Taking Care of Ourselves

Tonight I picked up Intimacy Ignited by Dillow and Pintus. The wives wrote the book with input from their husbands. (They wrote a book called Intimate Issues which I highly recommend. It is a book with questions women struggle with about sex and their answers and explanations are very wise.)

But, back to what I was reading tonight =) It was funny to say outloud that I chose this book to review and that I would be reviewing it after I read it. It is a book that walks through Song of Solomon and what it says about sex and God's design for relations between man and wife. They take a literal view of the book rather than an allegorical one (which would mean the book is talking about Christ and the church). I'm not sure what I think about that. I've never felt strongly one way or the other. Even so, it is a good book. The first chapter was very dry =s , but after that the tone changed and it got a lot better. The chapter I just finished is what I want to write really quickly about...

When I was growing up, my dad always reminded me to watch my weight. I heard many comments as well from my grandmother. I still remember her feelings about my weight one summer I was home from college and how she expressed her disapproval to me. Not good memories. Then suddenly when I was graduating from college, my dad asked me when I was going to gain some weight? I looked at him increduously and asked when was I ever okay?

The reason I wanted to share all this was because today a group of homeschool moms that has kindly included me as their friend were chatting about eating and weight. And then I read this chapter in Intimacy Ignited tonight. The chapter was about being attractive for our husbands and taking care of ourselves.

I've had it impressed upon my heart several times that this is important--my downfall is that I get tired and I need to workout regularly! =) I do try to take care of myself and dress in a way that is flattering and that I feel good in. It's funny because I know that show What NOT to Wear would probably get rid of everything in my closet--they hate active clothes and lambast them. But, I'm a mom of 3 little kids! My husband likes the way I dress and that I don't wear any make up. I'm thankful for this. And this may surprise you when I admit this, but when I had my children, I did pray and ask God to help me lose the weight quickly. I wanted to be attractive again to my husband.

I'm thankful for how Ms. Dillow and Ms. Pintus talked about how important it is that wives feel good about how they look--it affects how we relate to our spouses both from our perspective and theirs. It helps us because we feel more confident about how we look and more comfortable being physical with our husbands. But, it helps our husbands be strong in the struggles that men face with lust and temptation. Today in the mail, we got a letter asking for prayer for Navigators' ministry to men and women struggling with pornography. It decimates lives and marriages.

They didn't mention plastic surgery as a requirement like a book I read in January (it was by Julie Barnhill and I don't recommend it). But, they did give a great tip in one of the chapters before this one--that kissing strengthens the muscles in your lips and it will help your face more than any plastic surgery ever could! Isn't that great news?!

The most interesting thing about this chapter was that it was actually written more towards the men than the women--how they can encourage and love their wives well and help them feel good about themselves. I've written above about how what they shared struck me as a wife.

Ah, the lateness of the hour is upon me...I am not writing very coherantly so I must proceed to bed! =) I hope this entry all makes sense. I'll read it again in the morning! =)