Book excerpt: Change your words. Change your marriage.​ The Forty-Day Word Fast for Couples is a book about doing the hard work of learning and then practicing intimacy and pursuing unity in marriage. Husbands and wives will undertake this journey together. As a result, they will uncover the obstacles that have stood in the way of their God-given heart's desire for a profound oneness in Christ. Couples will break through to a new level of tenderness, kindness, and intimacy as they do the following: Discover God's original design for words Identify the devastating impact of negative words Access the tools to uncover the roadblocks and strongholds that have stood in the way of greater intimacy in every area of their married life Become offense-proof in their marriage through the forty-day fast of words God's design for couples is to pursue oneness through speaking words of truth and kindness. The enemy and the world have perverted this design. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. There is a reason Proverbs 18:21 lists death first. This book will help make clear--perhaps for the first time--the actual ramifications of complaining, criticism, judgments, gossip, and negative words on a marriage. These words are the "unity busters." Through fasting from these negative words, you will discover a biblical way to change the atmosphere of your marriage. This book will help you protect your marriage by identifying words that either build it up or break it down.