If you know me, you know fitness has been a part of my story (as is the case for many people). While I’m dedicated to this lifestyle, I definitely I have a love/hate relationship with it. Health and fitness can be both an obsession and a lesson. A healthy lifestyle or a disordered one. I’ve done both. In this episode you’ll hear me speaking from personal experience, from the heart, to take on this phenomenon and appearance based lifestyle of fitness. I talk about the goodness but also the fears that motivate me in all of this.

---

This episode is sponsored by

· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

An awesome episode interviewing some “speciale” guests; Mary and (Fr.) Mike Speziale to talk about the power and uplifting gift of God’s goodness in His special needs children. Mary talks about her life with Down syndrome and Fr. Mike talks about how being Mary’s sister made his life (and the lives of others) so much more joyful than it already is. Listen in to hear all of Mike and Mary’s goodness!

---

This episode is sponsored by

· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

There is so much talk about healing today. There are many practical tools to embrace a healing journey, but today I am talking about the one where we can’t afford therapy and our friends are too busy for us. By learning how we can let ourselves be loved by God in our woundedness we take part in the hardest, most rewarding work. God’s promises include providing a way to heal us so specifically and gently to who we are. Listen in and give God permission to heal. But remember: He is love and love never forces…only proposes.

---

This episode is sponsored by

· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

A quick lesson on Boundaries so we can love well. 💓

A lifelong Christian debate, judging others. I think somewhere I missed the mark on what Jesus expects of us when it comes to (a very human tendency) judgment. You’ll be surprised what Jesus actually calls us to do with this information… he’s brutally honest and has a lot of insight to teach us.

From the wisdom and lessons of womanhood in the beloved Louisa May Alcott novel, Little Women comes a conversation on the journey each woman makes for her freedom, purpose, and becoming. Joined by the incredible Natalie Graveley, this chat dives into some of the deepest questions a woman’s heart ponders when it comes to becoming her truest self and choosing the best man to love and marry.

What is inner freedom? Do you know people who are free? Not people who are confident and cool but people who are truly free and able to choose the good for themselves and others with no ulterior motives? The truth is, we are bound to many limitations in life and many different narratives for happiness and freedom. We truly won’t be free if someone or something is holding us down and limiting our ability to make decisions… even if it’s something like our own anger and perfectionism. Freedom is something we ✨receive✨ from Jesus. Here’s a practical tip for receiving freedom that will change your life. I guarantee if you practice it, you will get results.

So many people have a wounded relationship with the Catholic Church. It’s okay to admit it. It’s okay to share that with God. It’s okay to admit that an institution has hurt you, just like a relationship. But what’s not okay is to never talk about it and let it fester within you for years and years without resolve. Maybe you have also met people who have hurt your opinion of Jesus and who He really is. They may have preached God but they sure don’t act like God. The truth is, Jesus befriended and met the same kind of people! They were trying to teach him who God was and He was like “lol well I am God, sooo.” And we can find many people who say they love God but haven’t really convinced us or influenced us to participate in it the same way. Jesus’ whole personality and truth showed everyone how wrongly they were acting, and he gave us the same gift of discernment to be able to sniff out the same phonies.

Within the last 8 years, I’ve noticed that our society has become so obsessed with fitness culture. I fell into the culture/mindset that fitness was the center, the core, the be-all-end-all of my identity. It was what empowered me and made me feel confident so what could possibly be wrong? Tune in to hear how it left me so unhappy, constantly comparing myself to others, and obsessed. Fitness influencers, gym-rats, instructors, just being an avid member of the gym can become a destructive and obsessive, compulsive behavior if we don’t catch it and balance it. It’s not about obsession, it’s about balance. Let’s (finally) start talking about it. *Men and women are welcome to listen but the second half of the episode is all about how to “exercise” the spiritual and biological aspects of the woman’s body: through emotions and desires, and menstrual cycle regulation.*

Have you ever wondered what God is saying? Do you try and talk to Him and never seem to get a response back? The truth is, everyday God finds a unique and creative way to communicate to you His love for you. Sometimes its loud and clear, other times it’s subtle and beautiful, like a sunset. Either way, it always brings peace to the soul. Don’t doubt it or spend any more time wondering if it really is Him, respond, receive, and listen! Here how: