Devotions For Dating Couples: Building A Foundation For Spiritual Intimacy [Paperback]

Samuel Adams (Author), Ben Young (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 10, 2002

Today, there is a great deal of emphasis on the mystical and intangible nature of relationships but very little emphasis on the real, practical steps involved in building an enduring love. In contrast, authors Ben Young and Sam Adams place great importance on the value of spiritual compatibility in Devotions for Dating Couples.

Designed especially for highly committed or engaged couples, it helps readers:

Understand and avoid the most common barriers to spiritual growth

Have an increased desire for fellowship with God

Share and explore spiritual issues together

Pursue godliness, personal relational health, and wholeness

Each of the nine sections includes Scripture quotations, suggested meditation passages, and discussion questions, as well as anecdotes from real people including the authors. Intended as an eight-week study, weekday devotions are to be completed by both individuals, and each weekend study is to be completed together as a couple.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Young, host of the syndicated radio show The Single Connection, and Adams, a clinical psychologist, present a nine-week course of daily devotionals for committed Christians involved in long-term relationships and aiming toward marriage. Weekly "disciplines" focusing on foundational spiritual themes-love, prayer, simplicity-are divided into daily mediations meant to be read in solitude. On Saturdays, suggest the authors (The Ten Commandments of Dating), couples should spend the day together and discuss their thoughts about the week's theme; Sundays they ought to attend church. The Monday-to-Friday anecdotes, which often use the prosaic to illustrate the profound (the shame of a messy dorm room, for instance, teaches the importance of "healthy self-talk"), can feel a bit judgmental and preachy. But each week's summary questions will help partners reconnect with their spiritual selves, and may even settle questions of compatibility. Successful relationships take work, the authors remind us. Their somewhat didactic approach, however, might turn off some readers, and the length and intensity of the course may mean that others lose steam partway through.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (September 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785267492
• ISBN-13: 978-0785267492
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #12 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Worship & Devotion > Devotionals

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice general book, March 27, 2003

By 

Aimee "book lover, homeschooling, Christian A... (lost in Iowa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devotions For Dating Couples: Building A Foundation For Spiritual Intimacy (Paperback)

I like this book and recommend it as a starting place. My boyfreind and I are both strong adult christians with a view towards marriag and family. We attend church and consider God a foundation to us. However we were both a little shy about starting out to pray together, or read the bible together and so on. This book is a nice start. It is not overly heavy; each reading is short. It is not deep into theology nor does it preach. It is a nice easy starting point for us. Also I come from a more full-faith background while he is more consertive; this book has walked a nice middle ground.

51 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, June 17, 2004

By 

"jessicaraefaithinhim" (Casper, WY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Devotions For Dating Couples: Building A Foundation For Spiritual Intimacy (Paperback)

Well, I don't know about not getting anything out of this book if you've been a "long time" Christian. Aren't we always supposed to be learning, seeking truth?
Anyway, for any couple that feels they are ready to explore their individual spirituality with each other, this is a great way to start.
My favorite part about this devotional was that each of us can do our devotionals on our own (which is great when you're not married/living together and can't necessarily nail down a time to be together every day of the week with work and school to balance) and then at the end of the week, we can discuss it together. This gives you time to really explore how you feel about the week, where you are spiritually, and where you'd like to be.
I have another devotional which I didn't particularly care for because it does not include any guidance questions. In "Devotions for Dating Couples" I love that guidance questions get us started, and then we continue the conversation into what we really enjoyed, learned, and how we can help each other.
When I bought this book, I really didn't know what I was buying... it was so much better than I thought it would be!
* The week is set up so that you can do one devotion each day for five days, and the sixth day has questions to ask and discuss. The devotions are also very short and not as time consuming.
**Buy two books so that you can each write comments, underline, and do the devotionals alone, then you will have your thoughts handy on Saturday (or any day of your choosing) to discuss the week!
God Bless!

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A non-threatening primer, January 28, 2006

By 

B. C. Stanford (Yuba City, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Devotions For Dating Couples: Building A Foundation For Spiritual Intimacy (Paperback)

My girlfriend and I were trying to find a book that would just help us get in the habit of doing devotions together and praying together, and for the most part, this book did the trick. While some of the topics covered will seem old-hat to people that have been raised Christian or been Christian for years, they sometimes serve as a nice "refresher course" - something every Christian needs now and then.

Overall, I felt this book was very non-threatening, and a good way to accomplish the goal we were trying to meet. If you're looking for a way to introduce devotions in to your relationship without making it seem like a chore or a source of conflict, this book is a good bet.