, "You can go to brunch after church. Plenty of Sunday to do both."

Ken mulled it a moment. "Why not? What's the worst that could happen?"

It wasn't long before Teddy and Lynn were finding ways to avoid each other: working late hours, hanging out with friends, coming home when the other was asleep. Teddy started drinking, something he didn't even like to do. Lynn had an affair.

It wasn't long before Ken and Sandra were attending church regularly. Ken asked Frank, "OK . We're going to church. We kinda like it. We're getting along a little bit better, but not that much. Are we missing something?"

"Are you reading the Bible together?" Frank asked.

"No," Ken said.

"Praying together?" Frank asked.

"A little." Ken answered sheepishly. The pastor often talked about prayer so Ken knew he was supposed to do it. Yet he rarely made the time. Then he remembered, "Oh! We've started giving thanks before we eat. Sandra seems to really like that."

Frank smiled. "Giving thanks is good. Going to church is good. God wants you to do that. What really helped my wife and me the most was sitting down as a couple every day and reading the Bible out loud and praying together. We've been through the whole Bible together and it's changed our lives. Changed our marriage."

"The whole Bible? But it's so hard. It's like reading Shakespeare or something."

"I think you might need a more up-to-date translation. I'm going to the book store right now. Come with me and I'll help you find the right Bible for you. They even have Study Bibles."

"A Study Bible sounds exactly like what I need."

Three years of increasingly bitter marriage led to a half-hearted attempt at counseling. It got the couple nowhere. They both became more and more involved in their jobs, working hard and getting ahead. Teddy rose quickly in his firm and he had the paychecks to show for it. Lynn's promotions had her traveling across the country.

While the first three years of marriage had been no picnic, Ken and Sandra were glad they stuck it out. They became very involved in their church. Both accepted Jesus as their "Lord and Savior," a term they used to make fun of. Both were baptized. Sandra convinced Ken to join the choir ("He has such a great voice"). Sandra helped in the Sunday school; good practice she thought. They set a time aside every day to read the Bible and pray together and felt "funny" the few times they missed it. These times also provided more communication about all kinds of things, from politics to cooking plans, then they'd ever shared before.

Teddy found out Lynn was having another affair.

"How can you blame me?" she shrieked. "You're never here and even when you are, you're too drunk to do anything."

"Ever notice I only drink when I have to be with you?" he barked back. "Besides, how often are you at home? You're gone weeks at a time."

The couple filed for divorce. Lynn didn't tell Teddy she was pregnant. She wanted to have the baby all to herself.

Two years after joining the church and getting their marriage back on track, Sandra had twin daughters. Many of her new friends from church turned out to celebrate. From an early age, Ken and Sandra included the twins in the daily Bible reading and prayer.

Lynn was furious that she had to share custody of her new son, Edward, with her ex, Teddy. She tried to undermine her son's relationship with his father at every turn. Teddy fought back in kind. They both used their increasing wealth as a wedge against the other parent, plying the son with gifts and trips. Edward liked what they bought him. But he didn't feel any real love for his parents.

Sandra decided to be a stay-at-home mom. This required sacrifices as Ken would be the sole provider. As the twins grew, Sandra started her own small business that allowed her to work part-time from home and help with the family's bottom line. When Ken was laid-off from his job, this home business helped keep them afloat. In time, it was doing so well that the entire family, Ken, Sandra, and the twins were involved in making it grow.

By the time Edward was college age, he couldn't wait to leave his father's house. Teddy was on his third marriage, and loathed the huge alimony and child support payments he had to make, something he could rant on all day. None of Edward's temporary moms treated him as more than a nuisance, which meant he'd spent much of his young life in military and prep schools. Now Teddy was involved with some girl half his age. As for Edward's mother, she vanished after his 13th birthday and wasn't heard from again.

While the twins' grades were good enough for the best colleges, the family's finances weren't. The girls went to junior college, working part time for their parents to earn enough for a major university. While each girl had her own rebellious streak, they both quickly recovered, remembering the family prayers and Bible studies (not to mention all of the years of church services) that had helped shape their characters.

At university, Edward met a girl and fell madly in love. They had a lot in common, not the least being they were from broken homes. They did what most couples do, got an apartment together. Teddy didn't approve of this, but what did he know? They finished school, got married, and embarked on their respective careers. They both agreed that their marriage would not be like the marriages their parents endured.

At university, both girls kept dating the type of young men they'd met at church. Each, in her time, met a good man and fell in love. Unlike what some couples do, they waited to get married before living together. And both girls agreed that they would strive to make their marriages be just like their parents'.