Testimonials

My wife and I attended a Conference Live In-Person a few years back and it changed our marriage. We were frustrated, as this is our second marriage each,… we so much wanted to glorify God but we seemed to be doing so much wrong. We walked out during a break, looked up at the sky and simultaneously, shouted "I get it!".  Our marriage has been tremendous ever since (sure we have crazy cycles, but they are so rare & short lived nowadays and truly lead to resolve). In fact, the Holy Sprit moved upon my wife one Sunday morning and after following the right steps we became Pre-marriage Mentors at our church for the past 3 years now - we LOVE it. We are looking forward to going through the Conference again and having this material at our fingertips for reference. "My Response is my Responsibility" has been tremendously helpful not only for our marriage but in so many other areas of our life.

I wish I would have learned about win-win before we got married. I would have been able to practice these principles while we were courting. I knew there would be challenges but because of each of our personalities they took a long, long, time to really show up. We suppressed a lot of things not wanting to upset the other or bring up something frustrating. If we would have realized that we could have a win-win scenario and communicated about things right away, it wouldn't have taken a decade for major challenges to surface. The Marine Corps is all about preparing for friction and challenges so that concept is easy for me to grasp, the Bible gives us all the tools, but I had never considered solutions in marriage being a win-win situation. I had always heard the emphasis on sacrificing for the other person which I figured could go either way, but the win-win concept I have never considered or heard advocated...despite the fact that it's right there, in the Bible.

The Illumination Project is literally going to help so many people. I love seeing those in our generation step up to communicate these timeless truths in ways our friends would appreciate. So thank you.

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The Illumination Project is undeniably going to help our generation understand relationships. Joy is hilarious and has such great insight into the Love and Respect message. I am proud to call her a friend!

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"My husband and I attended your Love and Respect conference...it was AWESOME! (We have) witnessed miracles… (Later) we decided we were at a place where we wanted to help others with the help we had received. Our first and only choice on what topic we should lead was Love and Respect!! It was a no brainer!! This concept had played a pivotal role in changing the tide in our marriage from divorce to reconciliation. We have since led the Love and Respect small group 8 times (around 100 couples)…We have an intense desire to help marriages, and we believe if two stubborn, selfish people like us could let God change our hearts, well anyone can!! Your ministry helped save our marriage! If it was not for your book we would be unhappy, bitter, divorced parents continuing a legacy of divorce and a broken family to our beautiful children. We were so happy we had the opportunity to come to a live conference."

I loved this book and recommended it for a book club of moms. It was helpful for each of us...Particularly appreciated the shoulder to shoulder time explanation, and the explanation of using the word respect in conversations with my sons. The book was helpful because it allowed me to see how my communication needed to be different with my sons than it is with my daughters. It made me more intentional in conversations with my guys.

Through your book I realized I have never showed my sons (ages 19 and 21) respect. They know I love them, but I'm sure they never felt respected. I'm convinced my words (and actions) made them feel controlled and belittled, which created a wall between us. I'm learning how to honor my sons with respect (and space) and in return I'm receiving the love I crave. I try regularly to tell my sons something I respect about them or something that makes me proud. It is transforming our relationships...I have recommended this book to all my friends with sons. I even purchased it for one friend! This book is worth the time and the money for Moms to learn how to relate with their sons in the way that is most meaningful to them.

The Love & Respect message is so practical and meets everybody where they are regardless of age, gender, or marital condition. Having Emerson deliver a keynote at our global leaders conference was a huge hit and had leaders in tears, inspired, convicted and clear on next steps. He covered a ton of ground in 1 session that will make a lasting impact. CEOs left with a bigger vision for God's call upon their marriage as well as a passion for seeing those they lead understand the insights of Blue/Pink, Love/Respect, and cycles of life and joy.

"Hi! I am a young mother and wife...our son just turned a year old a few weeks ago. I recently listened to your book Mother and Son. I am so thankful for the principles you’ve shared on respecting both my husband and son, and I am praying God transforms me and helps me meet their needs. I know I have a lot of progress to make, but I also already see how God has started to help me be more aware of my husband’s need for respect, and also prepare my mind to raise my son in a way that molds him into a man of honor and shows him I hold him in a high regard, no matter what mistakes he makes. I know that when I ask for wisdom, God gives it freely. I am so very thankful that I have been given such advice so early in our marriage and parenthood. I know there are many women who wish they would have known these truths earlier. Thank you for the wonderful work you are doing for the kingdom, and ultimately for our Lord Jesus."

I first want to say thank you so much for writing this book for all of us mothers. I’m not a big reader but I just knew I needed to get through this. When my son was a lot younger of course our relationship was significantly different and it was all about love and he loved love. I realize in the teenage years that something was changing and I could not quite figure it out. And now I recently got married and I have three stepchildren. Each of them are boys. I have three teenagers currently and a nine-year-old boy. Needless to say my eyes are wide open now and even though I want to love each of them and I will always love them, but now I absolutely want to respect them as well…Again thank you so much.

...When I look back, it seems to me that the individual lessons were so created that the tension increases with each lesson. It was like a good criminal novel. I found myself in every lesson. Although I had already heard certain content, I experienced them in a completely different way. Maybe more mature. Then came the fifth lesson: My Response is My Responsibility. BAM! The content hit me like "a-ton-of-bricks”, as if it was written for me personally. This lesson exposed my biggest challenge, which has crippled me for many years. Of course, this does not mean my problem with wrong responses will be solved overnight. If I rely on God's Word and ask for the help from the Holy Spirit then it will be easier.

When my wife...first pulled out the book and looked at me, I can honestly say my spirit deflated. I immediately thought, “Oh now, after a long day at the office, she’s gonna want me to reflect on a scripture passage and pour out my heart and soul about how I don’t measure up.” After she read the introduction, I regained HOPE! EE nailed it – let’s take this a little at a time and even do some of the introspection on our own – vertical first, horizontal next…