In today's episode, we have rich conversations with a licensed counselor and sex therapist Nancy Houston. Nancy offers wonderful insight and compassion into the profound connections between love, sex, and healing. We discuss: The spiritual mystery and depth to our sexuality Emotional and soul connection in marriage How to keep sex on the “front burner”  Power and beauty of the feminine body Identifying what’s informed your view of sex and understanding how you may be modeling your sex life accordingly Working through sexual trauma through sharing your story (or receiving the story of another) Normalizing, rather than demonizing, our sexuality Styles of attachment (healthy and unhealthy)   About Nancy Houston: Nancy Houston is an author, speaker, Executive Leadership Coach, Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Sex Therapist. She loves to help people grow into their full potential, empowering them to be truly alive. Nancy has been married to the love of her life for almost 50 years. Together they have four wonderful married sons and six adorable grandchildren. Nancy is the author of Love and Sex and Then God Made A Woman: Unwrapping Female Sexuality.    Resources Mentioned: A Celebration of Sex: A Guide to Enjoying God's Gift of Sexual Intimacy by Dr. Douglas E. Rosenau, Jeff Durham, et al.    Then God Made A Woman: Unwrapping Female Sexuality by Nancy Houston    Enjoy!: The Gift of Sexual Pleasure for Women by Joyce and Clifford Penner  Related Episodes: Your Wonderful Female Body Series, start here Great Sex Grows Series, start here   Francie Recommends: Feel confident in your own skin with Mentionables. A fresh and pretty item of lingerie every now and then is so fun!    The Mentionables selection is beautiful and they never use human models for their items, which gives it such an honoring tone as you’re shopping. No comparison or feelings of TMI as your browse, and it’s run by ladies who love the Lord! How fun is that!?!   Use code FRANCIE for 10% savings.   You’re Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God’s heart for their reclaiming a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God’s heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie’s weekly newsletter  Website Instagram

Whatever season you currently find yourself in, this is a conversation not to be missed. The reality is, you will have seasons of abundance as well as refining seasons of trial and suffering. You’ll hear my honest perspective on and journey through suffering and God in the midst of it all, including:   Intimacy resilience and building intimacy in all seasons. Challenges in life and how they can create tension and disconnection in marriage. Opportunities to lean into your marriage connection, especially in the hard seasons.  Learning to not only be strong for one another, but to be weak together and talk about hard things, loss and disappointment. Physical touch and intimacy as a powerful way to process challenge and stress. Restoration and rejuvenation brought through biological releases sex provides. Mentioned Resources: The Savvy Sauce: Practical Chats for Intentional Living Learn more here   The Gap and the Gain: The High Achievers’ Guide to Happiness, Confidence, and Success   Related Episodes: Finding Breakthrough from Anxiety, episode 134 The Science of Sex, episode 2   You’re Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God’s heart for their reclaiming  a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God’s heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie’s weekly newsletter  Website Instagram  

Finding energy as a wife, while spinning all the plates of motherhood, can be a bit of a challenge. Switching gears from “tired mom” to feeling sexy doesn’t exactly just happen. Can you relate?   Good news! In this episode we have some real talk about how to be intentional, cultivate the needs of your body and maybe even find some ideas to “get your groove back” in the bedroom. Let’s tap into more joy and enjoyment, because God created you with an incredible capacity for pleasure.   Related Episodes: Your Wonderful Female Body - Erogenous Zones, episode 107 Great Sex Grows…When I Tune Into My Body, episode 121 Growing Intimacy…Even When You Have Little Kids, episode 127   You’re Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God’s heart for their reclaiming  a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God’s heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie’s weekly newsletter  Website Instagram  

Sex is meant to point to something bigger, reflecting the goodness of a purposeful Creator. Our God is an intentional designer and His creation, including sex and sexuality, was designed to point to greater things. For centuries the church has disregarded the importance and meaning of the body and sex, yet this conversation helps us see there is a different way to see and celebrate the story of God. Topics discussed include: The union of man and woman point to a greater union with God, sex as a signpost. The beauty of God’s story written on our bodies. Moving from a rule based mindset to an image bearing mindset. Duty language vs. beauty language. Higher vision for singleness and marriage. Holy masculinity and image bearing role of men.   About Josh Butler: Joshua Ryan Butler serves as lead pastor of Redemption Tempe in Arizona. Josh is the author of Beautiful Union (and a few other books). Josh loves shifting paradigms, to help people who wrestle with tough topics of the Christian faith by confronting popular caricatures and replacing them with the real thing. He lives with his wife Holly and three children—Aiden, James, and Jacob—in Tempe, AZ. Find Josh at www.joshuaryanbutler.com Resources Mentioned:  Beautiful Union: How God's Vision for Sex Points Us to the Good, Unlocks the True, and (Sort of) Explains Everything, by Joshua Ryan Butler    Related Episodes: Stewarding Sexuality: Fresh & Transformational View, episode 142  Inner Healing, Sri Lankan Honeymoon & Sex for a Year, episode 1 Rethinking Sex: Recovering a Biblical Lens, episode 3 Sex Is a Signpost, episode 13   You’re Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God’s heart for their reclaiming  a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God’s heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie’s weekly newsletter  Website Instagram  

Prepare to be encouraged by a mentoring session with Shaunti Feldhahn. We are diving into sex and sexuality with Shaunti, as she shares her insight and clinical understanding and perspective. Some of the topics we covered in this conversation include: Surprises that make all the difference. Why sexuality matters. A vision for intimacy. Affirming insecure places. Desire - types of desire and levels of desire. God’s beautiful gift of sexuality for women.  About Shaunti Feldhahn: Shaunti received her graduate degree from Harvard University and was an analyst on Wall Street before unexpectedly becoming a social researcher, best-selling author and popular speaker. Today, she applies her analytical skills to investigating eye-opening, life-changing truths about relationships, both at home and in the workplace. Shaunti's books (including several with husband, Jeff) are known for their aha moments and relationship transformations! These groundbreaking research-based books, including  For Women Only, The Kindness Challenge, and most recently, Secrets of Sex and Marriage have sold more than 3 million copies in 25 languages and are widely read in homes, counseling centers and corporations worldwide. Find her new book, Secrets of Sex and Marriage: 8 Surprises That Make All the Difference, Shaunti Feldhahn, Dr. Michael Sytsma   Related Episodes: High & Low Libido, episode 150 Your Wonderful Female Body - Sexual Desire, episode 109   You’re Invited: Keep learning with Francie! Join the Discipleship Circle group mentorship. This is a SWEET community of women, connected with the purpose of seeking God’s heart for their reclaiming  a redeemed view of sex and sexuality. Inside the circle, we will explore and discover the good news about God’s heart for sex. Learn more here: Discipleship Circle   Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music: Spotify Apple Music YouTube Connect with Francie: Receive Francie’s weekly newsletter  Website Instagram