My Delight with Sarah Bartel

Are you not enjoying sex in your Catholic marriage? 

I bet I know why. It's probably one of these top 3 reasons I see all the time come up in my coaching.

1. Obligation sex. 

2. Not enough foreplay

3. Not enough emotional connection

Women, your enjoyment of sex matters just as much as your husband's pleasure! You are created equal. Know your worth as a woman.

Resources mentioned in this show:

Ellen Holloway's Charting Towards Intimacy podcast! 😍

Obligation Sex article series by Sheila Gregoire

A Cat...

What can parents do to help prevent sexual abuse of their kids AND raise them to have a balanced, shame-free attitude towards their bodies? What should you do if your child keeps touching themselves? Dr. Julia Sadusky, a licensed clinical psychologist, and author, shares how Catholic parents can talk to their children and teens about sex in a healthy, helpful way. Dr. Sadusky shares practical advice for addressing:

So many adult women in marriage feel bad about their bodies and about their sexuality. Sarah has seen this with the ma...

How frequently should you be making love in your marriage?

This episode is all about frequency! In it, I share about:

-Quality vs. quanity

-Desire differences between spouses

-Spontaneous vs. responsive libido

-What the Church teaches about frequency (you might be surprised!)

-How to communicate about it as a couple

-One Christian author's observation about frequency to consider

MORE RESOURCES

Free Enhancing Marital Intimacy Guide for Catholic Women: 9 Skills for Body, Mind, and Spirit (for married and engaged...

What is perimenopause? How long does it last? What are the signs that you are in it? How can it affect your fertility and libido? Sarah talks with Christina Valenzuela, creator of the Perimenopause Prep Course, about thriving in the years before and after menopause. 

Understanding perimenopause, learning how to support your body through it, and communicating with your husband about your love life through this major change can empower you as a woman to be more positive and proactive about your hormonal and sexual well-being as the fertile years wind down. 

Ch...

What challenges do single Catholic women face as they strive to live chastely while waiting to be married? How far is it okay to go when you are dating? How does a single woman develop of positive view of sex while not actually having sex? Maria Spears Mumaugh, a musician and mindset coach, is the co-founder of The Intentional Single, which helps single Catholic women thrive in the years of dating and single life as they prepare for marriage. She shares the struggles single women face regarding porn use, feeling "touch-starved" (and what to do about it), navigating appropriate...

"It's a marvel how resilient we are." This episode cannot take the place of individual therapy, but it CAN educate and encourage you about the possibilities for healing from past sexual trauma in order to enjoy lovemaking in marriage in this conversation rooted in hope and resilience. 

Suppose a wife cringes when her husband touches her shoulder in a certain way and suggests they go to bed early that night. She wants to run away. She definitely does NOT want to head upstairs and engage in intimacy, even though she loves her husband. When she was younger, s...

As we mourn the death of Pope Francis and reflect on his gifts to the church during his papacy, this is a great moment to recall his (surprisingly traditional!) teachings on sex in marriage from Amoris Laetitia, The Joy of Love. 

In this post-synodol apostolic exhortation from 2015 that capped the Synod on the Family, Pope Francis makes four main points about married sex:

1. The church teaches that sex is meant to be a good! It is a gift from God enriching joy in marriage, not just a "necessary evil" to be tolerated because it is t...

Opening with "birthday cake" analogy, this episode focuses on different ways to heal from sexual wounds, abuse, regrets, and harmful messages that a woman may have suffered. These harms can bind her up and keep her from experiencing the fullness of freedom, connection, joy, and delight the the Lord intends for her in marital intimacy. During Holy Week is the perfect time to bring all these wounds to Jesus, to lay at the foot of his Cross. 

Therapies that can help heal emotional wounds from past sexual abuse:

Catholic pelvic floor specialist Veronica Stephens returns to discuss how pelvic floor issues can show up in married life. So many challenges can be addressed through pelvic floor work, including painful intercourse, incontinence, constipation, and possibly even erectile dysfunction (ED). (Yes, men can get pelvic floor help as well!) A healthy functioning pelvic floor also prepares a mother for better birth, and postpartum recovery for issues like diastasis rectii can be helped with pelvic floor work. 

Sarah and Veronica discuss how tension throughout the whole body can affect the pelvic floor, as well as how our breathing i...

Before you can effectively to anything else to improve your love life in marriage, you have to get the porn out. 

Sarah shares 10 resources, programs, and tips to help husbands get free, to help wives heal from betrayal trauma, and to help married couples rebuild their intimate life.

If you wanted to redecorate your living room, but there was a fire in it, you'd have to put out the fire before you start thinking about paint colors and rearranging the furniture. Afterwards, you'd also have to clean up the scorch marks and care for burns. I...

What do newlywed and engaged women need to know about their pelvic floor as they enter into marital intimacy? Sarah is joined by Catholic pelvic floor specialist Veronica Stephens of RenewedResilience.net. They cover the basics of what a healthy, functioning pelvic floor should be able to do, as well as a few of the problems that can arise when the pelvic floor doesn't function properly--problems such as incontinence, pain during intercourse, and constipation. Veronica shares her unique path to her profession, from her beginnings as a theology major at Christendom College to finding her way to physical training...

Sarah and her amazing friend Ellen Holloway of the Charting Towards Intimacy podcast share 7 tips for engaged women preparing for their first time after the wedding. They chat about setting expectations for yourself and with your husband-to-be, what essential items you are going to want to have on hand, butterflies in the stomach, the supreme importance of FOREPLAY, being like a flower, lingerie, and having fun. 

Ellen Holloway's Free Foreplay Guide for Catholic Women

Ellen Holloway's Charting Towards Intimacy podcast

Ginger and Peach Catholic-owned model-free lingerie boutique

Mentionables M...

Sarah speaks with My Delight alum Kristen, mother of eight, who shares her story of her and her husband's conversion, as well as how she grew through the My Delight course. Kristen felt pretty good about their love life before, but experienced insights, growth, learning, and increased connection with her husband. She shares what new evening routine they've developed that's been a game-changer and why there's a bottle of whipped cream in the fridge that she and her husband won't let the kids have. She also shares what some of the highlights were for her among the guest experts...

Sarah and Denise talk about self-care and body image. Denise a Catholic weight loss coach who helps women turn to God instead of food through her Weight Loss with the Holy Spirit program, 63 Surrendered program, and Restored Lent Challenge.  Restored helps women surrender to God, not the scale.

Denise shares about how authentic self-care is not about expense and luxury--it's a sacred activity given to us by the Lord. She also shares about how we can change our negative thoughts about our body.

Fast from the scale and experience the freedom and p...

What is it like to go through My Delight as a happily married newlywed with a good love life? Is there still more to learn? Sarah chats with Dr. Jessica Whelan, a naturopath specializing in hormone health who is also a certified Creighton model FertiliCare NFP instructor and NaPro providor. They discuss being the higher-desire spouse, enjoying lovemaking while struggling with infertility and trying to conceive, and communicating about intimacy with your husband. Dr. Jessica shares what it is like to be in the sisterhood of Catholic women who go through My Delight together. 

Find out more a...

Do you ever feel embarrassed when it comes to talking with your husband about lovemaking? Do you know how to ask for what you need... or communicate if something feels "meh" ... or even worse, hurts? Monica Ortega, co-host with her husband Renzo of the Two Become Family podcast, chats with Sarah about the book she and Renzo wrote: Lovemaking: How to Talk About Sex with Your Spouse. As a faithful Catholic couple informed by church teaching and theology of the body, they noticed that when it comes to candid and practical advice--there's still a lot to figure out! Sarah...

Intimacy Insights for Brides-to-Be and Newlyweds: Expert Advice from Bridget Busacker, part 2 of 2.

In this episode, I continue my interview with my lovely friend Bridget Busacker, founder of Managing Your Fertility. We chat about what we would tell newlywed or engaged women about sex and marriage. Join us as we imagine taking a bride-to-be out for coffee and consider what we would tell her about intimacy in marriage.  We share stories and practical tips to help build a joyful and connected intimate life. 

LINKS:

Intimacy Insights for Brides-to-Be and Newlyweds: Expert Advice from Bridget Busacker

In this episode, I interview my lovely friend Bridget Busacker, founder of Managing Your Fertility, to chat about what we would tell newlywed or engaged women about sex and marriage. Join us as we imagine taking a bride-to-be out for coffee and consider what we would tell her about the importance of communication, the essential role of foreplay, handling discomfort, and why it's so important a couple work together to make it a mutually enjoyable experience.  We share stories and practical tips to help build a j...

Ellen Holloway interviews host Sarah Bartel about how she got started helping Catholic married women improve their sex lives. She also interviews Sarah about her My Delight course for Catholic women. They talk about what happens inside the course and who the course is for.

👉 DOWNLOAD THE FREE GUIDE:
Enhancing Marital Intimacy: 9 Skills for Mind, Body, and Spirit

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