Charting Toward Intimacy

We're talking mindset when it comes to sex for those of us ladies. This is a huge topic and we just scratch the surface on opening up some of the reasons we think and act the way we do around sex and some tips on how to improve your mindset when it comes to sex!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

What constitutes a healthy sexual relationship? How do you know if you and your spouse have a healthy and mature sexual relationship? We dive into the characteristics of a healthy sexual relationship in this episode so that you can take stock of your own relationship.___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

The Sacrament of Marriage and the Sacrament of the Eucharist have some incredible connections. In fact, marriage acts as a sort of analogy for the Mass. We're going to dive into this and even more in this episode.If marriage is an analogy for the Mass, what kinds of connections can be made about the use of contraception in a marriage and what that would look like analogously in the Mass? We'll answer that question too!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

We are talking today about rules--the rules of our faith and how the rules around our faith are not arbitrary or oppressive!The church should not be viewed as oppressive, especially in regards to our sexuality. There's a really good reason it's not just free for all, and we're going to get into that in this episode.The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

Guess what! You and your spouse are different people who have different wants and needs.Your spouse is not going to want the exact same things you want and you're not going to want the exact things your spouse wants. In fact, you spouse might not care one bit about something you want, and THAT'S OK. Here's why, it's your job as spouse to communicate your wants and needs to your spouse. Your spouse isn't going to care unless you share how important it is to you.Sometimes that means you have to ask more than once. Sometimes it means you have to ask more than 10 times. Sometimes it means you have to charitably ask every single day for multiple years until it becomes clear how important it is.This applies both in and out of the bedroom too! Listen in for more on this topic and examples of how we've seen this play out in our marriages.___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

It might not sound as sexy as you think. The one thing you can do to improve your sex life is to work on your marriage as a whole!Looking for Abundant the full marriage course we mentioned on the podcast? Click right here! If you sign up through this link, you'll get a free one hour coaching session with Ellen alongside the course!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

Here's the deal, you're not going to get good at sex by yourself. It takes two to tango! Sex is a team effort, and it takes practice to get good!The best sex happens when each spouse is focused more on the other than on themselves. If you're looking to get to have all-star sex, you need to train like an athlete. That means practice, communicate, and practice more!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

Did you know there are two main types of desire? Spontaneous and Responsive.If you feel like your desire is always lacking or you "never" feel like having sex, you might have responsive desire. Guess what: You're not broken at all. In fact, you're completely normal.When it comes to desire, sometimes just the knowledge of what kind of desire you have can help so much!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

Sex is a window to something greater. It is an icon, or image, of God's love for us. Even within good, faithful Catholic marriages, sex can be a point of contention because we aren't seeing God through sex and our sexual relationship. We're looking at sex not through sex. When you switch your mindset and start to look through sex toward God, it becomes easier to love your spouse. (not EASY, it becomes EASIER!)___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses

Want to get started with NFP but don't know where to go? Heard of NFP but you don't really know what it is? Have some questions about Natural Family Planning that you haven't been able to get a clear answer on? Look no further than this episode.Kathleen and Ellen answer the basic question of "What the heck is NFP?" We go over the cycle, methods of fertility awareness, the difference between birth control and using NFP, and a bunch of frequently asked questions about NFP like "why does is cost money?" and "do I need to have an instructor?"Looking for the method match course or coaching we talked about in the episode? Click here!___________________________________ Did we mention a book on this week's episode? Click here for our recommended books! Reach out at instagram.com/chartingtowardintimacy/ or email us at ellen@vinesinfullbloom.comReady to improve your sex life and take it to the next level? Check out our courses: vinesinfullbloom.com/courses