Always Hope

Latest Episodes:

[REPOST] - A Christmas Meditation Dec 26, 2023

Show notes

Here’s a little gift to you during this busy Christmas season. I know that we all have a thousand things on our minds right now: shopping, traveling, Christmas dinner prep, friends, family, etc. So, let’s take a break from that together. Join me as we take a moment to reflect the good of this year and bring it before the Child Jesus. It’s a short, guided meditation, therefore try to listen to it in a place where you can engage with this exercise.

Have a Merry Christmas! God bless you and your families this season!

137 - The Power of Hope | Sr. Josephine Garrett, CSFN Dec 12, 2023

Show notes

I welcome back Sr Josephine Garrett, author of the book “Hope: An Invitation” by OSV Books. Sister Josephine shares her journey of faith, the challenges she faced, her experiences of prayer, and the moments of surrender she had to make in her life. By drawing upon her personal experience, she sheds light onto the power of hope, and how it serves as an 'anchor' guiding us through difficulties. We discuss the importance of deciding and committing, and the idea that hardships and darkness can be an invitation to a deeper relationship with God. We also share about the dangers of cynicism and warn against endless exploration of the past. We end the show by praying the Litany of Waiting. This episode is an exploration of faith, hope, love, and the role of waiting in one's spiritual journey.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
Hope: An Invitation Book Link

Episode 073: Are you Healthy Enough to Discern a Vocation? with Sr. Josephine Garrett.

Overcoming Stress and Anxiety

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136 - Redefining Success | Pastor Terry Brisbane and Rusty Rueff Nov 29, 2023

Show notes

How should Christians engage at the crossroads of work, technology, and the creative life? How do modern advancements in computing and coding shape our faith? What are realistic fears of generative AI?

Joining me on the show is Terry Brisbane, lead pastor at CornerstoneSF in San Francisco, CA, and Rusty Rueff, host of Faith Driven Entrepreneur, to talk about their new book “Faith Code: A Future-Proof Framework for a Life of Meaning and Impact.”

In today’s episode, we discuss how to build our lives like a platform not an app, the future of technology and its impact on our lives, their ground level experience of what is happening in Silicon Valley and how that impacts culture, the hopes for technology, and areas of concern. We also discuss the role of work in our faith life, where to begin when you are discerning a career, and how to define success through the lens of the Gospel.

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
thefaithcode.com

135 - The Devout Life | Deacon Matthew Newsome Nov 14, 2023

Show notes

How do we grow in our devotion of Christ? What are the things we should be paying attention to? What should we be avoiding? Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some book that introduced these concepts? Yes there is.

Joining me on the show today is Deacon Matt Newsome, author of the book “The Devout Life: A Modern Guide to Practical Holiness with St. Francis de Sales. In this book, Deacon Matt, takes the teachings of St Francis’ great spiritual text, Introduction to the Devout Life, and transposes that message for the modern ear.

In today’s episode, we discuss the teachings of St. Francis de Sales and what inspired the great saint to write this book, how to start living a life of devotion for God, the differences between external and internal expressions of devotion, how to grow in prayer, ways to overcome temptations, and how to navigate worry through the eyes of faith.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
The Devout Life Book
Test Everything Blog
Western Carolina University Campus Ministry

134 - What Single Men Need to Know About Dating | Chad Etzel Nov 02, 2023

Show notes

Joining me on the show is Chad Etzel, leadership coach and host of the Catholic, Single, and Flourishing Podcast, to talk through the challenges of being a single guy in the dating scene today.

We discuss the limiting beliefs that men often have pertaining to dating, unhelpful cultural messages about men, looking at dating and talking to women as skills that can be developed, the pressures of being one of the few guys at young adult events, the differences in dating from high school to young adulthood, defining dating success, how to know when a girl is interested, how to ask a her out, and what talk to about on the first date.

Ladies chime in and let us know if any of these approaches work!

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
Catholic, Single, and Flourishing Podcast

133 - Meaning, Grit, and #adulting | Dr. Andrew and Sarah Swafford Oct 17, 2023

Show notes

Alright young adults, here’s your episode on how to navigate the complexities of friendship, romance, and life’s challenges.

In today’s episode, I welcome Dr. Andrew and Sarah Swafford, authors of the new book “Gift and Grit: How Heroic Virtue Can Change Your Life and Relationships”, published by Ascension Press.

We have a wonderful conversation about the importance finding meaning in life, learning how to navigate the oversaturation of content found online, seeing life as a story and learning the important part that you play in it, the gift of boredom, giving space to process and think, learning how to develop healthy community, how grit relates to acceptance of divine providence, and the need to be patient through onerous times.

Episode recorded on July 21, 2023

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
The Swafford’s Website

132 - Helping Spouses of Addicts | Travis Thompson Oct 03, 2023

Show notes

Today I welcome, Travis Thompson, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and author of the book, “To Those Left Behind: Helping Partners and Families Understand and Heal from Addiction.”

In this episode, we explore the complicated nature of being married to an addict, examine addiction through the lens of attachment, offer steps of recovery for addicts and spouses, discuss codependency, the strengths and limitations of aa and al-anon groups, and how to set boundaries when married to an addict.

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
Travis Thompson’s Website

131 - Defending our Kids from Pornography | Kristen Jenson Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

I welcome to the show Kristen Jenson, founder of the Defend Young Minds and author of the book, Good Pictures Bad Pictures.

In today’s show, we talk about teaching our kids “digital self-defense,” why filtering and monitoring software are important but not enough, giving our kids spaces to develop the virtues we are teaching them, tips for parents on how to have conversations about pornography with their kids, and what to do if you discover a child has been looking at it.

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:

Defend Young Minds

Overcoming Stress and Anxiety
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Covenant Eyes
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130 - What the Church Gets Wrong about Porn | Sam Black Sep 05, 2023

Show notes

We know that pornography is a huge problem, but what can churches do to combat the issue? Joining me on the show to talk through that question is Sam Black, author of “The Healing Church: What churches get wrong about pornography and how to fix it.” Sam is also the director of recovery education at Covenant Eyes.

In today’s episode, we talk about the value of Covenant Eyes for families and not just for individuals struggling with porn, the importance of ongoing conversations with our kids, how churches can proactively tackle this issue through sermons, homilies, and offering groups, why we need to be aware of the scope of this issue, how it impacts men and women, the effects of early exposure, how to establish ally relationships, and what to do when priests and ministry leaders struggle with pornography.

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or sharing it on your social media.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
Free copy of “The Healing Church” book (limited to 25)
The Healing Church Book
Safe Haven Sunday
Covenant Eyes

129 - Gender, The Church, and Free Speech | John J. Bursch1 Aug 23, 2023

Show notes

Does the body have inherent meaning? What happens when different understands of the body collide? How can Catholics respond when this ideology comes up at work and home?

In today’s episode, I welcome John Bursch, vice president of appellate advocacy for Alliance Defending Freedom, to talk about his new book “Loving God’s Children.” In this episode, we discuss why the Church cares about these issues, the need for dialogue, the Church’s understanding of the human body, finding meaning in suffering, what the science says about best practices for treating gender dysphoria, and the impact of laws that limit free speech in counseling.

If you find this episode helpful, please share it with one person who you think would benefit from it. Also, please consider leaving a rating or writing a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Have thoughts about this episode? Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.

Websites mentioned in the show:
Loving God’s Children: The Church and Gender Ideology
Alliance Defending Freedom

Overcoming Stress and Anxiety Series
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