On October 30, 2020, Izmir, Turkey was hit by a 7.0 earthquake. My family experienced the earthquake in our apartment on the 15th floor. It was a terrifying experience, but there is a truly touching part of the story. Listen in while I explain the events of the day and how I'm doing mentally with it all. 

This episode doesn't have much to do with our Catholic Faith, but it's an aspect of my life that many people are curious and interested in. I've been gluten-free now for eight years and, in this episode, I walk you through my journey. People usually ask lots of questions about what it's like to be gluten-free and they always want to know what I miss the most. 

Originally, pro-life was the term used to denote those that were against abortion. Then it branched out to include being against euthanasia and even, for some, the death penalty. With the onset of COVID, the term has branched out in ways that I believe are unhelpful and even harmful. Now, people are claiming that you can't be pro-life if you dare to "complain about wearing a mask." Even if you wear one, but you complain about it, that's enough to strip you of being a pro-lifer. I discuss in this episode why I think it is unnecessarily burdensome and unrealistic to require pro-lifers to be responsible for everyone's safety and well-being. 

Our family's homeschooling journey began 11 years ago. In this podcast, I'll discuss why we started homeschooling and why we continue to homeschool today. It is so important that, as parents, we take charge of our children's education, especially now that history is being rewritten and God has been completely removed from our public schools. If you are just starting out in homeschooling, are thinking of homeschooling, or have family members who are homeschooling, I think you'll enjoy this podcast. 

Where we got the Bible was a big game-changer for me in my conversion. When I was Protestant, I never considered where we got the Bible. Who compiled the books of the Bible? Who decided which books were included? When did we get the compiled Bible? These questions never crossed my mind until I learned after marrying my husband that a Protestant Bible is different than a Catholic Bible. I wanted to know why and that curiosity lead me to start researching. To say the least, I was stunned at what I learned.  

In this episode, I talk about blooming where you are planted in life. As a military spouse, I've moved many times and there have been times when I have had a negative attitude about my present situation and it's caused me to miss out on what God's wanting to show me. When I've lived in the present moment and enjoyed the time right in front of me, blessings have flowed. At each moment of our life, God wants to teach us and help us grow. We have to be open to seeing what He has in store. 

Racial tension is growing in the US and a lot of it is fueled by the media looking to create a divide between us. Our race problems have turned into a modern day Salem Witch Hunt. There is no doubt that racism does occur in our country and very few people would deny that. However, the media is telling all white people that they are racists and they are telling black people that all white people are still interested in oppressing and subjugating them. This is not true, but their narrative is destroying trust between the races. It doesn't have to be this way and that's what I talk about in this episode. 

Merhaba, Catholic Pilgrims! That's how Turkish people say, "Hello." In this episode, I share with you my flight journey from St. Louis to Izmir. King COVID threw some snags in the way and I tried to keep my cool while dealing with paperwork, a lack of g-free meals for my daughter and me, and trying to get my cats from point A to point B. Towards the end, I give a brief history lesson on Izmir which was once known as Smyrna in ancient times. 

Hello! Welcome to the first episode of the Catholic Pilgrim Podcast. This first episode is an introduction to who I am and what I plan to talk about in my podcast. It is my goal to make this a weekly podcast. I hope you continue to join me as I explore the topics of history, apologetics, relationships, living the faith, travel, and politics all from a Catholic lens.