Hi y'all, you get the B team for the show notes on this episode! Jason here, trying to take up the slack, so these notes will be from my perspective not Shelley's this time.

Listener Question #1 : How do I help my wife be close to me again?

With this question, we first have to remember that she may not be ready to be close again. If that's the case, our efforts to draw her close will feel manipulative and selfish. Second, we have to challenge our motives and scrutinize if this is a) about sex, and b) about us. Once we've established that she does in fact want to figure out how to be close again, and that we aren't focused on sexual and physical intimacy, and we're not making it about us, here are a few things we have to ask ourselves as husbands:

- "am I intentionally creating safety?"

- "am I creating intimacy (especially outside of sexual)?"

- "how can I communicate with my words what I want to communicate with my body?"

Listener Question #2 - 28:15 - What tips do we have for men who can't see the need for help?

This is a painful question. My hunch is it's from a wife, whose husband refuses help. If you're in that boat, I'm sorry. We talk about how this is both a spiritual/faith issue, as well as an arrogance and pride issue.

A short bible study here...We reference the following verse: Matthew 5:48 - "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." The word perfect in this verse is the greek word, teleios, which means "of mind and character, one who has reached the proper height of virtue". It is often misquoted to mean sinless perfection, which for me (Jason) meant a feeling of perpetual failure. Blah. I love what Charles Spurgeon (an English pastor in the mid-late 1800s) says of this:

"Rise out of ordinary manhood. Get beyond what others might expect of you. Have a high standard. Stretch towards the highest conceivable standard, and be not satisfied till you reach it."

We have to be careful that we don't become tangled up in the barbed wire of our own ego!

Here are the key takeaways for both husband and wife:

Takeaway for a husband: ask 3 people in your life if they see anything you could work on as a man, a leader, a christian, a husband, etc. and prepare your heart to receive it.

Takeaway for her: is him getting help in this specific area an absolute non-negotiable for her? If so, you'll need to confront the issue head-on. We reference Matthew 18:15-16 - If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' Nothing about this is pleasant or easy. Husbands, please see that if she is backed into this corner it only serves to add insult to the betrayal injury.

We are so glad YOU are here, thanks for joining us for Season #7.

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#88: Listener Questions

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