Have you ever come unglued?You know… that moment when life just seems to be out of control… raw emotions flood your entire being… overwhelmed, frustrated, uneasy, agitated … and you either stuff it all inside… or explode!?!
In Lysa TerKeurst’s new book Unglued – Making Wise Choices In The Midst Of Raw Emotions she candidly shares stories of when she has become unglued, stories that any wife or mother can easily relate to! Read Full Article
A few months ago our church announced that Pastor Mark Driscoll would be coming to share on the matters of marriage. Mark Driscoll leads Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Wa. Passionate about sharing the gospel and encouraging healthy marriages, Mark launched The Real Marriage Conference. When the conference was promoted during our Marriage Ministry – FUSE, my husband and I encouraged all of the couples at our table to attend the event. Although we did not know the extent of the content, we understand the value in committing to bettering marriage through experiences such as this. With the anticipation of the conference getting closer, my husband decided to listen to the audio version of Mark Driscoll’s book Real Marriage, which we are assuming is the basis for the content shared at the conference.
My husband was captivated by the material presented in Driscoll’s book, so much that he encouraged me to listen to a few chapters as we commuted home from work together. It was refreshing to hear Mark and Grace be transparent in their book, courageously tackling issues that affect marriage including friendship, sex, intimacy, abuse, past experiences, and the reality of sin destroying marriages.
One quote from the book in regards to sin says,
“We can kill our sin, or sin will kill our marriages.”
Another quote pulled from the book about friendship between spouses encourages,
“Marital friendship requires both the husband and wife to be willing to invest what it takes to to be a good friend.”
I was so blessed by the short excerpt I listened to in the car that I went and purchased a hard copy of the book. I knew there would be a ton of great insight that I would want to highlight and underline, making it easier to refer back to if I ever needed to. I just finished reading the book and I am eager to experience even more when we attend the Real Marriage Conference tonight and tomorrow in Corona, Ca! This is just the first stop on the Real Marriage Conference tour, I urge you and your spouse to check it out if there is one coming close to your town!
The book was an easy read. It was relevant and very informational. My husband and I respect Mark and Grace for expounding on the topic of marriage, encouraging husbands and wives to evaluate their lives and move towards oneness together. Mark and Grace reveal some of their personal marital struggles, as well as victories they reached together, by the grace of God. Also, one topic that I feel is presented thoroughly was about pornography. Being a wife who has endured the harsh reality that pornography has been a vice in my marriage, I was relieved to know that my husband and I were gaining understanding in the matter. Confronting such issues, and having a piece of the other side revealed through testimony was convicting, yet empowering. My husband and I need to be wise in this area as we combat the issue together.
Mark does give a disclaimer at the beginning of the book saying,
“Although we seek to be faithful to the bible, this book is not the Bible, and, like you, we are imperfect, so there will be mistakes. Take whatever gifts you find in this book, and feel free to leave the rest.”
I am learning that Mark Driscoll is a Pastor sitting beneath a very large microscope. He has many people who do not agree with his teaching, presentation, or perspectives. Like any other person subject to fame, comes scrutiny. Many people question if this book is truly helpful for marriages. I found the content of the book to be helpful, in particular the issues that are mentioned, I was able to talk about with my husband; so the book served as a platform of discussion that did in fact help my marriage in communicating to my husband. Everyone will have their own opinions regarding the content of Real Marriage, but I say read it for yourself! Get this resource for you and your husband to read together and then discuss it thoroughly. See what you agree with or don’t agree with and why.
We believe wholeheartedly that God is moving mightily in marriages. He is calling us to live up to His standards, reflecting the greatest love story ever! It is time to take a stand for marriage, gear up, get equipped, and prepare ourselves for the inevitable battles that will try and shake our foundation. We do this by gaining understanding and seeking wisdom in how to better our marriages, using resources and tools to help us along the way!
Questions, comments, concerns? If you have anything to add to this review of Real Marriage, please feel free to add in the comments below!
Walking down the hall towards the bathroom, I hear thunderous footsteps approaching quickly. My husband chases me into the bathroom tickling me the whole way. He wraps his strong arms around me and kisses my cheek, while fits of laughter take me over.
In that instant I had an overwhelming joy and an intense love fill my heart. The moment we encountered was spontaneous and surprising. It’s funny how such a small action can add so much value to a relationship… and that is when I had this thought: How many “untapped” positive responses are couples missing out on because they don’t speak each other’s love language?
Many of you may be familiar with Dr. Gary Chapman’s book about the 5 love languages. You can check it out HERE! You can also take the test to see what your number 1 love language is HERE!
Most people tend to speak the love language that is number one on their own list. They are the best at expressing love this way, because this is where they create their expectations to be loved. It is difficult for most to step outside of their love language and intentionally speak to their spouse with their number one love language, just as it is difficult to speak the native language in a foreign country. Although it may be a challenge to speak your spouse’s love language, it is not impossible. It takes time, practice, selflessness, patience, creativity, and intentionality, but its not impossible; and the benefits that one receives when they do speak their spouse’s love language are monumental in marriage!
We need to be intentional lovers! This means that we will need to seek understanding about our husbands and love and respect them according to how they would want us to show them, not according to how we want them to show us. Men and women are dynamically different beings and we need to be aware of these differences. Understanding our husband will help us to love them better, which in turn will motivate them to want to love us according to our love language!
Let us be aware of those small moments where an act of love can send shivers down our spouse’s spine. Spontaneous, surprising acts of love that will fill our husband’s heart with joy. Whether it is chasing them down a hall way, holding his hand, offering a neck massage, playing with his hair, kissing his ear, writing him a note, praying for him, or sacrificing time to do something you know HE would love. Find small moments to express your love, admiration, respect and joy; tapping into positive responses through pursuing your spouse and speaking his love language!
My husband and I have a pretty solid marriage. There are things that we struggle with and have struggled with from day 1, and we get in fights from time to time, but our motivation for attending the event was not because we are hanging on by a thread. However, we could sense that some marriages were there for that reason. The first thing I realized about the event was that it’s a place ANY couple is welcome! There were even engaged couples there, and Family Life had specific content to bless them with. So if you have a misconception about marriage retreats being for “troubled marriages” then you will need to wipe that clean… Weekend To Remember will bless every and any couple regardless of the condition of their relationship:)
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“Praying Scripture over your husband is powerful.” She gives personal accounts of how God has healed her marriage, as well as other couple’s testimonies that are very relate-able, encouraging HOPE. This book is great because it teaches you HOW to pray for your husband and how to pray for specific areas of his life.
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The launch of Unveiled Wife went without a hitch! I was so blessed to get such a positive response from so many people:) This website is so unique and dynamic that I wanted to explain a few things. The first is that the articles posted will include my story, devotionals, encouragements, random thoughts, book reviews and interviews with other wives! So be aware of ALL the different categories. Also, this website is interactive, as in I want YOUR input:) Comments, questions and concerns are all welcome!
OK, so my goal is to get to the “sex” part of my story, but I feel it’s necessary for you to get to know me a little more. So….how much background of a person effects their sex life???
All of it!
I have recently discovered through exploring my sexuality via literature (lots and lots of reading) that a person entering a sexual relationship brings preferences and baggage to the bed just as much as they bring their body. Carried through generations of hand-me-down DNA and especially experiences that take place throughout maturation, shapes a persons sexuality.
I will be splitting my back story up into different sections, such as childhood, teenagehood, datinghood, etc., to help alleviate the sense of longevity. Instead of boring you with every detail about my life history, I will simply give you the basics.
It is beneficial and highly recommended for you to evaluate your own life and consider all the things that have molded and effected your sexuality, to give you a better understanding of why you prefer things the way you do and why you respond to your spouse the way you do.
My story is just one of 6 billion and by sharing it I by no means am giving any supernatural answers/advice. I just feel that sex is a mystery to some women to big to try and tackle by oneself.
Enough with the intros:) My story begins with childhood in my next post coming soon!
No More Headaches, Enjoying Sex and Intimacy In Marriage is the number one book on my list of great reads! Dr. Juli Slattery encompasses the gift of sex God has created within the boundaries of marriage, sharing examples of her own marriage, as well as others marital testimonials. Each story is unique, yet relatable and relative, provoking the reader to examine his/her own marriage.
She dives into heavy topics without hesitation, providing wisdom and knowledge about what is permissible within the covenant of marriage, not with black and white rules, but allowing the reader to comprehend and conclude for themselves what is allowed based on God’s word.
There is a tremendous amount of depth shared about what sex and intimacy is from the man’s perspective, which isn’t something taught regularly. Examining the sexual differences between men and women, she offers practical and biblical advice to those who are willing to apply it to their relationships. Dr Juli exposes the truth about sex, the potential greatness it has in marriage, the benefiting factors for both the husband and wife, as well as Satan’s endeavors to destroy and prevent great sex in marriage.
It is an easy read with plenty of interesting stories and challenges that will keep you invested even after you finish the book. If you want to experience the next step in your marriage I urge you to read this book! It’s life changing!
This book only took me about a week to read! That is a huge deal, because I am a busy woman with not a lot of down time, but it kept blowing my mind and softening my heart with the whole sex issue. I was recommended this book by a great friend of ours who knew our story and the struggle sex was for my husband and I. Dr. Juli brought things to the surface that I had been trying to bury for years and at the height of our threshold we encountered a breakthrough!
I began to understand why sex was so important to my husband and it stimulated me to initiate more romantic moments despite our setbacks. The content in this book inspired our sex life through wisdom, through testimonials, through advice and through challenges. I am so thankful for the way Dr. Juli composed this insightful resource to strengthen and save marriages! It definitely broke down walls in my marriage that needed to fall and I am certain there are a ton of other wives who can attests to it’s benefit.
Get The Book Here – >
