Yep, you guessed it. Natural Family Planning. I started classes with Peter. Wow -- it is beautiful and rather...um...graphic at all once. Let me inform you if you don't know about natural family planning (graphic details aside - no worries!) NFP follows a woman's natural monthly cycle using a whole series of symptoms in her body to determine when she is fertile or not fertile. The couple trying to conceive would know 99% of the time when they would be most fertile to try for a child. Coupled with nutrition and persistent tracking, NFP rarely fails. And it's 100% NATURAL - no pills, no latex, no plastic, no hormones -- and you get the picture. For more information, you could check out this site.
We started these classes in our diocese with the Couple to Couple League, which trains couples throughout the US to give classes and provide the materials. Even though we've only had one class, it was truly a grace. We could tell the strength that using NFP had given to our teaching couple. They had been on the pill for the first years of their marriage, and the wife was severely depressed. She heard about NFP classes through her church -- and just one class changed her life and her marriage. They now have five children that they were not open to having, but cannot imagine their lives without them. Peter and I are a little bit anxious about children right away - but we are open to God's gifts. I am slowly learning to appreciate the gifts He hands me and trying very diligently to say a resounding YES to each one.
One more thing before I sign off -- the materials we got included an awesome magazine for those who are both prepping for marriage and long married. I read an article that provided some great advice for Brides-to-Be. One such article included this blog called For Your Marriage, written by a young woman who started when she newly engaged and is now newly married. It gives faithful Catholics some great tips on how to have not only a beautiful and sacramental wedding -- but more importantly -- a strong, beautiful, Godly, sacramental marriage. And trust me, with today's $61 billion dollar wedding industry that makes the wedding day all about number 1 -- we all need some advice on keeping focused on the sacrament, vocation, and gift we are called to accept.
(PS: The photo on top I just thought was a pretty cute cake topper! Not too much to do with the post today, though :-) !)
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2 comments:
Does Couple to Couple League teach do the Sympto-Thermal method? Or do they also do the Creighton method? I am SO fascinated by NFP and the female body, especially how nutrition relates to everything. This is exciting!
Also, I love the cake topper :)
Thanks so much, La Italiana! Couple to Couple League uses the Sympto-Thermal Method -- but our doctor (who teaches the CCL class with his wife) has talked to us about the Creighton method -- and to be honest, I don't really know the difference - except the Creighton is a bit more scientific and thorough. And thanks for noticing the cake topper -- I thought it was pretty cool! ;-)
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