Girlfriends (A Podcast for Catholic Women)

How does your Advent look different this year? Many of us are dealing with being flexible in the face of an Advent season that is limited in many ways. Here are some ideas I want to share to help you find more joy this season. Snippet From the Show Never more so than in the year 2020 have we had the opportunity to let go of what should be, and embrace instead, what is and what can be. For episode...

Kimberly is a Catholic convert married to Catholic theologian and apologist Scott Hahn. In today’s show, she shares about her series of Biblical Wisdom books that are being re-published, her new podcast Beloved and Blessed, and her upcoming radio show on EWTN that will be launching in January 2021. Snippet From the Show We need to choose Christ, every day, to make that ongoing conversion, and then...

My guest this week is Nancy Bandzuch, host of the Catholic Sprouts podcast for kids. She and her husband have been hard at work creating a brand new resource for Catholic families -- the Domestic Church Project. This project is a 6-week program to help young families have real conversations about their faith and answer kids’ questions as together they build their domestic church. If you are not ev...

I recently realized that I had been neglecting to care for myself in some pretty basic ways. The end result was that I was suffering chronic headaches and neck and back pain. This is unusual for me, and so I thought a bit about what might be causing it. That was when I realized that I have been avoiding working out and not getting enough rest. This is easy to do when life gets stressful, but somet...

My guest this week is Rachel Balducci, my longtime friend and colleague (and co-host on CatholicTV’s The Gist!). Rachel is author of How to Tuck in a Superhero, Make My Life Simple, and Overcommitted. She and I chat about the intentional Christian community that she and her family are part of, but also everyday ways all moms can foster community and make meaningful personal connections in everyday...

This week I’m sharing 9 little ways that you can make every day more Catholic. With sacramentals and small prayers, every day we can work at growing closer to God. Snippet From the Show Praying the Angelus during the day gives us the beautiful opportunity to pause, remember our the mystery of the Incarnation, and honor our Blessed Mother. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit...

My guest this week is Fr. Jim Phalan, CSC, national director of Family Rosary with Holy Cross Family Ministries. Fr. Jim is my boss in the work I do over at CatholicMom.com . Together, we discuss family prayer, unique spiritual needs of Catholic moms in the world today, and PRAY, the newly-released film about the life of Ven. Patrick Peyton. Snippet From the Show The family is meant to be a relfle...

My guest this week is Deanna Bartalini, a wife, mom, writer, speaker, retreat leader, and educator. Deanna and I talk about growing in faith, the struggles moms sometimes face in establishing a daily prayer life, and the benefits of having a spiritual director. At the end of our conversation, Deanna shares a beautiful prayer from Thomas Merton. It’s called the Prayer of Abandonment. Deanna’s podca...

Snippet From the Show For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends . Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe To hear more, visit daniellebea.substack.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is an evergreen topic for us, isn’t it? This week we are talking about how to survive when you are sleep-deprived. Whether it’s a newborn, toddler, teenager or work situation that is robbing you of sleep these days, we will share some strategies for how to cope when you are just plain exhausted. Snippet From the Show "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."-...

My guest this week is Jessica Ptomey, author of Home in the Church: home in the church Living an Embodied Catholic Faith. Jessica and I chat about her conversion and her journey to a more embodied Christian faith inside the Catholic Church. Jessica shares the miraculous story of her son’s healing and we grapple with the idea that God hears our prayers but does not always answer them as we wish he...

This week we are talking about female friendships -- this is a topic I hear from women about all the time. We struggle inside of our relationships with other women. We struggle to find friends, make friends, and maintain meaningful friendships with other women. Things like jealousy and competition and cattiness can get in the way. But God wants you to have meaningful friendships with other women!...

My guest this week is Sonja Corbitt, wife, mom, author, speaker, podcaster, retreat leader, television show host and more. Sonja is a woman on fire with her faith and in love with God’s word, with a passion for sharing that love with others. Snippet From the Show Mary herself is the magnificat, her whole life is a song that glorifies the Lord. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or v...

My guest this week is Abby Fredricksoon, Head of Content at Hallow, a Catholic meditation app. Abby is a wife and mom, and one of the prayer guides you will hear on the innovative prayer app, Hallow. I have shared about my love for this app on the show before, so I am thrilled to bring you this conversation about all the ways that Hallow can support you in your daily prayer life. Snippet From the...

My guest this week is Chaira Finaldi, wife, mom, and creator of the Catholic Mother’s Planner. Chiara shares about how she felt called to begin a ministry for Catholic women who were devoted to their vocations as moms. From her ministry with mothers she was inspired to create the Catholic Mother’s Planner, a beautiful resource that can help you get organized, but so much more than that -- this pla...

This week we are talking about some ways we waste our time -- and it’s not Netflix! Here are some things you might be doing that are robbing you of joy, along with ways to break these bad habits. Snippet From the Show “Worrying is talking to yourself about things you cannot control while prayer is talking to God about things he can control” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visi...

Are you freaking out about the school year? What will it look like? How will you manage? How can you possibly make it work? With masks and social distance at school? With homeschooling for real for the first time? With managing your kids’ remote learning while also working and running your household? With … you fill in the blank with your own anxiety-producing scenario? Snippet From the Show "When...

My guest this week is Karen Edmisten, my dear friend and colleague for many years, writing together and sharing about Catholic family life and homeschooling online. One of Karen’s multiple published books is After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing and Hope. Karen and I share a conversation about a Catholic approach to miscarriage, and she shares from her own experiences of multi...

My guest this week is Amy Smith, author of The Plans God Has for You: Hopeful Lessons for Young Women. Amy speaks to the hearts of young women about God’s unique love for them and the plans he has for their lives, all based on her favorite Scripture passage, Jeremiah 29:11. Snippet From the Show “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, p...

I’m back from our family trip to Cape Cod with lots of ideas for ways you can plan a fun family trip this summer, even if your other plans have been changed or cancelled because of Covid. Snippet From the Show “Enjoying what you’re doing in the moment and having a positive mindset is huge.” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends . Get full acc...

My guest this week is Rachel Smith, host of the To Grow Good podcast. In To Grow Good, Rachel shares her guests’ stories of conversion and their personal encounters with God. In our conversation, she discusses her own story of reversion to the Catholic faith and ways that the Holy Spirit has led her to make new connections and grow in her faith since that time. Together, we talk about the life-cha...

Are you all in for Jesus? Or is there something you are keeping from God? It has been my experience that we like to think we’re doing God’s will, but when it comes down to it, we struggle to turn over our lives to God and accept his will over our own. I share some of my recent struggles with this, along with some thoughts about various areas of life where you might be tempted to hold something bac...

My guest this week is wife, mom, and fitness professional, Brittany Pearson who runs a health coaching business at FitMomLifetotheFullest.com . Brittany and I talk about some of the obstacles that get in the way of women caring for themselves and having a healthy relationship with their bodies. We also discuss how to find time for fitness, why it’s important to do so, and where to start if you are...

This week we are talking about how we can be Jesus in our lives today. This is what every one of us is called to do -- be Jesus to the people God places in our life. Here are 4 ways I am thinking about these days. How might they apply to your life, starting right now? Snippet From the Show “The people that God places in your life are living, breathing manifestations of God’s will for you, he speak...

Sometimes, because of unrest in the world or unrest in our souls or unrest in our personal lives, it can feel like God is far away. Where is God when we suffer a global pandemic, racial injustice, political violence, and war? We all sometimes feel that God is distant, or it is hard to see his presence in our lives. This week, I am sharing three things we can do when we feel God is far away. Snippe...