stop numbing your flow!

how do you view & subsequently treat your time of flow? 

annoyance?

  grudgingly?

 wish it away?

 disgust? 

attempt to fight it? 

embarrassment? 

do you even know what is occurring during your flow*?

Pay attention to how you talk about your “time of the month”.  Watch how you and others refer to their time of flow. I have found it is not often good or correct what is said. Like those flow product commercials where society portrays it as inconvenience as it slows you down/interrupts your life- WAIT FOR IT- yes it does! allow for it.


I want to challenge this. I want to challenge YOU!

does it slow you down?
may I suggest/challenge you that perhaps that is part of the design?!
a gift given to you. to regularly slow down. rest. draw near to Him. revel in His awesome design.

challenge you to:
-embrace it
 do not excuse, apologize or talk ill of it. realize what it IS doing! how our Lord made us.
-work with it
not using drugs. consider the products you use to stop/catch the flow and their risks
-prepare for it
  fertility friend is a great resource in helping you be aware of what is actually happening within you on any given day of your cycle!
schedule things accordingly, get extra rest
-use it for the time of rest that it is. a time to retreat and draw near our Lord. are you aware of how women would go into the 'tent' during this time? a dear friend and i refer to it as such. yet, saying "I'm entering the tent" and actually doing so are two different things.

I remember this one night thinking of Him creating life within my womb and how intense and intimate and close He would be in that moment. To find that out and think, wow He was just here.... well, quickly that thought was "buzzed" as I was prompted with the following thought: He is JUST as involved in NOT creating life as He is IN creating life. think about it.  He alone creates life, He is very much involved in every cycle I have and deliberately does not (or does) breathe life into my womb.  THAT is intimacy and THAT intimacy is available/occurring EVERY flow. WOW.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO HINDER SUCH!

beautiful.

for further consideration:

sad how few articles i could even find on this subject 
[disclaimer: i clearly do not agree with the references to magic/nature/women power etc therein]

the 'issue' of conception

entering womanhood tool kit - a way i plan to celebrate this change with any girls given me to care for!
[what would you add and why?]


What have you learned? What do you do? I am interested in hearing how you celebrate and use this time. What tools you have found? Biblical resources?

*The phases of your menstrual cycle.

Your cycle is composed of the following phases:

• Menses (M): This is your period. You are generally not fertile at this time.
• Follicular Phase: The follicular phase extends from the beginning of the cycle until ovulation. During this phase the ovarian follicles develop and mature and your body prepares for ovulation. One follicle becomes dominant as the phase progresses. The length of this phase can vary from woman to woman and from cycle to cycle. You are most fertile at the end of this phase during the days just before and including ovulation. The hormone estrogen dominates this phase.
• Ovulation: This is the event that divides the follicular and luteal phases. Triggered by a surge of luteinizing hormone (LH), the ovarian follicle ruptures and releases the ovum which can then be fertilized.
• Luteal Phase (LP): This is the time from ovulation until the end of the cycle. If you conceive, the fertilized egg will implant in your uterine lining roughly 7-10 days into this phase. If there is no conception, the uterine lining will shed (this is your period) and your body will begin to prepare for a new cycle. This phase usually lasts 12-14 days but can last between 10-16 days. The length of this phase is fairly constant from cycle to cycle for the same woman. Progesterone is the hormone that dominates this phase.

If you are not pregnant, your temperature will stay elevated for 10-16 days after ovulation, until the corpus luteum regresses. At this time, progesterone levels drop dramatically and you get your period. Temperatures normally drop at this time as well, though it is not unusual to have erratic or high temperatures during your period. If you are pregnant, then your temperature will stay elevated and the corpus luteum will continue to produce progesterone. If there is no pregnancy, the corpus luteum will die, progesterone levels will fall and a new cycle will begin. If you are pregnant, then the life of the corpus luteum will be extended.