Hey. Tom here this time sharing with you my review of a new book written by Gary Thomas. You know him for his excellent book titled, Sacred Marriage, I hope you’ll get to know him even more by buying and reading this book. A great investment in your marriage for which your spouse will thank you!

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Photo Credit: New Orleans Easy Travel Guide

It was our annual business gathering and the location this year was in New Orleans. Some business friends of ours were celebrating their 40th anniversary and invited us to join them for dinner. We had no idea of the treat in store for us.

They told us to meet them at The Commander’s Palace. If you’re familiar with the culinary world, this is where Emeril Lagasse began his career. Just eating there would be amazing, but this time we had reservations, and not just any reservations! We had a table for four reserved at the Chef’s Table located in the kitchen across from the Sous Chef!

We were served a multi-course meal complete with wine pairings and an in-depth explanation from the Sous Chef of what went into the preparation of each dish. It was entertaining. It was delicious. It was the experience of a lifetime.

Soft-Shell Crab Photo Credit: Kathy White

This is what Gary Thomas’ new book, Cherish, was like for me. I’ve read countless marriage books through the years, but this book resonated with a conviction I’ve held for a long time. Cherishing my wife is not only a vow I made to Debi on our wedding day, but it is a choice I must make everyday following.

“Love is the nourishing aspect of marriage, while cherish is the tasting aspect of marriage. Love meets the need; cherish tickles the tongue.” page 26

We  have eaten in thousands of restaurants, and nice ones too, but none compare to the experience we had at The Commander’s Palace. This is what cherish is to love; it takes the experience much further and makes it more enjoyable.

“Learning to truly cherish each other turns marriage from an obligation into a delight. It lifts marriage above a commitment to a precious priority.” page 17

Gary Thomas offers this question on page 25 that I hope will intrigue you enough to read if for yourself and for the good of your spouse…

“In our marriage vows, we promise to love and cherish each other, so why do we talk so much about love and so little about cherish?”

We all have differing answers to this question, but one rings loud and clear–we don’t talk about something we don’t understand.

If I were to stand with the Sous Chef and try to explain each recipe in detail the way he did with us that night, you would miss out because I just don’t have the knowledge needed. It’s the same for cherishing our spouse. We can’t practice something we don’t know well, and we won’t know it well if we don’t take time to learn it in the first place.

As an incentive we’re going to have a contest–the first for us in awhile. Debi loves contests, so here’s the deal:

• Share with us your favorite dining experience in the comments below. It can just be the name and location if you like.
• Include a picture for a bonus point.
• Share this post on Social Media for another bonus point. (be sure to tell us)
• We’ll do a random drawing for a free copy of Cherish on Friday, March 24th.

Let’s make the most of this thing called marriage. We can eat to live, or we can dine at the Chef’s Table, which is better by far! Cherishing your spouse is the “better by far” part missing from many marriages. Thank you, Gary, for filling in this missing piece.