Here's my dream for the Church...
Lifelong education about the goodness of our bodies in God's design that:
Begins with accurate (age appropriate!) cycle education even before girls get their first period...
Extends to charting for health...
Adds in fertility for NFP...
And continues in the form of robust parish support to meet all the changing needs of couples through their fertile years.
"The Church needs to do more to support NFP."
Trust me, I said that for years, too. As someone who got thrown out of a doctor's office for refusing birth control and then struggled to find an instructor who could teach me NFP, I experienced the gap between Church teaching and practical help firsthand.
But then I took a deep dive into Church teaching and realized the answer to better NFP support has been in place since the very beginning...like literally since Genesis 1.
And what's more? The Church has been saying this all along - we've just stopped talking about it.
So I am.
The answer is
body literacy
The story of Creation is knit throughout your entire body. What I do here at Pearl & Thistle is teach you how to read God’s design for your body (body literacy) so you can take part in the story He has for you.
It combines Theology of the Body with science to illustrate how our cycles are telling us more than just fertile signs.
Most importantly? Body Literacy is for everyone, not just married couples. Because when we limit the conversation to just fertility awareness, we end up leaving out a large portion of the Body of Christ.
Here's what that looks like at Pearl & Thistle:
HOW IT WORKS
My unique incremental learning system means you learn the piece of menstrual cycle charting you need for your age and stage without needing to learn an entire NFP method from the start.
STAGE ONE: CYCLE PREP
For the parents thinking, "When should I start talking to my daughter about her period?" Cycle Prep is a first period prep course that will have your daughter approaching menarche with confidence and clarity.
STAGE TWO: CHARTING FOR GIRLS
Of course teens don't need to know how to mark fertile signs - but basic charting information could be the difference between incredible agony from abnormal cycles and having the abundant life God created them for.
Charting for Girls will teach your daughter what's normal, what's not, and even help track energy levels and mood swings associated with the first few years of cycles.
STAGE THREE: CHARTING FOR SINGLE WOMEN
Imagine if you could learn the basics of charting cycles for health without getting bogged down in all the protocols (and cost!) of learning a full NFP method. Enter Charting for Single Women, my DIY resource for Catholic single women.
STAGE FOUR: NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING
Once engaged or married, we add in fertility protocols with a full NFP method. Bonus: It's even easier to learn once you have all the basics of charting down from Stages 1-3.
(And yes, you're still welcome here even if you've never charted before!)
Plus, all Pearl & Thistle NFP clients get three months free access to Read Your Body!
STAGE FIVE: NFP AMBASSADORS
With that lifelong learning under your belt, you're super pumped about NFP and want to tell everyone from your neighbor to the cute couple who sits a few pews away from you...let me teach you how.
and that's not all
I'm kind of obsessed with all things at the intersection of Catholicism + body literacy, so I've also created a bunch of additional resources, like a Catholic sex ed course for teens (that isn't cringe!), trainings for parents and ministry leaders, and even "just press play" ready resources for parishes and schools to make promoting NFP and body literacy easy.
By the way, Pearl & Thistle is for you...
...even if you don't match the "couple walking in a field of sunflowers" advertisement for NFP.
...even if you're a parent who desperately wants to avoid these conversations because you're pretty sure you'll die of embarrassment.
...even if you've felt disqualified from being part of the conversation in the past because of your age or stage in life.
...even if the world has told you that your body is broken, and you've believed it.
This place is for you: to grapple with these things, to have a voice in the conversation, and hopefully come out holier on the other side.
as featured on
okay so...now what?
Want to learn more about body literacy from a Catholic perspective? I can talk about this stuff all day...and do. (Just ask my husband and kids.)
Or get started with a course or resource designed for Catholics just like you.