MIND-BLOWN.

Holy wow! I am completely mind-BLOWN!! A crisis. Multiple CRISES. Who woulda thought such a thing could be GOOD or healthy?? Not me, that's for sure!

We learned that a crisis is an event that necesitates change and although it can be hard, can be a positive and needed thing. Brother Williams showed us this ABC -> X Theory created by Reuben Hill:

Actual event (stressor)
Both resource and resposes (tangible and intangible)
Cognitions (thoughts)
____

total eXperience

Some key notes were: 1) Don't let the stress that's outside come between you (spouse, family, etc); 2) it's the structure of the relationship, not the stressor, that determines the outcome; 3) act, don't be acted upon! Remember: Heavenly Father loves us so much that he doesn't want us to go through life without crises. He gives them to us so we can learn and grow.

We also talked about cheering up! Your spirit chooses what you do! And, "that which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do - not that the nature of the thing itself has changed, but our power to do is increased."

Awkward?

So this week we discussed some stuff that was a little bit...well, ..awkward. We began discussing sexual intimacy and basically, this is what I got from it:

-it is an expression of love
-it facilitates closeness to God (becoming one)
-it "bonds souls"
-it's a renewal of "covenants"
-it should be handled slowly and gently with care, little bit by little bit
-it is private and sacred
-there are benefits to being different: 1) it can teach patience, 2) it can teach selflessness, 3) it gives you the opportunity to forget yourself and serve your spouse (attend to each other)
-sex is not the most important part of marriage, but it's a good barometer of how toher areas of marriage are going (vice versa)

We also discussed different things that girls find attractive or "turn-ons" (so guys reading, pay attention!) and here's the list we came up with:

-good smelling
-act cute with children
-can sing
-cooking skills
-make eye contact and you can tell they are being sincere
-helpful and charitable
-solid familial relationshiop
-strong (safety)
-chivalrous
-active and hard-working
-know another language
-make time for you
-sensitive (testimony)

So many great insights! Gotta love this class!