{Review & Giveaway} Team Us

It’s the month of love. Yes, according to Hallmark. But it’s true in my own story too.

Greg and I met on Feb. 7, 1998 and then went on our first date a week later. Do the math. Our first date was on Valentine’s Day. Ah, how romantic. Well, yeah, it was logistically what worked out when we met one Saturday through a mutual acquaintance and then made plans for a date the following Saturday after Greg called mid-week.

Y’all that’s 17 years ago. That’s half my life.

We really had no idea what we were doing then. Thankfully, now, we’ve settled into each other, come to understand love languages, survived some hard seasons, and become better equipped to deal with life together.

GO, TEAM TAYLOR!

It’s true that sometimes we – all four of us – put our hands in the middle of a pretend team huddle and then raise them up while saying, “Team Taylor!” We’re sports fans, so this somehow makes sense to us. After knowing (and mostly dating) Greg for the past 17 years, being married to him for more than a dozen years, and now spending the past 7 ½ years parenting our two kids together, we get each other, still like each other, and truly do life together.

It’s taken many conversations, tears, fights, road trips, hard decisions, game nights, and laughs to get us here. But there’s nobody else I’d rather be here with.

That’s the sentiment Ashleigh Slater expresses in “Team Us: Marriage Together.” She tells her story and encourages other married couples to do life together as if we were gathered around a table together. She’s real and honest – and funny.

The last three of the 10 chapters – “The Parent Trap,” “The Friendship Inventory,” and “Finishing Well” – were my favorites. I could relate to them. As she talked about her husband’s tendencies and how here natural response is different than hers reminded me of Greg and me. I was reminded how relying on a team approach brings grace and peace, diffusing selfishness and frustration.

I appreciated her pop culture references, found myself nodding in agreement, and was encouraged to keep doing what we’re doing here at Team Taylor. I also liked the “Ted Says” tidbits throughout, offering perspective from her husband. And I thanked God for the past 17 years – the good days and the hard days, the seasons I understood and the times that couldn’t pass quick enough, and certainly all the ways he’s changed us as individuals and as teammates.

“We want to finish well too. Someday we want our kids and grandkids to look back and remember how we honored those sacred words ‘I do’ and ‘I promise’ and ‘I will’ that we vowed before friends, family, and, most importantly, God. We want our story to point others to Christ’s dramatic story of steadfast commitment to us.”

{Ashleigh Slater in “Team Us”}

Greg and I want that too. We haven’t arrived, but we are in this adventure together. We want our imperfections to spur us onto God, who can unify even the most stubborn hearts.

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ABOUT THE BOOK :: “Team Us: Marriage Together” offers couples practical ways to cultivate and strengthen unity in their marriages. Author Ashleigh Slater shares from her own marriage as she presents couples with realistic ideas on how to foster cooperation, deepen commitment, and exercise grace on a daily basis. 176 pages. Paperback. Official website. Buy at Amazon.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :: Ashleigh Slater is wife to Ted and mom to four girls. She’s a regular contributor for several popular websites and blogs and has had articles published in magazines including Focus on the Family’s “Thriving Family.” Learn more at her website or follow her on Twitter.

GIVEAWAY :: And there’s a copy for one you! Use the Rafflecopter below for multiple ways to enter to win. If you’re married, I’d love to hear about how you’ve gone from an individual outlook on life to a team approach. If you’re not married, share something you’ve witnessed in another marriage. A winner will be selected randomly on Monday, Feb. 9.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Many thanks to FlyBy Promotions/Propeller Consulting LLC for providing me a copy of “Team Us” as well as one to whomever wins this giveaway. I received the book in exchange for this review. My opinions are my own. If you’ve won this prize on another blog you’re not eligible to win again. This post also contains an Amazon affiliate link. 

I’m also linking up with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood’s Gathering and Anne Dahlhauser’s Front Porch Conversations. 

Want more stories? “Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith & My Family” is available on Amazon. Like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, peek into my life on Instagram, follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin’, or subscribe to receive “Insights in Your Inbox.”