Female by Design

202. Summer Lovin' Series: Week Four, Foreplay Husband Chat Jul 15, 2024

Show notes

Let's continue the conversation on foreplay with a chat to encourage and equip husbands. (Wives will be encouraged, too). Let's continue to reframe foreplay and the unique beauty of masculinity and femininity. In this chat, you'll be encouraged as we discuss:

Being a man of strength, with unique strength to serve your bride.
Becoming an expert of your wife
Removing the duty perspective and helping your wife flourish
Foreplay as an opportunity to go at the pace of her pleasure and treasure her from head to toe
What it looks like practically to serve with sexual strength before and during foreplay

GET THE GUIDE: Foreplay Guide for Husbands and Wives here

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Connect with Francie:

201. Summer Lovin' Series: Week Three, Foreplay Jul 08, 2024

Show notes

What is foreplay and what purpose does it serve? In this discussion you'll learn about the role of foreplay, but it may surprise you. Instead of seeing foreplay as a way to get ready for the main event, what if it were a time of relaxing into more pleasure and greater intimacy?

You were made for deep connection and naked and unashamed intimacy. Let's look at foreplay as a tool for connection through rest, relaxation and celebration of your feminine beauty.

GET THE GUIDE: Foreplay Guide for Husbands and Wives here

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Connect with Francie:

200. Summer Lovin' Series: Week Two, Love and Sex with Nancy Houston Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to the Summer Lovin' Series, where we are taking some of the most beloved episodes and bringing you equipping with a mix of mindset, mentoring and practicals to help you see the goodness of God in your bedroom and your body.

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

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Connect with Francie:

199. Summer Lovin' Series: Week One, Stewarding Your Sexuality Jun 24, 2024

Show notes

His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' Matthew 25

When you think about the parable of the talents your mind instantly gravitates toward stewarding your finances, your gifts, or even your health. But, have you ever thought about the faithfulness that might flow from stewarding your sexuality?

We get to steward the gift of our sexuality, with purpose and intention over the course of our life. And, faithfulness brings great benefits,including the unity that leads to fruitfulness within the context of marriage. Sex is not a duty, not a chore, not something to check off your list. It is something to enjoy, to pursue, to delight and to receive great pleasure.

Let's learn a fresh viewpoint on stewardship and experience the joy of our Master.

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Connect with Francie:

198. Bigger Than a "Sex Talk" - Tools to Help You Teach Your Kids about Sex Jun 17, 2024

Show notes

There are simple ways to have big conversations. You can purposefully plant seeds of God's Word into the hearts of your children. Realizing it's not about a "sex talk," you can be equipped to disciple your children with frequent touch points, vulnerability and humility.

Let's lean into the goodness of God and choose to walk in His peace, His joy and His celebration through shared language. That's what Heaven in Your Home Family Music is all about.

In today's episode we welcome Kathryn Brunner, my real life friend who is a beautiful singer/songwriter who collaborated to bring Heaven in Your Home Family Music to your home. We will unpack the vision, the purpose and the meaning behind these culture-shifting songs.

Listen in, be equipped and encouraged as you take hold of the JOY and CELEBRATION of God and the crown of His creation, YOU!

Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music:

Related Episodes:

Body Talks with Kids Series, Episode 96 - 99

Shifting Culture through Music in your Home, Episode

Teaching Your Kids about Sex with Kristen Miele, Episode 141

About Kathryn Brunner:

Heaven in Your Home Family Music is a beautiful collaboration with Kathryn Brunner. Kathryn is a seminary trained singer-songwriter and music educator.

She lives in the DC Metro area with her husband and two daughters whom she homeschools. Kathryn is fiercely passionate about equipping families to walk faithfully in the truth of God's word. Heaven in Your Home Family Music is an outworking of that passion. With an educator's mindset, she is also driven to help children grow in an understanding of music to equip them to serve their communities and the world.

She is the founder of Musik at Home, an online music education studio for children ages 0-10 where she offers vibrant early childhood and piano courses that are available on the web, mobile app, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Connect with Francie:

197. Helping Your Kids Navigate Healthy Sexual Development with Kristen Miele Jun 10, 2024

Show notes

Let's continue the conversation about helping your kids navigate healthy sexual development. This discussion was held inside The Circle group mentorship with invited guest teacher Kristen Miele, who's a dedicated educator with Biblically based frameworks.

This discussion touches on self-soothing, pornography and many other questions that you may face as a parent as you seek to disciple your child in truth and love.

Related Episodes:

Shifting Culture through Music in Your Home, Episode 112

Body Talks with Kids: Clarity, Confidence and the Critical Need to Shift the Conversation, Episode 96

Body Talks with Kids: Celebrating the Body, Celebrating God, Episode 99

About Sex Ed Reclaimed:

Sex Ed Reclaimed existes to break the cycle of silence in the Christian world on the topic of sex with Sex Ed Reclaimed, LLC as a premier choice for adults seeking to honestly engage the next generation. Sex Ed Reclaimed specializes in God honoring and accessible sex ed for children 3 to18 years old. Find resources here.

About Kristen Miele:

Kristen Miele, founder of Sex Ed Reclaimed, has been educating youth on the topic of sex for the last 12 years. She's taught in hundreds of diverse settings including 2 different countries. Kristen has experience teaching ages 3 and up on content related to sex and sexuality. The vision for Sex Ed Reclaimed came to her in November 2021 and it became an LLC in 2022. Kristen has one daughter, Emma Joy, who is 4 years old. She's been married to Anthony since 2012. They live in Columbus, Ohio with their daughter and a very fat cat.

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music:

Connect with Francie:

196. Navigating Healthy Sexual Development & Self-Discovery with Your Kids Jun 03, 2024

Show notes

We're talking about sex and our kids. How do we talk to our kids about sex? About their bodies? What's normal? And, what do we do about hot topics like touching themselves?

This episode is actually a peek inside The Circle, the group mentorship that meets for monthly live teaching. This is a more in depth conversation about navigating healthy sexual development in our kids, through the ages and stages, based on this core framework:

Sex is good and of God
Sexual curiosity is natural
Sexual responsiveness is natural
Sexual responsibility belongs to each person
Mutual respect and Biblical values are the guide for all sexual relationships

Episodes Mentioned:

Stewarding Sexuality Series, Episodes 142-145, here

Resources Mentioned:

Sex Facts for the Family, Clifford and Joyce Penner, here

Getting Your Sex Life Off to a Great Start, Clifford and Joyce Penner, here

You're Invited:

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music:

Connect with Francie:

195. Sexual Celebration with Alexa PenaVega (Most-Loved Episode Replay) May 20, 2024

Show notes

Way better than anything Hollywood could ever portray, today's guest Alexa PenaVega shares her vulnerable testimony of finding more in her marriage. How do you go from a wife who really doesn't feel very excited about physical intimacy to finding celebration and joy?

In this episode, Alexa and Francie chat about the fruitfulness that has flowed from pursuing oneness, their callings as mothers to disciple their children and be the best source for all things, including sex.

Note: This episode endured technology challenges and you may note uneven audio levels. Thank you for your patience with the audio, but the contents of the conversation are filled with beautiful truth, testimony and thoughtful ideas.

About Alexa PenaVega:

You may know Alexa PenaVega as an actress from hit shows like Spy Kids. But, today you can hear more about her desire to honor her husband, Carlos PenaVega, and pursue a mutually satisfying sexual relationship. Their book, What if Love is the Point is a must-read, overflowing with both laughter and honest reflections, the PenaVegas' incredible story—from the red carpet, Spy Kids movies, and Big Time Rush to Dancing with the Stars to marriage and now parenthood will encourage you.

101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well

CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

You're Invited:

Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music:

Connect with Francie:

194. Introducing: Strong Foundations for Married Sex May 13, 2024

Show notes

You have permission to break free from silence and shame and show up in a different way.

Perhaps you've experienced silence or unhelpful messages about your body and your sexuality. You've heard about sex being a man's need or a wife's duty. You've been told your body is a stumbling block and that sexual desire is dirty. The "don't do it, don't do it" message is ingrained in your brain, even if you're already married.

It's no wonder you show up to marriage with questions and even some confusion, unable to access desire or express passion. While you want to find answers and learn how to make the shift from "don't do it" to fully embracing the beauty of the marriage bed, there's a lot of silence, hurt and unhelpful messages out there that keep us stuck.

To build a love that lasts, you must begin with a strong foundation. Learn about a brand new resource developed to help you get a new lens, a Biblically integrated and practically grounded vision for sex.

The Strong Foundations course provides a comprehensive guide to starting the conversation and building a strong foundation for a healthy and fulfilling marriage.

You're Invited to Learn in the New Growth Course: 101 Course: Strong Foundations to Starting Well, CLAIMING A HEALTHY VISION FOR MARRIED SEX

Donate to the Heaven in Your Home Ministry:

Your one time donation will allow us to continue to produce and distribute teaching and resources. Thank you for partnering with us! Donate here.

You're Invited:

Listen to Heaven in Your Home Family Music:

Connect with Francie: