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

In Part 2 of a 3 part interview about healing your marriage, counselor Karen Cruess from Two Hearts for H.E.R. shares so much wisdom about how to practically connect with your spouse and understand them on a deeper level. Even if you aren’t married, I truly think you will be inspired by what she shares. Some of the nuggets of wisdom include: “Get a PhD in how your spouse was wounded.” “When we understand our spouse, we can have a gentle response and an openness to them.” “When we say we are unhappy, our husband often takes that to mean that he is not enough.” So much goodness, friends. Tune in now and learn about what you can do in your marriage today in order to grow closer to your spouse and understand your spouse on a more intimate level. Enjoy Part 2! It’s so jam packed with helpful advice from a humble woman of God! Part 3 is ready for you whenever you have time to listen. May your marriages be blessed by this conversation I had with the lovely Karen! You can connect with Karen Cruess by visiting her website www.twoheartscounselingandhealing.com & following her on Instagram at Instagram.com/twoheartsforher & finding her on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TwoHeartsforHER. To connect with me (your host, Stephanie), find me on Instagram at Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast & send me an email at [email protected] saying hi & subscribe to the weekly newsletter with giveaways, free challenges, free PDF guides, encouragement, Bible verse and more by clicking here: https://mailchi.mp/a7a4f8935f67/500secondstojoy - I can’t wait to have you join the 500 Seconds To Joy Community!

Calling all married couples! Counselor Karen Cruess from Two Hearts for H.E.R. is joining us for a fabulous discussion about healing our marriages. Even if you aren’t married, I truly think you will be inspired by what she shares. Karen shares her Christian perspective and wisdom from counseling women and living out her personal calling to be married. In Part 1 of a 3 part series, Karen chats with us about how all healing in relationships with others starts with ourselves. She encourages us to start with getting curious about ourselves, and then we can start to get curious about our spouses. Karen dives into our need for God to heal us, and calls us to take a deeper look at our expectations in our marriage. I know you will enjoy listening to Karen share and encourage you today. Enjoy Part 1! Part 2 and Part 3 are ready for you whenever you have time to listen. You will probably want to take notes & listen to this interview more than once (I took a million notes & listened to this chat 3 times so far!). You can connect with Karen Cruess by visiting her website www.twoheartscounselingandhealing.com & following her on Instagram at Instagram.com/twoheartsforher & finding her on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TwoHeartsforHER. To connect with me (your host, Stephanie), find me on Instagram at Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast & send me an email at [email protected] saying hi & subscribe to the weekly newsletter with giveaways, free challenges, free PDF guides, encouragement, Bible verse and more by clicking here: https://mailchi.mp/a7a4f8935f67/500secondstojoy - I can’t wait to have you join the 500 Seconds To Joy Community!

You lovely listeners have asked and here it is! We are chatting today about finances in marriage! I have some tips for you from my own experience - lessons learned through trial and error. I am sharing with you 8 simple steps to having better conversations with your spouse about money. I know money can be a cause of lots of arguments in marriage and I want to support you in improving your communication this week. I pray that you will be blessed by these tips and start putting them into practice this week. For more information about the resources I mention in today’s episode, visit www.theroloffs.com and https://nancyray.com/podcast/27. Click here (https://mailchi.mp/a7a4f8935f67/500secondstojoy) to subscribe to my weekly newsletter where I’ll be sharing something very exciting soon! Also, be sure to subscribe to the podcast on your Apple Podcasts app if you’re an iPhone user or subscribe on the Stitcher app if you have an Android. Thanks for being here and enjoy the episode, friend!

It’s Part 2 of my interview with the Holy Spirit-filled, Tommy! Not only is he the first guy on the show, he’s the most passionate about dating your spouse and continuing to be flirtatious. If you need some help keeping the fire alive, listen in to Tommy’s advice. I love how he motivates us and also gets super practical. I am serious when I say my conversation with Tommy has improved my marriage. I know it will improve yours too if you let it. Let’s be action takers and really work on our marriages starting this week, and continuing on every week! Let’s be the change in our marriages, like Tommy says. May your marriages be blessed & enjoy the interview!

We are kicking off the February love series with an interview that is SURE to inspire you and improve your marriage. I can 100% guarantee that you will come away with at least one action item to put into practice today that will TRANSFORM your marriage! Tommy is the first male guest on the show and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have him! Not only is Tommy a man of God, he is super passionate about marriage and even more passionate about keeping the fire alive! Don’t we all want that?? I have been personally inspired and convicted by this conversation and I know you will be too! This episode is for women AND men! So share this interview with your spouse, with a friend, with your mom, with your church peeps...let’s spread it far and wide! Let’s spread this message to all married couples so that more marriages may be passionate, full of love, & super blessed! Enjoy Part 1 of our conversation! And like usual, Part 2 is ready for ya if you have the time!

This is Part 2 of my conversation with the inspiring, Kristi Clover! Kristi wrote the book, “M.O.M. - Master Organizer of Mayhem”. In Part 2, we are diving into tackling toy clutter & Kristi shares a super simple action item with us. To grab a copy of her book, you can get it on Amazon by clicking here https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0801094259/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1579751105&sr=8-1 or search any other bookstore near you. You can also enter to win the book giveaway by clicking here: https://mailchi.mp/ddfebb90b896/kristiclover and you can head over to my Instagram for extra entries by clicking here: Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast. To learn more about Kristi Clover, connect with her on her website at kristiclover.com or follow her over on Instagram at Instagram.com/kristiclover. You can also go subscribe to her fabulous podcast, The Simply Joyful Podcast. Enjoy Part 2 of our conversation! **************************************************** Y’all asked for it & here it is! Another no screen challenge starting TODAY! Click here to sign up: https://mailchi.mp/0a5f49c72eb3/noscreennosocialmedia2020 & join us! 7-Day Challenge from Jan. 27-Feb 2. Amy from House of Eilers is co-hosting this challenge with me & I couldn’t be more thrilled! Let’s get more intentional with our phone & Netflix, lovely friends. *********************************************************

I’m so excited to bring you my last author interview this month! Today I am joined by fellow podcaster, Kristi Clover! Kristi wrote the book, “M.O.M. - Master Organizer of Mayhem”. Not only is Kristi fun to chat with, she shares practical tips that you can implement today, to get more organized and intentional in your mom life. You are definitely going to enjoy this interview today! This episode is part 1, and if you have time click on over to Part 2 (episode 20.5) to hear about how Kristi deals with the dreaded toy clutter! To grab a copy of her book, you can get it on Amazon by clicking here https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0801094259/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1579751105&sr=8-1 or search any other bookstore near you. You can also enter to win the book giveaway by clicking here: https://mailchi.mp/ddfebb90b896/kristiclover and you can head over to my Instagram for extra entries by clicking here: Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast. To learn more about Kristi Clover, connect with her on her website at kristiclover.com or follow her over on Instagram at Instagram.com/kristiclover. You can also go subscribe to her fabulous podcast, The Simply Joyful Podcast. Enjoy Part 1 of our conversation! **************************************************** Y’all asked for it & here it is! Another no screen challenge starting TODAY! Click here to sign up: https://mailchi.mp/0a5f49c72eb3/noscreennosocialmedia2020 & join us! 7-Day Challenge from Jan. 27-Feb 2. Amy from House of Eilers is co-hosting this challenge with me & I couldn’t be more thrilled! Let’s get more intentional with our phone & Netflix, lovely friends. *********************************************************

It’s our fourth author of the month, friends! Stephanie Pletka is joining me today as we continue on with our #allaboutauthors series in January. This lovely mom of four is such an inspiration & I know you will love hearing her practical encouragement for you today. Stephanie not only shares my name (hehe), she shares my passion for encouraging mamas to remember who they are as an individual, apart from their roles as wife and mom. I can’t wait for you to listen to Stephanie encourage you to live your BEST life and be YOURSELF. Stephanie’s book is called “Living Your Best Life: Letting Go of Self-Doubt, Fear, and Other’s Expectations to Live the Life You’ve Always Dreamed.” That title alone sold me! I love dreaming and I bet you do too, friend. You can preorder her book on Amazon (I did!) by clicking here: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Your-Best-Life-Expectations/dp/1640859780 & when the book is released on January 25th (in 2 days!!!), you will get your copy! I can’t wait for you to tune in to this lovely interview I had with the lovely Stephanie Pletka. To connect with her, visit her website at stephaniepletka.com or find her on Instagram at Instagram.com/stephaniepletka. Here are the two books we mentioned, written by Dr. Henry Cloud: “Necessary Endings” (click here https://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Endings-Henry-Cloud/dp/0061777129/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=henry+cloud+necessary+endings&qid=1579740752&sprefix=henry+clou&sr=8-2 to buy on Amazon) & Boundaries” (click here https://www.amazon.com/Boundaries-Updated-Expanded-When-Control-ebook/dp/B06XFKNB2Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=henry+cloud+boundaries&qid=1579740769&sprefix=henry+cloud+boun&sr=8-2 to buy on Amazon). Enjoy your chat!! **************************************************** Y’all asked for it & here it is! Another no screen challenge starting next week! Click here to sign up: https://mailchi.mp/0a5f49c72eb3/noscreennosocialmedia2020 & join us! 7-Day Challenge from Jan. 27-Feb 2. Amy from House of Eilers is co-hosting this challenge with me & I couldn’t be more thrilled! Let’s get more intentional with our phone, lovely friends. *********************************************************

**************************************************** Y’all asked for it & here it is! Another no screen challenge starting next week! Click here to sign up: https://mailchi.mp/0a5f49c72eb3/noscreennosocialmedia2020 & join us! 7-Day Challenge from Jan. 27-Feb 2. ********************************************************* In Part 2 of my conversation with guest Tracy Steel, she will encourage anyone who is doubting God & will provide a very simple action step for you today. I know you will be so encouraged by Tracy’s beautiful message of faith and trust. Tracy is the author of “A Redesigned Life: Uncovering God’s Purpose When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned”. Click here to win a copy of this fabulous book: https://mailchi.mp/e0680309810b/tracysteel or click here to buy it right now: https://www.amazon.com/Redesigned-Life-Uncovering-Purpose-Planned/dp/0800735536/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=a+redesigned+life+tracy+steel&qid=1579379308&sprefix=a+redesigne&sr=8-1. For extra entries to win a copy of Tracy’s book, head over to my Instagram at Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast and like & share the giveaway post. To connect with Tracy on Instagram visit Instagram.com/tracymsteel or to connect with Tracy on her website, visit tracymsteel.com. Remember friends, God will redesign your life & He will bless it beyond your wildest dreams. Xoxo

What happens when life doesn’t go as planned? My guest Tracy Steel is sharing how God will redesign your life. God will breathe life into those broken parts of your life. Tracy is the author of “A Redesigned Life: Uncovering God’s Purpose When Life Doesn’t Go As Planned”. Tracy has so much encouragement to share with you from living a life that turned out differently than she planned & how she found God’s goodness in the midst of it all. I’m so excited for you to hear from Tracy today in Part 1 of our conversation! Click here to win a copy of this fabulous book: https://mailchi.mp/e0680309810b/tracysteel or click here to buy it right now: https://www.amazon.com/Redesigned-Life-Uncovering-Purpose-Planned/dp/0800735536/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=a+redesigned+life+tracy+steel&qid=1579379308&sprefix=a+redesigne&sr=8-1. For extra entries to win a copy of Tracy’s book, head over to my Instagram at Instagram.com/500secondstojoypodcast and like & share the giveaway post. To connect with Tracy on Instagram visit Instagram.com/tracymsteel or to connect with Tracy on her website, visit tracymsteel.com. Enjoy this inspirational chat that will encourage you to cling to God when life doesn’t go as planned. Xoxo **************************************************** Y’all asked for it & here it is! Another no screen challenge starting next week! Click here to sign up: https://mailchi.mp/0a5f49c72eb3/noscreennosocialmedia2020 & join us! 7-Day Challenge from Jan. 27-Feb 2. Amy from House of Eilers is co-hosting this challenge with me & I couldn’t be more thrilled! Let’s get more intentional with our phone, lovely friends. *********************************************************