This devotional is a great resource for married couples that want to learn what God wants for them and from them as well. It not only shows couples how to get through the challenges, but to take advantage of the blessings that God has given them and how to improve upon those blessings.
Of particular note is the format and style of the piece. The author has written this book for both men and women, but pays close attention to husbands because of the common hesitation that men have when approaching devotionals. I know my husband doesn't read anything he doesn't HAVE to. Although he is interested in spending devotional time together, he does not like to read and feels uncomfortable reading most devotionals that are perhaps too constructive and can make him feel criticized or completely irrelevant. The author has paid attention to this in his direct approach to husbands, with a concise and equitable format. He also gives the reader multiple ways to use this resource, so that couples can read on their own and come together for discussion. My husband appreciated this as it gives him time to concentrate on the topic and not feel that awkward pressure of having to immediately respond or contribute.
The devotions are laid out in 52 chapters that are not restricted to a timeline, allowing the reader to jump around to topics that are more relevant to day-to-day issues. After giving my husband this book, he commented that he found it to be something we could easily work into our schedule as the chapters are short in length and very specific to marital issues. Myself, I find that this book would work great as a reference to keep on hand in addition to specific devotional time. I would also like to note that the author has provided relevant scripture and discussion questions that have been very useful in increasing the quality of my devotional time. He also includes other supplemental appendices to aid in understanding his "Love and Respect" plan for couples, so that even if you are not familiar with his previous works (which I wasn't), you can understand his theories and apply them as you go through the book.
At the risk of making generalities, I will go ahead and say that this book would be a great way to for wives to get their husbands interested in devotional time, or even to get him to read on his own as it really is encouraging to husbands. As the author pointed out, men can often feel that devotional time is merely a time for wives to "correct" their husbands, or they may feel pressured to please their wives rather than truly enjoying this time to communicate and reflect on their marriage. This book accomplishes the latter and refocuses the time to a positive perspective on a God-centered marriage.
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