From This Day Forward-Preparing Couples for the Journey of a Lifetime is a pre-marital counseling manual more than three decades in the making. Working with couples as they begin a new home and family is a great privilege as well as a great responsibility. What an amazing opportunity the counseling pastor has in preparing the way not only for the couple, but for the generations to come! Use this handbook in addition to the couple's edition in two different ways. First, the counseling pastor who wishes to use this book for his entire pre-marital counseling model may be assured he is preparing well the couple for marriage, home and family. Every area of the pre-marital counseling program is addressed in tests and assignments that are easy to follow, practical and pointedly biblical. Found in their entirety in Chap- ter 14, these same tests are also repeated section by section in the appropriate counseling sessions. For the counseling pastor, these tests are both uncomplicated and yet suffi- ciently thorough to aid in the counseling process. Creative and specific biblical counsel- ing will be the outflow of these assignments for the counselor using this handbook as his model. The second way this handbook may be used is to view the material as being supplemen- tal. For those counseling pastors who already have their counseling models being used, this book contains information, testing and assignments that may be added to counsel- ing programs already in place. A wide margin is used throughout the handbook. This provides ample opportunity for the counseling pastor to add his own notes, scripture references and illustrations. Additional resources make this handbook particularly useful. Three brand new wedding ceremonies are included in Chapter 7, and many suggestions for making the ceremony truly unique are offered in Chapter 8. Additional counseling aids and worksheets are made available in Chapter 13. Whether you are beginning your counseling ministry or even if you have been prepar- ing couples for many years, it is my prayer that this handbook will be helpful to you as a counseling pastor, as well as beneficial to couples who are ready to begin their journey of a life time. Michael J. Peck, D.Min.
