THE BELT OF TRUTH/BT FOR TRUTHFUL MARRIAGES

What I Would Do Differently

ASSESSMENT 2: THE BELT OF TRUTH/BT FOR TRUTHFUL MARRIAGES

161 APPENDIX 4

ASSESSMENT 2: THE BELT OF TRUTH/BT

The Bible

1. Do you read the Bible?

Never Sometimes Mostly Always 2. Do you aim to obey and practice the Word of God?

Never Sometimes Mostly Always 3. Do you have good biblical knowledge?

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely

4. Do you submit to the authority of the Bible? Explain.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

--- 5. Do you believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

6. Do you trust the Bible more than your feelings, traditions, and reason?

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

163 God

1. Can you describe your perception of God?

--- 2. Mention some attributes that you know about God.

--- 3. Have you ever doubted God?

Never Sometimes Mostly Always 4. God is always faithful.

SD D DS AS A SA 5. God is always just.

SD D DS AS A SA 6. God is always powerful and able.

SD D DS AS A SA 7. God is loving.

SD D DS AS A SA 8. God always punishes and disciplines people.

SD D DS AS A SA 9. How much is God at the center of your life?

Never Sometimes Mostly Always

Christ

1. Who is Christ?

--- 2. Is He God?

___ A. Yes

___ B. No

3. Is He Human?

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

4. Is He the Truth?

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

5. Is He at the center of the home? Explain how.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

--- ---

165 The Gospel

1. What do you know about the sinful nature of human beings?

--- 2. How do you describe people’s need for grace?

--- 3. What do you know about the centrality of the human heart and its nature?

--- 4. How do you describe the Christian life that God asks you to live, in two

sentences?

---

TRUTHFULNESS

Kindly answer the following questions to help the counselor diagnose if truthfulness issues are affecting the marriage unity. You might need some explanation for terms to be able to answer, therefore I added the following functional meaning of the main words:

Honesty is the openness and readiness to share all sides of your life without being asked, at the level of facts, opinions, and feelings. It is openness to share.

Truthfulness means you do not lie, you are correct when you share concerning facts, opinions and weaknesses.

Transparent means that you do not hide secrets.

Practices of Truthfulness in My Marriage Relationship

Kindly refer to the definition explained above for the words— honesty, truthfulness, and transparent to answer the questions below.

Pre-Marriage Honesty

A. How would you describe your honesty during your engagement? (past) __________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

B. In what ways did you expected your fiancée to be honest with you?

__________________________________________________________________

C. In what ways did you consider yourself to be honest in the engagement period?

__________________________________________________________________

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D. I pretended to be someone different than who I really was.

SD D DS AS A SA E. We shared everything together.

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely F. I shared past traumas.

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely G. I shared past relationships.

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely H. I shared past and present weaknesses.

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely I. I shared my goals and plans.

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely

J. I didn’t have any hidden agendas. (such as leaving parent’s house, proving something to others, greed in family riches…etc)

None Barely Partially Sufficiently Completely

K. How do you think your honesty in the engagement affected your relationship then?

_____________________________________________________________________

Truthfulness in Your Marriage

A. How are you truthful in your marriage? (present, or before you separated- circle one)

__________________________________________________________________

B. I lie if I have to.

Never sometimes mostly always C. I tell only half truth.

Never sometimes mostly always D. I keep things to myself, Give examples.

Never sometimes mostly always

E. I truthfully share news, information.

Never sometimes mostly always F. I truthfully share plans.

Never sometimes mostly always G. I truthfully share decisions.

Never sometimes mostly always H. I truthfully share feelings.

Never sometimes mostly always

I. I truthfully share weaknesses or temptation after marriage.

Never sometimes mostly always

J. I truthfully share my daily matters (what happened with you during the day).

Never sometimes mostly always

K. I keep relationships that compete with my marriage without the consent of my spouse.

Never sometimes mostly always Transparency in My Marriage Relationship.

A. I am transparent at all levels of my marriage. (general) ___ A. Yes

___ B. No

B. I am transparent in my opinions and feelings.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

C. I am transparent in my finances.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

D. There is a lie or a hidden secret that my mate does not know about.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

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E. I fear that my spouse will discover certain facts about my past or present.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

F. I have guilt because I have not shared the right or complete information with my spouse at any stage of our relationship.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

G. I have shame of some facts in my life and cannot share these facts certain information with my spouse.

___ A. Yes ___ B. No

Perspectives of the Spouse on the Effect of Truthfulness on Marriage

• How do you think your honesty or lack of it impacted the trust level in your relationship with your spouse?

__________________________________________________________________

• How do you think truthfulness or lack of it impacts the level of communication with your spouse?

__________________________________________________________________

• How you think your level of transparency affects your unity with your spouse?

__________________________________________________________________

• How does transparency, or lack of it, influence your feelings in the relationship concerning fear, shame, and guilt?

__________________________________________________________________

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Home Devotionals/BT for Truthful Marriages

Kindly write these verses down, and tell me what do you see in them next meeting?

1. Truth in Ephesians:

Ephesians

1:13 --- 4: 21 --- 4: 24 --- 5:9 --- 6:14 --- 2. Truthfulness

Ephesians

4:15 --- 4:25 --- Proverbs

12:19 --- 12:22 --- 3. Building the Home on

Truth:

Matthew 7:24-27 --- Proverbs 24:3 ---

4. Christ as Truth

John 14:6 --- Psalm 127:1 --- 5. The Bible as Truth

2 Timothy 3:16 --- Ephesians 1:13 --- Psalm 119: 16 --- James 1:18 --- 6. God

Romans 15:13 --- Romans 16:20 --- 1 Peter 5:10 --- 1 Timothy 1:17 --- Isaiah 28:29 --- More Resources

https://www.gospelproject.com/wp-content/uploads/tgp2018/2018/03/99- Essentials-Booklet.pdf

Ibtissam Kawar, Marriage Battles: The Armor of God in your Marriage course, second lesson videos. Available in Arabic, counselors can develop in their own language.

173 APPENDIX 5

ASSESSMENT 3: THE GOSPEL OF PEACE/GP