SexuallyConfidentWife.com Official Blog

August 17, 2008 — It’s our last day here in Australia, and we’ve been reflecting on this amazing experience our family has had over the past 16 days. We’ve patted wombats, kangaroos and koala bears at the Australian Zoo (home of Steve Irwin, the dearly departed Crocodile Hunter). We went scuba diving off the Gold Coast (and froze our pattuties off) and have collected seashells of various shapes and sizes. We’ve sampled the traditional fare, including a Vegemite sandwich (an acquired taste if there ever was one). And today we’re packing up all of these precious memories, along with 7 suitcases full of fresh laundry and souvenirs, and getting ready to fly on to New Zealand in the morning.

But even better than the things we’re bringing back home with us are the things we’re leaving behind here in the Land Down Under — tons of books, as well as lots and lots of SEEDS! Over the past 2+ weeks, we’ve sown seeds of healthy sexuality and spirituality into 15 lively and incredibly receptive audiences…

· Junior high, senior high, and university students have gotten big doses of preventative medicine to help them say “no” to premarital sex, but “yes” to healthy relationships.

· Single women have been encouraged to look to God to meet their emotional needs rather than looking for love in all the wrong places, and to focus on becoming Mrs. Right rather than searching so hard for Mr. Right to complete them.

· Married women have been better equipped to instill sexual values in their children, as well as keep the home fires burning, connecting with their husbands mind, body, heart, and spirit so that extramarital temptation doesn’t creep in and destroy their family and self-esteem.

· Churches and schools have been challenged to continue boldly addressing the topic of sexual integrity and sexual intimacy in marriage so that there is a reliable voice of reason in this sexually unreasonable world we live in.

We’re so very thankful for these seed-sowing opportunities we’ve had in the Sydney, Brisbane, and Gold Coast areas. We’ll continue to cherish the memories we’ve made, and the dear friendships that have been cultivated along the way. I get the strong feeling that although this was our first speaking tour through Australia, it definitely won’t be the last. The spiritual soil is too rich here in the Land Down Under not to keep sowing seeds of healthy sexuality & spirituality whenever possible.

We’re off to New Zealand — please pray for travel safety and that a major heat wave would melt the blizzard that hit Queenstown yesterday!

Shannon, Greg, Erin & Matthew

No comments

Okay, I feel like the luckiest woman on the planet. A few days ago, we had a brief layover in L.A. and got to frolic a few hours in the Pacific Ocean. This morning (Monday here in Australia) we took a family walk along the beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean from the OTHER DIRECTION from just a few days ago. I can’t believe I get to call this “work.” Traveling to far off places, meeting interesting people, and getting to talk about my passion for sexual integrity and sexual intimacy within marriage. Gee, it’s a tough life, but I guess someone’s got to do it. May as well be me!

Seriously, the groups I’ve spoken to so far (one group of high school girls, and one group of high school girls and guys mixed together) have been incredibly receptive to the message. They’ve laughed when they are supposed to, and paid close attention, and asked great questions.

I’ve also asked a lot of questions about the culture here. What I’ve learned is that Australian teens face the exact same pressures as American teens, but the whole “True Love Waits” movement hasn’t changed much of the sexual patterns here, and with a legal drinking age of 18, alcohol plays a HUGE role in their sexual choices. The seriousness with which they approach me afterward to ask personal questions seems to announce, “Thank God that someone is finally talking straight to us about all this stuff!” Many have been very vocal with their praises, and I’m blessed to meet so many who’ve already read Every Young Woman’s Battle (it’s my Australian book distributor’s #1 best-selling book — how cool!).

I’m just so grateful that I get to do all this for a living. I’m so grateful for what God has done in my life and the testimony He has given me that He CAN take the sexual lemons we’ve picked for ourselves and turn them into lemonade that can bless others.

More from the Land Down Under in a few more days,

-Shannon

As the washing machine churns, the clothes dryer hums, and suitcases and backpacks are spread out all over the house, it’s beginning to sink in that in about 24 hours our family will be on a plane bound for Australia. I’ve dreamed of going there probably from the time I watched Crocodile Dundee as a young teenager. I’ve also dreamed of ministering to women on every continent of the world, not just through published books in their native language, but by actually stepping foot on their soil and making face-to-face, heart-to-heart connections with local women. I’ve had that privilege all across North America, Canada, Honduras, Panama, and Zimbabwe, and soon we can add Sydney, Brisbane, and the Gold Coast to the list of “territories” God has allowed us to reach with the message of healthy sexuality and spirituality. Needless to say, I’M SO STINKIN’ EXCITED!!!