gretchenlouise's review
4.0
In a healthy, happy marriage, intentional flirting can bring a fresh dose of fun and romance. Lisa Jacobson and Phylicia Masonheimer bring wives practical ideas and biblical exhortation in their new book, "The Flirtation Experiment." Alternating authors between chapters, we're given the benefit of the wisdom of Lisa's experience from almost thirty years of marriage, along with the realism of Phylicia's perspective in the midst of young marriage and motherhood.
I'm only halfway through, but I'm really appreciating the authentic story-telling style, along with their biblically-based view of marriage. Whether you treat it as a thirty-day "experiment" or simply a gentle source of encouragement for your marriage, I think you'll be glad you read it.
I'm only halfway through, but I'm really appreciating the authentic story-telling style, along with their biblically-based view of marriage. Whether you treat it as a thirty-day "experiment" or simply a gentle source of encouragement for your marriage, I think you'll be glad you read it.
jessbuck015's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Phylicia and Lisa did a great job giving real life examples and how to push through challenges. I enjoyed their perspectives on marriage struggles. Learning to pursue our husbands isn’t easy, but the experiments they provided are possible.
silver_valkyrie_reads's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This seems like a great book to recommend to newlyweds, to help set a good tone from the beginning, or to couples who are just coming out of a busy season with small children or other situations where they need to reconnect. For me, it didn't have as many ideas as I'd hoped, as most of the suggestions were things we already do ("hold hands more" just has practical limits if you're ever going to do other things :-D). I think I only found two suggestions to try out in the whole book.
As I have a very conservative view of marriage and Biblical roles for men and women, I got a little uncomfortable a couple of times as I thought they were about to talk against those roles. In almost every case though, I found they were simply hearkening back to Scripture and putting a focus on what the Bible actually says instead of lapsing into the rules we tend to build up around Scripture, so that was really cool. I did get a bit uncomfortable with the tone of the chapter on respect, though I never did quite figure out why it felt off to me.
As I have a very conservative view of marriage and Biblical roles for men and women, I got a little uncomfortable a couple of times as I thought they were about to talk against those roles. In almost every case though, I found they were simply hearkening back to Scripture and putting a focus on what the Bible actually says instead of lapsing into the rules we tend to build up around Scripture, so that was really cool. I did get a bit uncomfortable with the tone of the chapter on respect, though I never did quite figure out why it felt off to me.
bcbartuska's review
4.0
I’d probably give this 3.5⭐️
Some thoughts:
-This is a fun read that serves as a good reminder to continue investing in your marriage no matter how long you’ve been married.
-There are two authors, one who wrote after being married 5 years, and one who wrote after being married for decades.
-There were some ideas thrown in that helped me consider where purity culture might have negatively impacted my view of how I pursue my husband.
-I would likely only recommend this for those who feel they have a “good” marriage but would like to make it even better. The ideas suggested for growth are important but pretty simple and are not intended to fix major issues.
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced review copy.
Some thoughts:
-This is a fun read that serves as a good reminder to continue investing in your marriage no matter how long you’ve been married.
-There are two authors, one who wrote after being married 5 years, and one who wrote after being married for decades.
-There were some ideas thrown in that helped me consider where purity culture might have negatively impacted my view of how I pursue my husband.
-I would likely only recommend this for those who feel they have a “good” marriage but would like to make it even better. The ideas suggested for growth are important but pretty simple and are not intended to fix major issues.
Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for the advanced review copy.
meganeveritt's review
3.0
3.5 ⭐️- own kindle copy. It wasn’t profound but I enjoyed some of the practical suggestions and reminders to tend to my covenant with my husband. I preferred the perspective of Lisa simply because I’m closer to her life stage but also appreciated Phylicia’s candor about the struggles they experienced in early years and think that could be beneficial to young marrieds.
danyell919's review
5.0
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a fantastic book for anyone who is married or planning to get married. Phylicia and Lisa were both so transparent and had great ideas for bringing couples closer to God and closer to each other.
This was a fantastic book for anyone who is married or planning to get married. Phylicia and Lisa were both so transparent and had great ideas for bringing couples closer to God and closer to each other.
blueeyedshook's review
fast-paced
3.5
This book will absolutely help women everywhere in every season. It is written by two women in completely different seasons of marriage, and I can't tell you how helpful that was as a wife and reader. Also, there are so many different categories of experiments in the book, it makes it much more relatable and realistic. Whichever one I am feeling low in at the moment, it gives great inspiration. Now mind you, this is not how-to book and it also is not a pinterest/blog list of different things to do with your husband. No, it is the author's experiences and what they did that specifically meant something for them and their husbands. Which means, yes, the reader has to use their imagination, but also it gives the freedom to do something that will truly speak to the husband that we are married to.
dahall1023's review
5.0
To cut to the chase: I absolutely L-O-V-E-D this book.
I'm a Christian woman who has been married for 8 years to my college sweetheart. I found this highly relatable, encouraging, challenging, and ultimately motivating.
I related so much to Phylicia Masonheimer. And I really appreciated Lisa Jacobson's experience.
The overall outline of the book focuses on 30 "experiments" done within marriage to strengthen and reinforce affection, communication, and bring some lightheartedness back (if lost) into marriage. Each chapter focuses on something such as: playfulness, desire, vulnerability, or delight. The two authors swap back and forth between each chapter and I found their differences to be appealing and this should hopefully help the book reach a wider audience of Christian married women. There is so much wisdom here and much of it is gleaned through anecdotal writing. This makes it so easy to read - it's just stories from these ladies' lives. I thought they were genuine and wrote of real issues within a normal, healthy marriage.
This is a book to read and re-visit, to relate to and implement...
I highly highly recommend for any Christian woman who loves her husband and is looking to do exactly what the tagline suggests: put magic, mystery, and spark into your everyday marriage.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review. I would pay my own money for this book because it is so valuable.
I'm a Christian woman who has been married for 8 years to my college sweetheart. I found this highly relatable, encouraging, challenging, and ultimately motivating.
I related so much to Phylicia Masonheimer. And I really appreciated Lisa Jacobson's experience.
The overall outline of the book focuses on 30 "experiments" done within marriage to strengthen and reinforce affection, communication, and bring some lightheartedness back (if lost) into marriage. Each chapter focuses on something such as: playfulness, desire, vulnerability, or delight. The two authors swap back and forth between each chapter and I found their differences to be appealing and this should hopefully help the book reach a wider audience of Christian married women. There is so much wisdom here and much of it is gleaned through anecdotal writing. This makes it so easy to read - it's just stories from these ladies' lives. I thought they were genuine and wrote of real issues within a normal, healthy marriage.
This is a book to read and re-visit, to relate to and implement...
I highly highly recommend for any Christian woman who loves her husband and is looking to do exactly what the tagline suggests: put magic, mystery, and spark into your everyday marriage.
I received a copy from NetGalley for an honest review. I would pay my own money for this book because it is so valuable.
pricelessgirl's review
5.0
The Flirtation Experiment
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Phylicia (of Every Woman a Theologian) and Lisa (of Club31 Women) have teamed up to bring us an experiment on flirtation. Obviously.
I was first introduced to Phylicia after my pastor’s wife commented on one of her Facebook posts, leading me to curiously explore Phylicia’s Facebook and website. I quickly hit that “follow” button, and haven’t looked back. So much of what Phylicia posts is applicable to my life, even as a (very) single Pringle. When Phylicia first announced The Flirtation Experiment, I thought “Oh, I’d like to read that book one day when I’m married.” Fast forward a few months and I was able to get my hands on it.
Upon first opening the document, after reading the preface, I wondered what exactly I’d brought on myself. How could I get through 30 experiments so much like the very simple first one? The first 2 chapters have been available for download for months now, so I feel it’s okay to tell you the first experiment. Affection.
Affection? Well, obviously we ought to show our husbands affection! But then as I continued to read, my eyes were opened. How much we ought to do and do not.
“God didn’t leave passion to the world, and neither should we.” (pg. 9) That was the first quote to really strike me. We are called to be like Christ, part of the Godhead, the Trinity, and the greatest expression of God’s passion was sending His Son to die for our sins.
“Delight is both a feeling and a choice.” (pg. 99) This quote reminded me of Psalm 37:5, Delight thyself also in the Lord. Yes, like a newlywed delights, feeling, in her new husband, she should also be choosing delight, choice.
The first two chapters just get you started, but I kind of want to get married to put the experiment to practice!
Anyway, so I have been telling everyone I know they have to read this book since I read it in September. I even preordered it to have a physical copy to review and loan out. The hardest part about reading the book was not being able to go “look at this! Read it!” Lucky for you, it’s now in print so you won’t have that problem.
I don’t care what you think about flirting, stop, buy and read this book today!
I want to thank Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Phylicia (of Every Woman a Theologian) and Lisa (of Club31 Women) have teamed up to bring us an experiment on flirtation. Obviously.
I was first introduced to Phylicia after my pastor’s wife commented on one of her Facebook posts, leading me to curiously explore Phylicia’s Facebook and website. I quickly hit that “follow” button, and haven’t looked back. So much of what Phylicia posts is applicable to my life, even as a (very) single Pringle. When Phylicia first announced The Flirtation Experiment, I thought “Oh, I’d like to read that book one day when I’m married.” Fast forward a few months and I was able to get my hands on it.
Upon first opening the document, after reading the preface, I wondered what exactly I’d brought on myself. How could I get through 30 experiments so much like the very simple first one? The first 2 chapters have been available for download for months now, so I feel it’s okay to tell you the first experiment. Affection.
Affection? Well, obviously we ought to show our husbands affection! But then as I continued to read, my eyes were opened. How much we ought to do and do not.
“God didn’t leave passion to the world, and neither should we.” (pg. 9) That was the first quote to really strike me. We are called to be like Christ, part of the Godhead, the Trinity, and the greatest expression of God’s passion was sending His Son to die for our sins.
“Delight is both a feeling and a choice.” (pg. 99) This quote reminded me of Psalm 37:5, Delight thyself also in the Lord. Yes, like a newlywed delights, feeling, in her new husband, she should also be choosing delight, choice.
The first two chapters just get you started, but I kind of want to get married to put the experiment to practice!
Anyway, so I have been telling everyone I know they have to read this book since I read it in September. I even preordered it to have a physical copy to review and loan out. The hardest part about reading the book was not being able to go “look at this! Read it!” Lucky for you, it’s now in print so you won’t have that problem.
I don’t care what you think about flirting, stop, buy and read this book today!
I want to thank Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.