The Book: happy marriage, happy life: A Comprehensive Covenant Marriage Model for Lasting Love and Fulfillment

What if your marriage could be your happiest relationship?

Happy Marriage, Happy Life is a biblically grounded, psychologically informed guide to building a lasting, Christ-centered relationship. Drawing from over 20 years of clinical experience and pastoral ministry, Dr. Scott Inman PhD introduces the Comprehensive Covenant Marriage Model (CCMM)—a proven framework that integrates Scripture, psychology, and real-life strategy to help couples grow in love, intimacy, and purpose.

This isn’t just another marriage book filled with clichés or surface-level advice.

Each chapter offers deep insight, practical tools, and grace-filled truth designed to transform how you connect, communicate, forgive, and flourish as husband and wife.

​Whether you’re dating, newly married, facing conflict, or rebuilding after a painful season, this book meets you where you are—and gives you a roadmap forward.

In this book, you’ll learn how to:

• Heal wounds and reset your relationship with biblical forgiveness

• Speak your spouse’s emotional language with confidence and care

• Restore trust after betrayal and break toxic cycles

• Create healthy roles, routines, and rhythms for your home

• Deepen connection through 12 types of intimacy

• Embrace your God-given identity and show up as your best self

Happy Marriage, Happy Life is more than a book—it’s a relational reset, a spiritual anchor, and a guide for couples who want their marriage to reflect the heart of God.

CHAPTER OUTLINE

PART ONE: Foundations of Covenant Marriage: Individually Together

Why Self-Awareness, Identity, and Character Come Before Intimacy

Before two people can build a Christ-centered, connected marriage, they must first understand who they are individually—in Christ, in character, and in calling.

Part One explores the foundational truths that must be in place before lasting intimacy can grow: In chapters 1 – 9, readers define a covenant foundation, secure identity, biblical love as action, the ability to forgive and have a fresh start, the daily mindset required to nurture connection, and the principle of sowing and reaping, by sowing Christlike character and love, families reap the Fruits of the Spirit.

Even if you’re already married, this section invites you to reset your inner framework. It’s not about fixing your spouse—it’s about becoming the kind of person who loves well, leads with humility, and lives out covenant daily. These nine chapters are the soul work of marriage: learning to be individually whole so you can thrive together. 

Chapter 1 – The Foundations of a Happy Marriage

Discover how covenant, altruism, and reciprocity form the foundation of a Christ-centered marriage. Learn how selfless love and mutual care create the daily rhythm of lasting connection and joy and the true definition of a covenant marriage. This chapter redefines happiness in marriage through biblical theology and psychological research, showing how God’s design leads to deep emotional and spiritual fulfillment.

Chapter 2 – You Matter

Discover your identity in Christ as the foundation for emotional security and relational health. Learn how self-worth impacts every interaction and sets the tone for biblical love. This chapter helps individuals confront false beliefs, break unhealthy cycles, and cultivate the confidence needed to build safe, lasting intimacy.

Chapter 3 – Love in Action

Redefine love through 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter shifts love from an emotion to a Christlike behavior that can be learned, practiced, and trusted. Couples are challenged to live out love as daily action rooted in faith, not fleeting feelings.

Chapter 4 – The Forgiveness DetoxExplore the spiritual and psychological power of forgiveness as emotional and relational detox. Learn how releasing resentment clears the way for restored intimacy. Drawing from Scripture and therapy, this chapter equips couples to practice grace-filled forgiveness that sets both partners free.

Chapter 5 – A Relational ResetApply the Clean Slate Principle

A biblical and therapeutic reset to stop assumption cycles, rebuild trust, and clear emotional clutter in marriage. This chapter helps couples identify and replace negative patterns, restore emotional safety, and reconnect with compassion. Learn to reset your relationship daily with the grace God gives you.

Chapter 6 – The Power of Your Mindset

Uncover how mindset, beliefs, and emotional posture shape the way you show up in your marriage—often more than you realize. This chapter helps you identify internal scripts, automatic reactions, and beliefs that either strengthen or sabotage connection. You’ll learn how to become the kind of partner your spouse is drawn to again through intentional thought renewal and emotional maturity.

Chapter 7 – Becoming the Partner Your Spouse Craves

Discover the quiet power of internal transformation as the true catalyst for relational change. This chapter challenges you to grow into a trustworthy, safe, and Christlike spouse—not by fixing your partner, but by refining your own character. With biblical encouragement and practical tools, readers will build a foundation where connection, respect, and intimacy can thrive.

Chapter 8 – Reaping the Fruits of a Christlike Love in Action

Explores how living out Christlike love results in the fruits of the Spirit—the natural outcome of a heart transformed by God’s love. This chapter delves into the key qualities that emerge when we choose to love selflessly, including love, joy, peace, and more. By understanding and embodying these virtues, couples can cultivate a marriage that reflects God’s character and fosters deep, lasting connection.

Chapter 9 – Designed Differently on PurposeExplore how God intentionally wired you and your spouse using the Arno Profile System (APS), revealing the beauty in your differences. Instead of reacting to contrast with frustration, this chapter invites couples to appreciate and work with each other’s unique strengths and vulnerabilities. When viewed through the lens of God’s design, your differences become a path to deeper understanding and lasting compatibility.

PART TWO: A New Hope – The Comprehensive Covenant Marriage Model (CCMM) Application

This second part brings the heart of the book to life through practical, biblically grounded tools that help couples apply what they’ve learned. From conflict to connection, priorities to roles, CCMM empowers readers to live out a thriving, Christ-centered marriage in everyday moments. Rooted in Scripture, psychology, and lived experience, these chapters walk couples through the dynamics that shape real relationships—building unity, trust, and lasting joy one intentional choice at a time.

Chapter 10 – The Relational Three Dynamics

Introduce the core framework of the CCMM—Power & Control, Compassion & Care, and Respect & Recognition—as the three relational needs behind every conflict or connection. This chapter helps couples diagnose underlying issues in their interactions and gives them a biblical language for repair. By understanding these dynamics, couples can shift from reacting in fear to connecting with purpose.

Chapter 11 – LIVE Your Priorities

Define and apply biblical marital priorities—God first, spouse second, all else in balance. This chapter teaches couples how to build a rhythm of intentional living that protects what matters most from the noise and busyness of life. Learn how shared vision and spiritual alignment cultivate peace, direction, and unity.

Chapter 12 – The House That Intimacy Built

Walk through the twelve types of intimacy (spiritual, emotional, physical, and more), illustrated as rooms in the home of your marriage. This chapter helps couples identify strengths and gaps in their connection, with practical steps for building closeness in every area. By nurturing intimacy holistically, couples create a marriage that feels safe, passionate, and deeply fulfilling.

Chapter 13 – Speak Your Kind

Transform your communication through a biblically grounded and research-informed framework built on grace, clarity, and emotional safety. This chapter introduces practical strategies and memorable acronyms to help couples speak truth in love, listen with empathy, and repair conflict without shame or sarcasm. When words are used to build—not break—trust grows and intimacy deepens.

Chapter 14 – Aligning Your Values, Priorities, and Goals

Healthy marriages require more than chemistry—they need shared direction. This chapter walks couples through identifying their core values, aligning their goals, and creating a unified vision for life and legacy. With intentionality and prayerful planning, couples learn how to stay connected in purpose through every season.

Chapter 15 – Role Models

Rethink traditional gender roles by discovering God’s design for responsibility through the lens of temperament, not stereotypes. This chapter encourages couples to divide tasks and lead with love based on individual strengths, mutual respect, and biblical principles. When roles are chosen through humility and teamwork, the marriage thrives in both peace and productivity.

Chapter 16 – Marital Roles

Go deeper into defining and embracing your God-given marital role—not through rigid expectations, but through temperament-based strengths and spiritual maturity. This chapter helps couples navigate responsibility, leadership, and submission with humility, clarity, and mutual support. Learn how honoring your unique design brings balance, connection, and unity to your marriage.

Chapter 17 – Rhythm of Love and the Flow of Peace

A thriving marriage runs on rhythms—shared routines, household harmony, and daily choices that protect peace. This chapter introduces the “family flow” model to help couples create sustainable patterns of connection, responsibility, and emotional calm. Learn how to maintain unity even during chaos by syncing your life together in love.

Chapter 18 – Conflict for Connection

Not all conflict is bad—in fact, handled biblically, it can lead to deeper intimacy and healing. This chapter equips couples with proactive, grace-based strategies to turn conflict into a catalyst for growth, not disconnection. Learn how to fight fair, speak truth with love, and build trust through disagreement.

Chapter 19 – Connection: The Agent of Intimacy

True intimacy is built on emotional connection—not just physical closeness. In this final chapter, couples learn how to protect connection as the lifeblood of marriage through vulnerability, presence, spiritual unity, and consistent care. When connection is prioritized, every other part of the relationship flourishes.