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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Natural Family Planning, Jean Skirts, & Sketchers

Hey, remember that time I wrote about courting? Yeah, I thought so. This post is kinda similar in that I'll be dispelling myths of jean-skirted, Sketcher-loving women who do Natural Family Planning.

First of all, most people don't know what in the world NFP is. Natural Family Planning is a method of avoiding pregnancy that relies on a woman's natural signals and hormone cycles in order to determine when she is and is not fertile. Instead of pumping your body full of hormones, it uses the cycle of hormones already raging in your body to let you know when intimacy is a go and when it's not so much.

In order to really understand NFP you have to have basic knowledge about hormonal cycles, temperature fluctuations, etc. and be willing to track it.

I won't stamp the pill and other hormonal birth control methods with the condemning "it's abortion" stamp, but I will say for me I feel extremely convicted about taking the pill. Knowing how it works both in my own body & in a textbook setting, I think it would be sinful for me to be on the pill, not because the pill is inherently sinful, but because I have heavy convictions about it for myself. If you take the pill and don't feel convicted, live in grace & keep on taking it! If you take the pill or are on other hormone-based contraceptives, know how it works. So many women are totally okay with popping a little pink pill everyday without even reading a pamphlet on what it's doing to their body.

Basically, the pill has 3 methods of working: 1) preventing ovulation, 2) making the female reproductive tract super acidic, 3) thinning the uterine lining. The first method is typically not controversial. Preventing ovulation is a pre-zygotic barrier, meaning it prevents contact between the egg ('cause its not available to be fertilized) and sperm. The second and third methods are however controversial and heavily talked about because they act in a post-zygotic manner, meaning potentially after fertilization has taken place (and thus are considered by some to be abortive).

NFP takes all the guess work out of birth control by using your body's own hormones, rather than artificial ones. NFP celebrates the female body for one of it's God-given, beautiful purposes: to be hospitable to life.

If you're curious about different levels and methods of contraceptives, check out this awesome sermon by Mark Driscoll!

6 comments:

  1. "I just love the way Mark Driscoll speaks to men."

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  2. Love this. I use NFP and don't even own a denim skirt (of any length.) NFP is just as much for modern women as it is for anyone else. :)

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  3. That's one of my favorite Driscoll sermons! Great post, Liz.

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  4. As a young (and immature) mother I was saved 11 years ago. Birth Control was a question at the forefront of my convictions and I found little in the way of answers and encouragement from my new Christian friends. It seems even the 'seasoned' Christians were too uncomfortable with the subject.

    To think you are about the same age I was when I made so many uneducated and careless choices just blows my mind. God's influence on your life is evident and I am so proud of you Liz! Thanks for sharing all these nuggets as God lays them on your heart. You are a priceless young lady!

    BTW-I cracked up when Mark Driscoll showed the picture of Richard Simmons as an example of a barrier method. HaHa. Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Thank you for sharing and for your encouragement, Heather! Fortunately, I think the church is becoming more comfortable with and aware of the subject of birth control. I know I've received tons of wisdom on the subject from some super godly women of late!

      Also, I think Driscoll's BC sermon miiiight be his funniest. I had to watch it by myself because I laughed so much! :)

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  5. Hi Liz! I just came across your blog and I love it! I went to UNC for my undergrad! :) I'm ooking forward to following your blog. So true about NFP celebrating the female body.

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