Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You: Selections from the Poems of John Piper [Hardcover]

John Piper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 3, 2009

Beyond the tough love of covenant-keeping is a warmth andtenderness that can't be denied. So while John Piper's ThisMomentary Marriage focuses on the theological meaning ofmarriage, its companion volume, Velvet Steel, reveals therich, emotional dimension.

Within these pages Piper shares a series of poems written forhis wife, Noël, during the first forty-two years of theirrelationship, starting from the day of their engagement. In it heprovides readers with a taste of one man's tender affections forhis wife-poems that he hopes will fan into flame readers'affections for their own spouses and ultimately for the Maker ofmarriage.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

JOHN PIPER is pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. His many books include Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, What Jesus Demands from the World, and Don't Waste Your Life.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Crossway Books (April 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1433511312
• ISBN-13: 978-1433511318
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #891,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Piper is the Pastor for Preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, where he first sensed God's call to enter the ministry. He went on to earn degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.) and the University of Munich (D.theol.). For six years he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 30 books, including Sex and the Supremacy of Christ, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, What Jesus Demands from the World, and Don't Waste Your Life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy it with This Momentary Marriage, May 18, 2009

By 

Tim Challies (Oakville, Ontario) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You: Selections from the Poems of John Piper (Hardcover)

As a companion volume to This Momentary Marriage Piper has released a collection of poetry under the title Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You. He says that it is an overflow of his affection for his wife and that in some way this book complete This Momentary Marriage. Where This Momentary Marriage deals primarily with covenant-keeping and not the affections of being in-love, Velvet Steel gives some examples of what the affections have been like over the past forty years.

The poems are arranged chronologically, perhaps not in the order they were written, but in the order of their application to marriage. So the first poems speak of a wedding and the final ones speak of death. Most of the poems are short, just a page or two in length. Many are excerpts of longer works.

Though I do not read poetry as often as I ought and though I am not very skilled at reading and understanding it, I greatly enjoyed this little volume. I read through it on my own and then returned to some of the selections later with my wife. Piper is a gifted poet and in this little book he communicates not only what he could not communicate because of the theme of the first book, but also because of the genre. There are some things that only poetry can communicate; great affections often turn from prose to poetry and for good reason. Here Piper shares his affections in a wonderful collection of little poems. It is a perfect companion to This Momentary Marriage.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Gift...., September 28, 2010

By 

Sean Stoddart - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You: Selections from the Poems of John Piper (Hardcover)

I bought this book as a gift for my wife. It wasn't exactly what I had expected but it did contain some heartfelt messages which is what I had hoped. My wife loved the book and if you enjoy short poems you will too.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Velvet Steel by John Piper, May 28, 2009

By 

Tina Brown - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Velvet Steel: The Joy of Being Married to You: Selections from the Poems of John Piper (Hardcover)

Velvet Steel is a book of poetry written to John Piper's wife, Noel. It is a small companion book to This Momentary Marriage. Most of the poetry included are excerpts from longer poems that Mr. Piper wrote and are "an overflow of my affection for my wife of more than forty years". There is one poem per page, so it's an easy read. If you like poetry, you'll love this book. I received this book from Crossway.