Let's Talk Sex feat. Arleen Spenceley

“If he’s calling us to something, we don’t have to worry about what we lose in answering that call.” 

A working theory of mine about discernment is that it leads you to what you really want. Yup, you read that right. You get what YOU really want. I believe this because I believe that when God designed us, he planted desire for his plans deep in our hearts. Our deepest desire and his desire are the same thing. Discernment is the process of sorting through all the lesser, fluffy layers and discovering that core desire, kind of like a miner goes through layers before striking gold. 

Why am I introducing an episode about sex this way? Because discerning what we most deeply want for our relationships is the same thing as discovering God's plan for relationships. And that desire God has given us is chastity (no that's not synonymous with abstinence.) Chastity sounds boring, but it's incredibly life-giving. YES John and I as married people need to live out chastity...and I geek out a bit with our personal testimony of how that looks in married life. 

Arleen Spenceley has been on the front lines of explaining and defending chastity for years, from publishing articles in newspapers with her testimony of happy virginity to writing her book Chastity is for Lovers. Whether you're single, married, or religious, you'll learn something new and be equipped to live both counter-culturally and happily.

Topics Discussed

• How the martyrs had enough trust in God to die for him
• Chastity vs. abstinence: THEY’RE SO DIFFERENT
• The deep ache of wanting validation and how to deal with it
• The one indispensable thing you need to live out chastity
• How far is too far?
• Forgiving yourself if you’ve made past mistakes 

Resources

• iMom.com: A wonderful resource for moms for which Arleen is an editor and Stacey is a contributor 
• Arleen’s book Chastity is for Lovers
• CBN.com/unhooked
• Melanie Smith’s episode of Called and Caffeinated 

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