FF: Decoding Her Desire: Stop Shooting Blind

Have you ever tried the “ask for sex every night” approach, figuring the more often you ask, the more often she will say yes? Or, maybe you have no idea why she says yes or no, so you figure you should ask all the time so you don’t miss an occasion when she might say yes. Basically fire blindly and hoping you hit the target occasionally!

Mostly missing the target.

I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I found it didn’t work so well. If you think about it, why would it? If your wife, or your child, or anyone else, did the same to you over something, don’t you think you would come to resent it? Might you feel so nagged you would start to say no just out of annoyance? What’s more, if they asked when you were clearly busy, or over worked, or just so tired you couldn’t stand it, how would you feel about them for being so inconsiderate?

Why would your daily requests for sex be received any differently?

Yes, I know you’re not getting enough, and asking less when you want more seems counter-productive. However, if you think about what I said above, you should see why better targeting your asking could result in more sex and less aggravation for both of you.

The key here is to figure out when/why she says no. It may seem completely random, but it is not. The problem is there are a number of factors involved, so it is a difficult formula to decipher.

  • Time of month is huge if she is not pregnant, past menopause, or on hormonal contraceptives. She should be most receptive (if not chasing you) around ovulation, which is 14 days before her next period. The week before that, she is likely to be more receptive than at other times. After she ovulates, she is less receptive. Just before and during menstruation varies from women to woman.
  • Tiredness, from lack of sleep, is probably the next biggest factor.
  • Stress from a long day, and ongoing stress, are also big factors.
  • How well she has connected with you the last 24 to 36 hours is important. Remember, her love language determines how she feels loved and connected.

There are plenty of other factors, well beyond what I can list here. Start thinking about it; make notes about the 24 hours before when she says yes, and likewise when she says no. Record as much as possible and you should start to find patterns. Does she always say no on laundry day, or after taking the kids to some specific event? Is she likely to say yes when she gets some quiet time in the evening, or the day after a date with you? Keep playing detective, and you should find the clues needed to learn when asking is a waste of time (and a good way to aggravate her) and when your odds are better. I realise not asking doesn’t help you directly, but if it makes her feel less exhausted about sex, that’s good for both of you.

[This post first appeared Nov 24, 2012.]

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Healing Your Marriage: Resolving Conflicts Before the New Year

Before you ring out the old year and ring in the new year, is there any offence from 2024 you need to deal with? This is true across the board, but my focus is on your marriage.

2025 New Year Abstract shiny color gold wave design element

I’m not talking about who’s at fault here, because really that’s not the issue. Romans 12:18 tells us:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. ~ ESV

I take this to mean God expects us to make an effort, even if we’re not the one who has done wrong. If there are hard feelings, you need to try to resolve them. If there’s unforgiveness, you need to offer forgiveness or ask to be forgiven. If something has become a land mine you both avoid, it’s time to deal with it.

If marriage baggage from this year goes into the New Year, let it be because you tried to work it out, but your wife refused. Only then can you be free of responsibility and right before God. 

Still working on our year-end donations. Use the links below, or click here.

2024 Year End
48% of 15,000 raised as of 12/12

Help us meet our goal! Be a part of helping marriages by supporting us with your prayers and finances.
Thanks, Paul & Lori

Donate with Check or BillPay


Print out our donation form and mail it with your check or money order. Make checks payable to The Marriage Bed. Or skip the form and put “Paul & Lori” in the memo.


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Paul & Lori
c/o The Marriage Bed, Inc.
4641 Lyons Hill Road
Springdale, WA 99173

 

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[This post first appeared Dec 30, 2012.]

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Dude, SHE DOESN’T LIKE IT!

Last week, Lori and I were at a thrift store. We’d found several things we wanted, and I sat down in the furniture area with the cart while Lori browsed a bit more.

A young couple with a baby and a toddler was looking at the offerings near me. From their discussion, I learned he was the primary pastor of a church.

An ugly mustard coloured couch

Then I heard this exchange.

HIM: What about this?

HER: I don’t like it.

HIM: What if we put it in the basement?

Her: I don’t like it.

HIM: But it’s only $20!

Her: I don’t like it.

At this point I was fighting the urge to say “Dude, she doesn’t like it!”

And then he said, “How about we leave it, and if it’s still here next week, we can reconsider?”

And then I had to fight the urge to give him my card and suggest he needs a bit of marriage coaching.

I never turned around to see what the woman didn’t like. But it didn’t matter what it was. She had given her opinion, and nothing he said was going to change that. I suspect she felt he didn’t care about how she felt. I mean, I felt that way.

If your wife says “I don’t like it” to you, does that carry as much weight as it should? I’m not saying she has the right to veto anything regardless of how you feel. But ignoring her preferences should be rare, and for good reason.

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FF: Servant Leadership in Marriage: Debunking the Control Myth

I know, I know, you’re the husband, which makes you the boss. The boss is clearly in control, so that means you’re in control. The only control problem in marriage is women who won’t accept that their husband is in control!

Wedding rings and Bible

A lot of us were taught something along these lines, but the Bible doesn’t actually say that. The Bible says husbands are to be servant leaders, just as Christ was a servant leader.

Some will argue Jesus is in control. Jesus Himself would disagree; He was very clear God was in control, while He, Jesus, only did what He saw God doing. Please don’t think this is just a technicality, it’s a critical fact we MUST understand if we have any hope of being the kind of husband and servant leader God calls us to be. Being the leader of your home is not about being in control, and it certainly is not about doing things the way you want them to be done. Jesus didn’t want to go to the cross, but He did. “Not my will, but your will be done” is what each of us needs to say to God about how we lead our family. Jesus was willing to go as far as dying; how far are we willing to go for our wife and children?

The other thing about being a servant leader is following such a leader is optional. It’s not optional if a wife wants to be obedient to God, but there is no provision for the servant leader to enforce following. Just as Jesus will let us go our own way, we have to be willing to let our wife ignore our attempts to lead. If you’re a true servant leader, and your wife chooses not to follow you, please pray for her, because it’s not going to go well for her. If you’re behaving rightly, and she’s not following you, it’s God’s problem to deal with. On the other hand, if you’re not leading properly, or are not leading at all, those are also God’s problems to deal with.

Enough on control; on to something new!

[This post first appeared Sept 11, 2012.]

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FF: Scorched Earth: When Control Becomes Destructive

A mushroom cloud over a house.

The “scorched earth” or “nuclear option” approach to control is the ugly result of deciding if you can’t be in control, then the next best thing is to make sure your wife is not in control either. It becomes okay, more or less, not being in control because you have ensured she doesn’t have any control. Any hint of control is attacked, and fairly stupid things are done in the name of making sure your spouse has as little control as you have. The methods for doing this are most of the ones I listed in 10 Sneaky Ways Men Try to Control Their Wives and Control Dynamics in Marriage: Common Pitfalls and Better Solutions.

The less extreme and far more common form of this is done selectively; either in a few areas, or only when you’re feeling especially out of control. This form is less obvious, both to the one doing it, and the victim. Think about it a bit, does this explain something your wife does from time to time? Does it explain something you do from time to time? Does it explain some problem area of your marriage?

If you’re on the receiving end of this, study your lady and try to learn to anticipate when it is going to happen. Once it happens, you’re not dealing with her at her most rational, and your best options are to try to de-escalate the situation or just walking away as best as you can. If you realise you’ve done this to your wife, try to figure out what triggers it so you have a chance of preventing it before you get too far in to see or care.

[This post first appeared Sept 10, 2012.]

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FF: The Connection Between Margin and Better Sex

You may have noticed I am on a bit of a margin kick recently. So, a post about sex and margin was inevitable…

I have said, and shown, that tiredness and busyness are major sex killers for women. Since margin is all about being less tired and less busy, this is a natural fit. However, it is more than just a better opportunity. One common complaint from wives is their husband rushes to have sex, and then rushes the sex. She wants more non-sexual time before sex, and she wants to move slower when she has sex. Margin allows you to do both without worrying you will run out of time before you get to the sex!

A bedroom with many clocks on the wall over the bed.

Margin also gives you the chance for some unplanned spur of the moment sex. I know, I know, your wife isn’t like that. Maybe she’s not like that because she is so busy or tired that sex never sounds good. Margin will change that. More margin in your marriage should also result in more of her needs being met, which can make for a lot of great changes – including a greater openness to sex. 

For this to work, you need to convince your wife to add margin to her life. Both her life in general and her time with you. I know I’ve already pushed the book a couple of times, but let me say Margin may be one of the best marriage books out there – even though it is not intended as a marriage book! I suggest you get it and challenge your wife to read it and discuss it with you. I’m so sure of this, I’d say do it even if you have to agree to read a book of her choice as well. (And do her book first!) Don’t tell her you want her to read the book so sex will be better.Just tell her you think the book will help both of you and your marriage. (Perhaps suggesting a book that is NOT about sex will impress her!)

At the very least, more margin will mean a more relaxed relationship, far less stress, and less arguing. In and of itself, that’s all good, and it can only help make sex better.

[This post first appeared Aug 09, 2012.]

 

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Divorce by a Thousand Cuts: It Adds Up

I’ve mentioned this song before, but this time I want to hit it from a different direction.

Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should have bought you flowers
And held your hand
Should have gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party ’cause all you wanted to do was dance

Now my baby’s dancing
But she’s dancing with another man

My pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways
Caused a good strong woman like you to walk out my life
Now I never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh ~ Bruno Mars in When I Was Your Man

Wife removing wedding ring.

I realise Mars isn’t talking about a marriage, but he could be. You might say none of the reasons he gave for the woman leaving justify divorce. And I would agree. But if a woman left over such reasons, how does our agreeing she is wrong help anyone?

Divorce is rarely the result of one big thing. Even when folks divorce over adultery, it’s usually the last straw, not the only reason. Often there is no big reason, but rather hundreds of small ones. None of them alone would lead to divorce. Any twenty of them would not end the marriage. But all together, they snuff out any love that was left and make divorce tempting.

If you’re a really great husband, there are a dozen things you do that are on women’s lists of reasons for leaving their man. That’s a given because none of us is perfect, and we’re all selfish. But those dozen things don’t cause your wife to want to be rid of you.

Avoiding divorce is as easy as keeping that list short. The occasional failure, and the thing you just can’t/won’t get right, won’t end your marriage. But if it’s one of many, you’re in trouble.

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Resolving Marriage Issues Before the New Year

Before you ring out the old year and ring in the new year, is there any offence from 2023 you should deal with? This is smart across the board, but my focus is on your marriage.

Golden firework and sparkling number 2024 on night blue sky background.

I’m not talking about who’s at fault here, because really that’s not the issue. Romans 12:18 tells us, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” [ESV] I take this to mean God expects us to make an effort, even if we’re not the one who has done wrong. If there are hard feelings, you need to try to resolve them. If there’s unforgiveness, you need to offer forgiveness or ask to be forgiven. If something has become a land mine you both avoid, it’s time to deal with it.

If marriage baggage from this year goes into the New Year, let it be because you tried to work it out but your spouse refused. Only then can you be free of responsibility and right before God. 

[This post first appeared Dec 30, 2012.]

FIVE DOLLAR FRIDAY:

As we close out our year-end giving, I’d like to encourage those of you who have not given to toss five dollars our way. This is more than reaching our goal, we’d like the number of supporters to be in the hundreds! Of course, if you want to make it fifty dollar or five hundred dollar Friday, we won’t be upset.

2023 Year End

You can be a part of us helping marriages by supporting us with your prayers and finances. Thanks, Paul & Lori

Give with a Credit Card or PayPal:

Donate with Check or Bill Pay

Print out our donation form and mail it with your check or money order. Make checks payable to The Marriage Bed. Or skip the form and put “Paul & Lori” in the memo.

Mail to:

QR Code for donatingPaul & Lori
c/o The Marriage Bed, Inc.
4641 Lyons Hill Road
Springdale, WA 99173

US donations are tax-deductible

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