In this issue of the Christian Marriage
Secrets Newsletter…

- A Note From The Editors, Robert & Susan Irwin
- Christian Marriage Quote
- Sexual Relationship Tip
- Christian Marriage Secrets Article
- Recommended Resource
- Who are Robert & Susan Irwin?
- Removal Instructions
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The Christian Marriage Secrets Newsletter:

By Relationship Coaches & Christian Authors:

Robert & Susan Irwin

Christian Sex Blog:

http://christiansexfacts.com/blog/

Christian Marriage Resource Center:

http://christiansexfacts.com/marriageresources/

Christian Marriage Forum:

http://christiansexfacts.com/blog//

July 24th, 2007

This newsletter is sent to confirmed subscribers
only. If you want to change your e-mail address
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This Week’s Christian Marriage Recommended
Resource:

“The Christian Romance Resource Center”

We have taken the time to put together a comprehensive list
of romance resources that you will find valuable, helpful
and non-offensive at our “Christian Romance Resource
Center.”

You can find the perfect romantic ideas at:

http://christiansexfacts.com/marriageresources/romance.html

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Robert & Susan’s News and Notes:

Valentine’s Day is tomorrow!

As a special “subscribers only” Valentine’s Day gift,
we are giving away the following:

-101 Romantic Ideas
-Sexy Coupons
-101 Creative Lovemaking Ideas

If you don’t already have these great little books, you can
download them for FREE at:

http://christiansexfacts.com/blog/

We hope they help you to have a great Valentine’s holiday.

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This Week’s Christian Marriage Secrets Quote:

“Young love is a flame; very pretty, often very hot and
fierce, but still only light and flickering. The love of
the older and disciplined heart is as coals, deep-burning,
unquenchable.”

-Henry Ward Beecher

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This Week’s Sexual Relationship Tip:

“Ideas in a hat…”

Today, we are giving away “101 Creative Lovemaking Ideas.”
If you don’t already have a copy, download it and open it.

Jot the name of each idea on a small piece of paper and put
the scraps of paper in a hat.

Shuffle the cards and let your spouse pick a scrap of
paper.

Try whichever idea your spouse pics.

~Susan

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This week’s Christian marriage article:

“The History of Valentine’s Day”

Every February, across the country, candy, flowers, and
gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of
St. Valentine. But who is this mysterious saint and why do
we celebrate this holiday? The history of Valentine’s Day
– and its patron saint — is shrouded in mystery. But we
do know that February has long been a month of romance. St.
Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of
both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. So, who was
Saint Valentine and how did he become associated with this
ancient rite? Today, the Catholic Church recognizes at
least three different saints named Valentine or Valentinus,
all of whom were martyred.

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served
during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II
decided that single men made better soldiers than those
with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men
– his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the
injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to
perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When
Valentine’s actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that
he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed
for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman
prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first
‘valentine’ greeting himself. While in prison, it is
believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl –
who may have been his jailor’s daughter — who visited him
during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged
that he wrote her a letter, which he signed ‘From your
Valentine,’ an expression that is still in use today.
Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky,
the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a
sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic
figure. It’s no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine
was one of the most popular saints in England and France.

While some believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in
the middle of February to commemorate the anniversary of
Valentine’s death or burial — which probably occurred
around 270 A.D — others claim that the Christian church
may have decided to celebrate Valentine’s feast day in the
middle of February in an effort to ‘christianize’
celebrations of the pagan Lupercalia festival. In ancient
Rome, February was the official beginning of spring and was
considered a time for purification. Houses were ritually
cleansed by sweeping them out and then sprinkling salt and
a type of wheat called spelt throughout their interiors.
Lupercalia, which began at the ides of February, February
15, was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman
god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders
Romulus and Remus.

To begin the festival, members of the Luperci, an order of
Roman priests, would gather at the sacred cave where the
infants Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome, were
believed to have been cared for by a she-wolf or lupa. The
priests would then sacrifice a goat, for fertility, and a
dog, for purification.

The boys then sliced the goat’s hide into strips, dipped
them in the sacrificial blood and took to the streets,
gently slapping both women and fields of crops with the
goathide strips. Far from being fearful, Roman women
welcomed being touched with the hides because it was
believed the strips would make them more fertile in the
coming year. Later in the day, according to legend, all the
young women in the city would place their names in a big
urn. The city’s bachelors would then each choose a name out
of the urn and become paired for the year with his chosen
woman. These matches often ended in marriage. Pope Gelasius
declared February 14 St. Valentine’s Day around 498 A.D.
The Roman ‘lottery’ system for romantic pairing was deemed
un-Christian and outlawed. Later, during the Middle Ages,
it was commonly believed in France and England that
February 14 was the beginning of birds’ mating season,
which added to the idea that the middle of February –
Valentine’s Day — should be a day for romance. The oldest
known valentine still in existence today was a poem written
by Charles, Duke of Orleans to his wife while he was
imprisoned in the Tower of London following his capture at
the Battle of Agincourt. The greeting, which was written in
1415, is part of the manuscript collection of the British
Library in London, England. Several years later, it is
believed that King Henry V hired a writer named John
Lydgate to compose a valentine note to Catherine of Valois.

In Great Britain, Valentine’s Day began to be popularly
celebrated around the seventeenth century. By the middle of
the eighteenth century, it was common for friends and
lovers in all social classes to exchange small tokens of
affection or handwritten notes. By the end of the century,
printed cards began to replace written letters due to
improvements in printing technology. Ready-made cards were
an easy way for people to express their emotions in a time
when direct expression of one’s feelings was discouraged.
Cheaper postage rates also contributed to an increase in
the popularity of sending Valentine’s Day greetings.
Americans probably began exchanging hand-made valentines in
the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther A. Howland began to
sell the first mass-produced valentines in America.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated
one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making
Valentine’s Day the second largest card-sending holiday of
the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for
Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by
women. In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is
celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France,
and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle
Ages (written Valentine’s didn’t begin to appear until
after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on
display at the British Museum. The first commercial
Valentine’s Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were
created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known
as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations
with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as
“scrap”.

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This Week’s Christian Marriage Recommended
Resource:

“The Christian Romance Resource Center”

We have taken the time to put together a comprehensive list
of romance resources that you will find valuable, helpful
and non-offensive at our “Christian Romance Resource
Center.”

You can find the perfect romantic ideas at:

http://christiansexfacts.com/marriageresources/romance.html
**********

Who are Robert & Susan Irwin?

-Robert and Susan Irwin are Nationally-recognized
authors and speakers.

-They have been asked to appear as Sexual Experts
on radio (The Danny Fontana Show [Inspiration
Network]), television (The Discovery Channel) and
has been published in many magazine (Men’s
Health) and newspaper (The Pittsburgh Post
Gazette) articles.

-They are the proud parents of four amazing
children.

-He is the founder and Executive Director of the
Sexual Performance Institute.
-His E-Book, Sexual Skills For The Christian
Husband™ has been one of the world’s
best-selling E-Books for over nine years.
-Thousands of men and women, across the globe,
have benefited from their counseling, seminars
and E-Books.

**********

Christian Sex Blog:

http://christiansexfacts.com/blog/

Christian Marriage Resource Center:

http://christiansexfacts.com/marriageresources/

Christian Marriage Forum:

http://christiansexfacts.com/blog//