I'll cut straight to the chase this week: NFP isn't a walk in the park for everyone.

In fact, a lot of people struggle with NFP. I'm pretty confident in saying that *most* couples will struggle with some aspect of NFP during their reproductive years.

This isn't unexpected. It's actually what we should anticipate from something that involves an inherent challenge to grow in virtue. Because growing in virtue is hard. And growing in virtue TOGETHER as spouses is even harder.

If you want to read a quick blog post I did about the relationship between virtue and NFP, you can do that here.

But today, I want to share a resource I came across called "Breakthrough: Overcoming Relationship Gridlock," from the SmartLoving platform. This program isn't specifically for NFP-related issues, but it gets at something which NFP instructors are pretty clued into:

This is because our sex lives are not some independent facet of our relationship with our spouse. If we, as a couple, have poor communication skills, we will have poor communication skills about sex and family planning. If we, as a couple, have a hard time figuring out how to do team projects, then it'll be hard for us to figure out a way to effectively keep an NFP chart together. And if there are unresolved issues where one spouse feels used, or feels that his/her concerns about pregnancy or desires for family planning are not truly heard, then you can bet that will negatively impact your sex life as well.

So what's this "Breakthrough" program actually about? ​
​It's 3 hours of self-paced videos, hosted by Francine and Byron Pirola, who have been serving in marriage and NFP ministries for over thirty years. The target audience are couples who feel "stuck" or "disconnected" in some aspect of their marriage. You can watch the videos alone, or- even better- with your spouse.

Topics covered include:

• Learn how arguments happen: manage them better or avoid them altogether
• Understand your internal drivers: and how your spouse is triggering you
• Process the pain of past injuries: making you stronger and less reactive
• Restore hope for your relationship’s future: with practical strategies​​

Now of course a caveat: I haven't been through this program! I just found it recently, so I can't personally speak to the contents. But unlike some other marriage courses which I have seen with a price tag up over $200, this one is only $36 and comes with a full year of access. So if you've been looking for a resource to help you get out of a communication funk (NFP-related or not!), or if you want a resource in your back pocket to be able to recommend to friends, do check it out: