Strength Training for the Soul

<p >I used to think "holy helpers" meant mentors or accountability partners. Turns out, it's a lot bigger than that.</p> <p >In this episode, Jill and I talk about the "Capital S" Saints and "Lowercase S" saints who are...

<p>I thought I didn't do Lent very well.<br> Too much TV. Too much solitaire. Not enough discipline.<br> But when I stopped grading myself… I realized I was asking the wrong question.<br> This week, I walk through what...

<p>You're ready to go. And God says wait. In this episode, I sit down with my friend Fr. Tim Schumaker to talk about that restless feeling of doing everything right and still feeling stuck. We dig into why God works in...

<p>In John 9, the only person who starts out blind is the only one who ends up truly seeing. Most days, I have to admit I'm a lot closer to the Pharisees than the blind man. This episode is about the kind of blindness...

<p>What does it actually look like to follow the Shepherd? In this episode, I sit down with Jill Fischer to unpack Habit Seven of the 10 Habits of a Disciple: Follow the Shepherd. We talk about how God’s voice often...

<p>"Share what you have."<br> Easy to say. Hard when you don't have much.<br> This week, Eileen Belongea's final Camino rule collides with Mark 8 — and I'm not sure I like what it asks of me.<br> What are your seven...

<p>Newsflash: I don’t have to wait for the first mile to start a pilgrimage.</p> <p>In this episode, I sit down with pilgrim veteran Eileen Belongea to talk about what actually happens before the journey begins — the...

<p>I didn’t plan on talking about this Gospel… but one word in it wouldn’t leave me alone: scurry.</p> <p>In Mark 6, people drop everything and run to get near Jesus. Meanwhile, I’m over here staring at my calendar, my...

<p >"I'm good" might be the two words quietly holding us back from real community.</p> <p >In this episode, Jill Fischer and I talk about holy friendships, hiding when we say we want connection, allowing ourselves to...

<p>I need to confess something. No, not that kind of confession—though the guilt is real. Turns out committing to walk 500+ miles across Spain has a way of completely hijacking a carefully planned podcast schedule.</p>...

<p>Loving your neighbor sounds easy...until real life gets involved.</p> <p>In this episode, I talk with my friend Jill Fischer about what it actually means to love others the way Christ calls us to: not by being...

<p >This year, my "word" for 2026 found me through three wise men who followed a star instead of a strategy.</p> <p >The Magi expected a palace. They found a barn. They planned to return to Herod. God warned them in a...

<p>Writing can be a skill. It can be a profession. But sometimes it's something deeper than both.</p> <p>In this episode I sit down with Merridith Frediani, an accountant by day and a writer by charism. We talk about...

<p>What does extraordinary faith look like in real life? In this episode I sit down with Anne Haines, founder of St. Bakhita House in Milwaukee, a home for women recovering from sexual exploitation. We talk about joy as...

<p>Tim Cornell cries when he finishes writing a song—not from pride, but from gratitude. "I just hope He likes it," he says. This episode takes you inside the creative process of a Catholic singer-songwriter who sees...