The Wrap up - Summer of Scripture

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Hey, friends, welcome to the Naked Marriage podcast. We're Dave and Ashley Willis, and on this podcast, we Undress the truth about sex, intimacy, and lifelong love. We've got a special episode for you today where we're gonna recap the whole summer of scripture, which I hope you've enjoyed. We loved doing that, touching on every one of the 66 books of the Bible for 66 straight days. If you missed that or any of those, feel free to go back and listen anytime. Those devotional episodes are quick and they'll get. They'll get your soul and your marriage filled up. So we're going to talk about some of what we learned by going through the whole Bible together in that way and then also give you a preview of what's going to happen this fall on the Naked Marriage podcast. And here at ExoMarriage. And we have got some exciting things cooking and can't wait to tell you about it.

That's right. So let's go ahead, sweetie, and dive into today's episode. Well, I am so excited to talk about the summer of scripture. I mean, it's. It's been one of our favorite summers. Right? You know, traditionally in the past, we've always done summer quickies, which I love that, too. And we've done summer Q and A Quickies before. We've done summer quickies, where we just did, like, shorter episodes. And of course, the word quickie is.

Like, fun, always fun.

But, you know, when we were all praying about, like, what do we want to do this summer? We really all, like, our producer and Dave and I all came to the conclusion we need to focus on scripture. And the, the feedback we've received from you all has been all positive. You guys have even written us and said, like, please do this again next summer that you've been doing this with your spouse. You know, I just heard from one of you the other day that said, it's just made your morning commute that much sweeter because you literally have had your quiet time. And that has been our Goal. Like, we're like, let's grow in our marriages, but let's also grow in our faith because we truly believe that the strongest marriages are built on a foundation of faith. But I think so many times we get busy, we complicate it. We're like, man, you know, I'm trying to do all the things, I have kids and a full time job and I'm trying to, trying to do this and that. And we just kind of over complicate our time with the Lord. And so we were thinking, like, how can we make this simple and make this accessible? And so we're just thrilled to hear that you guys have gotten something out of it.

Yes. And so, like, as you said, thanks for being part of that. Thanks for sharing it. And yeah, I hope that, you know, years from now people are discovering those episodes because God's Word's the most important thing we could ever talk about. It's always true, it's always timely, and it's always important. And so check it out. We learned a lot. We were encouraged. And it was a reminder to me that God strengthens us and encourages us when we spend time in His Word. And so I'm hopeful. And part of the reason why we did that series is to help create habits. Habits are what forms our life. And if you will create a habit of even carving out a few minutes a day to really get into God's Word and to see what he's saying to you and to thank him for his truth and to say a prayer, it'll make such a difference that time, it will never be wasted. That time is always so important. And so, yeah, we loved it. And it reminded me too that every part of the Bible is relevant to our marriage. You know, we found something in every book of the Bible that was directly relevant not only to life, obviously, but to our, to our married life.

I know, it was really fun just kind of reviewing those, a lot of these, you know, for those of us who have been Christians a long time and even, even for new Christians. I know, like, even when you become a new Christian is when you tend to read more of the Word because you're just really sopping it up. Like, I want to learn more about this. And so you've probably heard some of these verses we shared. But what I love about the Word is that it never returns void. Like there's something new in there every time that you read those words. And we found that in even recording the summer of Scripture. And so I just love like some of the stories that we ended up sharing that. That we know isn't something we necessarily planned on, but we were like, we feel like the Holy Spirit is leading us to share this. And it really, you know, as we were, we were recording it, we could feel like we were learning so much, too. And so I really hope, though, even more than what Dave and I said on the Summer of Scripture, I hope that it led to great conversations between you and your spouse or you and your kids even, because that's one thing. Probably one of my favorite things about Summer of Scripture is nearly every episode, I think there might have been one where we talked, like, more specifically about sex. So it probably had to be a certain age, you know, appropriate, you know, depending on what you deem appropriate for your kids. But nearly all of them you could listen to with your children and even have a great conversation with your kids about faith and life and where, you know, what God's doing in their life and doing in your life and how to. How to do better as a Christian, things like that. And so that really excites us.

Yeah, it really, really does. And so thank you again for that. Check those episodes out if you missed any of them, and continue to make it a habit to. To put God's word into your day every day. And it'll always make a difference. So we're pivot now, though, and give you guys a little bit of a preview for what's coming this fall, because we are super excited about what's coming this fall at ExoMarriage here on the Naked Marriage podcast. We want you guys to be the first to know that we're in kind of the production phase of launching a parenting podcast.

What?

So that's super fun, and we will keep you posted on that. But XO is doing a lot more with parenting. In fact, we're planning, tentatively planning our first parenting conference this spring. It will probably be March 2024. So just stay tuned for all this, guys. You guys are on the ground floor finding out about all this stuff first, and we'll let you know as it develops. But that is something that we are super excited about.

We are. And so we're going to start out the fall by talking about in laws.

Because, you guys know we have actually before in laws.

Oh, remind me what's before.

Yeah, so we've got Sexy September.

Oh, that's right, Sexy September. I'm sorry. Well, why don't you talk about Sexy September?

So, like, we're doing. Starting the last. The last Monday of August and then the first two of September we're doing three part series on sex, calling it Sexy September.

I know. And it's, we had a lot of fun recording those because it's just fun to say sexy.

It is fun. But we also, we've got some great interviews for you even before that. So, like, we, we've recorded some amazing interviews with some folks that have just absolutely stretched our thinking and their testimonies have been amazing and we can't wait to share these conversations with you. And so those will be coming very soon. Then we got Sexy September and then we're gonna do a four part series.

On in laws because we have our book Married into the Family, which we've mentioned here and there on the podcast. And you guys, this is a book that was very hard for us to write because it's very personal. We don't actually share names. Our story is woven through it along with many of your stories where you've told us about different hurdles you've had to overcome with in law relationships. But this book is not an airing out of grievances about in laws. This book is about healing. This book is about restoration. This book is about creating healthy, multidimensional families and really keeping our legacy really at the forefront of our minds when it comes to our family relationships. And we know personally that having fractured in law relationships and parental relationships is one of the most heartbreaking things that you can go through. And this is a heartbreak we know, but it's a heartbreak that we have seen God heal and we have seen tremendous change and restoration that we didn't even think was possible back in those days when we were going through it. And so. And it's also something where it's an ongoing, it's an ongoing venture.

Absolutely.

But you can have healthy in law relationships and you can have healthy relationships as an adult with your, you know, parents. And so we talk all about that in the book and from all different angles of it and walks of life. And we're so excited. But we're going to go through in this series, we're going to give you a taste, not the whole book, we're going to give you a taste how to identify toxic traits and in laws, how to not be a toxic in law, how to be healthy in law. I mean, there's all kinds of things that we go over. We're really excited about that.

We do. And like Ashley said, this is a deeply personal book for us.

Yes.

And for a lot of you, because we get written all, all the time from people who are really struggling in this area. Both with their mother or father in law, maybe with those who are marrying into their family, sons or daughters in law. It is a huge issue that isn't talked about enough because it's delicate and it's complex. And so in this new resource, this has been years in the making and I really feel like it might be the most important book that we've written just because there's so much pain in this area and yet when we get this right, it can change life dramatically.

Well, and I want to say too, it like I was 20 years old when we got married and you were 22. We have an 18 year old son right now. Like we're, we're coming at this because it comes at it from, like I said, all the different angles of wanting to have healthy relationships with your in laws and parents. But also we're at the point of knowing in the next like decade, more than likely our kids are going to marry. And so we want to be healthy in laws. So we're learning like how can we avoid some of these pitfalls that a lot of us can fall into. And so whether whether you're wanting to have healthier relationships with your parents and in laws or you're wanting to be that for the people who marry into your family, we believe everyone can get something from this book.

Yeah. And do us a favor and go ahead and pre order it. It'll be out in a month, but you can pre order it now as a, as an audiobook. I love the audiobook version.

Some little extras in the audiobook.

Yeah, the audiobook is fire, as the young people say.

Oh my gosh, you're so cool right now.

No, but we had a lot of fun with it. And so, yeah, even though we tackle a lot of serious stuff, there's a lot of fun in this book too.

For sure. As you guys know, we love to laugh.

It's not just a big downer. I mean there's a lot of inspiration, a lot of hope and a lot of fun in it. You will laugh.

A lot of stories and I love stories. Lots of stories in this book.

Lots of stories. So guys, get this one. You can go to Amazon, you can go to xomarriage.com store. You pre order. It's the regular paperback ebook audiobook. And the book is called Married into the Family, the not so Secret Guide to In Law Relationships. And I've never seen another book quite like this that's so directly purchased. We would have purchased it.

We needed this book over and over, like desperately.

Oh, we need It. We wrote the book that we needed.

We needed it so bad.

And so I know others need it too. And so.

Yes.

So, yeah, like, you know, get this for if, you know, anybody that's getting ready to get married or someone is getting ready to marry into their family or if you or someone, you know is one of the millions of people who just live with some tension every day in these areas and in these relationships. Because we can relate, guys. I mean. I mean, I don't want to keep focusing on this, but it really was the hardest thing in our lives for a period of years. I mean, not just in our marriage, in our lives. This was the hardest. The hardest thing.

And even writing it, to be honest with you guys. And then we'll move on to the next series. But when we wrote this book, I really believe that whenever you're stepping out and doing something new, the Enemy, you know, especially for the Lord and to help people, the Enemy loves to come at you. And writing this book because we were having to go back and remember and really address all those things that we wish we would have, you know, learned or known or been able to remedy. It's hard, right?

Yeah.

And both of us.

It was grueling.

It was grueling. And it was. It was last summer. Right. That we wrote it. Well, that. No, you wrote it in the spring and I wrote. We kind of. The way we write, it's in chunks and then we come together and all this different things. But I remember both of us in that season of writing. It was one of the hardest. We've written many books, but this was probably the hardest to write, wouldn't you say? Even more so than Counterfeit Climax, which was also a hard.

Which was. Yeah. Which. Yeah. Because we're talking a lot about some sex. And very. I mean, that one was awkward in different ways. Also helpful. If you haven't read the Counterfeit Climax, go get that one. I think it would be meaningful to you. But when we say hard, we don't want to, like, scare you away. Thinking again that this is just this heavy downer book. It was hard for us because we were reliving. It's our story, some really intimate and personal and difficult aspects of our own journey. But then also reminding the healing and the hope and what God has done, because God has worked miracles in this part of our life in ways that I never. Twenty years ago, I would have said never, Never in a million years.

Not possible.

But it's happened. It really has happened. And it's still happening. Like Ashley said, Earlier. It's still a process, as every relationship is. It's a process. And so I am so excited to share this resource with you. And gosh, we wanted, we for years have looked forward to being able to share this with you.

I would, wouldn't you say? It's like probably 10 years that we've talked about how we wanted to write a book on this.

Yeah.

And we just knew it wasn't the right time until now. So it's really cool to see God's hand in all of it and it's healing. You will laugh. You're going to feel solidarity too. You will feel like, I'm not crazy. I'm not alone.

I'm not alone.

You know, like that's what I, that's what we needed back in the day. So. All right, after we do married into the family and the in law stuff, what's our next subject? Do you remember? Is it.

Well, we've got more again, more interviews that are gonna be coming throughout. We also have a series called My Spouse is Help.

My Spouse is Help.

My Spouse is Fill in the Blank where we're gonna talk about, you know, my spouse is, you know, they're depressed what I do or they're this, what do I do. And we're just gonna tackle some really important issues head on, some from personal experience.

Yeah.

And we've got some other surprises as well. But I want to also talk or give in preview about some of the live events that are coming up.

Yes.

Because we love meeting you guys at the live events. So this fall, we're going to be in Kalamazoo, Michigan. We're going to be in Lakeland, Florida with XO Events. You can register for those@exomarriage.com we're going to be doing an event at Cornerstone Church. Yeah. Like next week, I think. Check your calendar. Cornerstone Church in Chandler, Arizona, doing a marriage weekend with them. Later in September, we're going to do an event at Cottonwood Creek Church in the Dallas Fort Worth area.

We're going to be at Mom Con. The mops.

Yeah, the moms are preschoolers. Mom Con in Chicago in September. We would love to see you at any of these live events. And then of course, it's not too early even to register for our biggest event of the year. Just before Valentine's Day weekend, we'll be at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. You can come live, 4,000 people live. Plus we'll do it as a live simulcast, streaming all over the world.

And it's so exciting.

It's an amazing event because it's like.

Our, our like kickoff to the whole new season of xo.

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I have no idea what I'm going to say. You're looking at me.

I thought you knew. We're looking at possibly doing a Naked Marriage podcast live tour.

Yes, we are.

We're looking at it. If you guys want this, write us. Like, let us know. We know what markets are the most populated markets just because we can look at analytics. But. But we want to hear from you personally. Like, if you want us to come, this would be a different feel. We would do it. You know, we're looking at maybe doing it in some historical theaters around the country.

That would be so fun.

We are so excited now. This is ultimate date night. This is like. This is like some hidden stuff. We've not even really. So we don't. We don't even have this fleshed out yet. But.

No, but we're doing research and if you want us to. But we're looking at the cities where Naked Marriage Podcast is most popular and trying to, like, come to those cities or near them. But if you, like, really feel like, hey, there's a following where we are. We would love to be part of an event like that.

We have an end with a historical theater.

Yeah. Do me a favor. I'm Marcus Bowen is the guy on our tee.

Oh, my gosh. Are you gonna send it to Marcus?

Yeah, I'm gonna send you his email address. Not like his Home address. Don't show up at his house.

Oh, honey, I know.

You know, Marcus, by the way, is my. My. My favorite single Christian man on the planet. So if you've. If you know any amazing Christian single.

Women, he's already had something. You write him like you.

Yeah. Feel free to write him about that as well. Marcus. M A R C u s@xomarriage.com and whether you want to, you know, help him with a love connection, because I'm gonna do the wedding. It's already established, and I'm. I'm ready just now to help him find the bride because he's amazing. But also for the. The Naked Marriage podcast. And Marcus, if you're listening, I'm sorry to embarrass you, but, you know, it's true. You're amazing.

He's just awesome. It's just because we just love him so much.

He's great.

He's part of our family.

I wish I had, like, a, you know, like a daughter who was old enough or a sister who was young enough to, you know, like, just.

I know.

Yeah, he is.

Yes.

So. But coming back to the live tour with Naked Marriage podcast, this is going to be so fun. I'm just saying it's going to happen. Not just maybe happen. It's going to happen.

Well, I mean, there's a lot of things that fall into place, but a.

Lot has to happen for it to fall into place. So if you. If you really want us to come to your city or if you've got a great connection on a venue, send that to Marcus. We're in the development phases right now, and I'm hoping that this is something that we can.

And this would be fun and interactive.

Yeah, very, very fun. Very interactive. Unlike. I mean, all of our events are fun and interactive, but this is going.

To be something more.

So.

Well, because it's going to be a little smaller than, like a traditional xo, but so we. And we always do a meet and greet and things, but this is like, even. Even more so. Like, we're gonna. We're all gonna laugh together and talk, and we're more than likely do a live Q A. We are gonna do, you know, an actual episode. And so it's just gonna have. I don't know if you've been to any live podcast performances, for lack of a better word, or events, but this is going to be just a really cool, very personal feeling event with multimedia and just fun. Because we love to have fun, so.

We love to have fun.

And you'll Be able to get products there obviously too.

Yeah.

So it's going to be really cool. Maybe we can have like our own naked Merch podcast T shirt that is exclusively sold at these things. I. I am claiming that today because I think that's so fun.

Oh, we're have lots of stuff so.

Creative people will come up with all.

And hey, even if you guys have ideas of what you would want to see or hear or experience at the first ever Naked Marriage live tour, then let us know. There is a link to a form right in the description of this podcast. You click on that link and just fill out the information, put in whatever ideas you have, whatever thoughts you have, whatever, like amazing, big, huge off the wall things you would love to see happen there. And who knows, it might happen because of you. So click on that link and let us know what you think. Speaking of connection, if you're not connected to us on Instagram, avanashleywillis or wherever you're on social Facebook marriage page and message us. We love interacting with you guys there. We love the questions you send, the, you know, the podcast topic ideas you send, the prayer requests you send. It's really meaningful to us to be able to interact with you in those places. And we just love you guys. We're thankful for you. We are excited about what is to come. Great, great things are in store. And I've never, I'm more excited than ever about what's happening at xo, what's happening here on the Naked Marriage podcast at the live events. And yeah, we just got great expectation.

That's right.

Looking into the new season, I just.

Realized if you're watching on YouTube and you guys know my whole joke about Dave being he's my sexy lumberjack, okay, we talk about Hallmark always having a sexy lumberjack, but there are these shirts now and if you got, if you want to get Dave's shirt, it's from Costco because that's how we roll.

But it is a Costco is not a.

It's a summer lumberjack shirt. Yeah, you're my son. See, you're my all a lumberjack of all seasons.

Costco has great clothing, you know, And.

I'm just saying you make it look.

Good way into fashion, as you can tell. But when it's cheap and it's comfortable.

And it's soft, even your shorts are Costco right now.

Even my underwear is Kirkland's brand. Kirk Go Kirkland men's boxer briefs. And they're incredibly comfortable.

Well, I'll tell you what, I'M wearing? What are they wearing?

What a.

This is consignment shop. And then I'm wearing this little, like, workout skirt from Goodwill that my mom just got for me. And this is a Costco workout shirt. So we're bougie.

You guys work at Costco. Why don't you just send us some, like, Costco bucks? Because we just gave you a great free advertising.

Well, for a family with four boys and busy lives, it is awesome. So, yeah, that's neither here nor there. But I just wanted to point out you are. I'm a looking and I'm a liking. Okay, so.

All right, we'll end with that. We better cut this. She's looking like she wants to make out with me, so we're gonna have to wrap this up so she can start kissing me.

You have work to do, evidently.

I gotta go chop some wood.

Chop some wood.

That's right. Guys, we love and appreciate you so much. Thanks for tuning in. Stick around, though. It's gonna be a great, great fall season here on the Nature Marriage podcast. We'll see you soon.