Sanctuary Woman with Morgan Strehlow

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 senses
Giver of desires

Thank you for the gift
Of this good body

This good body that you’ve given me for pleasure
This good body that you’ve given me for worship

Help me, Caring Savior
To be kind to this very good body
To delight in this very good body

To taste your goodness
To see your grace
To feel your peace
To hear your kindness
To taste your glory

For the many, many ways you let me experience your love for me
I 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.