Letters to Women - Exploring the Feminine Genius

Does your heart know the pains of motherhood that doesn't quite look like what you thought it would? Has Christ called you to marriage, but not introduced the second part of that vocational equation into your life yet? Is your little saint in Heaven, too? Does the experience of infertility weigh heavy on your heart? Does physical motherhood not quite look like what you had dreamed of? Is Christ ca...

What are you passionate about? Maybe it’s music, cooking, spending time with friends, or reading a good book. But your passion shouldn’t just be something that you enjoy in the spare moments of your day or just on the weekend. After all, our passions aren’t supposed to exist in a vacuum. Instead, the things that inspire us are meant to draw us closer to the Lord and closer to those around us on a...

When you go through an unexpected change or struggle, you may find yourself thinking about life in terms of “before” and “after.” When Alexa Hyman reflects on her journey over the past two years, she remembers her life before and after February 17, 2017, when she found out she was expecting a baby girl. Sharing our unique stories can help others feel less alone, and that’s Alexa’s goal. Each one o...

Happiness on this earth comes in many forms. I find happiness in my marriage, trips, hikes in the mountains, spring weather (minus the allergies), a good song that comes on my Spotify playlist, and a good cup of cold coffee from Dunkin’ Donuts. But we're made for transcendent happiness, the kind that nothing on this world can fulfill. What do our desires for happiness here on earth teach us about...

Today’s world is confused about the very basics: the value of human life, the meaning and purpose of sexuality, why beauty matters, and what exactly constitutes as true freedom. In this episode, I’m talking with Mary Sheehan Warren, who teaches consumer behavior and fashion marketing at the Catholic University of America. She’s also the leader of the Fashion Intelligence Project, an organization d...

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, iTunes, the list goes on and on. When it comes to navigating today’s world of social media as Catholic women, we almost need a field guide. How do we avoid getting sucked into the time warp that is Instagram scrolling? When do we need to step away and when do we need to step up and speak up? Today, I’m talking with two Catholic social media influen...

From a very early age, women are told both explicitly and implicitly that their worth is determined by what they look like. Our world offers a standard of beauty and as women, we spend a lot of our time measuring ourselves up to that standard. I remember distinctly being twelve years old and trying on clothes in my room. I looked in the mirror and I can remember thinking “You aren’t beautiful. You...

Swipe left, swipe right. Online dating is growing more popular by the day, but is it for you? I loved visiting with Christina Peterson in today’s show. She met her husband, Greg, online and shared their story along with her favorite tips and hints when it comes to filling out your online dating profile. This podcast episode is packed with practical information and real life online dating success s...

Long distance relationships can be intimidating. Your family members and friends may discourage you from trying long-distance love, encouraging you to protect your heart. Others may tell you not to take your new relationship seriously, since you aren’t going to your significant other very much. While long distance relationships aren’t easy, they definitely are possible. You may combat loneliness a...

Is it possible to be both a Catholic and a feminist? Claire Swinarski, writer and creator of The Catholic Feminist podcast, believes it is: “I’m a feminist for the same reason I’m bold and honest and sometimes ragey: because Jesus was all of those things.” But just how do women share their unique gifts and genius with the Body of Christ? What women can we look to as examples throughout history of...

In a message delivered on May 20, 2013 Pope Francis, said: “When it comes to living out this message, the best way is by going out of one’s comfort zone.” He went on to say, “This is dangerous. We lock ourselves in our parish, with our friends, in our movement, with those who think just like we do. But you know what happens? When the Church is closed off, it gets sick.” Pope Francis also said: “to...

We live in a world that is full of people who think that faith and the gifts that God gives each of us are irreverent. In fact, many in today’s society would go so far as to say that we no longer even need God. Those people are wrong. But what if you’re struggling to see what gifts he has given you? I’m not talking about the gifts of relationships or the gifts of a good job, all of which are beaut...

The Catholic Church doesn’t allow women to become priests. If that’s something that frustrates you as a Catholic, or as a woman, don’t walk away from the Church because of this fact. But also don’t ignore the fact that you’re frustrated. When tough topics in the Catholic Church come up in conversation, it’s tempting to shy away from those conversations, or to brush it all under the rug, saying, “W...

If you’re a Catholic mom who works, you’re not alone (even though it can sometimes feel like it!) In this episode, JoAnna Wahlund of The Catholic Working Mother talks about what the Church has to say about working mothers, finding peace when you don’t want to work and would rather stay home, living to the fullest when you do want to work, how to discern whether to work or not, and many other topic...

Did anyone else take a quick peek at the calendar and realize that Advent starts soon, then promptly start to freak out? Surely I can’t be the only one. Although it’s meant to be a season of preparing our hearts, minds, and homes for a little baby born in Bethlehem, Advent tends to end up being a season of stress instead of calm preparation. The holiday to-do list grows longer and longer by the da...

It’s easy to get distracted by this world and doubt that God REALLY loves us. Log onto Instagram or any of your social media accounts and you’ll probably be met with messages that you’re not enough. You’re told that you’re not pretty enough, smart enough, thin enough, sexy enough, rich enough, successful enough, and we don’t have enough friends. In a world that tries to sell us all of these fleeti...

Afraid you don't know enough to share your faith? Cathy Duffy encourages women today to be courageous and share their faith. You don't have to know all the answers. One of the most beautiful things I took away from our conversation is that the biggest key to evangelization is listening rather than talking. I hope that this episode encourages you to share your faith with someone today!

It can be hard to find time in busy schedules to renew your faith and inspire your spirit. And, as busy as your life is, you’re probably used to being pulled this way and that, and having countless people depend on you. The good news is that you don’t have to wonder anymore if you’ll ever find a community of like-minded women. And you can stop the search for the perfect Scripture passages to pray...

“Do you need help with that?" “Go say thank you." “Wait a minute." “Eat your food." What if we took all of those statements that we may find ourselves repeating to our kids or kids we are blessed with in our lives as aunts, god moms, and grandmothers and applied them to ourselves and our life with God? Lindsay Schlegel and I talk about phrases that we frequently find ourselves saying as parents an...

Self-care is a concept that our culture has commercialized and misunderstood. But just what is a healthy, holy understanding of taking care of ourselves? This week, I sit down with Julia Hogan, MS, LCPC to talk about why it’s okay to start with you. She shares tips on how to assess your self-care routine, how to improve areas that are a little messy, and how to learn to love yourself.

If you’ve spent too much time scrolling through Instagram or any other form of social media and have fallen into the trap of comparing your life to the lives of other women, you’re not alone. And if you’ve fallen into that trap of comparison in real life too, you’re for sure not alone. So what can we do about it? We know we have a comparison problem. How do we tackle it? My guest today is Emily Ha...

Dear sister - the world tells you that as you age, you become less worthy. Your shoved in the corner once you hit the world's 'expiration date'. Don't believe that lie. The culture has hijacked beauty by trying to sell it back to us as if we didn't already own it. I can't wait to share with you tips from Lisa Mladinich (from WOMAN on the Shalom World TV network) on how we can dig even deeper into...

In this episode I sit down with Carolyn Shields, the founder of The Young Catholic Woman and a campus minister at Penn State. We talk about how college is both exciting and nerve-wracking and give tips and hints for friendship, relationships, and your prayer life! This is the episode I wish I would have heard my freshman year back in 2013, and I'm so excited to share it with you today.

In this episode, I sit down with Sarah Burns and we talk about the challenges and the beauty involved with being an introvert. We chat about when we first discovered we were introverts. The world may paint introversion is a bad light, but we're striving to break that stereotype and thrive with our introverted personality. Take a listen to learn how to dive deeper into your prayer life as an introv...

In this episode, I visit with Haley Stewart. Haley, her husband Daniel, and their three littles moved down to Waco, Texas to spend a year working a farm. That experience radically changed how Haley viewed the word 'success' and opened her eyes up to what Pope Francis calls the 'throw-away culture'. She shares the story of moving to the farm and how we can be better stewards of the earth God has gi...