*Disclaimer* This post contains adult themes and is not intended for young eyes*
Happy Valentine’s Day!
The middle of Song of Songs 5:16 (NIV) is one of my favorite lines in the Bible, as it relates to our relationship with our spouse:
“This is my beloved, this is my friend”
Now it’s time to discuss one actionable way to implement this sentiment into your own marriage!
If you read The One-Stop Shop for Marriage and Intimacy Resources on February 1st, then I hope you found and applied some helpful lessons!
In case you find extensive resource lists to be overwhelming, I want to offer you a narrowed down list today by sharing some books I did not discuss last time.
If you want my entire list of recommended resources for sexual wholeness, you can find marriage and sexual wholeness reading lists on The Savvy Sauce website. Today, I will narrow down this list to my top five book recommendations. My hope is for you to choose and order one book, then read it by yourself or with your spouse!
Reading a God-honoring book about sexual wholeness is a great starting place for any married couple to begin improving their communication and their sex life. The book can become the objective third party, cheering you on with fresh ways to connect intimately with your spouse. Reading the words aloud not only gives you language, but also helps you practice saying this vocabulary out loud. And it can provide a lot of laughter, because it may be awkward at first 😉
As always, posts about sexual intimacy in marriage require a few disclaimers: This post is not for everyone. This is not a post to read and implement if you are in a destructive marriage. If you are in an abusive marriage, I would direct you to first listen to this episode, Biblical Response to Emotionally Destructive Relationships with Leslie Vernick.
And if you are in a healthy marriage, I applaud you for humbly seeking to grow in this area!
Here are my five favorite books about sexual intimacy in marriage (as promised in Need Summer Reading Ideas?!).
At The Savvy Sauce, we will only recommend resources we believe in! We also want you to be aware: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Married Sex by Gary Thomas and Debra Fileta
A Celebration of Sex by Dr. Douglas Rosenau
The Art of Intimate Marriage by Tim and Dr. Jennifer Konzen
Anything written by Dr. Clifford and Joyce Penner
Passion Pursuit by Linda Dillow and Dr. Juli Slattery
Bonus: If you are a spouse healing from your spouse’s sexual sin, I would recommend the book Aftershock by JoAnn Condie and Geremy Keeton (He came on The Savvy Sauce for Pornography Healing for Spouses Part One and Part Two). If you are healing from an affair, I recommend Dr. David Carder’s work: Torn Asunder and Anatomy of an Affair. He was also a repeat guest on The Savvy Sauce for Anatomy of an Affair and Protecting Your Marriage Against Unfaithfulness, which is only available on our Patreon site.
My prayer for you today is for this to be your best Valentine’s day yet. May you lay the foundation for even better years ahead in your marriage!
May this sentiment ring true for you today and always:
“This is my beloved, this is my friend.”
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Love to you,
Laura
