Should we care about what we wear? The short answer is “yes”—but don’t pull out your headphones just yet. There’s more to the conversation than that.

What about style? What do you think of when you hear that word? Maybe the pages of fashion magazines or reruns of Project Runway flash through your mind. Or maybe you wonder if style should even be something you think about—how many of us have felt guilty after splurging on a gorgeous dress, wondering how a piece of fabric can capture our imagination and desire.

We scold ourselves and say “I should bought something practical.” Or maybe you’ve even wondered if you’re vain if you care about how you look.

But what if that pull towards certain items of clothing is actually a sign of being made in the image and likeness of God? What if instead of finding a new “cool,” “fancy,” or “stylish” wardrobe, or becoming a “new” version of ourselves, we focused on how we can grow in an understanding of how we were made? 

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Lillian Fallon. She's a Catholic writer with a passion for helping women express their unrepeatability through style.

Lillian and I are talking about living life as an affirmed woman and daughter of God, how wisdom from St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body relates to clothing, and how to dress in a way that expresses who we are. 

If you’ve ever wondered if your love of style is incongruent with your Catholic faith, sister, this letter is for you. 

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

It’s time we get honest with ourselves as women today—we’re being lied to. Today’s cultural beauty standards are messed up. We all know it, and we all think we can resist the pull to look a certain way. But most of us—and our sisters, daughters, and nieces, too—are still striving for a broken kind of beauty while feeling like we’re not good enough.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Melissa Johnson, a marriage and family therapist. The lie of today’s beauty standards eventually led her to battling an eating disorder. Through that experience, she saw that chasing broken beauty breaks us as women in so many ways. And she also realized that true, soul-deep beauty is not impossible—it abounds in us and all around us. 

Melissa and I are talking about how to uncover the hidden damage cultural lies about beauty have on your mind and soul, how to reconnect with God, in whose image you are made, and how to walk away from shame and striving.

If you find yourself wishing that you were thinner or smaller, have a list of things you wish you could change about your appearance, or compare your body to other women’s bodies, and you’re longing for a more self-compassionate relationship with your body, sister, this letter is for you. 

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

We’re living in a world of filters and photoshop. Thanks to the constant pull from the smartphone in your pocket, you might be experiencing internet overwhelm and social media fatigue. Is there any relatable women’s media out there that gives an accurate representation of what it means to be a women, reminds you of your belovedness, and encourages you to be authentic?

The world needs more of who women ARE. Not a long list of expectations of what we should be doing and what our bodies look like while we’re doing it. 

That, and more, is what we’re diving into today in this episode of the Letters to Women podcast.

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Mary Rose Somarriba,. Mary Rose is the editor of Verily Magazine. True to their name, Verily sifts through the noise of the world to elevate what is honest, real, and beautiful for the modern woman—facilitating her connection with the things that matter the most to her through our production of original media, curation of quality content across the web, and in-person events.

Mary Rose and I are talking about the mission of Verily, what it’s like for them to totally reject photoshop, and why they’re returning to a print magazine in our digital world.

If you’re exhausted from a constant barrage of media that tells you what the “ideal” body type, image, or status is and you're ready to be empowered to be more of who YOU ARE, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

Have you ever wished you prayed more with your spouse, but you don’t know where to start? Maybe you’re confident in praying FOR your spouse, but WITH them?

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Dr. Sarah Bartel and we’re talking about Cana Feast, the marriage ministry she founded with husband, Nathan, and she’s giving some really practical, nitty-gritty ways that they’ve found make a difference in couple’s marriages - from how to get over the awkwardness of praying together to making time for each other in seasons of change and prioritizing your marriage when schedules are tight or babies are little. Or teenagers are up at all hours of the day.

Regardless of the season of marriage you find yourself in, there’s something here for you. 

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

Have you ever had the experience that life is flying by you at lightning speed and you’re just an observer? The year is already over halfway done, you’re not sure really what you’ve even done for the past six months. You’re just along for the ride.

But what if there was a daily practice that helped you grow in your ability to focus, to be grateful, and to be present?

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Tsh Oxenreider. I love Tsh—her writing is absolutely fantastic, her podcast is one of the few that I listen to on long drives or as I work through mountains of laundry. And she’s just written a brand new book called First Light and Eventide, which is a daily gratitude journal. When you open up the cover, she guides you through a short, twice-daily thought exercise to help you better focus on gratitude, grace, and greater truth. 

If you’re looking for a thoughtful way to bookend your day and you wish someone would just take you by the hand and help you navigate some of life’s uncertainty, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

When Sarah Swafford first started talking to college students about friendship, it was 2007. They were trying to figure out cellphones, dorm life, emotions, and virtue. Sixteen years later, Sarah is still talking about friendship—and it hasn’t gotten any easier with the rise of social media, smart phones, and a world pandemic.

Sarah fist came on the podcast way back in 2018 to talk about emotions and virtue. She’s back for another conversation about virtue, a brand new book called Gift and Grit that she just wrote with her husband, Swaff, and a deep dive into the topic of friendship, especially as you navigate changing seasons of life.

Whether you’re blessed with an incredible community of friends around you and you want to grow deeper in relationship with them, or you’re starting out in a new season of life and you’re hungry for authentic friendship, sister, this letter is for you. 

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

“Throw out whatever image that you think you need to have of yourself. Really ask the Lord to see you and be seen by you. Let the Lord love you. Let him define all the beauty that is within you.”
—Sarah Swafford

We all know someone struggling with substance use disorder. We might not know it, but since nearly one in five Americans older than twelve reported illicit drug use in 2018, someone in our life is struggling. And those numbers were before a pandemic threw our culture into further isolation. With those kinds of numbers, if you live in the United States, it’s nearly impossible for you to not know someone battling an addiction to drugs or alcohol.

It could be your aunt, cousin, neighbor, your high school classmate, or your best friend’s sibling, son or daughter. Or, it might be you. One way or another, substance use disorders impact our society as a whole, and each and everyone of us as individuals.

So first, why do so many of us still think that this crisis is someone else’s problem? And how can we shift that mentality and become members of the Church who bring Christ’s love and mercy to the souls most in need of it? Souls in our communities, our parishes, and our families?

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Keaton Douglas. She’s the co-author of a brand new book on responding to the crisis of addiction and we’re talking about what sets today’s suffering of addiction apart, what we can learn from St. Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body when it comes to accompanying someone struggling with an addiction, and practical ways that we can grow in our understanding of addiction as Catholic women today.

Accompanying those we love who are struggling with addiction is messy, challenging, and unfortunately too often, it’s devastating. But as Catholic women today, we need to do it. And for the sake of those we love, we need to start today.

So whether you’re tuning in to learn more about the epidemic of substance use disorders and come to understand it better or you’re wondering how to start making some real change in your family and community, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

Have you ever wanted to sit down with a woman who is a few season of life ahead of you, settle in on her couch with a big cup of coffee, and pick her brain about all of the joys and challenges of the season of life you’re in now -- and the seasons you’re looking forward to? To hear her advice and learn from the wisdom she’s gained over the years?

That’s exactly what today’s episode from the archive is all about.

These past weeks have been really full here at the Langr house -- spring weddings, endless little house projects we can tackle now that the weather is getting warmer, and the last steps of our adoption home study before we move into a season where we’re just waiting to be matched.

So today, I’m pulling one of my favorite episodes from the archives to share with you — this is a listener favorite too, so there’s a chance you’ve already listened. But it’s so packed full of practical advice that you might discover something you missed the first go-around.

Kimberly and I are talking about her brand new Bible study, “Graced and Gifted,”  which is all about how we can tackle the seemingly endless demands of caring for our families and our homes all from the perspective of the woman described in Proverbs 31. She also shares her tried and true tips for things like time management, her secrets for meal planning, and how she creates a peaceful and beautiful home for her family and friends. 

If you are looking for not only useful tips but some inspiring help from a woman who has been there done that when it comes to taking care of the domestic church - no matter what season of life you’re in - sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.

There are so many tasks on our to-do lists as women, wives, and moms that are repetitive—and hidden. You plan meals every week and wander the aisle of your grocery store, only to be back again the week after to do the exact same thing all over again. You fold a massive pile of laundry and as you’re putting clean clothes in dressers, you find the laundry baskets are full again and ready for the next load. You make a meal, only to be faced with a pile of dirty dishes and a full dishwasher ready for unloading…again.

It can be easy to get discouraged in the monotony of taking care of your home, your family, and yourself. So how do we find meaning in these daily tasks that we’re going to do all over again tomorrow?

In this episode, I’m sitting down with Thérèse Desilets. Thérèse is the founder of Lovely Lady Linens, a Marian inspired home textile company. Her and I are talking about how the Blessed Mother can encourage us in our daily chores, the importance of beauty in our domestic churches, and how Thérèse integrates her work and vocation.

If you’re exhausted from the constant to-do list of taking care of your home and are needing some encouragement and inspiration, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

Subscribe and Review Letters to Women in iTunes

Are you subscribed to Letters to Women? If not, you should subscribe today! You don’t want to miss any of the upcoming episodes. Click here to subscribe in iTunes.