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Draw Close: A Devotional for Couples
Nothing brings a couple closer quite like sharing a regular devotional time. Now Willard F. Harley, Jr., the bestselling author of His Needs, Her Needs , joins forces with his wife, Joyce, to bring readers devotions to help them increase their intimacy with God and each other. The 36 chapters are each divided into five brief sections and explore Harley's proven marriage principles in connection with God's Word. Each devotion begins with a story and includes a brief meditation, a relevant Scripture passage, and application questions to help make the principles a reality.
Perfect for newlyweds as well as those who have been married for decades, this devotional promises to help readers connect with their spouse, build a stronger marriage, and keep God at the center of their commitment to each other.
Perfect for newlyweds as well as those who have been married for decades, this devotional promises to help readers connect with their spouse, build a stronger marriage, and keep God at the center of their commitment to each other.
250 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2011
20 people are currently reading
304 people want to read
About the author
Willard F. Harley Jr.
23 books109 followersWillard F. Harley, Jr., Ph.D. is best known as author of the internationally best selling book, His Needs, Her Needs: Building An Affair-proof Marriage. Over three million copies have been purchased, and it is available in twenty-two foreign translations.
Dr. Harley earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1967 and has been a Licensed Psychologist in Minnesota since 1975. For the first ten years after earning his degree, he taught psychology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. During those years, he was also a frustrated part-time marriage counselor with little success in helping couples.
In 1973 he discovered that he was not alone in his failure to save marriages -- almost everyone in the marital therapy profession were also failing. So he spent the next two years designing an entirely new approach (see How Dr. Harley Learned to Save Marriages). When his success rate skyrocketed in 1977, he resigned from his teaching position to counsel full-time. Over the next ten years his solo practice developed into the largest network of mental health clinics in Minnesota (thirty-two locations) with over one hundred psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and chemical dependency counselors working with him to provide a full range of mental health services. He became the exclusive provider of mental health and chemical dependency services in ten counties, and had offices in other counties as well.
One of his responsibilities was to write support materials for the clinical program he directed. He created over one hundred questionnaires and wrote numerous articles that were given to clients as part of their therapy. Among the materials he wrote was His Needs, Her Needs, which was first published in 1986. Although it was written to be a support text for his marriage counseling program, within three years it had become a national best-seller and a basic reference for marriage counselors throughout the nation.
By 1988 he found himself spending almost all of his time administering his clinics, and very little time doing what he enjoyed most -- improving his marital therapy program. So he began turning his clinics over to the counselors who worked with him, and the ownership of his last clinic was transferred in 1993. Since then, he has written 16 more books and hundreds of articles.
Dr. Harley and his wife, Joyce, are actively involved in the Marriage Builders® Online Program, which introduces couples to his highly successful plan for marital recovery. An online seminar offered by Dr. Harley kicks off a one-year home study program that includes personal accountability. He supervises the progress of those who enroll, and answers their questions on a special Marriage Builders Weekend section of the Forum.
Dr. and Mrs. Harley have been married for 47 years and live in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. They have two adult children, who are now working with them as marriage coaches, and four grandchildren.
Dr. Harley earned a Ph.D. degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1967 and has been a Licensed Psychologist in Minnesota since 1975. For the first ten years after earning his degree, he taught psychology at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. During those years, he was also a frustrated part-time marriage counselor with little success in helping couples.
In 1973 he discovered that he was not alone in his failure to save marriages -- almost everyone in the marital therapy profession were also failing. So he spent the next two years designing an entirely new approach (see How Dr. Harley Learned to Save Marriages). When his success rate skyrocketed in 1977, he resigned from his teaching position to counsel full-time. Over the next ten years his solo practice developed into the largest network of mental health clinics in Minnesota (thirty-two locations) with over one hundred psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and chemical dependency counselors working with him to provide a full range of mental health services. He became the exclusive provider of mental health and chemical dependency services in ten counties, and had offices in other counties as well.
One of his responsibilities was to write support materials for the clinical program he directed. He created over one hundred questionnaires and wrote numerous articles that were given to clients as part of their therapy. Among the materials he wrote was His Needs, Her Needs, which was first published in 1986. Although it was written to be a support text for his marriage counseling program, within three years it had become a national best-seller and a basic reference for marriage counselors throughout the nation.
By 1988 he found himself spending almost all of his time administering his clinics, and very little time doing what he enjoyed most -- improving his marital therapy program. So he began turning his clinics over to the counselors who worked with him, and the ownership of his last clinic was transferred in 1993. Since then, he has written 16 more books and hundreds of articles.
Dr. Harley and his wife, Joyce, are actively involved in the Marriage Builders® Online Program, which introduces couples to his highly successful plan for marital recovery. An online seminar offered by Dr. Harley kicks off a one-year home study program that includes personal accountability. He supervises the progress of those who enroll, and answers their questions on a special Marriage Builders Weekend section of the Forum.
Dr. and Mrs. Harley have been married for 47 years and live in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. They have two adult children, who are now working with them as marriage coaches, and four grandchildren.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 1, 2022
We started this but didn’t finish it. It is less of a daily word of wisdom about how to apply God’s word to your marriage and more of a “here’s a verse I can point to to illustrate something I do that you should do”. It seems totally focused on how to interact positively with each other as spouses. Seems more appropriately done in a self-help type book, not a devotional.
December 23, 2017
Wonderful devotional couple book!
Helped my husband and I realise why we do certain things, how to respond to situations and how to grow a couple.
Helped my husband and I realise why we do certain things, how to respond to situations and how to grow a couple.
November 9, 2014
As the co-hosts of the syndicated radio talk show, Marriage Builders, Dr. Bill Harley and his wife, Joyce Harley, have released an owner’s manual for married couples.
This is more than a 248 page daily devotional. Each day’s lesson includes very practical assignments couples are encouraged to complete together. This thirty-six week marriage and home improvement course includes five daily lessons for each week. Each lesson is based on apparently actual case studies of couples counseled by licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Harley. Each daily session is built upon a weekly Scripture passage. Each week concludes with a prayer couples are encouraged to pray together.
If you haven’t read any of Dr. Harley’s other books, this is an extremely valuable resource. That’s because it’s rich in much of the wise counsel the marriage therapist previously included in his classic first volume, His Needs, Her Needs and companion volume, Love Busters.
Within these pages, you’ll rediscover the Policy of Joint Agreement and the Policy of Radical Honesty. You’ll be reintroduced to the top ten emotional needs, (the Love Builders), every married couple shares. In this volume, we revisit the Love Bank where spouses make deposits and withdrawals daily. You’ll also meet some of the Love Busters that can turn romantic love to revulsion.
For any Christian couple wanting to draw closer to each other, this is a must have, must use tool to help keep their caring love alive!
This is more than a 248 page daily devotional. Each day’s lesson includes very practical assignments couples are encouraged to complete together. This thirty-six week marriage and home improvement course includes five daily lessons for each week. Each lesson is based on apparently actual case studies of couples counseled by licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Harley. Each daily session is built upon a weekly Scripture passage. Each week concludes with a prayer couples are encouraged to pray together.
If you haven’t read any of Dr. Harley’s other books, this is an extremely valuable resource. That’s because it’s rich in much of the wise counsel the marriage therapist previously included in his classic first volume, His Needs, Her Needs and companion volume, Love Busters.
Within these pages, you’ll rediscover the Policy of Joint Agreement and the Policy of Radical Honesty. You’ll be reintroduced to the top ten emotional needs, (the Love Builders), every married couple shares. In this volume, we revisit the Love Bank where spouses make deposits and withdrawals daily. You’ll also meet some of the Love Busters that can turn romantic love to revulsion.
For any Christian couple wanting to draw closer to each other, this is a must have, must use tool to help keep their caring love alive!
September 7, 2014
A must read for any couple
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews