Sexual and Emotional Intimacy
by Dr. Gary Chapman  

It was getting late.  We had almost finished our first counseling session when the husband looked at me and said: "If we could get our sex life straightened out, everything else would be fine.  But when we don't have sex, I feel that she doesn't care for me at all.  And I can't go on like this forever."

And what was his wife's response?  "We don't ever do anything together anymore.  He's always gone.  Our communication is almost nonexistent.  I feel that he has no interest in me as a person.  He only wants to use my body."

Would it surprise you if I said that in my opinion, both the husband and the wife are looking for the same thing?  They both have an intense concern for their marriage.  They know that things are not right between them.  Each of them is crying for intimacy.  However, he is focusing on physical intimacy and she is focusing on emotional intimacy.   Will they ever connect?  I believe they can and this week I want to show you how!  Join me tomorrow. 

Article written by Dr. Gary Chapman.  Based on the book,  Now You're Speaking My Language  by Gary Chapman. Published by Broadman and Holman Publishers. For a complete listing of Dr. Chapman's books and resources, click here.     

Wrapped in Kindness
by David and Teresa Ferguson 

As God's chosen people...clothe yourselves with compassion (and) kindness.
Colossians 3:12 NIV

Kindness sees me (David) as Teresa's servant.  Today's verse refers to this kindness when it tells me to wrap myself in compassion and kindness.  This means I am to "wear" kindness as I go about my day.  It is to be a part of all my interactions, conversations, and attitudes.

That didn't sound very appealing to me as a teenage husband.  If I was pleasant, it wasn't from serving.  And if I had to serve, I sure wasn't pleasant about it.  But several years into our marriage, God began to "tenderize" my heart.

God showed me His great kindness through a janitor at the local church.  The Lord had begun to draw Teresa back to church, but I was a reluctant attendee.  I hadn't been impressed with many of my church experiences, so I walked into church one day and sat in the back row, looking for the other "rebels." Instead, I met Paul that day.

Paul was the janitor for this small local church, and he befriended me immediately.  His cordial nature and caring manner attracted me right away.  I just liked being around this kindhearted man.  I went with him as he did maintenance repairs just so I could be around him.  Paul demonstrated the truest picture of a Christian I had seen to that point.  He lived out Christ's kindness before me.  Because of Paul, I gave my life to Christ.

It's no small miracle that caring for Teresa as I should now seems natural rather than forced.  Showing her kindness and serving her is a joy to me, not a burden.

All because God showed me a picture of kindness.

Content taken directly from The One Year Book of Devotions for Couples by David and Teresa Ferguson, published by Tyndale House Publishing.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Colossians 3:12-14