Stained and Ruined

Melissa Taylor

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

Devotion:
Looking back, it seems like I'm viewing the story of another person. I hardly recognize the little girl I became in that dark moment.

I was walking home from the bus stop. The walk took about ten minutes unless I stopped to talk to a friend or neighbor, which I usually did. Mr. Parks, a retired man, was sitting in his driveway waving to all the kids walking by. He was so friendly. On this particular day, he invited me into his garage. He said he had some candy to give me.

I walked in that garage an innocent trusting little girl. I walked out scarred for life.

When Hurt Robs Us of Hope

By Renee Swope

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 (NIV)

How could this be happening? She had given up so much to be with him and now this?

My friend had left her very successful career and friends in Louisiana, uprooted her three kids and moved to North Carolina to get married and live in her new husband's hometown. And now, six years later, she answered the phone and was shocked by the confession of a woman who called to tell her that she'd been having an affair with my friend's second husband — for the past four years.

I held her as she sobbed. And I listened as she questioned everything about her husband. Every business trip, every late night at the office, everything she thought was true that was now laced with deceit.

One More & I'll Go Insane!

The Snake Pit (1948)

That title should read "one more mention of high-drive husbands and I'll go insane!" A wife recently commented to me about her frustration that, while it's great that churches and ministries now discuss sexuality, it is painful at times for wives who don't experience the norm.

The most common scenario described here, and on other blogs, is that of the eager beaver hubby and the sexual sloth wife. To be fair, that is the typical make-up of many marriages: A husband with a higher sex drive than his wife. However, it hardly represents the whole of marriages.

A Secret Shame

DOUGLAS WEISS, PH.D. 

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(© J0sefino/StockFreeImages.com)

Many men struggle with sex addictions. But in the United States today, a growing number of women also are falling prey to pornography and perversion.

Marsha is a 32-year-old woman who appears to have a perfect life. She is the attractive, healthy wife of a successful doctor in town and the mother of a terrific little boy. She began our first counseling session by saying, "I have everything going for me, but I have a problem I am so ashamed of that I can hardly tell you."

Boston University hockey team has culture of 'sexual entitlement,' report says

By Lisa Dillman
September 7, 2012, 12:20 p.m.

The sobering and straightforward account of a task force assigned to examine the culture and climate of the Boston University’s men’s hockey program was revealed in a letter and report on Wednesday on the website of BU President Robert Brown.

"The Task Force concluded that the unique culture of men's ice hockey, played at the highest collegiate level, and the preeminent status of our team on campus contribute to a celebrity culture and an isolation of these athletes from the majority of our student body,” Brown said in the letter.

"I believe this situation is exacerbated in men's college hockey where professional teams frequently draft players before they enter college, an observation contained in the Task Force's report. This insular and elevated status can lead to unacceptable and destructive behavior, including a culture of sexual entitlement and abuse."

A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break

Written by Paula Friedrichsen

Donned in her favorite nightgown Kimberly* slips under the covers anticipating a good night’s sleep. Patting her husband’s shoulder she says, Goodnight honey… Tentatively Ron reaches out for Kimberly and nuzzles her check giving her a tender kiss. With a familiar sick sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Kimberly wriggles away from Ron, while feigning tiredness and a backache. Although it’s been several weeks since they’ve made love, Kimberly can’t seem to stop herself from rebuffing Ron’s sexual advances.

But it wasn’t always this way…

".XXX" - The Internet's New Red Light District

Randy Hicks

(WNS) -- It’s not likely you’ve heard of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), but this international organization in charge of Internet addresses has just approved a policy that will create what amounts to a red-light district online.

We’re all familiar with the top level domains like “.com”, “.edu” and “.org.” Now, after years of debate, ICANN has approved “.xxx” for porn websites.

So now, for the first time, a specific industry will have its own suffix on the Internet. In this case, it happens to be an industry that exploits women and ensnares thousands of men and even children into a harmful addiction that can ruin lives and relationships.

For starters, the new .xxx domain will significantly increase the amount of porn online since adult websites will not have to give up their current web addresses. Instead, they’ll create new websites with the new suffix, making their content more prevalent and accessible.