Laura's Strengthening Marriage Blog

Welcome to our “Open Forum 2” discussion page! This has been the place (up until April 3, 2011) to post your questions and comments, and have an open dialogue about subjects related to marriage, sex, intimacy and parenting.

To create new discussion posts please visit our Open Forum 3 discussion page.

For additional insights, you can review previous discussions by clicking on the links below:

• Open Forum 3 (to post NEW questions and comments)
• Open Forum 2 (posts from Jun 30, 2009 — Apr 3, 2011)
• Open Forum 1 (posts from Aug 14, 2007 – Jun 29, 2009)
• Laura’s Straight Talk Q&A (for other questions and answers from Laura)

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I know from your many personal emails and the conversations we’ve had at various events that there is an army of intelligent and intuitive people who have great insights, and are seeking to strengthen their marriages intimately. I hope you will consider yourself a valuable resource in this forum as you share your questions and comments.

Please continue to be attentive to the tone of your posts, so that we can maintain an atmosphere of reverence and respect for each other and the sanctity of sexuality in marriage. I will try to respond as often as I can, but hope you will step up and share your insights as well.

Thank you all for your participation here! Let’s learn and improve our marriages together! : )

A few months ago I received a press request by a writer for the women’s magazine First to do an interview with someone who had overcome an intimacy challenge. They wanted the story for their “Private Confidence” column. I recommended the couple who had joined me for a TV appearance back in September 2008.

Heidie Lee and her husband Chris not only did a great job on the TV appearances, but apparently did a really great job with this magazine interview, as the writers/editors were able to produce a pretty awesome column. They even came to Heidie and Chris’s home to take pictures of them for the story. A darling photo of Chris and Heidie are included with the article.

How I Took the Taboo Out of Sex

The title of the article is, “How I Took the Taboo Out of Sex–And Transformed my Marriage!” In it Heidie shares her story of overcoming her difficulty in expressing herself inside the bedroom, as well as outside the bedroom. She talks about the role the book, And They Were Not Ashamed–Strengthening Marriage through Sexual Fulfillment played in her ability to overcome her inhibitions and transform her marriage.

Read the rest of this entry »

In working with couples it is quite evident that men and women each assign different meaning to lovemaking. It is common, and not terribly surprising that many women do not fully understand the nature of the sexual relationship from a man’s perspective. To be fair, men have a difficult time comprehending the nature of the sexual relationship from a woman’s perspective as well.

Sex is the Highest Form of Love

For women, having sex does not necessarily equate with feeling love. That seems to be a learned behavior. For a majority of women, it’s just not the primary way (or initial way) they feel love.

Not true for a man. For many if not most men sex is the epitome of love. Most wives would be hard pressed to find a better way to express their love to their husbands than by willingly and enthusiastically engaging in sexual intimacy with them. Read the rest of this entry »