Joyful Journey Productions

In I Corinthians 7:4, we read, “Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out.” (from The Message) Then, in Romans 12:10 it says, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.” I first heard about the term, “servant lover,” when I read a book entitled, Intimacy Ignited, written by the authors of Intimate Issues along with their husbands. I found it to be an interesting term, yet one that was perfect in summarizing so much of what marriage...

Are godly and sensuous contradictory terms to you? Do you see them as being at opposite ends of the spectrum? Do you believe it is possible for a woman to be godly and sensual at the same time? Do you believe you can be both godly and sensuous at the same time ? Actually, God made you to be both. In a great book I read called Intimate Issues by Linda Dillow and Lorraine Pintus, the authors talk about how many women are under the mistaken belief that sex and godliness can’t possibly go...

This class was a great time of reflection. Each woman shared something about how the “definitions” from last week gave them some fun stuff to share with their husband. They each explained, in different ways, how they liked being able to shed new light on Song of Solomon to their mate. And what was fun for me was listening to how the discussions progressed after the wives shared the meanings with their husbands! We had a good discussion on bedroom attire and I noticed every woman writing...

Nancy DeMoss writes, “Whenever I speak on the subject of forgiveness, invariably someone will tell me, ‘I’ve never been able to forgive myself for what I’ve done.’ Interestingly, the Bible never speaks of the need to forgive ourselves. But I think what many of these women are really saying is they have never been able to feel forgiven for what they have done. They are still carrying a sense of guilt and shame over their failure.”[1] There are several reasons why this persistent guilt is so...

If you decide to use door prizes for your class, I find using name cards very helpful. If you do, you will use these beginning in week 2. I like to print off name cards onto heavy cardstock and print their names on the line provided. Here is an photo of what one looks like.(A master sheet with 6 blank name cards is included in the Colored Graphics package from the Leader’s Guide available for purchase on this site.) I also laminate them using a 9 x 12 sheet of clear laminate as a way of...

Sex before marriage is like giving your future mate the scraps. If you gave yourself to someone sexually, especially someone other than your mate before you married, you became tied to that person(s) in a way God intended for us to only be tied sexually to our mate. It causes you to feel “less than whole” with your spouse. It can be like giving your mate the “scraps.” That’s because a part of you is missing from your sexual relationship. If you gave yourself away before marriage, know that God will always forgive. All you have to do is ask Him to. Asking is

(This is the second part of a four-part series entitled, “Hopes, Dreams, and Expectation”) Here’s another way expectations can play out in a marriage: If neither spouse leaves, often one will conquer. The stronger of the two (physically or psychologically) gets their way. Their expectations get met, and the weaker partner gives way. If you are the winner, it can feel pretty good, but it’s very stressful to be on the losing side; and eventually the stress may lead to a breakdown or an eventual...

Each week of teaching you will find quotes from different authors that I used to help illustrate different areas of study. Below, I have included links to most of the books I quote so you can see what they actually look like. I have listed the titles under the weekly heading when each book is first introduced. Throughout this study, you may wish to purchase a copy of a particular book cited to add to your own personal library. You may even discover that you already own some of them. When you...

Experts that study marriage say our home is often the worst place to find romance because of all the distractions.[1] Does your home feel like this sometimes? Ideally, you want to create a place in your home where you and your spouse and enjoy a place of refuge with peace and quiet–a sanctuary of sorts. In a book entitled, Intimacy Ignited, the authors describe a place in the Bible where David would run to for refuge and safety in the middle of the desert when ever he was trying to escape the...

Recently, I was creating a PowerPoint presentation for week 10 for my class called An Invitation to Intimacy. As part of this week’s lesson, I’ve started showing a DVD by Rob Bell called, Flame. It is an 11-minute movie explaining the different meanings of the word “love” and how they are experienced in marriage and a couple’s sexual relationship. As I was looking for a link where I could capture a screenshot of the cover for this DVD, I found a link to YouTube that had the entire movie...