Why I Facilitated an Awaken-Love Video Class

Beth contacted me last Spring and I’ve asked her to share why she decided to facilitate Awaken-Love Video classes at her church in Ohio. 

I am not sure how I stumbled across the Christian Marriage Bloggers Association website.  What I do remember is what followed: an intense exploration of the marriage blogs listed in their directory.  Considering I had never read a blog before, I was fascinated.

Finding Awaken-Love

Several of the blogs really resonated with me and Awaken-Love was one of them. Thru the posts on the site, I was beginning to get a view of the marriage relationship in a whole new light. My husband and I had met young and between dating and marriage, we have been together over 37 years. You could say we knew each other pretty well . And yet…these articles seemed to hint at an area, a depth of intimacy that we might not have experienced.  As the saying goes, “You don’t know… what you don’t know.” The Awaken-Love site left me wondering what we didn’t know.

Taking a Class

The site’s author, Ruth, had created a study based on the Song of Solomon from the Bible. Yes, I thought, this is a class I want to take.  Slight problem ….it was a few states away! I contacted Ruth and thru Skype and videos I was able to go thru the class.  Did I find out what I didn’t know? Oh yes. I felt like the kid on the playground who realizes there has been a secret she wasn’t in on.  I had sensed the whispers from the other kids and wondered if I was imagining it. You see, we took the required pre-marital course, attended marriage retreats, and were members of several couples study groups over the years. We read marriage books and heard the sermons. Sexual intimacy in marriage was alluded to…but not really explored. I found myself at a crossroads.

Now I knew the secret…God’s specific design for sexual intimacy in marriage. A gift from God for me that I hadn’t been aware of. Do I continue to keep the secret from my friends on the playground? Or do I take a step of faith and share what I have learned? The study was powerful and was truly an awakening. To go from years of trying to figure it out on your own to really seeing God’s vision for that part of your marriage…WOW. From thinking it’s going ok, to this is what it could be… WOW. We could go deeper…much deeper.

Taking the Plunge

I asked a few close friends to join me in the video class. These were women who, like me, had strong, Christian marriages. I asked them to be my pilot group for facilitating a video study thru the Awaken-Love site. Truth be told they weren’t fully aware of what they signed up for. I trusted God had brought the women who were meant to be there. What a journey we had.  Two weeks in, I had a husband thank me for asking his wife to join. He said they were both reaping the benefits of the class.  Another husband used the word “transforming” in describing what he and his wife got out of the class. The last evening we all agreed on the impact the class had. We had a small taste of the full intimacy God intends for us to experience in our marriages.

I am gearing up to start facilitating my second Awaken-Love Video Class. There are 2 more in the works. I am convicted to have a class whenever there is one wife who wants to take it. God seems to bring a few more women on board as well.

Do I see myself leading classes for a long time to come?

Definitely. Some secrets are just too good to keep.

Beth will be facilitating Awaken-Love classes in Westlake, Ohio. If you are interested in joining her for a class, email her at beth@blessthisunion.com.