Strength Training for the Soul

S2 E19: Share What You Have

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

S2 E18: The Pilgrimage Starts Before You Walk

Newsflash: I don’t have to wait for the first mile to start a pilgrimage.
In this episode, I sit down with pilgrim veteran Eileen Belongea to talk about what actually happens before the journey begins — the training, the packing, the fears we carry, and the control I’m learning to loosen.
As Lent begins and Camino prep ramps up, I’m seeing the overlap: take less, notice more, and trust God with what I can’t control. Because preparation isn’t separate from the journey. It’s where it truly begins.

S2 E17: What's Mine to Carry?

I didn’t plan on talking about this Gospel… but one word in it wouldn’t leave me alone: scurry.
In Mark 6, people drop everything and run to get near Jesus. Meanwhile, I’m over here staring at my calendar, my Camino packing list, and one more church email thinking… do I really have room for all this stuff?
In this episode, I wrestle with what it means to move toward Christ when life already feels full, why some invitations feel like joy and others feel like weight, and how I’m trying to figure out what’s actually mine to carry before I set out to walk 500 miles.
Spoiler: I don’t have a neat answer. But I am paying attention.

S2 E16: Living in Community w/Jill Fischer

"I'm good" might be the two words quietly holding us back from real community.
In this episode, Jill Fischer and I talk about holy friendships, hiding when we say we want connection, allowing ourselves to receive help when pride tells us we should do it alone—and why community doesn't have to be big to be meaningful.
We close with simple reflection questions to carry into the week ahead, because growth doesn't happen in isolation, and none of us is meant to walk alone. We all need community!

S2 E16: Mea Culpa! Pilgrimage Takeover

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.
In this episode, I wrestle with what happens when God’s pull is stronger than my to-do list, why my training logbook has become my prayer journal, and how “loving your neighbor” gets a whole lot less abstract when I’m just trying to figure out what’s right in front of me.
Spoiler: The Charisms series isn’t dead. It’s just… in pilgrim season.

S2 E15: Loving Your Neighbor

Loving your neighbor sounds easy...until real life gets involved.
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 “nice,” but by staying rooted in prayer, Scripture, and worship. We unpack why love takes time, why awareness matters and why the people who challenge us most may be doing more work in us than we realize.
Fair warning: eye rolls may be involved.

S2 E14: New Year New Word

This year, my "word" for 2026 found me through three wise men who followed a star instead of a strategy.
The Magi expected a palace. They found a barn. They planned to return to Herod. God warned them in a dream to go home another way. Those moments of surrender they had all along their journey? That's trust.
In this episode, I'm choosing the word that makes me most uncomfortable: trust. Not because I'm good at it (I'm a planner, a strategist, a control enthusiast), but because I'm walking 500 miles on the Camino de Santiago this spring, and it's going to force me to train and strengthen that trust muscle--starting right now.
What's the one virtue God might be inviting you to practice this year? Not admire from a distance but actually practice. Maybe it's the thing you'd rather not choose. That might be the invitation.
Let's go home by another way together.

S2 E13: Called to Write w/Merridith Frediani

Writing can be a skill. It can be a profession. But sometimes it's something deeper than both.
In this episode I sit down with Merridith Frediani, an accountant by day and a writer by charism. We talk about how those two very different worlds live inside one person, how she discovered her charism through the Called & Gifted program and what it really feels like to let God lead the words.
Merridith shares how writing became an act of obedience for her, why vulnerability is unavoidable when faith is part of the story and how God gives just enough encouragement to keep her going without letting pride take the wheel.
If you've ever wondered whether something you love is just a talent or something God is actively inviting you to use, this conversation will give you a lot to pray with.

S2 EP 12: Extraordinary Faith w/Anne Haines

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 a sign of true calling, the quiet courage of radical trust and what it means to say yes before the resources appear. Anne's story is a powerful reminder that charisms don't live on paper—they build homes, restore dignity and change lives.

S2 E11: Experiencing the Charism of Music w/Tim Cornell

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 music as elevated speaking, a way of giving thanks that goes beyond words. We talk about Monday Funeral (his performance name), raising five kids in a loud, musical household, and why embarrassment keeps us silent in the pews. I also share a story about what changes between kindergarten and eighth grade when it comes to singing—and what we lose along the way. It might make you rethink not singing at mass. Plus, Tim wows us with a live performance from his latest original work.