One of the big differences between husbands and wives is in the area of sexual arousal. Men and women have different needs when it comes to preparing for a sexual encounter.

Preacher and seminar speaker, Mark Gungor, states that a man’s needs are quite simple. All he really requires is some oxygen and for his wife to show up! However, a wife’s needs are more complicated.

As I was doing some research on this area, I came across a lady named Laura M. Brotherson. She is an author and intimacy educator and writes about sexuality in the context of marriage. She has written a book entitled, And They Were Not Ashamed.

A short paragraph from Amazon’s website states the following about her book:

Finally! a book about physical intimacy and marital ONEness that is comprehensive, in-depth and frank, yet respectfully reverent–written to address the unique perspective and concerns of women, while shining a light into the mysteries of the female heart and mind. And They Were Not Ashamed–Strengthening Marriage through Sexual Fulfillment, by Laura M. Brotherson, is the ultimate how-to handbook–power-packed with hope and help for creating a mutually fulfilling intimate relationship.

Along with my research, I also found an eight-minute interview of Laura Brotherson on YouTube that I wanted to share with you. She presents 8Ts on what is necessary for a wife to be able to respond to her husband sexually. It is tastefully done, as well as informative.

After viewing it, you may want to invite your husband to watch it with you. The 8Ts provide enough information that I can see how a husband and wife could have some important communication concerning their sexual relationship.

If you are interested in purchasing Laura Brotherson’s book, simply click on her book title, And They Were Not Ashamed, and you will be taken directly to Amazon.

After all the world has done to make sex dirty and perverted, it is exciting to see and hear people beginning to reclaim sex and intimacy for marriage. Laura Brotherson is just one of many who are finally speaking and writing about it as God intended it to be, and are being taken seriously.

(Click on this link to read part 2 of And They Were Not Ashamed)

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After teaching An Invitation to Intimacy, I often heard women ask, “What can we do next?” “Is there a study we can do with our husband?” “We don’t want this class to end.”

As Jim and I talked about what we could do for marriages at our church, we both felt that we should write a study for married couples that would go deeper into the book of Song of Solomon. At the time when we wrote this study, there weren’t any group studies available. This is how Passionate Partnership came to be written.

We have worked hard to make this study informative as well as interactive. We want couples to see, first of all, that God is the Designer of sex and intimacy in marriage and has given us a book in Scripture to guide and instruct us once we marry.

Passionate Partnership includes a Leader’s Guide and a Couple’s Workbook. This material is designed to provide class discussions that take place in a safe environment. There are opening and closing activities for a husband and wife to discuss with each other in class, along with in-depth explanations of what the verses in the Song of Solomon mean.

The leaders will find word-for-word text included in the Leader’s Guide which can help lead you through the material from one week to the next.

Each week a couple will read an article that is relevant to the material discussed in class, as well as having oral exercises to share with each other at home. This type of sharing will greatly increase the level of communication a couple will experience as they discuss their marriage and sexual relationship.

We strongly encourage you to purchase this 10-week study and bless your Sunday school class or small group with the tools and information that will help build stronger and deeper marriages for His Kingdom. We promise you–those who participate will be blessed and will thank you for providing them with powerful tools and godly wisdom from the Bible.

This teaching materials for this study are comprised of the Leader’s Guide for the instructors and a copy of the Couple’s Workbook for each couple who participates.

If you would like to download a chapter from these books, you can go to the free previews’ page found here or the previews’ button found at the top of this page.

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A few years ago, I bought a neat little book called, Lists to Live by for Every Married Couple which helped me with some research I was doing for the classes I teach.

While a book full of lists is a different type of reading and is certainly not my normal choice, it has some great ideas in it, and it’s easy to scan.

There are so many different areas of marriage the authors cover that it could take Jim and I a long time to work our way through their material. And I must say that the ideas and areas of marriage the authors write about in this book would help a lot of marriages that are currently stale or dying.

Although a book like this may not initially interest you, it can be a great way for you and your spouse to brainstorm some ideas together. This could be a great resource to take on your next date and have some productive time of talking and deepen your level of intimacy. It can be another way of helping to nourish your marital relationship.

Here are just a few of the lists included in this book:

• Things to Say to Your Spouse
• Marital Dating
• 12 Times to Say, “I’m Sorry”
• Loving Little Things for Wives to Do
• Loving Little Things for Husbands to Do
• True Love Is…
• 50 Habits for Marriage
• A Regret-Free Marriage
• Ten Suggestions for Touching
• Doing It Together

I do encourage you to buy yourself a copy of this book. How knows? You may even find yourself recommending it to your friends, too.

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In part 2 of Laura Brotherson’s interview (part 1 can be found here), she talks about six steps a couple can take to help improve their sexual relationship.

As she and the interviewer point out, many couples will never seek professional counseling in this area so these  steps are useful for “self help” in a marriage. They also share that many couples don’t actually need intensive counseling, but instead could benefit from learning or getting reacquainted with some basic rules concerning their sexual relationship.

I hope you enjoy and benefit from the information Laura Brotherson shares in this clip. I especially like step #6.

Once again, if after viewing her interview, you decide you want to purchase her book, it can be purchased directly from Amazon and the title is, And They Were Not Ashamed.

Don’t wait for the New Year before you make a resolution to work on your sexual relationship with your spouse.  Make your marriage and sexual relationship your top priority; that is, after your relationship with God.

(Click here to read part 1 of And They Were Not Ashamed)

Background Information of Marriage Studies

Below you will find background information on each of our marriage studies which we believe you will find helpful. Each link also supplies further information on purchasing available leaders’ guides and workbooks.

A Wife’s Invitation to Intimacy (Individual married woman’s study)

An Invitation to Intimacy (Group Study for Married Women)

Passionate Partnership (Group Study for Married Couples)

After I had been teaching An Invitation to Intimacy for a couple of years, I would have different women say to me, “Boy, I wish my sister could take this class. She would love it.” Sometimes I would even have women tell me that they wished their mother could know the material they were learning.

For a long time I didn’t know how to respond. Then one day my grown married daughter, Faith, who had taken my class said to me, “Mom, you ought to combine the Leader’s Guide and the Student Workbook into one book. That way, any woman could study and learn this material on their own and wouldn’t have to hope for a class to be taught near her.”

So, this is how A Wife’s Invitation to Intimacy came to be written.

In this book you will find the class material I use during my teaching sessions, melded with the articles and homework activities a student does at home. In addition, I’ve written in such a way to imitate a feeling like you and I are sitting together discussing this material.

My prayer is that you will find this resource helpful and insightful. Although this book does not make it possible for you to have access to the questions and comments discussed in a class setting, I hope you and your husband will find yourselves talking about them with each other.

A Wife’s Invitation to Intimacy is also written in such a way that a small group of friends could read this material and then get together to discuss what they are learning. This gives a group of ladies the chance to hear other ideas and helpful suggestions without the preparation and responsibilities of leading a class.

If you would like to download a chapter from this book, you can go to the free previews’ page found here or the previews’ button found at the top of this page.

Several years ago, I found myself desiring to share with other married women information I was discovering about God’s design for sex and intimacy in marriage. Through my studying, God was showing me how He intended sex to be enjoyed and how His gift of sex had been distorted by the world.

In the process of trying to put together material for teaching, I ultimately decided to write my own curriculum. Thus, An Invitation to Intimacy was born.

This 12-week study (with an optional 13th week Celebration Class) has been designed for a small group of married women who desire to learn more about God’s plan for their marriages. Many Christian authors are also quoted concerning sex and intimacy to reinforce the teachings of this study.

This class is meant to provide a safe place for women to come together and share their wisdom, experiences, concerns, and joys of married life while maintaining a sense of reverence for marriage and privacy with regards to their relationship with their spouse.

The teachings found within this study have proven to bless so many women around the country. Consider spending a few moments to read the testimonials from those who have taught and taken this class. Lives and marriages are always deeply affected and blessed whenever this material has been taught.

This teaching materials for this study are comprised of the Leader’s Guide for the instructor and a copy of the Student Workbook for each student who participates.

I pray you will enjoy the weekly class discussions, questions, articles, and homework assignments you get to experience with your spouse as you share and develop friendships with other married women during An Invitation to Intimacy.

If you would like to download a chapter from this book, you can go to the free previews’ page found here or the previews’ button found at the top of this page.