The Better Part - Intentional Living for Christian Moms with a Bible-Loving Catholic Mama

This is the first episode of a six part book study over "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I am joined by Katie Novitsky and Stefani Blackwell, and we go over the preface along with chapters 1-3 in pt. 1 of the book.

Although you know I love talking about our faith and prayer, I get the most questions about practical things in our daily life. Whether you are a mom to one or twelve, you can always use some practical ideas for getting stuff done and taking care of business!

In this episode, I discuss meal planning! I talk about:

Next week we will start a BOOK STUDY on "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I'll be joined by two dear friends and we will discuss the book in six sections over six episodes. We will finish the study just before Lent with the hope of coming into Lent with a deeper relationship with the Lord and peace in knowing what He is calling us to do. Whether you get the book or not, I feel confident you will get a lot out of these episodes!

If you would like to read the book along with us, make sure to purchase it in the next week and ask a friend (or two or three!) to do it with you! We will have discussion questions posted for each episode to help you in go over each section in a group setting. If you would like to prepare beforehand, the first episode will be about the preface and chapters 1-3 in part one of the book. See you then!

Although you know I love talking about our faith and prayer, I get the most questions about practical things in our daily life. Whether you are a mom to one or twelve, you can always use some practical ideas for getting stuff done and taking care of business!

In this episode, I discuss laundry tips! Firstly about how to help your kids start doing their own laundry at a young age. If you can pass off the chore of laundry-even for just one or two kids, life can get SO much easier! I talk about:

Next week we will have another practical episode on meal planning and then on January 21st, we will start a BOOK STUDY on "Searching for and Maintaining Peace" by Fr. Jacques Philippe. I'll be joined by two dear friends and we will discuss the book in six sections over six episodes. We will finish the study just before Lent with the hope of coming into Lent with a deeper relationship with the Lord and peace in knowing what He is calling us to do. Whether you get the book or not, I feel confident you will get a lot out of these episodes!

If you would like to read the book along with us, make sure to purchase it in the next two weeks and ask a friend (or two or three!) to do it with you! We will have discussion questions posted for each episode to help you in go over each section in a group setting. If you would like to prepare beforehand, the first episode will be about the preface and chapters 1-3 in part one of the book. See you then!

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The third of these is work.

Before Jesus was doing miracles daily and being followed by thousands, He worked as a carpenter and lived an ordinary life in Nazareth that included chores, travel, and a lot of work! As moms, we have so much work we need to do every day that can be very waring, but it can help us to remember that we don't have a God that cannot understand. He also went through all of the drudgery in life and experienced the monotony of normal life.

However, Jesus didn't just work for the sake of work. He did it out of obedience to His father and out of love for those around Him. We to can work just for the sake of work, or we can take our work and turn it toward prayer. What work do you have during this last week of Advent? Is there a way to turn it into prayer? Listen in to hear some ideas how!

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The second of these is family life.

Jesus spent 30 years of His life living with His parents. This was not just about being practical or doing His duty. Jesus modeled to us that family life is SACRED and that He works all things in love.

This generation of moms has a temptation to think that work outside of the home is more important than the life that happens inside the home. Do you feel that pull to work on projects outside of the home that will get you more kudos, achievements, or recognition? Is it easy to rush through daily tasks with the family so that you can serve others outside of the family? Maybe God is calling you to lean deeper into family life and reclaim normal moments as extraordinary opportunities to love your family more.

Listen in to hear some ideas on how!

This Advent, we are talking about three main aspects of Jesus' hidden life (all the life He lived before going into His ministry on earth), and trying to bring those things into our lives this Advent. The first of these is SILENCE.

Silence is hard to come by as a mom in the western world in the 21st century! We are inundated by NOISE and expected to make NOISE. But most of Jesus' life was spent with no large following and no major milestones. There are no miracles recorded at all and it would seem that he was hardly known outside of Nazareth.

We can learn from this virtual silence that Jesus lived in. Silence is where we can:

Is God calling you to bring more silence into your life? Listen in for some practical ideas on how!

Join us for the final episode in the peace series! Stephanie Clarisse is the former host of this podcast back when it was called 500 Seconds to Joy, and she is an absolute JOY to talk to! I'm so grateful she came on to share what God has been teaching her as she focuses on peace this year.

A verse that perfectly encapsulates this series is Isaiah 26:2, "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you." Stephanie shares how this verse has encouraged her to keep up her daily prayer and to keep Jesus at the forefront of her brain throughout the day. When we can keep our minds on God and trust in Him, we can be steady even though tough times.

When we try to create peace by controlling our circumstances or by allowing ourselves to follow any whim that comes, we can simulate peace, but God is the only one who can provide TRUE peace.

Stephanie also shares a couple of quotes from the book Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Philippe. This book will be the focus of a book study I will be hosting with two other ladies in January! I hope you join us so that we can continue to grow toward God together!

We make decisions CONSTANTLY as moms. From big ones like "Should we move?" or "Should we have another baby?" to very small ones like "Should spend time cleaning up before I work on the bills?" Not every decision weighs heavily, but the sheer number of decisions does weigh us down, especially when we don't have confidence on what we should do!

In this episode, we remember that the only true question we need to ask ourselves is "What does God want?" and that is often an easier question to answer. Here are five ways we can do that:

For discerning big decisions, I highly recommend the book What Does God Want by Fr. Michael Scanlan! It is practical, short, and great for evaluating opportunities and choices. I love it so much that I did a series over it on this podcast back when it was called 500 Seconds to Joy!

Check it out here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-better-part-intentional-living-for-christian-moms/id1481909779?i=1000584622291

Everything we do is affected by our relationships, whether in our families, extended families, friendships, or working relationships. So if there is a relationship where we are having a tough time, it can color how we feel, act, and make decisions.

In this episode, Jenna discusses how unmet expectations affect our relationships and how to deal with that conflict as it comes. She goes over the difference between drawing boundaries and building walls and highlights how God’s plan for us is always for our growth in holiness, even if that means working with someone who is difficult.

However, even with the best communication skills and well-thought-out boundaries, relationships can always turn toward selfishness and friction without Jesus. If we turn first toward Jesus for our fulfillment and work on our relationship with Him first, difficulties with people do not hold so much weight and can be dealt with much easier. Pray for those who are difficult to love and ask Jesus to draw you and them closer to Heaven in His perfect way.

As always, pray the Surrender Novena with me:

“Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.”

I couldn’t let this Election Day pass without at least MENTIONING it as we talk about peace. Know that I am praying for your peace as you deal with the chaos that is the news, politics, and this election. Draw near to God through it all and He will surely draw near to you! (James 4:8)