Girlfriends (a Podcast For Catholic Women)

This week we are talking about some ways we waste our time -- and it’s not Netflix! Here are some things you might be doing that are robbing you of joy, along with ways to break these bad habits. Snippet From the Show “Worrying is talking to yourself about things you cannot control while prayer is talking to God about things he can control” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Are you freaking out about the school year? What will it look like? How will you manage? How can you possibly make it work? With masks and social distance at school? With homeschooling for real for the first time? With managing your kids’ remote learning while also working and running your household? With … you fill in the blank with your own anxiety-producing scenario? Snippet From the Show "Whenever you are making important decisions, you will find peace by connecting with God about them. Bring your worries and dilemmas to prayer and ask God for wisdom and guidance." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Karen Edmisten, my dear friend and colleague for many years, writing together and sharing about Catholic family life and homeschooling online. One of Karen’s multiple published books is After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman’s Companion to Healing and Hope. Karen and I share a conversation about a Catholic approach to miscarriage, and she shares from her own experiences of multiple losses. Why is this a rare conversation in the Church today? What are there so few resources available to support women through the grief of miscarriage? We also discuss family size and some of the ways women might tend to compare themselves to others or judge people based on family size. We talk about ways we can avoid hurting ourselves and others in these ways. Snippet From the Show "Although there was great suffering in these losses, there was also incredible growth in my faith and in my relationship with God." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get

My guest this week is Amy Smith, author of The Plans God Has for You: Hopeful Lessons for Young Women. Amy speaks to the hearts of young women about God’s unique love for them and the plans he has for their lives, all based on her favorite Scripture passage, Jeremiah 29:11. Snippet From the Show “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”- Jeremiah 29:11 For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

I’m back from our family trip to Cape Cod with lots of ideas for ways you can plan a fun family trip this summer, even if your other plans have been changed or cancelled because of Covid. Snippet From the Show “Enjoying what you’re doing in the moment and having a positive mindset is huge.” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is Rachel Smith, host of the To Grow Good podcast. In To Grow Good, Rachel shares her guests’ stories of conversion and their personal encounters with God. In our conversation, she discusses her own story of reversion to the Catholic faith and ways that the Holy Spirit has led her to make new connections and grow in her faith since that time. Together, we talk about the life-changing idea of the Feminine Genius and simple ways to begin exploring a personal relationship with God. Learn more about Rachel Smith and her work at ToGrowGood.com (https://www.togrowgood.com/)and follow her on Instagram. (https://www.instagram.com/togrowgood/) Snippet From the Show “ I just had a restless heart, something was missing and I couldn’t place it.” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Are you all in for Jesus? Or is there something you are keeping from God? It has been my experience that we like to think we’re doing God’s will, but when it comes down to it, we struggle to turn over our lives to God and accept his will over our own. I share some of my recent struggles with this, along with some thoughts about various areas of life where you might be tempted to hold something back from God and keep control for yourself. Snippet From the Show "Jesus is asking for everything, he wants us to give all to him." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

My guest this week is wife, mom, and fitness professional, Brittany Pearson who runs a health coaching business at FitMomLifetotheFullest.com. Brittany and I talk about some of the obstacles that get in the way of women caring for themselves and having a healthy relationship with their bodies. We also discuss how to find time for fitness, why it’s important to do so, and where to start if you are completely out of shape. My favorite takeaways were how to break up with your scale and why BMI charts are truly evil (just kidding … kind of!). Join us for an encouraging and inspiring conversation about how real-life women can make real-life fitness an everyday reality. Snippet From the Show The reason for fitness and to take care of your physical body, is to enhance your quality of life and to be able to serve others. However, it is not the end all be all, we know we are leaving these physical bodies. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to

This week we are talking about how we can be Jesus in our lives today. This is what every one of us is called to do -- be Jesus to the people God places in our life. Here are 4 ways I am thinking about these days. How might they apply to your life, starting right now? Snippet From the Show “The people that God places in your life are living, breathing manifestations of God’s will for you, he speaks to us through the people that he puts in our lives” For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes, because of unrest in the world or unrest in our souls or unrest in our personal lives, it can feel like God is far away. Where is God when we suffer a global pandemic, racial injustice, political violence, and war? We all sometimes feel that God is distant, or it is hard to see his presence in our lives. This week, I am sharing three things we can do when we feel God is far away. Snippet From the Show Wherever you are in your life, if you are feeling like God isn't there for you, God isn't with you, I invite you to read the passage of Jesus in the garden. He speaks these words when he felt alone: "Not my will, but your will be done." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This week, Girlfriends connects across the globe with author Debra Vermeer, Australian author of Life to the Full: Stories of Infertility, Faith, and a Hope-filled Future. Snippet From the Show "We are called to be fruitful. There are many ways that we are called to fruitfulness. Sometimes they aren't the ways we thought at all." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

In a world filled with violence, division, and fear, it can be hard to know just how God wants us to do his work today. How is God calling us to grow in relationship with him while leading others to know and love him? Snippet From the Show _What is your alabaster jar that you're holding onto that you're not allowing God to break open? What holds you back from giving everything to God? He calls us daily to leave everything and follow him. _ For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

This is a question I hear from moms all the time - whether they are parenting a kindergartner or a college kid gone astray: “How can I support my kids in their Catholic faith?” Of course, we would all love a magic answer here, but alas! God has given our children free will and they may sometimes make choices we do not want for them. But I can share some ideas for ways to be encouraging and supportive of our kids’ faith lives. _Snippet From the Show Be an example to your children. You can be saying all you want to your kids about the importance of having a prayer life, going to Mass, and receiving the sacraments, but if you are not doing those things, none of what you say matters. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Rachel’s new book is all about busy schedules and how we can find balance -- and this time of quarantine is a wonderful opportunity to think about all those things and make a plan for personal and family schedules after quarantine. Rachel and I discuss ways to do that, how we can make prayer a priority, and how to discern those things that are truly important to us as a family. _Snippet From the Show It all starts with prayer. If you're missing that element, forget it. You could have a Martha Stewart perfect home, a perfect work life, etc., and none of it will matter without a life centered in prayer. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Today I have guest, Andrea Zachman, on the show. She is author of The Sacred That Surrounds Us, a beautiful book for kids and parents that details all of the items in a church and how each of them points us toward heaven. _Snippet From the Show Our homes are supposed to be a domestic church. We always say that, but never more so than now are we being called to really sanctify our living spaces._ For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

I recently had the chance to sit down with two dear friends, Emily Jaminet and Michele Faehnle. These two inspiring ladies are authors of several books together. One of their most recent books is Our Friend Faustina: Life Lessons in Divine Mercy. This book is a collection of personal stories from women about ways in which they have been blessed by St. Faustina and Jesus’ message of Divine Mercy. **Snippet From the Show _ _"Being Catholic is not about how beautiful our Catholic resume looks like, or what we do for the church, or how perfect we are. It's about being who you are, and going before the Lord and letting him transform you." For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit media.ascensionpress.com. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Do you suffer with discontent? In what way do you feel like you fall short, or your life falls short of your expectations? What things or status do you long for and wind up feeling disillusioned or disappointed? This week we are talking about those feelings of discontent, where they come from, and how we can cultivate a greater sense of contentment with what we have and who we are. For full shownotes, visit media.ascensionpress.com Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

How are you doing? Not so great? Me too. This week, I’m sharing from my heart about some of the ways this time of quarantine and social isolation has been challenging for me and my family. I want to encourage you to know that if you are struggling, it’s alright to admit that. It’s OK to not be “quarantining well.” Whatever that means. Snippet From the Show "If you're looking and saying, 'What's wrong with me? I'm not happily baking bread and giving thanks that my kids are schooling at home right now...' I'm here to tell you, nothing is wrong with you." For full shownotes, visit media.ascensionpress.com Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

With the threat of COVID-19 and the importance of self quarantining, many of us find ourselves working from home in new and unusual ways. Maybe your office job has shifted to your home. Or your spouse is now working from home or your kids are doing school work from home. Since I have worked from home in various capacities, on and off, over the course of the last 10+ years, I thought I might share some things I have learned along the way. I hope they will be helpful to you in whatever way you are working at home these days. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Dr. Jacqueline Brown has been on the show before. A couple of months ago, she came on to talk about the importance of Catholic fiction and her popular series of books, The Light Series. But this time, she is joining us in a different capacity, as she is also a psychologist. Dr. Jacqueline Brown and I discuss coping mechanisms for a time of quarantine, some of the complicated emotions many of us are feeling, and how to best take care of our kids, our marriages, our work, and ourselves in these uncertain times. Snippet from the Show Turn off the news. If you can be in nature, be in nature. It's amazing just how much being around trees, grass, and flowers helps our mental health, and even our physical health. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe