Hot, Holy & Humorous

All for One, and One for All: Advocating Godly Sexuality

Have you ever heard the saying, “Don’t toot your own horn”? The message is that you shouldn’t brag about yourself. Let your successes speak for themselves. The admonition to be humble in this regard makes it hard at times for me to share when someone else out there has said good things about HHH.

Grow Your Marriage Award 2012But I was blown away by this comment from Lori at Generous Wife when she awarded Hot, Holy & Humorous a 2012 Grow Your Marriage Award:

“Three cheers for the Three Musketeers of Sexuality! These gals routinely turn out good material on marriage and sexuality. Their ability to talk about tough subjects amazes and blesses me. And they make me laugh . . . a lot.

Julie of Intimacy in Marriage
Sheila of To Love, Honor and Vacuum
‘J’ of Hot, Holy & Humorous”

Bam! Did you hear the sound of me falling over in amazement? To be in the category with Julie and Sheila was too delightful not to share. But then I got to thinking about “three musketeers of sexuality”? What was so appealing about that phrase?

While I’ve not read the novel by Alexandre Dumas, I am familiar with the Three Musketeers as being friends of the main character D’Artagnon. The three friends were inseparable, members of a military guard called the Musketeers, and lived by the motto “All for one, and one for all.”

There is strength in numbers. The Bible says that “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12) and that “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matthew 18:20).

One of the blessings of having this blog has been discovering others willing to address biblical sexuality and advocate for (lots of) sex in marriage. When you link with others to pursue a mission for God, your impact doesn’t increase like addition — it multiplies.

Even in the two years since I’ve been online writing about sexuality, many voices have joined the chorus of Christians desiring better marriages and intimacy that honors God. I pray that as the voices grow in number and volume, our world reaches the “tipping point,” defined by Merriam-Webster as “the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.” Unfortunately, forces in our world have weakened marriage substantially, and we need to tip over to the side of preserving and strengthening marriage — in part by strengthening the intimate relationship between husband and wife.

But moving back from a big world point of view, we all need three musketeers of sexuality in our own lives and churches. At times I’ve heard from a reader who is eager to tackle this topic with biblical insight within their church, but the leadership or members aren’t cooperative or simply ready. Some wives have no one to talk to about their sexual struggles or with whom to celebrate the beauty of sexuality. You could use someone nearby with an “all for one, and one for all” attitude.

I contemplate now and then what we can do to foster this advocacy. How can we get more (and more and more) people on board to address the topics of purity before marriage, preparing for intimacy in marriage, addressing issues of sexuality in marriage, and broadening and deepening your sexual experience within marriage — all according to God’s Word? Who are those people who might simply need a nudge to step forward and volunteer for the Musketeers?

My own confession is that I had largely given up addressing this topic among my friends and within the church before starting my blog. I had hit the wall of resistance so many times that my confidence and my forehead were bruised. I am making a resolution in 2013 to find more musketeers in my own area.

I plan to keep fencing alongside Sheila and Julie — women who began blogging before me and who have inspired and encouraged me in numerous ways. Knowing that they, and others, are out there promoting godly sexuality gives me confidence to speak up for marriage with boldness. But I also see the benefit of having support locally — creating that synergy within your church to reclaim the blessing of sexuality for the marriages in your midst.

Please pray for me as I approach my own church with some ideas, and then pray for what role you should play in your area to advocate for godly sexuality. If you have the gift of speaking and biblical wisdom on this topic, ask for opportunities to share what God says about sex. If you have struggled with sexuality, ask for access to helpful resources for married couples in your church or local area. If you have special knowledge (a physician, a counselor, etc.), see how you can use your expertise to positively impact marriages.

Let’s join together to be the Three Thousand Musketeers . . . and beyond. In fact, I think our motto should be “All for THE ONE, and THE ONE for all.”

“And [Christ] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 1 Corinthians 5:15

8 thoughts on “All for One, and One for All: Advocating Godly Sexuality”

  1. Hearty congrats!! A very deserved award for you, Sheila and Julie!! Lori has such wisdom. Online writing is one thing, but face time (NOT the app) is another. Do you feel, as I, that all this online writing is just equipping you for the Lord’s service elsewhere? My prayers are with you, my friend, to take Godly marital sexuality into the ranks of our real life communities.

  2. Congrats on a recognition well deserved! I love your fearless tackling of such an important issue. Praying for you as you approach your church leadership.

  3. Love your post and your perspectives. We surely need people to walk with us in our callings. “All for THE ONE, and THE ONE for all.”

  4. Thank you for talking about this today. I have been praying already, but maybe not often enough for God to give me more opportunities to speak about this topic and especially how to help those who are struggling with sexual issues of any kind. I have one opportunity coming up but praying for more. Your words encouraged me to keep going!

    Karise

  5. A well-deserved recognition! Praying that God would continue using you and each marriage blogger as a catalyst to spark a fervency for the truth about biblical sexuality–inside and outside the church!

  6. Megan@DoNotDisturb

    A local friend of mine was inspired this year to pursue a goal of doing something daily to make her husband feel special. Taking a cue from your 10 confessions post she is calling it “Project Peacock” and has invited others she knows to get out of their comfort zones and love on their husbands. So we have a local chapter of “project peacock” going on.

    Thanks for all you do. You have a great voice in the area of Godly sexuality and I am glad you continue to speak out.

    Blessings!

    Megan

  7. Congrats! Well deserved! I’ve been following for awhile and completely admire how bold (and hilarious!) you are when it comes to the awesome gift of sex. My hubby and I have been married for almost two years and have been blessed by people like you who have boldly spoken into our lives regarding sex and lust and all things regarding. I’m currently praying through how I want to refine my blog and be more bold and effective in these areas. Thanks for your bravery and your beauty! You’re inspiring. -Lilah {at Just a Sparrow}

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