The Better Part - Intentional Living for Christian Moms with a Bible-Loving Catholic Mama

Have you ever heard that as a family vacation is not really a vacation, but it is a trip? I wholeheartedly believe that, and I have totally embraced it! Even though it's not gonna be all spas and relaxation, a family trip is still something so special, and I love them too! Embrace the trip, and enjoy the trip, knowing that you are creating memories for your kids, spurring on bonding between si...

Join me for a few announcements and LOTS of tips. Our family has done so much travel through the years, and we have learned what works for us in the car and airplane. Hear about what works for us for entertaining different aged kids, organizing your stuff, keeping babies happy and more. Next week I will share about overall travel tips for when you are away from home. Talk to you then!

Alleluia alleluia! He is risen! Happy Easter, friends! I hope you're enjoying an octave of celebrating and rejoicing in our risen savior! Tune in for an announcement about what is to come in the podcast!

As we continue through Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. As we journey through Holy Week, we ponder in particular the way the fact that Jesus wants to take our sins from us and bear them Himself. It is so humbling to realize that we cannot fix them ourselves, but when we give our sins over to the one who l...

As we continue through Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. This episode focuses in on greed. We focus in on what this sin is, how it shows up in our lives, what virtue we can run to in response to this sin, and practical tips to help us shed this sin from our lives. Practical tips from this episode include:...

As we continue through Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. This episode focuses in on sloth. We focus in on what this sin is, how it shows up in our lives, what virtue we can run to in response to this sin, and practical tips to help us shed this sin from our lives. Practical tips from this episode include:...

As we continue through Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. This episode focuses in on envy. We focus in on what this sin is, how it shows up in our lives, what virtue we can run to in response to this sin, and practical tips to help us shed this sin from our lives. Practical tips from this episode include: P...

As we continue through Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. This episode focuses in on envy. We focus in on what this sin is, how it shows up in our lives, what virtue we can run to in response to this sin, and practical tips to help us shed this sin from our lives. Practical tips from this episode include: P...

As we begin Lent, we ask God to shine a light on the ways He wants us to grow, and a big way is letting go of the sins that weigh us down. This episode focuses in on the mother of all sins: pride. We focus in on what this sin is, how it shows up in our lives, what virtue we can run to in response to this sin, and practical tips to help us shed this sin from our lives. Practical tips from this epis...

For Lent, we are starting a new series about the seven deadly sins! Sound scary? This episode reminds us that we don't need to be afraid of sin. Jesus calls us away from sin for our good, but He doesn't intend for us to have to do it all by ourselves. Together we will learn about each of the deadly sins so that we may live the abundant life Jesus wants for us! If you find yourself being co...

This is the sixth episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over part 3 of the book. Part 3 is a robust summary of everything from the book using the quotes of saints. Saints are great models for us as we try to grow in holiness. Being just regular people like us, we...

This is the fifth episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over chapters 13-18 in part 2 of the book. This section of part two deals mainly with how we respond after our own failures and faults. Fr. Jacques encourages us to not get too down on ourselves, but rather t...

This is the fourth episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over chapters 7-12 in part 2 of the book. Part 2 details reasons why we lose our peace and how we can combat those reasons. We discuss how comparison is at odds with our peace as we inevitably focus on our l...

This is the third episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over chapters 1-6 in part 2 of the book. Part 2 details reasons why we lose our peace and how we can combat those reasons. We find that the desire for control is often at complete odds with our peace and that...

This is the second episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over chapters 4-7 in part 1 of the book. This section speaks further into what it means to be in a spiritual battle, which often centers around our peace. Katie shares how even when Jesus was providing extra...

This is the first episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over the preface along with chapters 1-3 in pt. 1 of the book. We discuss how peace is essential if we want to serve and love others--namely, our families. This peace, as Fr. Jacques Philippe asserts, can onl...

Although you know I love talking about our faith and prayer, I get the most questions about practical things in our daily life. Whether you are a mom to one or twelve, you can always use some practical ideas for getting stuff done and taking care of business! In this episode, I discuss meal planning! I talk about: Apps I use How to post meals What I take into account when planning How we handle di...

Although you know I love talking about our faith and prayer, I get the most questions about practical things in our daily life. Whether you are a mom to one or twelve, you can always use some practical ideas for getting stuff done and taking care of business! In this episode, I discuss laundry tips! Firstly about how to help your kids start doing their own laundry at a young age. If you can pass o...

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The third of these is work. Before Jesus was doing miracles daily and being followed by thousands, He worked as a carpenter and lived an ordinary life in Nazareth that included chores, travel, and a...

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The second of these is family life. Jesus spent 30 years of His life living with His parents. This was not just about being practical or doing His duty. Jesus modeled to us that family life is SACRED...

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The first of these is SILENCE. Silence is hard to come by as a mom in the western world in the 21st century! We are inundated by NOISE and expected to make NOISE. But most of Jesus' life was spent wi...

Join us for the final episode in the peace series! Stephanie Clarisse is the former host of this podcast back when it was called 500 Seconds to Joy, and she is an absolute JOY to talk to! I'm so grateful she came on to share what God has been teaching her as she focuses on peace this year. A verse that perfectly encapsulates this series is Isaiah 26:2, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is...

We make decisions CONSTANTLY as moms. From big ones like "Should we move?" or "Should we have another baby?" to very small ones like "Should spend time cleaning up before I work on the bills?" Not every decision weighs heavily, but the sheer number of decisions does weigh us down, especially when we don't have confidence on what we should do! In this episode, we remember that the only true questio...

Everything we do is affected by our relationships, whether in our families, extended families, friendships, or working relationships. So if there is a relationship where we are having a tough time, it can color how we feel, act, and make decisions. In this episode, Jenna discusses how unmet expectations affect our relationships and how to deal with that conflict as it comes. She goes over the diff...

I couldn’t let this Election Day pass without at least MENTIONING it as we talk about peace. Know that I am praying for your peace as you deal with the chaos that is the news, politics, and this election. Draw near to God through it all and He will surely draw near to you! (James 4:8)