Relationship Prescriptions with Dr. Carol

The need to belong is deep in our human souls. We are almost always asking, "Am I on the inside? Or on the outside?" Loneliness has strong negative impacts on our physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing. Dr. Carol's conversation with writer, speaker, and podcaster Sarah E. Westfall will help you navigate your need to belong, and how that comes more from who you are than something you achieve. And they offer insight into how to move closer to both God and others. More resources: - Connect with Sarah Westfall on her website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.  - Get Sarah's book The Way of Belonging: Reimagining Who We Are and How We Relate My article How to Find Your People When You Need Help My book and related resources: Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories Around God, Love, and Relationships Dr. Carol enjoys hearing from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

More religious stuff to do. So much performance leads to anxiety and exhaustion. When our attachment to God is insecure, or is based on our own activity and behavior, there's no life. Anglican priest and spiritual director Summer Joy Gross has walked the journey to become securely attached to God. She talks with Dr. Carol on this episode about how you can do the same. While offering practices that will help you, your biggest takeaway from this conversation is likely to be a deeper desire to be with Jesus.   More resources: - Connect with Summer Joy Gross and the Presence Project on her website, or on Facebook or Instagram. - Get Summer's book The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God Check out my article Practical Ways to Pursue Intimacy with God My book and related resources: Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories Around God, Love, and Relationships Dr. Carol enjoys hearing from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

Marriage is hard. And it can be really hard when you face betrayal, neurodiversity, old baggage, emotional deprivation, and more. Shawna Meek has faced all this, and has chosen to stay married. She talks with Dr. Carol about what helped her stay - and stay sane - in the middle of all the mess. You may or may not make the same choice Shawna has. But regardless, this conversation will help you feel validated and encouraged, and help you persevere regardless of what happens - or doesn't - with your marriage.  More resources: - APSATS - Association of Partners of Sex Addicts Trauma Specialists - Find Shawna Meek at Living Stones Coaching, Facebook, or Instagram - Get Shawna's book Determined for More: A Story of Perseverance Through Divorce, Betrayal Trauma, Emotional Deprivation and Autism My book and related resources: Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories Around God, Love, and Relationships Dr. Carol enjoys hearing from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

Your journey to wholeness - sexually and otherwise - will be opposed. That opposition comes from both inside you and from outside you. That opposition includes pressure from the kingdom of darkness. Not everything is spiritual warfare, but understanding this aspect of what you will face helps you be prepared and successful in facing the opposition.   Dr. Carol provides three specific strategies or things to do in facing spiritual opposition that will help you recognize when you're under spiritual attack, experience true freedom, and build a lifestyle that will maintain your freedom.  . . . . . More resources: - article The Most Powerful Prayer I Ever Prayed - book and related resources: Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories Around God, Love, and Relationships Dr. Carol enjoys hearing from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

We often don’t get what we want and that is often a good thing. Desire—including sexual desire—can often be in disorder.  Today’s follower of Jesus exist at a moment in history when our desires, longings, and wants are being weaponized against us by cultural, spiritual, and relational forces. “Follow your heart” and “You do you” has become our moment’s mantras. The result, for too many, is feeling torn asunder by the raging desires within. What do we do with our desire? What about our unwanted desires? And how do we cultivate desires which bring life and freedom and lead to Christ? Author and educator, AJ Swoboda joins the podcast to discuss this and more on this thought provoking segment. Connect with AJ Swodoba on his personal website, or on Facebook, or Instagram. Find AJ’s book  The Gift of Thorns: Jesus, the Flesh, and the War of Wants Check out Dr. Carol's new book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships. And find supplementary resources at YourSexpectations.com. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

It’s never really about sex. Matters of the heart and a desire for intimacy are imbedded in humans since creation. But what does that mean if you are married? Or single? God gave us desire; he gave us this longing … the Greeks called it eros, passion, It’s the deepest desire of our heart. However, our world has hijacked eros, it just sees it as erotic. It has been taken over by a corrupt culture that only sees passion as something that is dirty, sullied, and sinful. Author and educator, Bill Donaghy, co-author of Rise and lecturer at Theology of the Body Institute joins the podcast to discuss the theology of Eros and more on this thought-provoking episode. Check out the Theology of the Body Institute Check out Rise: A 30-day Challenge for Men Check out Dr. Carol's new book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships. And find supplementary resources at YourSexpectations.com. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential message here.  

Your heart is shattered. How can you find healing when you've been wounded by trauma and betrayal? And that process is even more challenging when you brought your past complex trauma into the relationship to begin with. Trauma expert and counselor Stacey Sadler Smith has both experienced that herself, and now brings years of professional experience to helping both individuals and couples heal from trauma and betrayal. She talks with Dr. Carol on this episode about her own story, about broken attachments, and about the process of repair after trauma and betrayal - both for one's own heart and for the relationship. Connect with Stacey Sadler Smith on her personal website, at Daring Ventures, or on Facebook or Instagram. Check out Dr. Carol's new book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships And look around at all the supplementary resources at YourSexpectations.com. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential message here. Contact to share links:  stacey@daringventures.com    

Dr. Carol and Drew Boa discuss porn as a pacifier for deeper issues. They explore the impact of porn on marriages, triggers from past experiences, evolving arousal patterns, and the journey of recovery. They emphasize the importance of honesty, vulnerability, and finding transformation with Jesus in addressing sexual struggles.

Most people know sex trafficking exists. But you might imagine that's something "out there" and could never affect anyone close to you. And why would someone ever get hooked into that lifestyle? Why don't they just leave? Dr. Carol's guest on this episode is Jasmine Grace Marino. As a former sex worker who now helps and advocates for others on the journey out of that lifestyle, she talks openly about the matters of the heart that are at play for those affected by sex trafficking, including the roles of addiction and pornography. And it's not hopeless; you'll hear the joy of working to help others experience freedom. Connect with Jasmine Grace Outreach on their website, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Find Jasmine's book The Diary of Jasmine Grace: Trafficked. Recovered. Redeemed    Check out Dr. Carol's new book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships And look around at all the supplementary resources at YourSexpectations.com. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential message here.

May is mental health awareness month. It's no secret that mental health issues have become a pandemic in our culture. How can Christians navigate their own mental health in ways that are both effective and consistent with their faith? And what might the Christian church have to offer in the broader mental health arena? Joe Padilla, licensed and ordained minister, talks with Dr. Carol about the Mental Health Grace Alliance - validated in scientific journals, and perhaps the largest network of Christian mental health groups worldwide. Combining research-based best practices and Bible-centered curricula, this resource is a best-kept secret available anywhere to anyone. Find out more about the Mental Health Grace Alliance on their website, Facebook, or Instagram. Check out Dr. Carol's new book Sexpectations: Reframing Your Good and Not-So-Good Stories About God, Love, and Relationships And look around at all the supplementary resources at YourSexpectations.com. Dr. Carol loves to hear from you. You can leave a confidential message here.