Girlfriends (a Podcast For Catholic Women)

Snippet From the Show 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 author and mother Laura Phelps. Laura shares her horrific experience of being a mom of kids present during the school shootings in Newtown, CT and her growth in trusting in God in the years since. She offers practical help for those who struggle to understand suffering and encourages all of us to look to the Blessed Mother as an example of embracing the suffering God allows us to experience. Snippet From the Show Three lessons from Our Lady: 1) Say, ‘Yes’ 2) Do whatever God says 3) Stand at the foot of the Cross For episode shownotes visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebean.substack.com/subscribe

Do you struggle to trust in God? Join the club! I heard from so many people after our recent episode about the Surrender Novena that I thought this would be a good topic for us to discuss right now. Today, I share some things I think hold many of us back from fully trusting in God. Snippet From the Show "God asks for everything, but he doesn’t necessarily take everything." 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’s guest is Leann Thieman, a nationally acclaimed professional speaker, author, and nurse. Her devotion to nursing for more than 30 years made her the ideal co-author of the New York Times best-seller, Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul: Second Dose, then the third edition, Inspiration for Nurses. Snippet From the Show We are moved by the truth, goodness, and beauty of other people's stories. 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’s guest is Christin Jezak who is part of the team working on the upcoming Saint Joseph Summit, a virtual event, featuring dozens of talented speakers, focused on St. Joseph for this, the Year of St. Joseph. Christin shares the idea behind the summit, who some of the speakers are, and how you can access this inspiring and prayerful content for free. Snippet From the Show "St. Joseph is such a quiet saint, yet his example speaks volumes." 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

Our special guest this week is Rachel Schluenderfritz who joins us to discuss her family’s new apostolate 5 Sparrows. Rachel shares about how the website got started as well as describing many of the resources available there. We discuss her hopes for the future, the growing of a community online, and the kinds of resources that really nurture kids in their personal prayer lives. Snippet From the Show "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"- 1 Corinthians 9:16 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

Do you have a complicated relationship with your body? Join the club! Every woman struggles with this from time to time, and some of us seem to struggle all of the time. But God wants better for you. He made you good, and your body is a gift, right now in whatever size or shape you find yourself in. Let’s talk about ways to improve your relationship with your own body and nurture a healthy, balanced body image. Snippet From the Show God gave you life by giving you the body you are in, and he desires for you to have a good relationship with your unique body. 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’s guest is Christine Wohar, author of Finding Frassati and Following His Path to Holiness, all about the young saint Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. Do you know his life story? Christine Wohar shares insights from her life and her book about ways that Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati is indeed a “saint for our times.” Snippet From the Show Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati shows us that the ordinariness of life is where holiness is possible. 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 going through a big change in your life right now? Many families experience transition this time of year -- as kids go back to school or move out and start jobs or go to college. If that is you and you are struggling with the change -- I feel you! Snippet From the Show "Whatever amount of time you normally spend in prayer, if you're going through a big change, you need to be spending more time 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

This week’s guest is Meg Hunter-Kilmer, a self-professed “Hobo for Christ,” and author of the beautiful new children’s book Saints Around the World. Meg shares what she means by “Hobo for Christ,” and how she came to live this unusual lifestyle, living out of her car and sharing the Gospel all over the world. Snippet From the Show God desires to transform our unique personality by grace, not wash it away. He wants every one of us, with our irreplaceable story and personality to become a saint. 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 familiar with the Surrender Novena? This novena is based on private revelations from Servant of God Don Dolindo Ruotolo. It is a very simple prayer with a short text, the words of Jesus as told to Fr. Dolindo, and then the repetition of the phrase “Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.” Snippet From the Show “Oh Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.” 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

Our guest this week is Monsignor Stephen Rossetti, author of Diary of an American Exorcist: Demons, Possession, and the Modern-Day Battle Against Ancient Evil. Monsignor Rossetti explains what an exorcism is, what his work is like, and things we need to know about the presence and dangers of evil forces in the world. He encourages us all to have confidence in the goodness and power of God. Snippet From the Show “When Our Lady shows up in an exorcism, the demons can’t get out of the room fast enough, they can’t stand her presence because she’s a brilliant light of grace.” 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

Our guest this week is Nathaniel Binversie, Exodus 90 director of content host of the Exodus 90 podcast. Nathaniel joins me to discuss masculinity -- what it is, what it isn’t, and how our culture gets much of it wrong. He discusses Exodus 90, a popular and challenging program of commitment for Catholic men. Snippet From the Show Prayer, fraternity, and asceticism dispose men to receive the graces God wants to give them to become men of great holiness. 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

Our guest this week is Dr. Janice Chik Breidenbach, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ave Maria University. Dr. Breidenbach joins us to share about her new course, Philosophy of Motherhood. She shares about the motivation to create this course and the important conversations it is sparking on campus in the culture. Snippet From the Show The sacrifice of motherly love, and how it nourishes the most utterly dependent and helpless being, is one of the most beautiful and powerful icons of God's love in this world. 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

It's time for a throwback! I'm on vacation this week but I would like to share with you again one of my most popular episodes from last year. 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

Do you worry about your kids’ use of smartphones? Today we are diving into one of the most important parenting challenges of our times -- how to keep our kids safe online. Worrying about access to pornography and evil content on social media leaves many parents feeling helpless and hopeless in the face of a powerful force. Today’s guest, Sean Clifford, is here to offer us a message of hope. Sean is a husband, father of 4, and CEO of Canopy, a powerful new technology that helps parents in the battle for their kids’ souls online. Seam shares about how Canopy works and the reasons why he founded this revolutionary company. Snippet From the Show It's time to recognize that the internet is profoundly shaping the minds, hearts, and souls of our children. While keeping your child child safe online can seem challenging, you are the parent and you are not powerless. For episode shownotes, text GIRLFRIENDS to 33-777 or visit www.ascensionpress.com/girlfriends. Get full access to Girlfriends After Hours at daniellebea

When we want to know God and love him better, we should follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary loves God with perfection! In today’s episode, we talk about four ways Mary connected with God in the everyday and consider how we can do the same. Snippet From the Show Mary teaches all of us how to ponder life's moments of beauty, joy, sorrow, and pain in our hearts. 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 Liv Harrison, a wife, mom, motivational speaker and inspiration. Liv shares with us her story of dramatic weight loss and life transformation. You will be encouraged and inspired by all that she has to share! Snippet From the Show We are all wounded multifaceted human beings with spiritual, emotional, and physical struggles. 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

Getting older gets a bad rap. We worry about extra wounds, graying hair, wrinkles, and sagging skin. But I am turning 49 today, and so I decided now would be a good time to reflect on some of the very real blessings of growing older. Snippet From the Show "I have grown to know who I am and accept the way God made me. I know my strengths, my weaknesses, and what God has called me to with greater clarity than when I was younger." 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’s guest is podcaster and author Chlow Langr who joins us to share about her new book, Letters to Women: Embracing the Feminine Genius in Everyday Life. Chloe loves to highlight all the varied ways women live out their vocations as wives and mothers in the Church. Snippet From the Show "God invites us to celebrate the gifts other women have, not to compete with them." 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