Moving Forward for Awaken-Love

This summer I asked 3 couples to join Jim and me and form a leadership team for Awaken-Love. I asked couples because

The mission of the Awaken-Love ministry is to encourage men and women to claim God’s design for intimacy and equip them to share that truth with others.

I believe that just like Christian women, men need good resources about sex. The church must go beyond helping men stay pure and provide resources to help them create a great sex life with their wife. Jim and I have been teaching Awaken-Love Men’s Edition but we are praying about how to make the class available to others in the future.

One of the couples on the leadership team, Paul and Tracy,  will teach Awaken-Love Men’s Edition in Andover, Minnesota starting in September as a next step in developing the class. If you are interested in more information, you can email paul.awakenlove@gmail.com.  Please pray for them as they step out in obedience to speak about sex.

Introducing Paul and Tracy

Tracy started teaching Awaken-Love classes last Fall and already her influence has rippled.  Two women from her classes will launch Awaken-Love in the north metro this fall. She and her husband Paul joined the Awaken-Love leadership team this summer and they have an amazing story.

Tracy and Paul have a great marriage, including 7 kids. They are one of the most Christ-centered couples I have met. Paul has always prayed over their marriage and sex life but recently felt God had even more for them. He began surfing the web searching for answers, making sure to always include the word Christian. When he stumbled on Awaken-Love, the foundational truths immediately caught his eye. After reading article after article, he knew this was something he could share with his wife. One night, he gently asked Tracy if she would take a look at the blog.

Tracy was a little surprised because she thought they had a great marriage and sex life but she trusted her husband. Over the next 48 hours she devoured article after article as God began to remove the scales from her eyes. Even though she and Paul had talked through their baggage before they got married, she hadn’t fully embraced God’s freedom.

A couple of weeks later Tracy attended class with about 20 other women. We immediately connected as she lingered after class to process, and I knew she would make a great teacher. God knew too. Even before Tracy took the class, she had already begun thinking about teaching. It never ceases to amaze me how God orchestrates connections through Awaken-Love.

Teaching Awaken-Love

I love to equip women to teach Awaken-Love and encourage them to make it their own. We all have our own stories to share about God’s transformation in our sex life. The reading, resources and curriculum provide plenty of guidance as women wrestle with what God wants for them.  The teacher helps provide a safe environment for women to open up and process together. God does the heavy lifting of transformation. Most teachers are pretty nervous the first time they teach and that is right where we should be, completely dependent on God.

After Tracy finished class, Paul signed up for the Awaken-Love MEN’S Edition. From the beginning, Paul has been passionate about the importance of understanding the parallels between sex and our relationship with Christ. Helping men to strengthen their relationship with Christ will ultimately strengthen their marriage.

Paul and Tracy have been prayerful and determined to bring Awaken-Love to their church and it has not been easy. But they patiently persevered because they understood the need and they have personally witnessed the transformations.

This fall, Paul will teach the Men’s Edition at their church with Tracy’s input. I am excited at the next step of getting more people involved in the Men’s Edition and gaining valuable input. Developing a men’s video curriculum will be a top priority this year.

I look forward to seeing God continue to work through Paul and Tracy as they commit to strengthen marriages by claiming God’s gift of sex. I thank God for their commitment, even in the midst of very busy lives. Please pray for their protection as they serve on the front lines of the battle.

Blessings, Ruth