Marla Taviano - Is That All He Thinks About?: How to Enjoy Great Sex with Your Husband

Put this book right back on the shelf if

A. You are a guy. (This book is for women only.)

B. Youre a Christian, and you dont think Christians should read books about sex.

C. You are a married woman who has never once been too busy, tired, irritated, hurt, uninterested, upset, or selfish to cheerfully make love to her husband.

D. You are too embarrassed to take it up to the counter and buy it.

On second thought

If youre a married man and this books title has intrigued you, buy it for your wife. (You can sneak peeks when shes not paying attention.)

If youre one who thinks sexual enjoyment is not for Christians, maybe you should read this book. You just might have a change of heart.

If youre shy about buying, do it just this once.

Oh, yeahand if you fit in category Cyoure a fibber. Youd better get the book.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota

Cover photo Itstock / Inmagine

IS THAT ALL HE THINKS ABOUT?
Copyright 2007 by Marla Taviano
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Taviano, Marla, 1975

Is that all he thinks about? / Marla Taviano.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1898-5 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-7369-1898-1 (pbk.)

1. SexReligious aspectsChristianity. 2. MenPsychology. I. Title.

BT708.T38 2007

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 / BP-CF / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To Gabe,
my very best friend.
Youre all I could ever want
in the bedroom and out.

And to our parents
Ron and Chris, and Rock and Janelle.
Thirty-plus years of marriage
and the passion still burns!
You guys are our heroes!

A big hug and thank-you to all the brave and honest gals who filled out surveys or chatted with me personally. (Names have been changed and details disguised.) Your stories will undoubtedly touch many lives.

Maybe youve read a slew of books about sex. If so, you probably want a guarantee that if you decide to read this one, it wont end up sounding exactly the same as the last five.

Im not going to sit here and make empty promises.

Will you learn something new every paragraph? Mmmpossibly. Will you laugh out loud at least two or three times a chapter? Ummit depends. Will you have an aha! moment that inspires you to a bigger and better life? Hmmhard to say.

By now you may be asking, So why should I read this book, for crying out loud?

Because you want the sex you share with your husband to be sweeter.

Now, this is not an exhaustive how-to manual, by any stretch, but I think youll pick up a helpful tip or two throughout these pages.

This is a feel-good, sometimes-laugh-out-loud sort of book. More important, this book is based on a Christian worldview, not watered down or sugar-coated. I have also tried to strike a balancestraightforward but not sensational. My prayer from the outset was that I would be sensitive to Gods leading as I wrote.

I do have lofty ideals for this book. Id love for you to finish the last page, take a deep sigh, and say, This is the first day of the rest of my marriage. I would love for you to forever see your husband, your marriage, our world and culture, with new eyesand approach life with a new attitude.

Too bad life is not as simple as reading a book andvoilinstant marriage makeover! But books can definitely impact lives, and I do believe the Spirit of God can speak directly to your heart through my puny, human words (and the words Ive borrowed directly from Him).

Some parts might make you laugh, some will make you squirm, some will make you stop and thinkand hopefully, some will make you stand up and take action. My hope is that, when all is said and done, you will walk away changed. And your marriage will be blessed.

And that is also my fervent prayer.

W hy did I write this book?

Well, to be honest, God had made it clear to me that my sex life needed a boost. To write about sex, I knew Id have to read about it and think about ittwo things that have proven to increase my sexual desire. My husband would be the recipient of a sexual double whammy. (No complaints from him, I might add.)

A lot of times, sad to say, my writing detracts from my libido. After a long day, the kids are finally in bed, and I want to sit and write until I collapse onto my own bed in exhaustion. I just cant work sex in (or so I say).

So, in an effort to please my husband and get my daily writing fix, why not combine work and pleasure and write a book about sex?

Doesnt your husband feel like youre using him? you want to know. Well, no, he doesnt. In fact, hed like me to use him a lot more often.

He actually cant quit grinning about the whole idea. He has just one stipulation. You can use me as a guinea pig for your research, he says, as long as the experiments continue when the book is done!

He also likes the whole tax write-off idea. You know, since Im writing a book about sex, I can legitimately spend tax-free dollars on research materials. (Ill make a note to check the tax laws. Id hate to try explaining to my accountant why whipped cream and edible panties showed up as business expenses in my tax records for this year.)

When my friends and family first heard the title of my previous book (From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife), they often jumped to an incorrect conclusionthat my choice of subject matter must mean I viewed myself as an expert on the topic of marriage.

Then they read the book.

They soon realized that the recurring theme throughout my writing is this: If I must boast I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

So, now that Ive written a book about sex, am I a self-proclaimed sex expert with a to-die-for sex life? Or will I again be writing about my struggles and weaknesses in a particular area of my life?

Just start reading chapter 1, and it wont take you long to figure it out.

As I write, I remind myself, Cover this in prayer. Ask God to humble you. Theres really no guarantee anyone will even buy, let alone like, your book. Its fine to share truth in a fun way, but without His help and blessing, lives will never be affected or changed. And so I have committed to pray for this book from its inception to its publication and beyond. And many other women are praying as well.

And while Im in prayer mode, Im praying for my own sex life, toofor a better attitude, more desire, more energy, more unselfishnessbecause Im realizing more each day that I need Gods help to make this work. Many days I find it much easier to sit down at my desk and