Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

What happens when your teen tells you she’s gay?

This week on Grace Unfiltered, I sit down with Catholic mom, writer, and editor Erin Broestl, who bravely shares her family’s journey through one of the hardest seasons of parenting: walking alongside a child battling depression, suicidal thoughts, and questions of sexual identity.

As a mom of eight, homeschooler, and faithful Catholic, Erin thought she knew what to expect from family life. But when her teenage daughter revealed both a struggle with suicidal thoughts and an attraction to other girls, Erin and her husband were shaken to the core. What followed was a season of silence, prayer, and learning to love without having all the answers.

In our conversation, Erin shares:

* The shock and grief of hearing her daughter’s struggles for the first time

* How prayer, sacramentals, and the Rosary became lifelines in the middle of fear and uncertainty

* Why sometimes the most faithful response is to listen and wait, rather than preach and correct

* The pain of feeling shunned in her homeschool community—and the unexpected support that carried her through

* What she’s learned about perfectionism, parenting, and trusting God with the children we cannot control

💙 Erin’s story is raw, vulnerable, and filled with grace. If you’ve ever felt powerless in the face of your child’s suffering or unsure how to love when the culture feels overwhelming, you’ll find hope and encouragement in her witness.

Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com

Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com

When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most.In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when life feels uncertain and hard.

Sarah’s story of loss, trust, and transformation offers a powerful reminder that God’s grace doesn’t always calm the storm…

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

How do you find grace when your baby is in the NICU?

This week on Grace Unfiltered, I’m joined by my friend Stacey Sumereau—author, speaker, podcaster, and mom of five—for a raw and deeply moving conversation about what it means to parent a child with special needs.

Stacey shares the dramatic story of her daughter Nora’s birth, a terrifying medical crisis that led to multiple surgeries, months in the NICU, and a lifelong disability diagnosis. With honesty and courage, she opens up about the trauma, the loneliness, and the daily battles, but also the unexpected gifts of grace, resilience, and joy that God has brought through her daughter’s life.

In this conversation, we talk about:

* Facing fear, trauma, and isolation during a long NICU stay—especially during COVID lockdowns

* Learning to surrender control when parenting looks completely different than you imagined

* The hidden struggles of navigating the medical system as a special needs parent

* Finding community and healing in unexpected places

* The gift of seeing God’s love and strength revealed through Nora’s determination and joy

💙 Stacey’s story is both heartbreaking and hope-filled. If you’ve ever wrestled with surrender, struggled to trust God in suffering, or wondered where He is in the middle of your hardest moments, you’ll find so much encouragement and light here.

Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com

Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com

When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most.In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when life feels uncertain and hard.

Sarah’s story of loss, trust, and transformation offers a powerful reminder that God’s grace doesn’t always calm the storm…

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

How do you save your marriage when you aren’t sure what a healthy marriage looks like?

This week on Grace Unfiltered, I’m joined by writer, speaker, and dear friend Roxane Salonen. Roxane shares her powerful testimony of God’s redeeming grace in the midst of family brokenness, addiction, and the struggles of marriage.

From growing up in a dysfunctional home to bringing her own wounds into marriage, Roxane opens up about the very real challenges she and her husband faced—seasons of doubt, conflict, and even despair. And yet, through prayer, surrender, and God’s faithful presence, their story is one of redemption, healing, and unexpected grace.

We talk about:

* What it’s like to grow up without a healthy model of marriage and how that affects your own family life

* The ways God shows up in the darkest, most broken places when we surrender to Him

* How the Surrender Novena, Eucharistic adoration, and the Litany of Trust became lifelines in her marriage

* Why it’s never too late for God to bring new life and hope into your family story

💙 Roxane’s story is honest, raw, and deeply encouraging. If you’ve ever felt powerless in your relationships or wondered if God could really bring healing out of hurt, you’ll find so much hope here.

Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com

Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com

When gratitude feels impossible, that’s often when it matters most.In this bonus reflection, I share lessons inspired by my conversation with Sarah Christmyer—on finding peace, hope, and grace even when life feels uncertain and hard.

Sarah’s story of loss, trust, and transformation offers a powerful reminder that God’s grace doesn’t always calm the storm…

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

What do you do when life falls apart—again and again?

In this heartfelt conversation, Sarah Christmyer shares her story of walking with God through repeated storms: financial collapse, faith crises, the pain of addiction, raising a child with a life-threatening illness, and eventually, the loss of her husband to cancer.

Sarah speaks vulnerably about loneliness, disappointment, and fear—and how God has met her each time with unexpected peace. From clinging to scripture verses in her early marriage to discovering the Sacred Heart devotion in her sixties, she shows us what it looks like to keep trusting when the waves don’t stop.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

* The practice of gratitude that shifted Sarah’s perspective in desperate times

* How praise—even in sorrow—can lift our hearts to God

* What her husband taught her about “looking through the door” to heaven as he neared death

* Why remembering God’s past faithfulness matters in today’s struggles

* Simple practices that can anchor us in God’s presence when storms rage

💙 Sarah’s story is honest, tender, and full of hard-won hope. If you’ve ever felt lost in a storm, her witness will remind you that Christ is in the boat with you—bringing peace that surpasses understanding.

Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com

Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com

Sometimes it’s easier to cover up the cracks than to face what’s really broken. In this week’s Grace Unfiltered bonus episode, we’re talking about the hard—but holy—work of letting God heal what we’d rather hide.In this bonus reflection following my conversation with Laura Phelps, I share the first of three key takeaways from her powerful and unfiltered…

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

Is it sometimes harmful to keep the peace?

In this candid and deeply honest conversation, Laura Phelps opens up about the quiet healing work God is doing in her life right now. Together we talk about the hidden struggles behind codependency, the temptation to “spackle” over wounds instead of addressing them, and what it really means to let go of control.

Laura shares stories from her own childhood, her battle with an eating disorder, the ups and downs of nearly three decades of marriage, and yes—even what chickens have taught her about slowing down, paying attention, and letting God work.

If you’ve ever struggled with perfectionism, keeping the peace at all costs, or defining yourself by productivity, this episode will resonate with you. Laura’s unfiltered witness is full of humor, vulnerability, and hard-won wisdom that reminds us we’re never alone in the mess.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

* The surprising spiritual lessons Laura has learned from raising backyard chickens

* How childhood coping mechanisms can quietly shape adult relationships

* Why “keeping the peace” isn’t always the loving choice

* The role of codependency in so many of our hidden struggles

* What nearly three decades of marriage has taught her about love, respect, and letting God lead

* The prayer practice that’s grounding Laura’s healing journey today

💙 Laura’s story is unfiltered, vulnerable, and full of grace. If you’ve ever wrestled with control, codependency, or the pressure to keep everything “just fine,” her witness will remind you that God meets us in the mess and gently leads us toward healing and freedom.

Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal

Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode!

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit daniellebean.substack.com

Free preview for free subscribers, full episode for paid subscribers! Subscribe at daniellebean.substack.com

What does it really mean to be resilient? In this week’s Grace Unfiltered bonus episode, we’re talking about the difference between self-reliance and God-reliance—and how grace meets us when our strength runs out.

In this bonus reflection following my conversation with Mary Lenaburg, I go deeper with the first of three takeaways from her powerful story:…