Dating and Desire Podcast

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• EP.23 Singleness, Sexuality, and the Desire to Be Known with Dr. Carol Tanksley 30.06.2026 58min

  Dr. Carol Tanksley, a physician and minister, brings a rare blend of medical wisdom, theological depth, and lived experience to the conversation around singleness and sexuality. Having lived through long-term singleness, a cherished marriage, widowhood, and singleness again, she speaks with honesty about desire, intimacy, the body, and what healthy sexual formation actually takes.One of the deeper tensions she names is the way many singles have been given information about what not to do, but very little formation around what to do with longing, touch, sexual desire, and the need to be known. Dr. Carol invites a more embodied understanding of discipleship, one that does not reduce desire to sin or collapse intimacy into sexual activity, but honors the emotional reality beneath the ache. Her teaching moves toward a more connected vision of integrity, wholeness, and life in the light. Rather than relying on fear, rigid rules, or surface-level accountability, she points to the kind of formation that happens when desire is brought to Jesus, trusted community, and wise discernment. This is not about hiding the heart behind walls, but learning how to steward longing with honesty, maturity, and love.For anyone dating, healing, or navigating singleness, this conversation offers a slower and more trustworthy way. What to pay attention to… is what comes alive in you around another person, where your longing is asking for care, and whether that desire can be held with peace, connection, and trust. Healthy love begins with discernment, clarity, and self-trust.Watch this episode on YouTubeConnect with Dr. Carol TanksleyWebsiteYouTubeInstagramFacebookIn-person IntensivesHer book, SexpectationsIf something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Work with Lauren→ Coming in July: The Mid-Summer Dating Reset→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠Have more questions?Email us at datinganddesirepodcast@gmail.com
• EP.22 Is Masturbation Wrong for Christians? A Thoughtful Conversation on Discernment 23.06.2026 54min

  Bridgett Blood and Lauren Mathues step into one of the most tender and often misunderstood conversations in Christian sexuality: masturbation, self-pleasure, and how adults make embodied, faithful decisions. With warmth and nuance, they name the range of perspectives people often carry, from “always wrong” to “always empowering,” and invite listeners into a more honest conversation about story, Scripture, the Holy Spirit, and what it really looks like. The depth of this conversation comes from the way they refuse to separate theology from lived experience. Our bodies, histories, wounds, shame, curiosity, and longings are all present when we talk about sexuality. For some, this topic touches abuse, loneliness, purity culture, pornography, confusion, or fear. For others, it raises questions about freedom, agency, healing, and what it means to live with integrity.Bridgett and Lauren offer a framework that moves beyond rule-making and reaction. They talk about discernment, personal conviction, embodied awareness, the difference between pleasure and escape, and the importance of asking whether our practices are leading us toward connection or away from it. Their invitation is not to bypass God or the body, but to listen more deeply to both as part of formation and wholeness.What to pay attention to is the fruit of your choices. Are you becoming more connected to God, yourself, and others, or more hidden, isolated, and self-protective? Are you honoring your body with kindness, or using pleasure to avoid the risk of being known and cared for? These questions help create a path toward discernment, clarity, and a deeper trust in your own story.Watch this episode on YouTubeMentioned in this EpisodeBridgett’s free guidebook, 19 Ways to Engage Sexual JoyPure Desire: Groups and Clinical care for unwanted sexual behavior and betrayal trauma for men and womenShe Recovery: women porn recovery resourcesTabbitha Westbrook: healthy sexuality after abuseIf something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Work with Lauren→ Coming in July: The Mid-Summer Dating Reset→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠Have more questions?Email us at datinganddesirepodcast@gmail.com
• EP.21 What we are learning, loving, and a whole lot about kissing 16.06.2026 1godz 9min

  Bridgett and Lauren gather the threads from recent conversations with Dr. Anthony Bradley, Barb Hill, Dr. Andrew Bauman, Dr. Jenna Mountain, Jonathan Hernandez, Adam Young, and Dr. Tony. Across themes of men’s formation, emotional capacity, abstinence, shame, story, and embodied sexuality, they keep returning to what healthy love actually takes. The tension is honest: rules can feel safer than discernment, but they cannot do the deeper work of formation. Bridgett and Lauren name the body as a place of wisdom, not fear, where desire, hesitation, grief, attraction, and discomfort all offer meaningful information.Their invitation is toward integrity that is connected and whole. Physical closeness is not treated as a formula, but as something that should match trust, commitment, communication, and the relational reality being built.For dating and relationships, this becomes deeply practical. What to pay attention to is whether your body feels safe, whether your words can be honest, and whether connection is forming something good in both of you. The fruit is clarity, discernment, and growing trust in yourself.Watch this episode on YouTubeMentioned in this EpisodeJoin Andrew Bauman's Man LandListen to Three Percent Podcast Heartbreak Albums Bridgett Mentioned:The Process by Judah & The LionNova by FalconIf something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Work with Lauren→ Coming in July: The Mid-Summer Dating Reset→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠
• EP.20 Holistic Health for the Man You Want to Be with Dr. Tony Krohn 09.06.2026 55min

  Dr. Tony Krohn, chiropractor and men’s holistic health coach, brings a thoughtful and needed perspective on men, formation, health, and what actually prepares someone for love. He speaks to the pressure many men feel to become impressive on the outside while avoiding the deeper work of identity, community, healing, and embodied integrity. This conversation moves beyond appearances, apps, and external validation into what it really looks like to become ready for relationship.One of the central tensions is that growth can look good on the outside while still being driven by fear. We can read the books, work out, clean up our lives, and say we are “doing the work,” but still be trying to prove we are worthy of love. Tony names the deeper invitation: to let God form the places in us that are lonely, defended, insecure, or still reaching for validation, so our healing becomes honest rather than performative.His framework is rooted in wholeness: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health held together rather than separated into parts. The goal is not simply to get the girl, get married, or check the boxes. It is formation with integrity, where community can offer encouragement and correction, where the body is cared for, where the heart is not abandoned, and where connection becomes something we can actually receive and sustain.What to pay attention to is why you are doing what you are doing. Are you growing because you are afraid you are not enough, or because you want to live with greater clarity, love, and faithfulness? In dating and relationships, notice whether your desire for marriage is helping you become more whole or tempting you to perform. That kind of honesty creates space for discernment, deeper trust, and a more grounded relationship with yourself.Watch this episode on YouTubeConnect with Dr. TonyInstagramThe Restored Man - Group ProgramDiscovery CallIf something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠
• EP.19 Making Sense of Your Sexual Story with Adam Young 02.06.2026 43min

  Adam Young, licensed clinical social worker and author of Make Sense of Your Story, brings a compassionate and clarifying lens to why our past continues to shape how we date, desire, and attach. Rather than asking us to summarize our whole life from a distance, Adam invites us to pay attention to the particular memories, relational patterns, bodily responses, and places of pain that have formed us. For anyone longing for honest, connected love, this conversation helps name what it really looks like.There is a meaningful tension here: our bodies are telling the truth, but not always the whole truth about the present moment. Attraction, fear, shame, and longing are not random, and they are not problems to simply overcome. They are often invitations to listen with more kindness to what our lived experience has carried, so that we can respond with greater clarity instead of simply reenacting what feels familiar.Adam’s framework centers on the integrity of looking at our own story with compassion, not contempt. Healing is not a finish line we cross before we become ready for love, but an ongoing formation of how we relate to our heart, our body, our wounds, and our desire. The real question becomes whether we and the people we date are willing to keep looking, keep repairing, and keep moving toward wholeness together.What to pay attention to is not whether someone has a perfect story, but whether they can engage their story honestly. Can they stay present with emotion? Can they receive a small vulnerability with care? Can they notice a pattern without turning away or becoming cruel? These are the places where dating becomes discernment, where clarity deepens, and where self-trust has room to grow.Watch this episode on YouTubeAbout Adam YoungAdam Young is a therapist who focuses on trauma and abuse, the host of The Place We Find Ourselves podcast, and the author of Make Sense of Your Story: Why Engaging Your Past With Kindness Changes Everything. Adam is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) with a Master degree in Social Work (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Divinity (Emory University). He currently serves as a Fellow and Instructor at The Allender Center and lives in Fort Collins, CO, where he enjoys skiing, soccer, and mountain biking. Connect with AdamWebsiteInstagramAdam's Book, Make Sense of Your StoryWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠
• EP.18 The Night God Met Me in My Addiction with Jonathan Hernandez 26.05.2026 1godz 6min

  Jonathan Hernandez, certified Connections Codes Coach, specializing in porn recovery and men's emotional wellness, joins Bridgett and Lauren for an honest conversation about sexuality, shame, curiosity, and wholeness. Through his story with pornography, trauma, faith, and dating, he names what it looks like to pursue healing with integrity instead of fear. The tension is real: many of us learned to hide or manage sexual struggle instead of bringing it into connection. Jonathan offers a more embodied path, where our reactions, attractions, and shame can become places of honesty, not isolation.His invitation is not behavior control, but formation. Sexual wholeness begins when we get curious about what desire is connected to, where we disconnect, and how God meets us with kindness as we grow in clarity, trust, and integrity.What to pay attention to is when attraction shifts into urgency, fantasy, control, or the need to be chosen. In dating and relationships, those moments can become invitations to slow down, tell the truth, and move forward with discernment, clarity, and self-trust.Watch this episode on YouTubeConnect with JonathanWebsiteInstagramConnection Codes CoachesWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠
• EP.17 From Formulas to Formation: Abstinence, Sexual Fragility and Maturity with Dr. Jenna Mountain 19.05.2026 1godz 3min

  Bridgett and Lauren sit down with Dr. Jenna Mountain, a sex therapist and educator who works at the intersection of faith and sexuality, for a conversation that gently rewires how many of us were taught to think about abstinence. Jenna brings both clinical experience and a deep love for the church, and she does not shy away from the places it has gotten things wrong. Together, they explore what it means to make sexual choices from a place of conviction rather than control, and what healthy formation actually looks like.At the center of the conversation is a quiet but important distinction. A choice rooted in your own values feels different in your body than a rule handed to you by someone else. Jenna names the way purity culture often produced sexually fragile adults, people who learned to avoid their own desire rather than engage it with maturity. That fragility shows up later in dating, in marriage, in the way people relate to beauty, attraction, and their own embodied lives. The work, she says, is becoming someone who can stay connected to your body, your faith, and your discernment all at once.Her framework moves us from formulas to formation. Formulas tell you exactly what to do and promise a guaranteed outcome. Formation invites you into the slower, more honest work of knowing your convictions, understanding your own development, and choosing in alignment with what you actually believe. In this view, abstinence can absolutely be a healthy choice, but only when it is fully yours. The goal is integrity, wholeness, and the kind of sexual maturity that is not waiting on a wedding day to arrive.For anyone dating, this conversation reframes what real readiness looks like. What to pay attention to is whether your sexual choices are forming you into a fuller, more grounded person or quietly keeping you small. The invitation is to engage rather than avoid, to ask better questions of yourself and the people you date, and to build the kind of self-trust that holds steady whether you are single for another year or another decade. Move with clarity, trust your discernment, and let your convictions feel like your own.Watch this episode on YouTubeConnect with JennaWork with Jenna in either counseling or coachingJoin her email listInstagramTikTokFacebookWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠Website⁠christian dating podcast, faith and sexuality, purity culture, abstinence conversation, christian relationships, christian singles, dating advice, relationship formation, sexual ethics, body connection, desire and faith, self trust in dating, emotionally healthy dating, christian dating advice, intimacy conversations, self awareness in relationships, christian young adults, dating mindset, healing from purity culture, authentic faith, relationship growth, christian podcast
• EP.16 Good Friends and Full Honesty will Level Up Your Dating Life with Jamie Haigh & Blake Roberts (Three Percent Co) 12.05.2026 1godz 2min

  Bridgett and Lauren sit down with Jamie and Blake of the Three Percent Podcast, two therapists, friends, and husbands whose work centers on what it means to be a safe, embodied man. The conversation moves through male friendship, attachment, the difference between knowing your story and doing the work, and the quiet ways loneliness shapes how a person dates. It is a grounded, honest look at what healthy formation actually takes.**WARNING: THIS EPISODE CONTAINS A STORY ABOUT SEXUAL ABUSE*Bridgett opens with a phrase that becomes the through line of the conversation: eroticized loneliness. The ache of being unseen does not disappear when it goes unnamed. It travels into the body and shows up in dating, in sex, in the way a person reaches for a partner to carry what only community can hold. Jamie and Blake speak to this with the kind of clarity that comes from having lived it, naming the difference between social proximity and the experience of being known.Their framework rests on what they call the 3%, the small part of ourselves we keep hidden that quietly drives the rest. Real formation, they explain, is not finishing the work alone and then arriving polished into a relationship. It is the slower practice of integrity in connection, learning to bring your honest self forward, letting the people closest to you point you back to your person, and setting boundaries that draw someone in rather than push them out. Healing, they remind us, happens in relationship, not in preparation for it.For anyone dating, this conversation reorients what it means to be ready. Readiness is not the absence of wounds. It is the willingness to be honest about them and to keep choosing connection anyway. What to pay attention to is whether the people in your life are forming you toward wholeness or around it, and whether you are bringing your heart into your relationships or only your strategy. Trust what you are noticing. Move with clarity. Let yourself be known.Watch This Episode on YouTubeConnect with the Three Percent PodcastWebsite: https://threepercentco.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/threepercent.co/Join The Basement: https://threepercent.substack.com/Connect with Blake:Website: blakerobertscounseling.comSubstack Newsletter: https://blakeroberts.substack.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/therapy.with.blake/Connect with JamieInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamie.w.haigh/Want help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠⁠ 📓 ⁠⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ → ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠→ ⁠⁠Website⁠how loneliness affects dating, what is eroticized loneliness, how to be ready for a relationship, why men struggle with intimacy, healing in relationships not before them, the part of yourself you hide in dating, what healthy masculinity looks like in dating, Christian men and friendship, Three Percent Podcast, Jamie and Blake, male loneliness and dating, healthy masculinity Christian, men and emotional intimacy, integrity in connection, healing happens in relationship, Christian dating readiness, dating with integrity, Christian men and friendship, Dating and Desire podcast, Bridgett Blood, Lauren Mathues
• EP.15 Why "Don't Waste My Time" Is Hurting Your Dating Life 05.05.2026 53min

  Bridgett and Lauren sit down for an honest conversation about one of dating's most loaded phrases: "don't waste my time." They unpack where that posture comes from, why it often reveals more about our own fear than about a potential partner, and what it really looks like to date from a place of groundedness rather than self-protection.Underneath the urgency to know everything on date two is usually something tender. Maybe a fear of getting hurt, a belief that you only have so much of yourself to give, or a lingering message from purity culture that connection itself is a kind of loss. When we hand someone else the job of protecting our time, we quietly give away the discernment that was ours to carry all along.The invitation here is to take that responsibility back. Bridgett and Lauren talk about what it means to say yes to one hour, one coffee, one honest conversation without needing to know the ending. That kind of openness asks for real integrity and formation, a willingness to stay connected to yourself, trust your internal resource, and recognize when staying would require you to get small. Growth looks less like certainty and more like the steady work of choosing yourself and the other person well.For anyone dating, this is a reframe worth sitting with. What to pay attention to is the fear that tells you to pre-decide, the urge to rescue or shrink, and the moments your body is asking you to slow down. You are allowed to have needs. You are allowed to change your mind. And the more you practice showing up honestly, the more your own discernment, clarity, and self-trust become the compass you can actually follow.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Y_bj7WSe2DoWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠ 📓 ⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠ → ⁠Instagram⁠ → ⁠Website⁠  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠→ ⁠Instagram⁠→ ⁠Website⁠
• EP.14 Awe vs. Consumption: The Difference Between Lust and Healthy Desire with Andrew Bauman 28.04.2026 54min

  Therapist and author Andrew Bauman joins Bridgett and Lauren to explore embodiment, sexual story work, and what it really looks like to grow into healthy, connected relationships.Together, they name the difference between understanding your story and actually experiencing healing, and why the body often carries what insight alone cannot resolve. It is a thoughtful look at how awareness, formation, and lived experience all work together in the process of change.Andrew also shares his framework for how porn can shape patterns of relating over time, along with what it looks like to move toward greater integrity, connection, and wholeness in how men relate to themselves and to women.This conversation offers a clear and compassionate lens on dating, especially for women learning how to discern what is real in a partner. What to pay attention to, what genuinely reflects growth, and how to stay connected to your own sense of clarity and trust along the way.Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j64yWeceOx0About AndrewFounder & Director of the Christian Counseling Center: For Sexual Health & Trauma (CCC), Dr. Andrew J. Bauman is a licensed mental health counselor with a Doctorate from Northeastern University.His dissertation was on studying the impact of sexism and abuse on women in the Protestant Church. Andrew is the author of seven books, his newest book is called SAFE CHURCH: What Women Can Teach Us about Sexism, Abuse and Safety within Christian Community.Connect with AndrewChristian Counseling CenterWebsiteFacebookMan Land Online Community: Use code: FOUNDING for first 200 members to get 50% off membershipWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ RECLAIM Cohort 📓 Free Guides and Ecourse → Instagram → Website  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Book a Dating Clarity Call We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing→ Instagram→ WebsiteChristian men sexual healing, embodiment for men, pornographic style of relating, Andrew Bauman, sexual story work, somatic therapy Christian, porn addiction recovery Christian, emotional heavy lifting men, men's inner work, purity culture recovery, healthy masculinity, sexual sobriety Christian dating, trauma and sexuality, wise adult wounded child, under-functioning men, women over-functioning relationships, Christian men's community, Man Land Andrew Bauman, dating and desire podcast, faith and relationships, Christian therapy men, how to know if a man is emotionally healthy, lust vs healthy desire, clean anger masculinity
• EP.13 Emotional Maturity vs. Emotional Capacity: What Compatibility Really Looks Like with Barb Hill 21.04.2026 52min

  What if the person you love can't actually meet you where you need to be met? Therapist and author Barb Hill joins Bridgett and Lauren for a conversation that reframes what Christian compatibility really requires. Barb walks through five kinds of compatibility (emotional, spiritual, intellectual, physical, and how they all interact) and draws a line that changes the whole dating conversation: the difference between emotional maturity and emotional capacity. One is what you know about yourself. The other is whether you can actually do something with that knowledge when a conflict hits. Barb explains why so many promising relationships stall right in that gap, and what to look for in the first three months with someone new. The conversation gets into why curiosity is the engine of long-term love, how resentment quietly kills it, and the one question to ask yourself before ending a relationship you thought was going to last. If you've ever wondered whether you're the problem, whether you're asking too much, or whether love really is enough, this one is for you.Connect with Barb Hill📕 Get her devotional: Seasons of Waiting 🖥️ Holding Space Counseling 📱 Follow Barb on InstagramComing Up:Ready to pursue purity in dating without being weird about it? Join Bridgett for RECLAIM.Next Cohort- Starts May 9th [APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW]  Want help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need: 🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ RECLAIM Cohort 📓 Free Guides and Ecourse → Instagram → Website  💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Book a Dating Clarity Call We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing→ Instagram→ WebsiteChristian dating compatibility, is love enough in relationships, emotional compatibility, emotional maturity vs emotional capacity, spiritual compatibility Christian dating, intellectual compatibility relationships, physical compatibility Christian dating, curiosity in relationships, resentment in relationships, Barb Hill therapist, Barb Hill podcast, dating and desire podcast, when to end a relationship, emotional availability, conflict resolution dating, Christian dating advice, faith and relationships podcast, Christian breakup advice, getting back together after a breakup, holding space counseling, seasons of waiting devotional
• EP.12 The Masculine Formation Crisis: Why Young Men Are Checking Out with Dr. Anthony Bradley 14.04.2026 1godz 6min

  Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Bridgett and Lauren to talk about what's actually driving the crisis of young men - and why the church's standard diagnosis is wrong.Bradley traces the problem past porn and video games to a formation breakdown that started with the Industrial Revolution. When fathers left for factories and children left for schools, the developmental process that shaped boys into men for thousands of years simply stopped. The church didn't recover that ground. It replicated the separation with age-segregated ministries and accountability groups built on shame.The result is a generation of men who have checked out — not angry, just resigned. And they're not pursuing women for the same reason: they don't know who they are yet, and nobody told them they were ready.Bradley's prescription is intergenerational community and a church willing to speak identity over men instead of shame.Watch this episode on YouTubeConnect with Dr. Anthony BradleyInstagramSubstackHis BooksComing Up:Join Bridgett's ⁠RECLAIM Info Party⁠ on April 18th 🎉You'll learn her most successful tool for processing sexual desire in real timeNext ⁠Cohort⁠- Starts May 9thWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need:🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ ⁠ RECLAIM Cohort⁠ 📓 ⁠Free Guides and Ecourse⁠ → ⁠Instagram⁠ → ⁠Website⁠ 💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ ⁠Book a Dating Clarity Call⁠ We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide ⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing⁠→ ⁠Instagram⁠→ ⁠Website⁠--Follow ⁠@datinganddesire⁠ on Instagram for updates and conversation: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire⁠--Topics covered in this episode: Christian dating, Christian men, male disengagement, formation crisis, masculinity and faith, intergenerational discipleship, men and the church, shame in church culture, men's ministry, accountability groups, attachment and addiction, father-son relationship, Industrial Revolution family, age-segregated ministry, marriage readiness, Christian marriage, dating and desire podcast, Anthony Bradley, self-resignation, video game addiction, single Christian men, Christian women dating, pursuing marriage, biblical marriage standards, married men success, church and young men, purity culture, identity in Christ, Christian podcast, faith and relationships
• EP.11 Listener Questions on Safety, Rejection, Desire, and Singleness: D&D Debrief #1 07.04.2026 53min

  Episode 11 kicks off the D&D Debrief, a new recurring format where Bridgett and Lauren answer listener questions, recap past episodes, and preview what's coming. In this first one, they tackle four real questions: how to read whether someone is safe to date, what to do when rejection keeps happening, how to talk about different physical comfort levels, and how to tell if your desire is healthy or worth paying closer attention to. They also walk back through the first 10 episodes with personal reflections and share what's ahead for the show and their coaching practices.Watch this episode on YouTubeComing Up:Join Bridgett's RECLAIM Info Party on April 18th 🎉You'll learn her most successful tool for processing sexual desire in real timeNext Cohort- Starts May 9thWant help applying this to your dating life?If something in this episode resonated with you, here are two ways to go deeper depending on what you need:🩷 Work with BridgettYou don’t need more rules. You need a deeper understanding of your sexual desire.If you still feel confused about how to navigate dating without shutting down or crossing your boundaries, Bridgett helps you build sexual self-trust and honor your values→ RECLAIM Cohort 📓 Free Guides and Ecourse → Instagram → Website 💙 Work with LaurenIf you’re feeling unsure what to do next— whether that’s meeting people, choosing who to pursue, or trusting your judgment in dating, Lauren helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.→ Book a Dating Clarity Call We’ll look at your specific situation and map out your next step. 📔 Get the free guide Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing→ Instagram→ Website--Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation:https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire--Topics covered in this episode: Christian dating podcast, dating advice for Christians, how to know if someone is safe to date, reading red flags in dating, how to handle rejection in dating, perpetual singleness, fear of being single forever, different physical boundaries in dating, how to talk about physical limits with a partner, healthy desire vs. unhealthy desire, Christian singles, dating with faith, Christian relationship advice, how to trust your body in dating, asking someone out, Christian dating Q&A, D&D Debrief, Dating and Desire podcast, Bridgett Blood, Lauren Mathues
• EP.10 When Dating Gets More Serious: How Connection and Commitment Actually Grow 31.03.2026 57min

  Bridgett and Lauren pick up where they left off in the stages-of-dating series and walk through what committed relationship actually looks like - what it requires, what conversations belong here, and what most people skip until it's too late. They define what commitment means at this stage (it's not knowing you want to marry someone - it's knowing you'd regret not finding out), and then they get into the real stuff: how to have the DTR conversation, when to bring up sexual history and mental health, what it looks like to lean on each other without becoming codependent, and why Bridgett believes every couple needs outside support before the engagement conversation even starts. They also preview part two, which will cover finances, sexual boundaries, family dynamics, and how those play out inside a committed dating relationship. If you're in the thick of figuring out whether this person is someone you can build a life with, this episode gives you a framework for how to find out.--Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/68__3-ObcLQ--If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation.⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire⁠⁠⁠⁠--Connect with Bridgett:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bridgettblood/⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bridgettblood.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Coaching | Free Resources | RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://stan.store/bridgettblood/p/get-my-valuebased-boundaries-guide-⁠⁠⁠⁠--Connect with Lauren:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/laurenmathues/⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. Get the free guide here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠--
• EP.09 The Early Stages of Dating: What to Know Before Becoming Exclusive 24.03.2026 1godz 2min

  Bridgett and Lauren break down the first stage of dating - the part between meeting someone and deciding whether you want to be exclusive - and they want you to stop treating it like a marriage audition. Lauren shares her three-stage framework and makes the case that six to eight dates is enough time to know if you want to move forward, as long as you're actually being yourself. Bridgett talks about what she's learned to pay attention to in those first few conversations, why she stopped leading with faith questions, and how she thinks about physical connection in this stage. The two get practical about first dates, texting expectations, navigating early disagreements, and why the ability to repair matters more than the ability to avoid conflict. If dating feels impossibly high-stakes before you've even ordered coffee, this episode is the permission slip to lower the pressure and actually enjoy getting to know someone.--Watch on YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/xvcStD3gDp4⁠--If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation.⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire⁠⁠⁠⁠--Connect with Bridgett:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bridgettblood/⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bridgettblood.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Coaching | Free Resources | RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://stan.store/bridgettblood/p/get-my-valuebased-boundaries-guide-⁠⁠⁠⁠--Connect with Lauren:Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/laurenmathues/⁠⁠⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. Get the free guide here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠--
• EP.08 You're Not Missing Your Purpose: Vocation, Calling, and Where We Go Looking for Worth - with Malissa Mackey 17.03.2026 55min

  Your job is not your calling. Your relationship status is not your worth. And singleness is not a waiting room.Malissa Mackey has spent over a decade helping people locate themselves in a better story - one where ordinary work carries real dignity, and where identity doesn't depend on job title or relationship status.In this conversation, she and the hosts dig into what the Bible actually says about work, why the church often gets singleness wrong, and how the hunger for purpose in a career and the hunger for romantic relationship come from the same place. Her answer isn't a formula. It's a reorientation.--Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hp-Lf1HIElw--Malissa Mackey has served on staff with the Ministry of Cru since 1997, working with the Campus Ministry in Detroit and Chicago for 18 years, and with the City Division for the last 10 years. She directs Faith & Work Chicago in partnership with Holy Trinity Church and leads the Holy Trinity Institute for Discipleship and Mission. She cares deeply about helping people connect theology to everyday life and work. Malissa holds a Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry in Theology. She loves living in the Wicker Park neighborhood, exploring the great cities of the world, and cheering on her Chicago Cubs.The Burnham Fellowship - our 9-month, intensive, whole-life discipleship cohort that runs Sep - May. We'll have some info sessions coming up this Spring. Learn more here: www.faithandworkchicago.com/whatisburnhamLearn more about other upcoming events at www.faithandworkchicago.com/eventswww.faithandworkchicago.comwww.htcinstitute.orgwww.linkedin.com/in/malissa-mackeyccc--If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation.⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire⁠⁠--Connect with Bridgett:Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/bridgettblood/⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠https://bridgettblood.com/⁠⁠Coaching | Free Resources | RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide: ⁠⁠https://stan.store/bridgettblood/p/get-my-valuebased-boundaries-guide-⁠⁠--Connect with Lauren:Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/laurenmathues/⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. Get the free guide here: ⁠⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠⁠--
• EP.07 Sex Addiction Recovery and Dating: A Therapist's Honest Advice with David Boyajian 10.03.2026 1godz 3min

  David Boyajian is a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified sex addiction therapist based in San Diego. In this episode, he joins Lauren and Bridgett to talk about what lust actually is, how it differs from normal sexual awareness, and when a pattern crosses the line into addiction.David explains the practical signs of addiction, why shame often makes the problem worse, and how the brain's dopamine system plays a role in compulsive sexual behavior. He also walks through what healthy recovery looks like, why he recommends at least 90 days of sobriety before dating, and how to have an honest conversation with a partner about your sexual history.The episode covers the difference between white-knuckling sobriety and doing real internal work, the value of group therapy and 12-step programs for men, and how confidence in your own story changes the way disclosure lands in a relationship.--Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/AXV48EI0Kpk--Connect with David: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/david-boyajian-carlsbad-ca/1300673--If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation.⁠https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire⁠--Connect with Bridgett:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/bridgettblood/⁠Website: ⁠https://bridgettblood.com/⁠Coaching | Free Resources | RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide: ⁠https://stan.store/bridgettblood/p/get-my-valuebased-boundaries-guide-⁠--Connect with Lauren:Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/laurenmathues/⁠Website: ⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. Get the free guide here: ⁠https://laurenmathues.com/⁠--
• EP.06 Contempt, Curiosity, and What Ruins Dating Relationships (Understanding Desire) with Jay Stringer 03.03.2026 1godz 3min

  What if desire isn't the problem? What if the real issue is that you've never been taught how to develop it?Jay Stringer is a licensed mental health counselor and author of Unwanted and the new book Desire. His original research on over 4,000 adults found that our longings, attractions, and even our unwanted behaviors carry real information about our stories. In this episode, he joins Bridgett and Lauren to talk about how desire shapes dating, marriage, family dynamics, and faith.Jay breaks down why most people over-develop one area of desire - career, s-x, comfort - while neglecting others. He shares his own experience of navigating family loyalty, dating, and the patterns he brought into his marriage. He explains why contempt destroys relationships faster than almost anything else, and why curiosity about your own story is one of the most attractive things you can bring to a relationship.This episode also gets into what sexual maturity looks like before marriage, why the conservative and progressive approaches to desire both miss the mark, and what it means to form your desires rather than fear them or follow them blindly.--Watch this video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/WrpgNB9CXIw--Connect with Jay at jay-stringer.com or on Instagram @jay_stringer_. His book Desire: The Longings Inside Us and the New Science of How We Love, Heal, and Grow is available now!Grab the book here: https://a.co/d/06rRK8CLGet the companion workbook here: http://a.co/d/0dyoF4tz--If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow @datinganddesire on Instagram for updates and conversation.https://www.instagram.com/datinganddesire--Connect with Bridgett:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bridgettblood/Website: https://bridgettblood.com/Coaching | Free Resources | RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide: https://stan.store/bridgettblood/p/get-my-valuebased-boundaries-guide---Connect with Lauren:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenmathues/Website: https://laurenmathues.com/Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. Get the free guide here: https://laurenmathues.com/--
• EP.05 The Case for Flirting: Why Christians need to reclaim it 24.02.2026 37min

  Bridgett and Lauren think flirting deserves a reputation upgrade - especially in the church. In this episode, they talk about why most Christians have been taught to suppress one of the most natural ways we connect with people, and what it costs us when we do. They get into the fears that keep people from flirting - fear of rejection, fear of being misread, fear of being labeled "too much" - and share what has actually helped them take the risk anyway. Lauren breaks down the nonverbal side of flirting and shares research that might change how bold you're willing to be. Bridgett talks about what she's learned from practicing low-stakes connection as a single woman and why the voices that show up when you try to flirt are worth listening to. If you've ever wanted to connect with someone but talked yourself out of it before you even smiled, this one's for you.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/hSOzGp4vOGM==If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow ⁠⁠@datinganddesire⁠⁠ on Instagram for updates and conversation.==Connect with Bridgett: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ | Coaching| Free Resources| RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free ⁠⁠Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide⁠⁠==Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. ⁠⁠Get the free guide here!
• EP.04 - Men Want Romance and Women Want Sex (The Sex Talk You Never Got) with Sam Jolman 17.02.2026 57min

  Therapist and author Sam Jolman joins Bridgett and Lauren to unpack what most Christians were never taught about sexual arousal - and why it matters for dating, marriage, and your relationship with your own body. Sam defines sex as a form of play and awe - something the church rarely frames that way. He explains arousal non-concordance, breaks down how arousal and desire actually work, and offers a grounded, faith-informed perspective on how to relate to your body without shame. What this episode covers:The difference between arousal and desire - and why confusing them leads to shameWhy noticing beauty in another person is not the same as lustWhat "stewarding your arousal" looks like in real life, including after breakupsHow men tend to disconnect from their hearts around sex, and women from their bodiesWhy the "point of no return" myth harms both men and womenHow setting clear physical boundaries in dating creates safety and presence - not restrictionWhy being able to talk about a sexual experience out loud is a sign you've built enough trust to participate in itThe story of a husband who stopped during sex because his wife seemed distant - and why that matteredHow to respond to your own arousal with curiosity instead of panic or suppressionBridgett shares her own experience navigating arousal and grief after a breakup, and the three discuss practical ways to have honest conversations about physical boundaries in Christian dating.Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/drL1Mf5hhYE==If you're a Christian who wants to date with clarity and self-awareness, this is where you start.📱Follow ⁠⁠@datinganddesire⁠⁠ on Instagram for updates and conversation.==Sam Jolman, therapist and author of The Sex Talk You Never Got, gives honest, practical answers rooted in Scripture and decades of counseling.Connect with Sam💻 Sam’s article on blessing arousalSubstack |  samjolman.substack.comInstagram |  @samjolman Website | samjolman.comArticle "How to Bless Arousal"==Connect with Bridgett: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ | Coaching| Free Resources| RECLAIM Cohort📓Get the free ⁠⁠Value-Based Boundaries in Dating Guide⁠⁠==Connect with Lauren: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Website⁠⁠ Dating Apps Don’t Have to Be Confusing. ⁠⁠Get the free guide here!