Catholic Mom Calm

Emma Hilger is a Catholic mom of three little ones, and she wrote a board book of rhyming affirmations for moms after a hard day when she realized her six-month-old didn't care what words she was reading to him... so what if they were the words SHE needed to hear? I've wanted to talk with her ever since I saw her Kickstarter, because I think every mom needs a book like this. We talk about why "I'm a bad mom" is usually "I'm not a perfect mom" in disguise, whether it's prideful to believe you're a good mom, the fear that being kind to yourself will make you lazy, and how to bridge your way to a new thought when you're not ready to believe it yet. At the end Emma reads the whole book out loud, so take a deep breath and let it be for you. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE: Why motherhood might be the only job we do for years while telling ourselves we're bad at it "I'm a bad mom" is usually "I'm not a perfect mom," and seeing ourselves as we really are (not better and not worse) is the holy place to stand Why believing you're a good mom makes you MORE present with your kids, not lazier Bridge thoughts for the days you can't get the words out, and why you don't have to finish all your identity work before you start Real neglect vs. too much Netflix and PB&J, and why every mom we know is a good mom God chose you to be your children's mother, already knowing every mistake you'd make EPISODE TIMELINE: [00:00] – Meeting Emma, and how a hard day with a six-month-old became a book [05:00] – The only job we do while telling ourselves we're bad at it [10:00] – "Is it prideful to say I'm a good mom?" and not bad vs. not perfect [15:00] – Identity, bridge thoughts, and Philippians 4:8 [20:00] – Real neglect vs. normal mom worries, and Emma's next books (dads, teamwork, NICU families, a Catholic version) [25:00] – Memorizing scripture 100 times a day, and the relationship we worry about 20 years from now [30:00] – Emma reads the book, and where to find it LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Emma Hilger's board book for moms: https://goodmomboardbooks.com Bob Schuchts (healing work on wounds and vows). Be Healed Book Catholic Finishing School (mindset for teen girls): www.catholicfinishingschool.com

Maybe your mom doesn't seem to want time with your kids, or your in-laws would help but live too far away, or every visit comes with a comment about your family size or how you parent. Maybe you've watched a friend's mom swoop in after a new baby to cook and clean and hold everything together, and felt the sting of not having that. I've been doing this parenting thing mostly without family help too, so I'm walking you through the two kinds of work that bring me back to peace: sitting with Jesus, and the coaching side of clear requests, quiet boundaries, and catching my mind when it starts to spiral. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE: Why someone can disagree with your parenting (or your family size) and still deeply love you, and why it feels so threatening anyway Park bench Jesus: telling the Lord how unfair it all is while looking at His wounds, and watching the hurt lose its hold How to make a clean request, and why a yes with a little annoyance mixed in still counts as love Quiet boundaries you never have to announce, for the "well, you chose this" comments and for family who want more access than you can give The deal I made with myself for when I catch myself ruminating (my brain always picks the Wedding at Cana) Giving equal airtime to what's wonderful about your parents and in-laws, including the hard parts that made you who you are EPISODE TIMELINE: [00:00] – Why we read family approval as proof of love [04:00] – The mom who doesn't want to watch the kids, and the superhero grandma down the street [07:00] – Park bench Jesus, His wounds, and hugging your family in heaven [11:00] – The theological work, the coaching work, and "let your yes be yes" [15:00] – Boundaries for "you chose this" and for family who show up unannounced [19:00] – Feeling the grief, accepting your cards, and the rosary deal for rumination [22:00] – What's amazing about them, and the love you're really chasing LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Catholic Mom Calm: https://catholicmomcalm.com Diary of St. Faustina: https://amzn.to/4iylkLq

You took the bath, went for the walk, said the prayer... and you still feel depleted. Sterling Jaquith explains why: when you trash-talk yourself all day, every bit of self-care pours into a cup full of holes. Plus the day a new friend saw her unfinished basement, and she chose not to poke a single hole. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE: Why being mean to yourself all day drains you emotionally and physically Needle holes and pencil holes: the small digs vs. the big attacks on your vocation Metallica in a Renaissance museum: a beautiful life with a terrible soundtrack What Sterling did when a friend saw her concrete-floored basement EPISODE TIMELINE: [00:00] Why your self-care isn't working [02:30] The soundtrack of a mom's morning [05:00] The red cup and the holes [08:00] Metallica in the museum [10:00] The friend who saw the basement [14:00] The Advent planning workshop LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Website: https://catholicmomcalm.com    

Mother Teresa wore whatever shoes were left until her feet were deformed, and Catholic moms often share that story like it's a calling for all of us. Sterling Jaquith, Rita Johnson (Health and Hormones) and Denise Jelinek (Weight Loss with the Holy Spirit) talk honestly about why caring for yourself isn't vanity, why your kids are watching how you do it, and how it can become a form of worship. WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE: Why we put off self-care: choosing habits from woundedness instead of praying about them, and believing lies like "I don't have time" Authentic self-care: knowing your needs, meeting them, and how you talk to yourself Mother Teresa's shoes and a dorm-room mattress: why another woman's calling isn't yours Your kids are a mirror, and how caring for yourself honors the God who made you EPISODE TIMELINE: [00:00] About the Back on Track workshop [02:00] Meet Rita, Sterling and Denise (and the one self-care habit each of us struggles with) [10:00] Why we keep putting it off: discernment and lies [15:00] Authentic self-care and the "either/or" lie [20:00] Mother Teresa's shoes, sacrifice vs. self-neglect, and comparison [28:00] Self-care as worship, and what we hope you take away LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: Back on Track workshop with Rita, Sterling and Denise (3 days, $39, recordings available if you join late): https://healthandhormones.org/back-on-track/

I just got back from two weeks away (the Fulton Sheen conference in St. Louis and then France with my 15-year-old daughter) and I brought two big things with me to pray about in some very holy places. I asked for clarity every single day, and I kept thinking He'd surely talk to me on the 10-hour flight home, because airplanes are where I so often hear Him. He didn't. When I crawled into bed at 11:30 that night I was surprised and honestly a little embarrassed. Then a sentence came to me that may have been a gift from the Holy Spirit: if He didn't tell me, I don't need to know today. I'm sharing what I do when God is quiet, the three little lies I caught in my own head on the way home, and one question I'd love for you to ask about whatever is weighing on you right now. What if you already have everything you need today? WHAT WE COVER IN THIS EPISODE: Why God being quiet about your question might simply mean you don't need to know today, not that you're blocking His voice How "I have everything I need today" can be true next to a negative bank account, a hard diagnosis, or a child who's struggling God gives us no grace for our imaginary problems, so the hours we spend worrying about things that never happen are hours we don't get back The three stories I told myself when I came home without an answer, and how quickly they fell apart once I called them lies Why you can handle watching someone you love feel disappointed, even when it feels like they were counting on you Why I believe our prayers are a real currency, even the simple ones EPISODE TIMELINE: [00:00] – Home after two weeks away: the Fulton Sheen conference in St. Louis and France with my daughter [04:00] – Bringing two big questions to holy places, and waiting for God to speak on the flight home [08:00] – "If He didn't tell me, I don't need to know" and a deeper level of surrender [12:00] – You have everything you need today, even in the big hard things [15:00] – The embarrassment, my husband's question, and the three lies I caught [18:00] – What if God said "you don't need that today"? Being present for the little things [20:00] – One Million Rosaries, the three-day workshop, and Party Like a Saint [24:00] – Why our prayers matter more than we think LINKS AND RESOURCES MENTIONED: One Million Rosaries Challenge (free, join any time, a prize given away every day): https://onemillionrosaries.com Three-day workshop with Rita Johnson on sleep, energy, and hormones, me on house systems, and Denise Jelinek on food and emotional self-care ($39, replays included): https://healthandhormones.org/back-on-track/ Party Like a Saint (All Saints Day party goods): https://www.partylikeasaint.com/ CONNECT WITH STERLING JAQUITH: Website: https://catholicmomcalm.com Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catholicmomcalm