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I was recently asked to review a couple's devotional book. I'll be honest and say I wasn't too enthused about the prospect, seeing as the title, Awaken Love, and focus passage, Song of Solomon, left me to figure the book would basically just be focusing on how to "spice up your sex life". When the book got here and I saw chapter titles like, "Deepening Desire" and "Increasing Intimacy," I literally rolled my eyes and thought "here we go."
I was pleasantly surprised that 86-page, softcover book is truly a Christ-centered activity guide to drawing closer and learning to more closely cherish AND EXPRESS this, to your spouse, in so many different ways. Much of the interaction between Solomon and his bride-to-be are used to expound upon the love Jesus has for us His Bride, that in turn should lead us to desire to communicate deeper care to the person we share our lives with. As the subtitle indicates, this book is about the "journey to Awaken Love in marriage" and I so appreciate how the entire relationship is considered and focused on, rather than many marriage books that seem to focus primarily on the physical (and the emotional in order to better set up the physical).
Daily readings are really only a couple minutes long and suggested activities could often be accomplished in 5 minutes or less, but could help re-set thought patterns for a very long time to come. Not a bad time investment in the one you love! They are often the kinds of activities that could have much more time and thought poured into them over the course of the day, or week, or month, if you so desire.
For example one suggestion is to take your spouse's name and create an acrostic of character traits about this person that are meaningful to you. Yes, there is great value if you fill in the blanks during a sliver of time, then share it with your husband/wife on your way out the door. And taking a few days to really contemplate and ask the Lord to help you remember and recognize meaningful characteristics in the one you married is great too. Maybe even do both, 2 different list with both the immediate thoughts and long-term meditations? (That "do both" idea is mine, not from the book, but you can see how the simple thoughts and suggestions there can feed your own creativity!)
I am pleased to share that I will be able to request a free copy of Awaken Love to be sent to one of my blog readers (US & Canada only). If you would like to be entered for a chance to win your own copy of Awaken Love, please leave your name and email address (so I may contact you if you win, to request your mailing address) in the comments here. For a second entry, please visit another one of my blogs, StrokeOfGrace.blogspot, and join that page through the Google Friend Connect (right hand sidebar) then come back to this post and leave a second comment, telling me that you did. Oh, and for every place (Twitter, Facebook, your own blog) you share this post, you can earn additional entries for each of those as well, just leave separate comments linking to where you did!
Drawing open until noon (Pacific) on Friday, December 5, 2014. Winner notified on Saturday, December 6. Winner must respond by noon on Monday, December 8, or alternate winner will be selected.
Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
The Song Couple’s Devotional is a 6-week book for couples that can help awaken love in their marriage. With daily relationship insights and prayer points drawn from the Song of Solomon, this devotional will help couples grow in their relationship with God and one another.
Inspired by the Song of Solomon, The Song is both a full-length movie and resource for churches to explore God’s plan for relationships, love and marriage.
About the author:
Kyle Idleman is the Teaching Pastor at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, the fourth-largest church in America. Author of the award-winning and bestselling book, not a fan., and presenter of eight of City on a Hill’s curriculum series, he regularly speaks at conferences and events around the world. Kyle and his wife DesiRae have four children.
