Beth Sri discusses the importance of real talk about marriage and the need for vulnerability and authenticity in relationships. She shares how her own marriage experiences have led her to write a book on the messy and beautiful aspects of marriage. Beth emphasizes that God works through the imperfections and challenges of marriage to transform and sanctify couples. She also highlights the significance of communication and vulnerability in overcoming shame and fostering a deeper connection with one's spouse. Building a deep connection with your spouse and children is essential for effective communication and growth. It requires vulnerability, empathy, and the ability to hold space for their emotions. Being Christ-like in our relationships means receiving vulnerability with mercy and unconditional love. It is important to create a safe space for open and honest communication, even when it involves expressing anger or grief. In Christian cultures, there can be a hesitancy to address these emotions, but it is necessary for healing and growth. It is also important to do our own inner work and seek support from mentors, therapists, or retreats to strengthen our marriages. Rest and self-care are crucial for being present and available to our loved ones.

Buy Beth and Dr. Sri's book ⁠The Good, The Messy, and The Beautiful

Haley Stewart, editor of Word on Fire Votive, discusses the importance of storytelling and reading in the formation of children's faith. She shares her journey to her current role and the joy of being a "book midwife" (love that, right?!).

Haley emphasizes the need for flexibility in parenting and the importance of allowing children to make choices in their reading while also curating a home library filled with high-quality literature. She encourages parents to engage in conversations with their children about the themes and messages in the books they read, even if they diverge from a Catholic worldview. Haley also recommends several book series, including Little House on the Prairie, Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, The Penderwicks, and the Sister Serafina Mysteries.

Follow Haley on Instagram

Listen to Haley's podcast for Word On Fire, the Votive Podcast

Read Haley's Books

Pre-order The Catholic Kids' Cookbook

One of the most pervasive topics on social media when it comes to motherhood: making mom friends! We weren't meant to be on this motherhood journey alone, but MAN it's hard to make friends when you're in the thick of parenting!

Our guest this episode knows a think or two about building community as a mom, and she's sharing her wisdom with us today.

Lisa M. Hendey is the Founder of CatholicMom.com and the bestselling author of books for adults and children, including The Grace of Yes and I'm a Saint in the Making. Her Chime Travelers series for kids is read and studied worldwide in homes, schools, and churches. A frequent TV and radio guest, Lisa has also hosted two podcasts and speaks internationally on faith, family, evangelization and technology topics. She has traveled worldwide with nonprofits to support their humanitarian missions. Lisa and Greg Hendey worship and live their story in Los Angeles, CA.

Lisa's Website

CatholicMom.com

Check out Lisa's books

Email Lisa at [email protected]

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Play is an essential part of building your family culture. The ways you play with your kiddos seriously impacts not only their mental and emotional development, but also their spiritual development!

Today, Elissa Tiprigan joins us to talk about creating family culture through more intentional play.

Elissa Tiprigan is the founder of Catholic Family Crate. Catholic Family Crate makes Catholic educational resources, games, art, stickers, subscription boxes, and more to make growing in the Catholic faith easy and fun. They are on a mission to revolutionize Catholic resources and make them affordable, accessible, high-quality, and engaging. She's an accidental entrepreneur but she's grateful for God's wild plan for her life. She lives in majestic Colorado with her husband and four children.

Shop Catholic Family Crate

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Do you love the term "domestic church" as much as I do? The first time I heard it, I felt such a visceral reaction to it. What a beautiful way to think about our homes and families!

It makes me think of Matthew 18:20 - "Where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst."

OK, so if we're on board with the domestic church concept...what's our framework for living it out? Enter: today's guests!

Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak join us today to talk about the documentation they developed to answer this exact question–The Liturgy of the Domestic Church.

Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak are the President and Vice-President of CatholicCounselors.com, a group pastoral tele-counsleing practice serving Catholic families, couples and individuals around the world. The authors of over 20 books on Catholic marriage and family life and spirituality, the Popcaks are the co-hosts of More2Life, a call-in advice program airing each weekday from 10-11am Eastern on EWTN radio and SiriusXM Channel 130. Co-Directors of the Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life, the Popcaks are the developers of the CatholicHŌM app and are members of the USCCB Advisory Board for Marriage and Family Ministry.

CatholicCounselors.com

CatholicHOM App

More info on the Liturgy of the Domestic Church can be found at The Peyton Institute for Domestic Church Life

More2Life Podcast

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"Discernment" sometimes has a big, scary connotation to it, right? But in reality, discernment is simply prayerful decision-making. Which–hello–we need to be doing within our marriages LITERALLY every day!

Whether it's something big like school or job decisions, or something seemingly small like if you should let your kiddo sleep over at a friend's house, this episode is the perfect place to go when you need a refresher on how to prayerfully make decisions–both big and small–with your spouse.

Julia Eckrich is honored and joy-filled to serve as the director of youth and young adult ministry at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Noblesville and has devoted the last decade to working for the Church. Julia loves to accompany young people who are curious about and hungry for truth in the Catholic faith. She's married to the love of her life, Andrew, and together they love traveling, singing and playing music, teaching their dalmatian tricks, and being foster parents to children in need. When not at work, you can catch Julia having life conversations over a good iced coffee, bargain shopping, or taking road trips with the windows down.

Connect with Julia on Instagram

More on Ignatian Spirituality

A news feature about Julia and Andrew's fostering journey

A great resource for Novenas (PrayMoreNovenas.com)

More about foster care via Bethany.org

Hard on ourselves club, sound off! This episode is especially for us. When we don't measure up to what we think we should be doing, our self worth often takes a hit, right? Well in this episode with clinical social worker and counselor Rachael Issac, we're getting the super practical tools that we need to ensure that we're rooting our worth in the One who made us–NOT in our successes or failures.

Rachael Isaac is a Licensed clinical social worker. She is a pastoral counselor with CatholicCounselors.com and the founder of Saint Sebastian Mental Performance Coaching at CatholicCounselors.com 

Rachael completed her Bachelors in Psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville and obtained her Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh. Throughout her education and career she has specialized in success psychology and sports psychology and has worked with individuals, teams, and organizations from high school to professional levels.

Rachael is a lifelong athlete and performing artists who has specialized in performance psychology throughout her education and career. Rachael’s clinical approach is rooted in a strengths based perspective, helping individuals discover and develop their innate resources to achieve their goals.

CatholicCounselors.com

St. Sebastian Center for Performance Excellence

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Jill Simons, founder of Many Parts Ministries, discusses the importance of charism discernment and how it can empower individuals and communities within the Church. Charisms are special graces that empower individuals to serve the Church in a specific way. Jill emphasizes that charisms are not talents or hobbies, but supernatural abilities that go beyond human nature. She also addresses common misconceptions and pushback regarding charism discernment, highlighting the unique and essential role that each person plays in the Body of Christ. Jill shares her own journey of discovering her charisms and how it has shaped her ministry and family life. Jill Simons discusses the importance of discerning and using our charisms, or spiritual gifts, in our daily lives. She emphasizes that every person has unique gifts given by the Holy Spirit, and it is important to use them in accordance with God's will. Jill shares her own experience of balancing her career and family life, highlighting the need to be open to the Holy Spirit's guidance. She also discusses the misconception that the Christian life is supposed to be hard and punishing, emphasizing that using our charisms brings joy and success. Jill provides practical advice for exploring and discerning our charisms, including taking a charism assessment and engaging in conversations with our spouse. She encourages families to create a home environment that supports the development and expression of charisms. Jill also recommends her podcast, Charisms for Catholics, as a resource for further exploration.

Jills Website

Many Parts Ministries

Take the Charism Assessment

FREE Charism Date Night Guide (My husband and I did this last week and LOVED it. We both agreed it was our best date night conversation in a long time!)

Listen to Jill on Free For The Fruit podcast

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Do you ever meet a couple that–after interacting with them or seeing how they interact with each other–you're just like: "MAN, they're in sync." For the most part, I can guarantee when I think that about a couple, I come to find out that they have a disciplined and fruitful joint prayer practice. That is exactly how I felt when meeting today's guests for the first time.

Scott and Elisabeth Williams are the co-founders of Catholic Concepts, parent company of Sock Religious, Our Holy Home, and 4 Marks Printing, and more.

In our conversation, we discuss how to establish a prayer routine with your spouse, getting through the "awkward" of developing that habit, and how to make sure you don't abandon that shared prayer when life inevitably gets crazy busy.

Date night prompts

JPII Institute

Follow Sock Religious on Instagram

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I'm sure that you've heard the phrase before: "we are in the world but not of the world". And while that is so true, there are certain elements of being in the world in this current digital age that we just can't get around. And my big question has been this: can we make these digital and online and social media spaces ways that we can get to heaven Can we bring holiness to them? Today's guest is literally answering that question for me, and not only the way that she personally lives online, but also the way that she's raising her family and her kids in this digital world.

Katie Ruvi is a Catholic wife and mom of five and cohost of the “Is This for Kids?” podcast. Her dog, Maybe, is a very good girl.

Follow Katie on Instagram

Listen to Katie on "Is This For Kids"

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