Intimate Issues

A bit of good news. My mom just called and said that the hospital is lowering the level of Howard's respirator, and he is breathing, just a bit, on his own. That's a wonderful thing.

The other day when I picked Mia up from school, she told me that she had an awful day, and it was the worst day of her life ever. We talked about what had happened, and I tried to offer her some encouragement as well as take her mind off of the troubles by telling her about a new movie that came in from the library. But she was firmly cemented in her sadness, and no matter what I said, she countered with something bad. Finally, I suggested that we talk about some of the blessings in her life, things that she is thankful for. At first she couldn't think of any and she resisted my attempt to cheer her up. Then I flicked on the windshield wipers and told her that each good thing we came up with would work like the wipers sweeping away the dirt and sadness of the day. I started by naming people who love her, and with each name I flicked the wipers. Pretty soon she was rattling off names quicker than I could turn on the wipers. Then she moved on to beautiful things in nature and things her body could do. By the time we got home 10 minutes later, she was her happy smiley self again. When she got upset a few nights later before going to bed, we did it again with my fingers sweeping back and forth in place of the wipers, and again by the time she went to sleep, she was calm and happy.

Counting my blessings is something I do on the nights I absolutely can't sleep despite the Tylenol PM and no matter how exhausted I am. I start running through all of the things I am grateful for, and soon my mind settles down, my breathing slows, and I will fall asleep. Sometimes I have to force myself to do it, because just like Mia, I want to cling to my anger or sadness and just wallow in it. Today I am grateful for Howard's progress in breathing and that we still have him. I am also grateful for my husband who scrubbed the bathroom this weekend and helped Mia put together a project for school. What are you thankful for today?

Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus is subtitled 21 Questions Christian Women Ask About Sex, and boy, does it deliver! I think that many people have the idea that Christians think that all sex is bad and that even happy Christian marriages are boring and cold in the bedroom. The authors are determined to put that myth to rest, and if it isn't a myth in your marriage, to teach you that it's absolutely ok to have a vibrant and happy sex life. By incorporating Scripture and personal anecdotes the book explains that sex was created by God to enhance marriage and should be a beautiful part of it. The authors use The Song of Solomon to illustrate exactly what a wife's role in sex should be, as well as what is acceptable biblically (a lot more than you'd think) and what's not. They also tackle issues that may be causing trouble in the bedroom like self-image issues and physical problems. Sex can be a determining factor in whether a marriage survives. Whether your sex life is fabulous or floundering, there's a lot of great info in this book for everyone.

I'm giving away two copies of this book this week. If you'd like to enter, drop me an email before 10 pm on Tuesday, Feb. 11th. I'll announce the winners here on Wednesday and kick off another contest. Good luck!

Today's pic is from Mia's birthday party last weekend at Chuck E. Cheese. You can tell Doogie wasn't thrilled about having his picture taken.