Letters to Women - Exploring the Feminine Genius

“I like to read, but I have no idea what books to read.”

Are you nodding along, wanting to read more, but having no idea on how to take the first step to becoming a reader? Are you hungry for more deep connections, true leisure, and a sense of meaning and hope? And . . . can reading more books really be the answer to all of those longings?

In this episode, I sit down with Marcie Stokman. She’s the founder and president of Well-Read Mom, an international movement and book club. We’re talking about how reading brought Marcie back to the Catholic Church, the origin story of Well-Read Mom book clubs, and how to make space in your schedule for reading.

If you’re ready to read more and read well, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

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What does it mean to run a business as a Catholic woman? What does success look like? What does integration look like? How do you discover your gifts and talents and steward those well?

If you’re ready to reframe the way you think about work and learn about the nitty gritty of building a business the serves others, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

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Does it ever seem like life just kind of happens to you? You log onto Instagram or look around at the women in your small group or in the pew beside you at church and it just seems like everyone else figured it out. Meanwhile, you’re in the dark, wondering how people do it all, how some people have this adulting thing down. What’s their secret?

Did you miss the day in school where they taught you how to get your stuff together and be confident in who you are?

Or maybe there’s a podcast episode on it somewhere, or a book in the stacks of Barnes and Noble that will answer all your burning adulthood questions.

In today’s episode, I sit down with Julia Marie Hogan Werner, LCPC. She uses psychological research, real-world examples, and the eternal truths of the Catholic Faith to share how to reclaim your sense of direction and purpose as a Catholic woman today.

If you’re feeling crushed under the weight of external and internal expectations or feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what direction your life is going to take, sister, this letter is for you.

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Do you remember how simple it was to make and keep girlfriends when you were really young? All you had to do was wear the same pair of tennis shoes as a classmate or gal on the playground and man, you were set. Best friends forever. But the further we grow away from kindergarten classrooms and recess camaraderie, the more complicated friendship with other women seems to become.

Let’s face it - friendship is hard! How can we really achieve authentic friendship in our lives as Catholic women - and is it even worth the effort?

I’m switching things up a little bit today - if this is the first time you’ve tuned into a Letters to Women episode, welcome! Normally, I sit down with a Catholic woman and we chat about her story, something she’s passionate about, and how she’s living out the feminine genius in her daily life.

But this week, for only the third time in the entire five year history of this podcast, I’m going solo to visit with you about my brand new book, ‘Sisterhood: Giving and Receiving the Gift of Friendship” - which launches into the world TODAY, May 2nd.

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode:

I dress rehearse disaster on the regular. If I’m driving in the car with my girls and we’re having fun bopping along to Ellie Holcomb, it’s so easy for me to spiral into thinking “what if we get in a car wreck” because everyone knows that the scene in the movie right before the car wreck is that closeup shot of a family getting along great in the car together. You know tragedy is going to strike.

But here’s the thing - I don’t want to spend my life waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. I want to be in the present moment - regardless of whether that present moment is joyful or challenging or just plain boring - and I don’t want to spend my time worrying. So how can we move from worry to wonder in our daily lives as Catholic women today.

Today, I had the honor of sitting down with Melissa Overmyer. She’s a fellow natural born worrier, so I loved sitting down with her and talking through big and small things that have been causes of worry in her own life - everything from studying for tests to losing her family home in a fire - and getting really practical with her on how we can move away from this state of being worried and really enter into wonder at who God is and the way that he has worked and continues to work in our lives as his daughters.

If you’re a worrier as you’re ready to grow in your capacity to wonder at who God is and what his plans are for your life, sister, this letter is for you.

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Just a heads-up - today’s episode is a conversation about intimacy within marriage.

There’s a lot of advice floating around out there for us as Catholic women today when it comes to our marriages and our motherhood. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but a lot of that advice tends to be pretty conflicting.

It seems like every time I log onto Instagram, there’s a conversation about who-said-what about marriage, mothering, making love, and what the Catholic Church says or doesn’t say on those topics. Finding answers in that kind of environment can seem pretty intimidating. Who do you trust? What’s the truth?

If you have questions about intimacy in your marriage and you want answers, sister, this letter is for you.

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Resources you should check out after listening:

There are three Lenten practices that Christ and the Church invite us to really lean into - prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I don’t know about you, but I usually fall into two traps when it comes to fasting. Either I decide that this Lent is going to be the most challenging Lent for me ever - like the Lent where Joseph had to talk me out of fasting on just bread and water for the full forty days. OR I go into the other ditch and think that I actually don’t need to fast at all since my life as a mom is already sacrificial enough (hello, kids waking up at 3am). There is a virtuous middle when it comes to fasting and that’s what we’re here to talk about today.

Today, I’m sitting down with Kristen Van Uden. Kristin works at Sophia Institute Press and in this episode, we’re talking about a new book that Sophia just released called “The Lenten Cookbook.” But we’re not just talking recipes (and don’t worry, we are talking recipes). We’re also talking about fasting joyfully (yes, that’s possible), the history of fasting and Lent in the Catholic Church, and how to approach fasting if you’ve struggled with an unhealthy relationship with food.

Whether you’re listening in on this episode because fasting is something that comes easily for you or maybe it’s one of the most challenging aspects of Lent and you want to grow in joy surrounding your fasting, sister, this letter is for you.

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This week, we’re celebrating the feast day of St. Joseph - and Pope Francis’ invitation to all of us in 2021 to “go to Joseph” is still ringing in our ears. But what can we learn from St. Joseph as Catholic women - isn’t he more of a saint for the guys?

Today I’m sitting down with Elizabeth Lev. She’s an art historian and tour guide who lives in Rome and she’s recently written a beautiful book on the history of St. Joseph in art. In today’s episode, we’re talking about what we can learn from St. Joseph as women, and the history of incredible women throughout church history who leaned on Joseph and his creative courage when they were feeling underrepresented or burdened with challenges.

Whether you clicked play to learn more about St. Joseph or you, too, are feeling overwhelmed and looking for a silent knight, this letter is for you.

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Ready or not, here comes Lent. Some of us are READY for it. Some of us hate it. But most of us know that we’re supposed to be transformed by Lent. So we give up our alarm clocks, we take on extra prayer time, we put away our coffee maker for forty days (well, some of you do, I haven’t done that one yet since my sacrifice isn’t supposed to be everyone around me’s sacrifice). 

But what if Lent wasn’t about giving up our chocolate, or our wine, or our Dr. Peppers. Don’t get me wrong - those are good sacrifices (especially for me!) and practicing mortification is important. 

What if Lent this year is a season of engaging the things that are deeper in our own hearts - and what would Lent look like for you if it were a time of healing those deeper parts of your heart?

Today, I’m sitting down with Sr. Miriam James Heidland. She’s recently written a guided Lenten prayer journal called “Restore,” to help you stop trying to go around, underneath, or over the Cross, but to instead go through with Christ this Lenten season. 

If you’re longing for a season of healing and you’re ready to move past telling Jesus what you’re going to give up for Lent and truly listening to his invitation into the deeper parts of your heart that he wants to encounter with you, sister, this letter is for you. 

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When you start planning a wedding, it’s crazy how the tiny to-dos you never knew were even a thing start to take over your life. The nitty-gritty of guest lists, venues, and the schedule of the big day itself stack up and pretty quickly, those tiny to-dos seem like an insurmountable mountain.

It’s been five years since Joseph and I entered into the vocation of marriage, but I bet that if you’re tuning in and it’s been years since your own wedding, you can still recall that feeling. And if you’re in the season of engagement, you know exactly what I’m talking about. What’s a couple to do? Is it possible to arrive at the wedding altar and not be totally stressed out by what has to be done? Is there a way to prepare for a marriage and plan for a wedding that leaves you more joyful than when you started?

ln today’s episode, I’m sitting down with Mary Beth Giltner and Rebecca Martin. We’re about a brand new Catholic wedding planner that they’ve created. The planner was born out of their experience planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic, and they’ve truly created something that helps engaged couples keep track of all those little details without losing sight of what truly matters in this season.

We’re talking about everything from mental and physical health during a season of engagement to the subjects to discuss together around intimacy and sexuality before the big day. But we’re also going to be chatting about life AFTER the wedding and the advice both women would give couples just starting out into their new vocation.

So, if you’re in the middle of planning a wedding (or you know and love someone who is in that season!) and you want to both be intentional with your wedding to-do list AND prepare for a lifelong marriage, sister, this letter is for you.

Topics we talked about in this episode:

Resources you should check out after listening to this episode: