Hey friend, this is Julie Slattery and thanks for joining me for another episode of Java with Julie.

This is a listener-supported podcast and an outreach of authentic intimacy.

Well, you know that our goal is to help you reclaim God's design for sexuality,

and today's conversation is going to do just that.

I'm talking to a Java with Julie favorite, Dr. Doug Rosenau, and Doug is a pioneer in the area

of Christian sex therapy.

He's the founder of the Institute for Sexual Wholeness, and he's also the author of a lot of

great books, including one of my go-to resources, A Celebration of Sex.

Doug and I are going to talk about the importance of meaning-making in sexual intimacy

and how couples can instill their loved life with meaning just by learning to talk about it.

Now, you might say, that's pretty simple. Of course, you've got to talk about sex.

But in reality, sex often represents

scary topics. It represents our pain and our shame. And so maybe you and your spouse tried to

talk about sex, but it didn't go well. And so you just kind of give up those kinds of conversations.

Well, in today's conversation, you're going to hear about why it's so important

that couples learn to talk about sex. But also, Doug is going to give some practical ways that you can

begin to build your own vocabulary with your spouse around sexual issues. And he'll share some

thoughts on how to navigate those conversations that can become very emotionally charged.

We'll link to Dr. Doug's book, A Celebration of Sex, as well as a recent blog I wrote called

What Kind of Lover Are You? You'll find those in our show notes at Authenticanimacy.com.

And I also want to make you aware of our new webinar series, Sexual Pleasure, How to Get Your Mind and Body Working Together.

We hear from so many women who are frustrated because they just can't enjoy sex, they can't get their bodies in the mood, or maybe sex is painful.

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