Author Archive for Paul
Yes you heard it right we want to hear from you. If you have taken the challenge then we want your feedback. So if you could take this anonymous survey we would really appreciate it. This will help us evaluate the effectiveness of the challenge and also help us make necessary changes to the challenge as we prepare it for other people. Thanks again for you help. CLICK HERE FOR THE SURVEY.
So it is day 12 of the challenge and all I can say is that I have been blown away by what people are writing here on this blog. I know that God is doing a makeover on hundreds and hundreds of relationships and for that I am thrilled and humbled. I also know that for some of you this has been the most difficult thing that you have ever done in your relationships. Maybe for some people who are single this is the first time that you have decided to place God at the center of your relationship. And for some married couples maybe this is the first time that you have considered your spouses needs over your own. Susie and I are really enjoying the challenge because it has been 10 years since we have done this. Yes 10 years ago Susie and I embarked on 30 days of intimacy that has lead to 10 years of meeting each others deepest emotional needs. We have not always been great at meeting each others needs because all of us are selfish from time to time but we always know what we are supposed to do. My prayer is that as we close in on the half way point that you would make the choice not to quit. I am sure that some of you are at the point where you are saying this is to hard, I don’t like meeting my spouses needs, or I do not like it that God wants me to reserve sex for marriage and you want to quit. Well could I encourage you that usually half way through anything is the time where most people quit and then they never see the benefits of reaching their goal. Weather it is climbing Mount Everest, running a Marathon, joining the football team, or doing something great for God and our relationships. We all must decide to crash through the quitting points and continue moving forward. We will talk soon.
“KEEP MOVING FORWARD” Walt Disney
Paul
WOW!! I just read Ryan’s entry and it was amazing. Ryan I think as a single guy you are really getting the point of this challenge and I am encouraged that your faith is growing.
I must admit that with all of the scheduling of time to meet with people and do interviews that Susie and I have had to really plan on meeting each others needs. I am realizing all over again that this whole idea of meeting each others needs is hard work. Sometimes my selfishness just rises up and I do not want to meet Susie’s needs, but for some reason I still want my needs meet. Is there anyone else who feels like me sometimes? I was wondering do you think Jesus ever got tired of meeting all of the crowds needs? I know on at least one occasion Jesus sent the crowd away because he needed to rest. Sometimes when we are tired it is the hardest time to meet someone needs, but when we meet someone’s needs even when we are tired we act most like Jesus because we are truly sacrificing.
Think about it what have you sacrificed this week for your spouse? How did it make them feel? How did it make you feel to unconditionally sacrifice to meet the needs of your spouse?
Enjoy the journey. If you are just beginning I would like to welcome you and encourage you to check out all of the past blogs so you know where we are going.
Well it is day three of the challenge and quite frankly I don’t think I have met my wife’s emotional needs very well today. Form the interviews to the not sleeping and wanting her to be up with me last night praying (I know that sounds so pastor like but I can honestly say it was awesome) I have just felt like I was not meeting her needs very well. However, as I have spoken with her today she told me that the spiritual connection from early this morning was awesome and fulfilling. Thank you God for an amazing time with You and with the most amazing woman in the world. Guys do not neglect doing this questionnaire because if you do you will miss out on the part that will open up your communication with your wife like never before. Just try it.
Thanks for all of our online participants in the challenge.
My prayer is that as you honor your spouse that God would show up big in your lives. Here are today’s verses for married couples. WOW!! they are awesome. Read them out loud to each other. I think I am behind on my journal because these say day 2 but they are still awesome so read them again.
Philippians 2
1Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? 2Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.
3Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. 4Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing.
Christ’s Humility and Exaltation
5Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. 6Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. 7He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. 8And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross. 9Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
WOW what would this do to our relationships and marriages?
We will talk tomorrow.
Paul
I just read an email from one of our couples that was a great reminder of just how difficult the questionnaire can be. Especially for those of us that have been married for a while. She stated that many tears were shed before she understood what a blessing the open and honest communication was. She went on to thank us and say that, ” these are things we might not have ever shared and now we have the opportunity to get real about it all.” When Paul and I exchanged our questionnaires some 10 years ago now if is makes you feel better, I cried too! I was really upset and thought that he was being unreasonable and superficial. For us it took some time to unpack some even deeper issues! We came to the place that we knew we had to begin with forgiveness on both of our parts. We confessed our short-comings to each other and made a fresh commitment to begin a new. One of the condition for this challenge to be successful (aside from having a relationship with Christ in the center) is to make sure that neither of you are harboring unforgiveness in any area of your life. So getting to the heart of the matter is making sure your hearts are right w/ God and each other.
Have a blessed Day!
Susie
Well yesterday we launched the 30 day sex challenge amid a huge buzz across the nation. Susie and I began reading our journal this morning and I can tell you that this journey is going to be amazing. We had the privilege of helping develop all of this stuff but when we actually just did the questions and read the verses together this morning it was incredible. I am so looking forward to connecting with my wife on a deeper level over the next 30 days. Here is the verse from today for the Married Couples I think it is pretty cool.
Hebrews 13:4
Let marriage be kept honorable in every way, and the marriage bed undefiled. For God will judge those who commit sexual sins, especially those who commit adultery.
Now the word that jumped out at me was the word Honor and I thought how fitting to place the word honor at the beginning of our journey. Because honor is where it all starts. When I honor my wife by meeting her emotional needs she feels secure and her love for me increases. When I do not honor her and fail to meet her needs she feels insecure and her love for me decreases. The same if true for me. So as we begin this journey let’s start with honoring each other and loving each other the way Christ showed us how. If you have not taken your test yet please do it today because that is where it all starts - with our emotional needs. If you are one of our online participates. You can download the questionaire here. It is at the bottom of the page. This test is key to the success of the 30 days. DON’T SKIP THIS PART.
Enjoy the journey!! We will talk tomorrow. If you are one of our online participants please send us an email letting us know where you are from so we can track the success of this program.
Have a Great Day,
Paul