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The Language of Your Body: Embracing God's Design for Your Cycle has been designated a WINNER at this year's Catholic Media Awards! The review summary reads:

"More than a theology of the female body (although the theology is certainly there), this is an honest, vulnerable, eloquent meditation on one of the most intimate — and misunderstood — aspects of women's lives."

Thank you, CMA, for this gracious award!

Check out the book today

here's the thing:

Fertility is just one piece of God's design for cycles.

here's the thing:

Fertility is just one piece of God's design for cycles.

We spend a ton of time as a Church talking about fertility and family planning - as we should!

But I think we leave out a large portion of the Body of Christ when we limit our conversations to "just" family planning.

We spend a ton of time as a Church talking about fertility and family planning. (As we should! It's a core part of our beliefs about God's design for the body.)

But I think we leave out a large portion of the Body of Christ when we limit our conversations to "just" family planning.

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mother and father hug two teenage daughters with pink background

Parents deserve programs & resources they can trust.

Sometimes, parents want to educate themselves before talking with their daughters about menstrual cycles. Other times, parents want programs to go through together with their daughters. Regardless, age-appropriate first period preparation and ongoing teen cycle education are not only investments in helping our children learn about vital health signs—they can be deeply connected to helping our children learn about God's design for the goodness and dignity of our bodies!

CHECK OUT PARENT RESOURCES

Parents deserve programs & resources they can trust.

Sometimes, parents want to educate themselves before talking with their daughters about menstrual cycles. Other times, parents want programs to go through together with their daughters. Regardless, age-appropriate first period preparation and ongoing teen cycle education are not only investments in helping our children learn about vital health signs—they can be deeply connected to helping our children learn about God's design for the goodness and dignity of our bodies!

CHECK OUT PARENT RESOURCES

four religious sisters in black habits stand outside a garden, smiling

four religious sisters in black habits stand in front of purple background, smiling

Single women should be able to learn about their bodies, too!

Too often we put all of the cycle charting info into Natural Family Planning during marriage prep. But unmarried women (which includes religious sisters and consecrated virgins!) have cycles, too, and our natural hormone fluctuations affect many things like mood, sleep, energy levels, and overall health. How much happier and holier could we be in all our relationships—including with ourselves and God—if we knew and embraced how cycles affect our whole selves, regardless of fertility?

CHECK OUT SINGLE WOMEN RESOURCES

Single women should be able to learn about their bodies, too!

Too often we put all of the cycle charting info into Natural Family Planning during marriage prep. But unmarried women (which includes religious sisters and consecrated virgins!) have cycles, too, and our natural hormone fluctuations affect many things like mood, sleep, energy levels, and overall health. How much happier and holier could we be in all our relationships—including with ourselves and God—if we knew and embraced how cycles affect our whole selves, regardless of fertility?

CHECK OUT SINGLE WOMEN RESOURCES

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Couples often need ongoing support and education with NFP.

Learning about shared fertility through the process of Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an ongoing process, shifting throughout the reproductive life of a couple. Therefore, not only do we need to provide initial NFP instruction within the Church, but we also need to provide ongoing touch points for education and support–like when couples need to navigate postpartum charting or perimenopause! Body literacy is always a lifelong process.

CHECK OUT NFP FOR COUPLES

Couples often need ongoing support and education with NFP.

Learning about shared fertility through the process of Natural Family Planning (NFP) is an ongoing process, shifting throughout the reproductive life of a couple. Therefore, not only do we need to provide initial NFP instruction within the Church, but we also need to provide ongoing touch points for education and support–like when couples need to navigate postpartum charting or perimenopause! Body literacy is always a lifelong process.

CHECK OUT NFP FOR COUPLES

school building with blue sky background

school building with blue Pearl and thistle background

Organizations like parishes, schools, and health clinics can bring body literacy to their communities.

We are stronger when we learn together! By offering this support, organizations help build communities where the nature and dignity of our bodies is known, love, and respected. Catholics of all ages and stages can know they are not alone! Whether it's parents who are looking for programs that help them carry out their role more confidently and effectively, single women who want a faith-based group to explore this knowledge, or couples who will be enriched through mutual support.

CHECK OUT OPTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

Organizations like parishes, schools, and health clinics can bring body literacy to their communities.

We are stronger when we learn together! By offering this support, organizations help build communities where the nature and dignity of our bodies is known, love, and respected. Catholics of all ages and stages can know they are not alone! Whether it's parents who are looking for programs that help them carry out their role more confidently and effectively, single women who want a faith-based group to explore this knowledge, or couples who will be enriched through mutual support.

CHECK OUT OPTIONS FOR ORGANIZATIONS

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...and Cycle Educators want beautiful, ready-to-go materials to make it even easier to share this information in their communities!

From polished slide decks and speaker notes to program facilitator training, Pearl & Thistle has the tools cycle educators need to make a big impact! Our offerings allow educators to focus on connecting with their audience and sharing life-giving truth, rather than reinventing the wheel.

CHECK OUT MATERIALS FOR CYCLE EDUCATORS

...and Cycle Educators want beautiful, ready-to-go materials to make it even easier to share this information in their communities!

From polished slide decks and speaker notes to program facilitator training, Pearl & Thistle has the tools cycle educators need to make a big impact! Our offerings allow educators to focus on connecting with their audience and sharing life-giving truth, rather than reinventing the wheel.

CHECK OUT MATERIALS FOR CYCLE EDUCATORS

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:

We boldly proclaim the goodness of our bodies, even when it doesn't always feel good.

We believe that body literacy is for all ages and stages, not just family planning.

We teach how our cycles aren't just a part of our physical make-up, but are also aids to holiness.

Here's what Pearl & Thistle offers....

Our unique incremental learning system begins even before the start of a girl's first period, growing and adding layers of "body literacy" as her needs change-- through puberty, adolescence, young adulthood, and all the way into perimenopause (...including NFP instruction for family planning as well)!

EXPLORE COURSES FOR INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES

CHECK OUT BOOKS

EXPLORE OPTIONS FOR GROUPS

SEE OUR CYCLE EDUCATOR RESOURCES

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.

Don't mistake my talk about periods being a call to holiness as sugar-coating the truth, though: they're a literal bloody mess. And many of our experiences have involved a lot of pain, fear, or shame when it comes to this topic.

But in all my work with women and families over the years, I've noticed that there is something in our heart, soul, and mind that wants to be able to claim this bodily function for good. Because God made our bodies and called them good, which includes our cycles.

"Body stuff" isn't easy. But it's holy. Because God made it holy.

READY TO EMBRACE MESSY HOLINESS?

Download a free PDF guide to our lifelong body literacy model: The Four Stages of Body Literacy for Catholics!

Claim your free guide

Hi, I'm Christina, and I never thought I'd become the Catholic menstrual cycle lady, but here we are.

In my decade+ of being a fertility and cycle educator, I've worked with so many women felt unnoticed by the Church when it comes to NFP.

The conversations tend to center around family planning and chastity, which are two extremely important topics, but don't always match our own experience and needs (or our children's).

My experience? Getting thrown out of a doctor's office for refusing birth control postpartum. Learning so much about my body as an adult that I should have learned about as a kid. Navigating awkward conversations about periods and fertility with my own daughters.

And I wanted to create a space - and resources - for others experiencing these same things.

Everyone says the Church needs to do more to support NFP. So here I am, doing my part. Welcome!

Hi, I'm Christina, and I never thought I'd become the Catholic menstrual cycle lady, but here we are.

In my decade+ of being a fertility and cycle educator, I've worked with so many women felt unnoticed by the Church when it comes to NFP.

The conversations tend to center around family planning and chastity, which are two extremely important topics, but don't always match our own experience and needs (or our children's).

My experience? Getting thrown out of a doctor's office for refusing birth control postpartum. Learning so much about my body as an adult that I should have learned about as a kid. Navigating awkward conversations about periods and fertility with my own daughters.

And I wanted to create a space - and resources - for others experiencing these same things.

Everyone says the Church needs to do more to support NFP. So here I am, doing my part. Welcome!

MEET CHRISTINA

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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.)

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Cycle awareness, body literacy, and NFP education, with a dose of the everyday and lip syncing to Reels

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Body literacy, theology, and science (plus a healthy dose of nerdiness) delivered to your inbox weekly

Or get started with a course or resource designed for Catholics just like you.

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GOD MADE YOUR BODY GOOD.

Cycles, fertility, all of it - When we know it better, we come to know Him better, too. I'd love to show you how.

EXPLORE COURSES

Fertility is just one piece of God's design for cycles.

Fertility is just one piece of God's design for cycles.

Parents deserve programs & resources they can trust.

Parents deserve programs & resources they can trust.

Single women should be able to learn about their bodies, too!

Single women should be able to learn about their bodies, too!

Couples often need ongoing support and education with NFP.

Couples often need ongoing support and education with NFP.

Organizations like parishes, schools, and health clinics can bring body literacy to their communities.

Organizations like parishes, schools, and health clinics can bring body literacy to their communities.

...and Cycle Educators want beautiful, ready-to-go materials to make it even easier to share this information in their communities!

...and Cycle Educators want beautiful, ready-to-go materials to make it even easier to share this information in their communities!

Here's my dream for the Church...

"The Church needs to do more to support NFP."

The answer is

body literacy

Here's what Pearl & Thistle offers....

By the way, Pearl & Thistle is for you...

Download a free PDF guide to our lifelong body literacy model: The Four Stages of Body Literacy for Catholics!

as featured on

okay so...now what?

FOLLOW ON IG

GET THE LIBRARY

LEARN BODY LITERACY

KEEP IN TOUCH

LEGAL