Sanctuary Woman with Morgan Strehlow

On this episode, I have an incredible conversation with Jenny Booth Potter, a creative producer, storyteller, and co-host of The Next Question, a web series about expanding our imagination for racial justice. She has co-led racial justice trainings across the country for churches and organizations, and is the Chief Content Officer of HerSelf Media, a company that aims to create stories that empower and bring joy to Black women. I recently read her new book, Doing Nothing Is No Longer an Option, and was excited when she agreed to join us on the Sanctuary Woman. We talk a lot about purity culture on this podcast, and I think there is a really interesting thread that comes up in this conversation that I'm glad we pulled on. We talk about intersectionality, parenting, idolizing innocence and protecting it at all costs, and reflecting on our own inner Karen. Buy Jenny's book: https://amzn.to/3KoexSk More context about Amy Cooper, in case you're curious: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Park_birdwatching_incident  Resources for women recovering from purity culture can be found at https://sanctuarywoman.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.  

I'm excited to introduce you to Natalie Drew, a Christian who is also a transgender woman.   Trigger Warning: Suicide is discussed at several points in this episode. Please do skip this episode if that could be a trigger for you.

Welcome to Sanctuary Woman, a place that invites women to show up with their whole minds and their whole bodies rather than suppress that which the church may have told us is shameful. Many Christian women have nowhere to turn and are looking for the brave spaces, the safe spaces, where their sexual shame can be spoken, set free, and can finally be undone.   Our guest today, Jessica Harris, has been there, and she has made it her mission to break the silence, banish the shame, and bring women's struggles into the light of God's grace, liberation, and forgiveness. She understands that when you suffer in silence, a wall of shame is built between yourself and God that God does not desire for you. In her new authentic and honest book, Quenched: Discovering God's Abundant Grace for Women Struggling with Pornography and Sexual Shame, Jessica shows women a road map for restoration.    If you are someone who feels stuck in any sort of sexual shame this episode is for you.  Resources for women recovering from purity culture can be found at https://sanctuarywoman.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco. 

Sara Billups is a Seattle-based writer and cultural commentator who is completing her Doctor of Ministry in the Sacred Art of Writing at the Peterson Center for the Christian Imagination at Western Theological Seminary. She works to help wavering Christians remain steadfast through cultural storms and continues to hope for the flourishing of the Church amid deep political and cultural division in America. Sara is the author of the new book Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find Their Way Home.  Resources for women recovering from purity culture can be found at https://sanctuarywoman.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco. 

Welcome back to Sanctuary Woman! More resources for women recovering from purity culture can be found at https://sanctuarywoman.com/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco. 

Reverend Starlette Thomas joins us to help us see our skin color for what it is and deconstruct what it is not as she pastorally and prophetically disrupts and dismantles the racialized body of Christ so that we can reconstruct and re-member a Church body that reflects Christ and his gospel. Learn more about Starlette's work at The Raceless Gospel and Good Faith Media.  Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

Our guest today is Erin S. Lane, author of the new book Someone Other Than A Mother: Flipping the Scripts on a Woman's Purpose and Making Meaning beyond Motherhood.  Erin is a writer, theologian, and someone other than a mother. That's the name of her latest book, by the way. Erin has a master's degree from Duke Divinity School with a focus on gender studies. Mentored by Parker J. Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal, she works as a vocational retreat facilitator, helping people discern their wildest questions of purpose. Order Erin's book here. Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

[Original airdate: Feb 8, 2021] On this episode of Sanctuary Woman, I want to invite you to reconnect your mind, with your body, through awareness of your body, listening to what your body is communicating to you. What God is communicating to you, through your body. This episode will lead you through a prayer body scan meditation and close with a reading of Psalm 139. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter sanctuarywoman.com Music by Jameson McGregor.

Our guest today is Dr. Amy Kenny, who says that much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection. Dr. Kenny is a disabled scholar and a Shakespeare Lecturer whose research focuses on medical and bodily themes in literature. Her forthcoming book, My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church, shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability - and until we cultivate church spaces where people with disabilities can fully belong, flourish, and lead, we are not valuing the diverse members of the body of Christ. Pre-order Amy's book. Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

Amanda Martinez Beck is a fat activist and body peace coach specializing in the intersection of human dignity, body liberation, and religion. She is the author of Lovely: How I Learned to Embrace the Body God Save Me and the forthcoming book More of You: The Fat Girl's Field Guide to the Modern World. Amanda is also the co-creator and co-host of the Fat & Faithful podcast. Pre-order Amanda's book. Follow Amanda on Instagram @your_body_is_good. Join the All Bodies Are Good Bodies Facebook group. Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

We're back to continue the conversation about our bodies. Here at Sanctuary Woman, we are intentional about making our spirituality an embodied one, and repairing the holy connection between our mind and our bodies. So we are going to explore what it looks like to pursue being at peace with our bodies. This episode features Isabel Garza, Registered Dietitian and founder of Woman Wise Nutrition. Isabel strives to empower women to be the expert of their own bodies so that they can stop fighting food and start living a full and purposeful life. Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

This is the first episode of our Bodies series. Here at Sanctuary Woman, we are intentional about making our spirituality an embodied one, and repairing the holy connection between our spiritual and sexual selves. So we are going to explore what it looks like to pursue being at peace with our bodies. And there's no one better to start us off on this topic than Dr. Hillary McBride. Breath Prayer: Inhale: Speak to me, Oh God Exhale: Through this good body. Inhale: Help me seek wisdom Exhale: From this good body. Inhale: Help me know peace Exhale: With this good body. Inhale: I hear you, Oh God Exhale: In this good body. Show notes can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

Episode transcript can be found at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

Welcome to the fourth and final week of Advent. We're almost there!  HE is almost here! But… we keep waiting. We keep longing for things to be made right. For a little while longer.  Today we are waiting with Kat Armas. Kat is a Cuban-American writer and podcaster from Miami, FL who holds a dual MDiv and MAT. Her first book, Abuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us About Wisdom, Persistence and Strength sits at the intersection of women, Scripture, and Cuban identity. She also explores these topics on her podcast, The Protagonistas, which centers the voices of Black, Indigenous, and other women of color in church leadership and theology. Complete show notes are at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

Welcome to the third week of Advent. Our guest today is Shannon K. Evans. Shannon is the author of Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality. Writing from the contemplative Catholic tradition, her passion is for an experience of the Divine grows further loving and curious rather than static and complacent. Complete show notes are at www.sanctuarywoman.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

My guest for week two of Advent is Dr. Christy Bauman. Christy is an author, professor and psychotherapist who focuses on the female body, sexuality, and theology. A wife to Andrew, a mother of 4, and a fierce dreamer, passionate about advocating for women, Christy is the author of three books: Theology of the Womb, A Brave Lament, and Coming Home. Learn more about Christy and her Theology of the Womb course and book at https://christybauman.com/.  CW: Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss Complete show notes are included at www.sanctuarywoman.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco.

It's Advent… The Promised One is finally on his way.  But he's not here. Not yet. So we wait… and in this Advent series, we're going to sit with Mary while we wait... and wait expectantly with her.  Lectio Divina: The Visitation from Luke 1:26-45 (MSG)  Complete show notes are included our our BRAND NEW WEBSITE: www.sanctuarywoman.com  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/sanctuarywoman  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Music by Jameson McGregor of UBC Waco. 

I have a special bonus episode for you today with my friend Kayla Craig, creator of Liturgies for Parents and author of To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents that features over 100 liturgies and breath prayers. Written with warmth and welcome, To Light Their Way gives voice to your prayer when words won't come and is out on October 5 everywhere books are sold. Kayla is also host of the Upside Down Podcast, a place for ecumenical conversations on faith and justice. Kayla and her husband Jonny live in Iowa with their four young kids. You can learn more about Kayla and her work at KaylaCraig.com and purchase her new book, To Light Their Way: A Collection of Prayers & Liturgies for Parents wherever books are sold.

Join us for more conversations about sex and sexuality in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content this summer!  Questions in this episode:  - Should the church even be teaching about sex? - Is it wrong to m*sturbate as a single woman? - How would you respond to your husband who refuses to stop watching porn? - How do I help my husband open up and become more sexually adventurous? - How can I overcome shame and embrace my sexuality as a single woman? - What about sex before marriage? Links and resource mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes: https://www.morganstrehlow.com/sanctuarywoman/30 

Dr. Camden Morgante is a licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct college professor. She writes and speaks about Christianity, psychology, and gender equality and is currently writing a book on the myths of purity culture. In this episode, Dr. Camden and I talk about some of the unintended consequences of purity culture and how we can recover and heal from the psychological impacts it has on us, because sex and sexuality is way more about the physical - so much of it is also spiritual, and psychological. Dr. Camden shares some therapeutic techniques that can help us become more comfortable with our sexuality and overcoming sexual shame.  This episode is for all of us who are trying to navigate away from a toxic or unhealthy view of sexuality and toward a more positive and healthy view of sexuality.  Connect with Dr. Camden on Instagram @drcamden.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Carlie is a developmental psychologist, a gender and sexuality researcher, and has been educating dating, engaged and newly married couples on Instagram as The Christian Sex Educator. I asked Carlie to join us on the podcast to talk to listeners who are single and dating, who are engaged and those who are newly married - she is specifically so skilled at educating couples who are waiting until marriage to have sex on what they need to do to prepare for their sexual relationship. I know that quite a few of you who listen fall into one of these categories, and even if you've been married for awhile, I think you're still going to want to learn from Carlie. She schools us the topic of sexual agency and why our sexual agency doesn't, or shouldn't, end in marriage, despite what some of us have been told.  CONTENT WARNING: We do talk about sexual assault in the context of how to talk with your partner about past sexual trauma.  Connect with Carlie on Instagram @carliepalmerwebb. Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Dr. Celeste Holbrook is a sexologist and speaker who helps her clients evolve into the women they were created to be, in and outside of the bedroom. She speaks on a variety of topics from sex drive and sexual shame, painful intercourse, purity culture and more. Her mission is to provide safe spaces for people to talk about sex.  I asked Celeste to join us on the podcast to learn about and normalize different types of sex and pleasure - I specifically asked her to talk with us about how introducing toys and novelty to our sex lives can actually be a normal part of a healthy sexuality and sexual ethic. We even talk about what we can learn about clear communication and giving and receiving consent from the kink and BDSM community. Connect with Celeste at https://www.drcelesteholbrook.com/ Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Our children deserve great answers to difficult questions. That's why I am excited to introduce you to two educators who love to help parents become the go to sex education experts for their children so that we can be empowered to have comprehensive, comfortable and casual conversations with our children about bodies, sex, sexuality and consent. Dr. Shannon Deer and Kristin Dickerson are the founders of Oh. My. Word. Conversations, a resource to equip parents to have conversations about sex with their children.  Learn more about Oh. My. Word. Conversations at https://ohmywordconversations.com/. Connect with Oh. My. Word. on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.  You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman.

Brittany Broaddus-Smith is the founder of The Intimacy Firm, an intimacy coaching and sexuality education organization for coaching, training and educating groups and individuals. Working in the intersections of sexuality and faith, Brittany aims to empower individuals to discover, embrace, and navigate the world of sexuality in a way that doesn't compromise their personal or professional values. I've asked Brittany to join us on the podcast today to talk about female pleasure, how purity culture has impacted our pleasure, or lack of, and how we can move from ignorance to educated and empowered in order to experience uninhibited pleasure in our lives. Connect with Brittany at https://www.theintimacyfirm.com/.  You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Despite us being made to believe that porn is mostly a man's issue, many women struggle with porn addiction, which is why I have asked my friend Joy Skarka to chat with us about pornography. Joy serves as the Director of Discipleship for Authentic Intimacy, where Joy participates in their mission of providing sexual discipleship to Christian women and couples. Like me, Joy is passionate about creating spaces to free women from shame. TRIGGER WARNING: Please be made aware that there is one mention of sexual violence early in our conversation as Joy shares a personal story. If you'd like to skip ahead, you can do that by skipping to the 10 minute mark.   Resources: Blog: 3 Things I (Wish I Hadn't) Learned From Pornography Blog: Experience Freedom From Shame Authentic Intimacy Online Book Studies (next groups open in Sept) Book: Grace Based Recovery, Jonathan Daugherty Book: No Stones: Women Redeemed from Sexual Addiction, Marnie Ferree Connect with Joy on Instagram @JoySkarka.  You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

The Summer of Sex Ed series continues with Kat Harris. Kat is the host of The Refined Collective Podcast, Co-Founder of the online publication The Refined Woman, and author of the newly released book titled Sexless in the City. She coaches and equips women all over the world in dating, relationships, singleness, sexuality, faith and how to build a renewed and healthy biblical sexual ethic rooted in freedom, truth and grace as opposed to the oh-so-common shame and fear narratives so many experienced growing up in evangelical culture. In this episode, Kat explains her process in reevaluating what we believe about something and why we believe what we believe, otherwise known as deconstruction. The deconstruction and reconstruction framework Kat talks about as she explored the questions around masturbation can be helpful for so many other aspects of the sex and sexuality conversation. This conversation is not a prescriptive one, but one that I hope will enlighten you to a new perspective on self-pleasure, and perhaps even release you from any shame you may have around this topic.  Connect with Kat at https://therefinedwoman.com/ and find her book, Sexless in the City, anywhere books are sold. You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Tiffany Rose is a physician assistant who specializes in gynecology in Waco, Texas, where she also teaches human sexuality classes to college students at Baylor University. I asked Tiffany to talk with us specifically about how women can become the best advocates for our own healthcare with our gynecologists. Personally, I had several bad experiences with OBGYNs in my early 20s before getting the help I needed, but also didn't know enough about my body or what to expect to know how to advocate for myself. OBGYN appointments are very intimidating with or without an upbringing in purity culture, but I would guess they are probably way more intimidating for those of us who come out of purity culture. Tiffany and I wrap up our conversation by talking about the young adult Sunday school class Tiffany teaches at her church, and how she integrates conversations about sexuality and sexual ethics in the context of Sunday school.  I learned so much from my conversation with Tiffany - particularly how I can be my and my body's own best advocate when I visit the doctor! I hope you enjoy our conversation. You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

Welcome to the Sanctuary, I'm Morgan Strehlow, host of the Sanctuary Woman podcast, and you're listening to the Summer of Sex Ed series, featuring sex educators, sexuality professionals and a few friends of the podcast to come talk with us about womens sexuality for those of us who never received a proper sex education while growing up in purity culture. Today's educator is my friend and a friend of the podcast, Jenna DeWitt. Jenna joins us to talk with me about asexuality, aromanticism, and singleness and what it has been like for her to navigate life in a world and in a church that assumes that everyone wants to be in a sexual, romantic relationship. Jenna is passionate about creating sanctuary for queer Christians and for letting others who are asexual know that they are aren't broken and they are not alone. Connect with Jenna on Twitter and at her blog Invisible Cake Society.  You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com to be answered in a future Sacred Cliturgy episode or in our e-mail newsletter.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman. Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content for Christian women who grew up in purity culture. 

On Wednesday, June 9 we will kick off a Summer of Sex Ed, featuring sex educators, sexuality professionals and a few friends of the podcast to come talk with us about specific topics relating to women's sexuality for those of us who never received a proper sex education while growing up in purity culture. You can send your sex and sexuality questions to sanctuarywomanpod@gmail.com.  Join us for more sexuality conversations in Christian community on Instagram: @sanctuarywoman Sign up for the newsletter for more sex education content this summer! 

I'm learning some things about ministry these days. Not because I want to be a minister. I want to be a writer. But I recognize that God can use my writing and my story to minister to others - and, to my surprise, God has. Since we're 20 episodes into Sanctuary Woman, I thought I'd spend a moment reflecting on the concept of ministry. What is it? Is that what I'm doing? And if so, what business do I have doing it? Lectio Divina: Acts 1:6-11 (The Ascension of Jesus) Book: The Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen Connect with Morgan to continue the conversation: IG: @sanctuarywoman https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/448530363015293  Learn more about Morgan at https://www.morganstrehlow.com/.  Music by Jameson McGregor.

In this episode, Morgan makes space to consider how God mothers us, and how God's people spiritually mother one another. 

On this episode of Sanctuary Woman, we're talking about Biblical womanhood, and how this caricature many of us have been handed as the script from which we should live our lives may not actually be a Biblical one, but rather a cultural one.  I'm so excited about the guest we have on the show today: my colleague at Baylor University, Dr. Beth Allison Barr, who recently released a game changer of a book called The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.  You buy The Making of Biblical Womanhood anywhere books are sold. You can also connect with Dr. Barr at www.bethallisonbarr.com. Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Subscribe to Morgan's newsletter here. Music by Jameson McGregor.

Very good. Naked. Not ashamed. We do not know much about Eve, but we do know this much of the first woman created by God and in the image of God. I have never been able to identify with this very good woman, Eve in Eden, naked and not ashamed. Until recently, I never believed that I was supposed to. I never believed that it was possible. --- Sacred Cliturgy, a monthly bonus episode of Sanctuary Woman where we discover what would happen if we talked honestly about sex with one another. I asked the question: What if Christian women started talking about sex... like for real? What if we talked about and understood our own bodies, our own sexuality in a more healthy and holistic way... not in spite of our Christian faith, but in light of it? What if that led to better sex, better sexuality, better sex education, better single lives and better marriages? We need to talk. Connect with Morgan to continue the conversation: IG: @sanctuarywoman https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/448530363015293  Learn more about Morgan at https://www.morganstrehlow.com/. 

In light of the events of this past week - the murder of two unarmed black and brown boys by law enforcement officers, twenty year old Daunte Wright, and thirteen year old Adam Toledo - and in light of the events of the past year and the forthcoming verdict of the office who murdered George Floyd, I want to lead us into a guided prayer and examen for racial justice, for concilation, and for peace, and for the role we are to play in the making of peace. Connect with Morgan to continue the conversation: IG: @sanctuarywoman https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/448530363015293  Learn more about Morgan at https://www.morganstrehlow.com/.  Music by Jameson McGregor.

Welcome to Eastertide, the liturgical season where we celebrate the resurrected Christ and the new life we have in a risen Jesus.  In yesterday's Easter service, where I attended church in person for the first time in a year, our pastor described the Resurrection story as both a cosmic story, as well as a deeply personal one.  Resurrection. Each of us have a resurrection story of sorts, and perhaps some of us have many resurrection stories that collectively make up a much larger narrative of our resurrection life. This pandemic year, for example, has led us into a sort of resurrection story. Or, perhaps in greater need of one.  What is your resurrection story? In this episode, I share with you some of my own resurrection story. Connect with Morgan to continue the conversation: IG: @sanctuarywoman https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/448530363015293  Learn more about Morgan at https://www.morganstrehlow.com/.  Music by Jameson McGregor.

It's time for Sacred Cliturgy, a monthly bonus episode of Sanctuary Woman where we discover what would happen if we talked honestly about sex with one another. You see sexuality is inherently VERY GOOD. But, let's face it... it's complicated. It's especially complicated when we don't talk about it.  So I asked the question: What if Christian women started talking about sex... like for real? What if we talked about and understood our own bodies, our own sexuality in a more healthy and holistic way... not in spite of our Christian faith, but in light of it? What if that led to better sex, better sexuality, better sex education, better single lives and better marriages? We need to talk. Guest: Sheila Wray Gregoire, author of The Great Sex Rescue.  Connect with Sheila on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sheilagregoire/ .  Connect with Morgan to continue the conversation: IG: @sanctuarywoman https://www.instagram.com/sanctuarywoman/  FB: https://www.facebook.com/morganstrehlow  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/448530363015293  Learn more about Morgan at https://www.morganstrehlow.com/. 

The Resurrection Women series kicks off with Tiffany Bluhm, where she and Morgan talk about when silence is not spiritual and the importance of us as believers and as a church to be able to welcome the honest and uncomfortable stories of women and our shared experiences with another - and actually be believed. Buy Tiffany's new book Prey Tell anywhere books are sold, and connect with Tiffany at https://www.tiffanybluhm.com/.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Subscribe to Morgan's newsletter here. Music by Jameson McGregor.

Download the free Examen guidebook.  Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com

In this episode, Morgan examines the concepts of rest and renewal in her own life as a contemplative activist, and in our collective lives as we establish new rhythms heading into post-pandemic life. Poem: A Standing Ground by Wendell Berry Lectio Divina from Psalm 23. Prayer: O Redeemer, May your light break forth like the dawn May your renewal come quicklyOr may it come the slow wayThat's for you to decide May your presence be with us while we waitMay you give rest to our restless hearts.Be with us in our becoming Renew our minds Renew our bodiesRenew our spirit So that as we establish our new rhythmsYour light may shine That they may see your Very Good work That we may see your Very Good work In us.Amen. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

“The earth is a forgiveness school,” Anne Lamott says.  When I began studying forgiveness, it didn't take long at all for God to show me that I first needed to finally forgive the church. This realization hit me like a thousand bricks when it occurred to me that I had been harboring unforgiveness toward the big C church and the little c church - the church of my childhood - for years and years and years and my own unforgiveness had turned me into someone I no longer recognized. I had become a slave to my unforgiveness.  That became clear when, as I was studying forgiveness, I read these verses Hebrews 12:14-15 “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” I was a bitter root. Lectio Divina from Psalm 140. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

It's time for Sacred Cliturgy, a monthly bonus episode of Sanctuary Woman where we discover what would happen if we talked honestly about sex with one another. You see sexuality is inherently VERY GOOD. But, let's face it - it's complicated. It's especially complicated when we don't talk about it.  So I asked the question: What if Christian women started talking about sex - like for real? What if we talked about and understood our own bodies, our own sexuality in a more healthy and holistic way - not in spite of our Christian faith, but in light of it? What if that led to better sex, better sexuality, better sex education, better single lives and better marriages? We need to talk. In this episode, I bring my good friend Elizabeth Gregory Brown on the podcast for a conversation. Elizabeth holds a master's degree in marriage and family therapy, has been teaching college students about sexuality and theology for the past 8 years, and writes about God and sex on her blog Every Body Holy.  You can find Elizabeth on Instagram @ElizabethGregoryBrown and @EveryBodyHoly.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook.

I took the pressure off of myself to keep on keeping on, to stick with business as usual this week. (It was no usual week here in Texas, after all.) Which means the podcast episodes I had on deck for tomorrow will not be released as planned. Instead, I took a pause. Texans: I hope that you will honor your body this week by prayerfully taking a moment to pause, to be still, before you press on. Take a moment to notice. To grieve. To lament. To be grateful. And to pray. The ice may be melting away, but devastation remains. As does Hope. I am recording a short prayer inspired by this sacred pause in the aftermath of a crisis. That will be what I release tomorrow on Sanctuary Woman. Texans: I hope you will find comfort in this prayer. Non-Texans: I hope you'll join me in praying for Texas.

In this episode, Morgan wrestles with and unpacks Galations 5 where we find the fruits of the spirit. There is a lot of sin in this world, and you and I did inherit that sinful nature. That is true. There is a lot of good left in this world too, and I believe that you and I can also embody that good - that we DO embody that good if we embody the Spirit. What does it look like to embody this Spirit? Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self-Control.  To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

Intimacy in any form takes intentionality. Self-intimacy and relational intimacy require commitment and emotional responsibility, as does intimacy with God. And just as our bodies can be a part of creating intimacy with our babies or with our partners, our bodies are the perfect place to experience a profound intimacy, too, with our very creator.  Lectio Divina from Isaiah 49. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

On this episode of Sanctuary Woman, I want to invite you to reconnect your mind, with your body, through awareness of your body, listening to what your body is communicating to you. What God is communicating to you, through your body. This episode will lead you through a prayer body scan meditation, and close with a reading of Psalm 139. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

I'm not sure when it occurred to me that pleasure could be holy. But I know now it can. And perhaps pleasure can be just another doorway to experiencing God?  Lectio Divina: Psalm 149:1-5 Prayer: O Generous God, Creator of my five sensesGiver of desires Thank you for the giftOf this good body This good body that you've given me for pleasureThis good body that you've given me for worship Help me, Caring SaviorTo be kind to this very good body To delight in this very good body To taste your goodnessTo see your graceTo feel your peaceTo hear your kindnessTo taste your glory For the many, many ways you let me experience your love for meI give you thanks.  To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

I'm going to share with you about my own epiphanies and curiosities that led to this podcast, Sanctuary Woman. And as you listen to my story, ask God for holy perspective as you reflect back on how the holy spirit has is guiding you toward your next right thing. Think about what you've been learning about God, about yourself, about the world. Think about what you still want to learn about God, about yourself, about the world. Sanctuary Woman was born out of a deep pain, deep hope, deep desire. I had long been searching for a true place of belonging, and I suppose on this side of heaven there may never be a place that we experience that kind of belonging that we all long for. But that doesn't mean we can't try, right? Lectio Divina: Exodus 3 Prayer:  God of Moses,  God who sets people free.  You welcome our brave questions. You ask us to do brave things.  Thank you, for being a wayfinder, for leading your children out of oppression, out of shame, and into freedom and into your loving kindness. As each of us finds our way back to you, may we also become a wayfinder. May we be a Sanctuary.  Amen. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

“The gifts I see in you are…”  I want to offer this prompt to you to use in a few different ways.  The first one is this: Look in the mirror. At yourself. Make eye contact with you. Look at her with affection, with adoration, with awe. Tell her what gifts you see in you. Voice as many as you can think of in that moment. When you're finished speaking gifts over yourself, write them down somewhere. Then consider making this a regular practice in your life.  Second, speak gifts into a close friend, a partner, a family member. Maybe it's over a shared meal together. Maybe it's before bed or when you wake up in morning. If you're able to share these gifts in person, remember to make eye contact. If you're comfortable, hold the hands of the receiver while you are sharing with them their gifts. If you're unable to share gifts in person, consider writing a handwritten letter and mailing the gifts you want to give by writing them down.  And, finally, use this prompt as a prayer prompt and tell God the gifts you see in them, the gifts you experience from them.  Lectio Divina: Psalm 34 Prayer:  God of grace, God of good and abundant gifts.  My gratitude overflows.  Thank you, for being a shelter - for the wondering, the weary, the wounded and the winsome. For being a sanctuary - for the women. For the whole world.  Amen. To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

This audio Examen is an invitation to prayerfully reflect and notice God's grace and movement in the many aspects of our lives, particularly as it relates to how we embody God's goodness. This guided prayer is based on an ancient spiritual practice from St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) known as the prayer of Examen. While the Examen is commonly used as a daily exercise, it can be adapted for weekly, monthly or yearly reflection and prayer.  To download the accompanying Examen guidebook PDF to journal through the Examen, click here.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

In episode one, listeners are welcomed by Morgan Strehlow, who shares a short story from her own limping faith journey and the hopes she has for the Sanctuary Woman podcast - for listeners to either experience a sense of greater belonging and kindredness in the Christian church, OR for listeners to become people who can more compassionately extend that sense of belonging to someone else. Because church can be hard, but it doesn't have to be.  Lectio Divina: Psalm 107 Questions for Reflection: How are you able to welcome God's presence?Where are you able to welcome God's presence? Where do you struggle to recognize God's presence? What is keeping you from noticing God's presence?Who helps you to remember God's presence?  Prayer: Lord, when we cannot stand, may we find your Church as a refuge for our wounded spirits and tired souls. When we find ourselves on our knees, Lord, may we there find your Church alongside us and experience her as an agent of healing rather than a thrower of stones. May we practice resurrection and find ourselves back on our feet, ready to extend the resurrection life to this world.  Connect with Morgan: @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.

I'm Morgan Strehlow. This is Sanctuary Woman, a new podcast for lovers of God in search for a sanctuary to belong in and to call home. Through contemplative practices, spiritual formation and curious conversations with kindred women, Sanctuary Woman is a safe place for realizing your mind, your body and your relationships as sites for worship. My prayer is that this show will guide you to a deeper, a richer, more embodied connection to yourself, to God, as well as more intimate and honest conversations with your community. If this sounds like a space you want to walk into alongside me, and alongside other women, please subscribe to the show so you can receive episodes of Sanctuary Woman as soon as they are released. God's presence isn't waiting for you. God's presence is already in you. Welcome to the Sanctuary. @sanctuarywoman on Instagram Sanctuary Woman on Facebook @mostrehlow on Instagram @morganstrehlow on Twitter morganstrehlow.com Join the Sanctuary Woman Community on Facebook. Music by Jameson McGregor.