This beautiful 52-week devotional provides Christian couples with an easy way to read Scripture, pray, and engage in spiritual discussions and activities to strengthen their relationship and marriage. Perfect for younger couples in building a strong spiritual foundation early on, it’s a great resource for couples of any age or stage who want to grow closer as they follow God together. Presented in a relaxed and easy-to-use way and edited by Focus on the Family president Jim Daly and his wife, Jean, each devotional offers foundational, practical, and wise material from members of the Focus counselling staff. The content is divided into 13 sections, with topics including getting to know each other better, listening, mastering money, building a Christ-centered home, going the distance, and more. Each section is introduced by the Dalys, and each of the 52 devotions is followed with discussion questions and activities. Want to be closer? You’ve come to the right place. Using wisdom from Scripture, their own honest and personal stories, and wise insights from the licensed counselors at Focus on the Family, Jim and Jean Daly guide you through 52 enjoyable “together times” to talk about and practice communicating, showing affection, making decisions, resolving conflict, praying, and much more. So, for a moment, forget the kids, or the work you brought home, or the job you retired from. It’s time for just the two of youand The Best Year of Your Marriage. The Best Year of your marriage 52 Devotions to Bring You Closer By Jim Daly, Jean Daly, Paul Batura Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2014 Focus on the Family All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-62405-136-4 Contents Foreword, xiii, Introduction, xvii, Part 1: Getting to Know You, 1, 1. Making Time to Talk, 5, 2. Honesty: the Best Policy?, 9, 3. Helping Each Other to Open Up, 13, 4. Adjusting to Your Spouse's Personality, 17, Part 2: When It's Not What You Expected, 21, 5. Surprise!, 25, 6. "But I Thought My Spouse Was Perfect", 29, 7. Why Isn't Your Spouse More Like ..., 33, 8. Did You Marry the Wrong Person?, 37, Part 3: Can You Hear Me Now?, 41, 9. When One of You Is the Silent Type, 47, 10. When One of You Won't Stop Talking, 51, 11. Learning Each Other's Language, 55, 12. How to Connect Without Talking, 59, Part 4: Your Love Life, 63, 13. What Does He Want from You?, 67, 14. What Does She Want from You?, 71, 15. Moving Beyond the Past, 75, 16. Where Did Our Love Life Go?, 79, Part 5: When You Can't Seem to Agree, 83, 17. Is Fighting Fair?, 85, 18. We Can Work It Out, 89, 19. Making Decisions Together, 93, 20. Agreeing to Disagree, 97, Part 6: Becoming Soulmates, 101, 21. Faith Can Keep Us Together, 105, 22. Praying with Your Spouse, 109, 23. Helping Your Spouse Grow Spiritually, 113, 24. Serving God as a Team, 117, Part 7: Mastering Money, 121, 25. "My Spouse Spends Too Much", 125, 26. How Much Should We Give?, 129, 27. Staying Out of Debt, 133, 28. Planning for the Future, 137, Part 8: Finding Your Place in the Family, 141, 29. How Two Become One, 145, 30. What Does It Mean to Be a Wife?, 149, 31. What Does It Mean to Be a Husband?, 153, 32. Dividing Up the Chores, 157, Part 9: Having Children, 161, 33. Do They Really Change Everything?, 165, 34. Is It Okay Not to Have Kids?, 169, 35. Making Sure Children Succeed, 173, 36. You Deserve a Break Today, 177, Part 10: A Christ-centered Home, 181, 37. Building the Foundation, 185, 38. Being a Spiritual Leader, 189, 39. When You Like Different Churches, 193, 40. Helping Kids Grow Spiritually, 197, Part 11: Emotions in Motion, 201, 41. Let's Talk About Feelings, 203, 42. Those Irritating Habits, 207, 43. Keeping Romance Alive, 211, 44. Should We Settle for Less?, 215, Part 12: Honoring One Another, 219, 45. Trying to Change Your Spouse?, 223, 46. Forgiving Each Other, 227, 47. Staying Faithful, 231, 48. Respecting Your In-laws, 235, Part 13: Going the Distance, 239, 49. You Don't Have to Drift Apart, 243, 50. Is It Ever Too Late for a Marriage?, 247, 51. Getting Wise Counsel, 251, 52. What Makes a Marriage Last?, 255, Epilogue, 259, Notes, 263, CHAPTER 1 Making Time to Talk "You who dwell in the gardens with friends in attendance, let me hear your voice! Come away, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the spice-laden mountains." Song of Songs 8:13-14 Caleb and Trina, recently married, didn't have much spare time. They had full-time jobs and took evening classes. They also found themselves over-invested in church duties and under-invested in each other. They spent little time together, and found even less time to converse. When they did talk, it was mostly to argue and criticize each other. They even questioned whether or not they should be married because they were "falling out of love." One day, Caleb took a drive in the country. Long into the evening, about two miles from home, the car sud