Strength Training for the Soul

You think you've given your life to Jesus. But have you? There's a difference between an obligation mindset and a surrender mindset; most of us are living in the first one without realizing it. Spiritual director Jill Fischer joins me to get honest about what real surrender actually requires: not a one-time decision, but a constant, daily conversion. Jill gives us loads of great takeaways (hint: t...

In Part 2, Kevin Malloy shares what the Camino actually does to you. After walking it three times, he comes home more aware, more grateful and less attached to what doesn't matter. We talk about burdens, gratitude and a deacon from Barcelona who walked the whole Camino with nothing but a grocery bag, to see if strangers would take care of him. This episode isn't about walking across Spain. It's ab...

My friend Kevin Malloy went on the Camino for the adventure. He didn’t expect the conversations. He didn’t expect the encounters. And he definitely didn’t expect how much it would change the way he sees people. In this episode, we talk about what happens when you stop rushing and start noticing. Because those moments you think are random… might not be.

Saint expert and Fish on Fridays creator Al McCauley is back, and this time we're getting practical. How do you actually build a relationship with a saint? Where do you even start? Al breaks it down the same way he'd describe making a new friend: show up, get curious, and leave room for the Holy Spirit. We also talk about saints you already know but probably underuse (Mary Magdalene and Nicodemus...

I’m about to start the Camino de Santiago, and my first stop isn’t the trail. It’s Lourdes, France to visit Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine. Every year, millions of people go there looking for healing. Many don’t get it. So why do they keep coming? Because Mary is there, and she’s telling everyone: Come. I am here. You are suffering, and I want to help you heal. In this episode, I talk about who Mary r...

I used to think "holy helpers" meant mentors or accountability partners. Turns out, it's a lot bigger than that. In this episode, Jill and I talk about the "Capital S" Saints and "Lowercase S" saints who are already part of your life — whether you realize it or not. We get into how one saint showed up through a Mother's Day gift, why Joan of Arc became a lifeline during the hardest season of my li...

I thought I didn't do Lent very well. Too much TV. Too much solitaire. Not enough discipline. But when I stopped grading myself… I realized I was asking the wrong question. This week, I walk through what actually changed, what I almost missed, and how I'm heading into Holy Week without trying to make up for anything.

You're ready to go. And God says wait. In this episode, I sit down with my friend Fr. Tim Schumaker to talk about that restless feeling of doing everything right and still feeling stuck. We dig into why God works in "coulds," not "shoulds," and how that single shift can take you from spiritual pressure to genuine freedom. Because sometimes you're not stuck. You're just not in charge.

In John 9, the only person who starts out blind is the only one who ends up truly seeing. Most days, I have to admit I'm a lot closer to the Pharisees than the blind man. This episode is about the kind of blindness we don't always notice, and learning (just like a pilgrim on the Camino de Santiago) to look for the arrows to find The Way.

What does it actually look like to follow the Shepherd? In this episode, I sit down with Jill Fischer to unpack Habit Seven of the 10 Habits of a Disciple: Follow the Shepherd. We talk about how God’s voice often shows up in the most ordinary places: a prayer walk, a moment of awe, even a tough email that tempts you to react instead of pause. Because discernment rarely arrives with fireworks. More...

"Share what you have." Easy to say. Hard when you don't have much. This week, Eileen Belongea's final Camino rule collides with Mark 8 — and I'm not sure I like what it asks of me. What are your seven loaves?

Newsflash: I don’t have to wait for the first mile to start a pilgrimage. In this episode, I sit down with pilgrim veteran Eileen Belongea to talk about what actually happens before the journey begins — the training, the packing, the fears we carry, and the control I’m learning to loosen. As Lent begins and Camino prep ramps up, I’m seeing the overlap: take less, notice more, and trust God with wh...

I didn’t plan on talking about this Gospel… but one word in it wouldn’t leave me alone: scurry. In Mark 6, people drop everything and run to get near Jesus. Meanwhile, I’m over here staring at my calendar, my Camino packing list, and one more church email thinking… do I really have room for all this stuff? In this episode, I wrestle with what it means to move toward Christ when life already feels...

"I'm good" might be the two words quietly holding us back from real community. In this episode, Jill Fischer and I talk about holy friendships, hiding when we say we want connection, allowing ourselves to receive help when pride tells us we should do it alone—and why community doesn't have to be big to be meaningful. We close with simple reflection questions to carry into the week ahead, because g...

I need to confess something. No, not that kind of confession—though the guilt is real. Turns out committing to walk 500+ miles across Spain has a way of completely hijacking a carefully planned podcast schedule. In this episode, I wrestle with what happens when God’s pull is stronger than my to-do list, why my training logbook has become my prayer journal, and how “loving your neighbor” gets a who...

Loving your neighbor sounds easy...until real life gets involved. In this episode, I talk with my friend Jill Fischer about what it actually means to love others the way Christ calls us to: not by being “nice,” but by staying rooted in prayer, Scripture, and worship. We unpack why love takes time, why awareness matters and why the people who challenge us most may be doing more work in us than we r...

This year, my "word" for 2026 found me through three wise men who followed a star instead of a strategy. The Magi expected a palace. They found a barn. They planned to return to Herod. God warned them in a dream to go home another way. Those moments of surrender they had all along their journey? That's trust. In this episode, I'm choosing the word that makes me most uncomfortable: trust. Not becau...

Writing can be a skill. It can be a profession. But sometimes it's something deeper than both. In this episode I sit down with Merridith Frediani, an accountant by day and a writer by charism. We talk about how those two very different worlds live inside one person, how she discovered her charism through the Called & Gifted program and what it really feels like to let God lead the words. Merri...

What does extraordinary faith look like in real life? In this episode I sit down with Anne Haines, founder of St. Bakhita House in Milwaukee, a home for women recovering from sexual exploitation. We talk about joy as a sign of true calling, the quiet courage of radical trust and what it means to say yes before the resources appear. Anne's story is a powerful reminder that charisms don't live on pa...

Tim Cornell cries when he finishes writing a song—not from pride, but from gratitude. "I just hope He likes it," he says. This episode takes you inside the creative process of a Catholic singer-songwriter who sees music as elevated speaking, a way of giving thanks that goes beyond words. We talk about Monday Funeral (his performance name), raising five kids in a loud, musical household, and why em...

Ever wonder how to tell if something you do is a true charism (a gift God gave you to serve others) or just something you happen to be good at? In Part 2 of my conversation with Margaret Rhody, we dig into the real discernment work: the fruit, the feedback, and that unmistakable sense of fulfillment that shows up when God is moving through you. We talk about why charisms are more than skills, why...

I'm hitting pause on the charism series this week because something lined up too perfectly to ignore. At St. Dominic, we're focusing on Habit #3 of our 10 Habits of a Disciple—Repent and Believe—and this week's Gospel brought it all together. In Luke 18, a blind man cries out to Jesus with two of the most honest prayers in Scripture: "Jesus, have mercy on me," and "Lord, let me see." And Jesus res...

Ever notice how sometimes you help someone and it feels like… more than you? Like you showed up with almost nothing, but somehow something beautiful happened anyway? That’s what charisms are all about. My guest, Margaret Rhody, explains them in a way that’ll have you wondering, “Wait, what’s MY charism?” We talk about the spiritual gifts (yes, gifts) the Holy Spirit gives each of us, why they’re m...

I'll be honest—last week got the best of me. Between grief, caregiving, and exhaustion, I couldn't record. And for someone who prides herself on showing up, that felt like failure. Then God reminded me: even Jesus was never in a hurry. This Check-In Day episode is about giving yourself permission to pause—and why that might be the strongest thing you can do right now. If you've been running on fum...

Ever try saying “thank you” in Polish? Spoiler: it’s harder than it sounds. Fresh off a trip to Poland, I discovered that “Dziękuję” (jing-koo-yeh… kind of?) is a tongue twister that’ll humble you real quick. My brother-in-law Kurt tried it out a lot and sounded like a kazoo every time. Let’s just say we kept many a Pole entertained. But somewhere between the butchered pronunciations and airport c...