“Mama! Mama! Ma-maaaaa!” whined four-year-old Raphael as I changed his little brother’s diaper and quizzed his older sister on her spelling words.

“What?” I answered him hastily. “I’m listening.”

“No,” he pouted. “I want you to listen with your eyes.”

Oh. That.

Ever have a moment when you feel like someone has taken hold of your shoulders and given you a good old-fashioned shaking? When you feel like you have just been ordered to take notice of your life? I guess I had one then.

My children are good at giving me moments like these. Not all of them are reprimands, though. Some are more pleasant encounters where they simply invite me to pause and pay attention.

Once, when Raphael was still very young, we spent a long day visiting friends and returned home after dark. It was a frigid January night, and so I bundled little him in a blanket and carried him swiftly through the cold toward the house. I might have been in a hurry, but this child certainly wasn’t.

He gazed up at the sky and sighed. “Stars,” he said dreamily.

I looked up. And took a breath.

Have you ever seen the sky on a clear January night in the middle of Nowheresville, New Hampshire? Thousands of brilliant white stars twinkled against a black velvet sky. I’m not sure I knew there were that many stars. They winked and blinked and seemed almost to dance from where they hung in that enormous dome of black.

I hugged my bundled boy close and the two of us spent a moment breathing the icy air and gazing through the darkness at the twinkling sky. I found it hard to believe that without my son’s invitation, I would have missed all this beauty.

Thank you God, I found myself praying, for this glimpse of heaven. In my arms and in the sky. Thank you for the cold that makes us seek warmth. For the darkness that makes us seek light. And for small people who remind us to stop once in a while and look upward. With wonder.

A friend of mine, a mother of seven children, recently told me of a time when she went to adoration but, once there, found herself so distracted and exhausted that she could not concentrate on prayer.

“I can’t keep up with my life,” my friend sighed in the end. “How will I ever have a relationship with God if I have to chase Him down first?”

What I think busy mothers – and distracted people of all kinds – sometimes don’t realize is that we never have to hunt God down. He’s here with us. Right here, right now. It’s just that we sometimes need to peel back the layers of our lives that we have piled on top of God before we’ll recognize His presence.

Kids are very good at helping us do that. One night not too long ago, six-year-old Gabrielle got out of bed. She stood in the dark, at the foot of my bed, and did her very best to sound confident.

“I don’t know why I can’t sleep,” she said. “But I just can’t.”
Her voice was tight and just a tiny bit trembling. In it, I heard more, “I’m scared and alone in the dark” than my growing-up girl was prepared to admit.

I took her by the hand and led her back to her bed. I pulled up her covers and then knelt on the floor beside her.

“Let’s talk about lovely things to think about as you are falling asleep,” I said.

We made a list: Tiny fairies with flowers in their hair. Ice skating on a frozen lake. Ruffled pink skirts that swirl when you spin. Hot cocoa with candy canes. Angel wings. Easter eggs hiding in small patches of snow. Babies’ first kisses. Cinnamon toast breakfast by the wood stove.

Soon Gabby had no more suggestions. Her breathing grew slow and deep.

Even after she fell asleep, though, I remained there, listening to her steady breathing and completing our list in my head. I spoke to God now, and thanked Him for the blessings He has given us. Every moment of our days should be so peaceful and pleasurable as this one, I dared to tell Him.

But then I thought that maybe they all are – beneath the noise and commotion, under the clutter and the pressures of daily living. Maybe we just need to slow down enough to dig deep, see that those moments are there, and treasure them for what they are – glimpses of God.

This is an old column of mine that originally appeared at InsideCatholic.

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NOTES

This week, we are talking about the temptation that exists, inside Catholic circles to discuss topics like breastfeeding, homeschooling, organic eating, etc. as if they are black-and-white Catholic moral issues, as if there is “one right way” to be a “good Catholic family.”

Well, HOGWASH!

We need to be careful how we think about and talk about topics that the Church has not given us specific instruction about. When it comes to family life, there is room for a lot of diversity among “good Catholics.”

When we judge others or when we buy into the idea that there is only one way, we hurt our relationships and set ourselves up to miss the joy that God intends for us to have in our motherhood. We also need to be careful to examine what our motivations are when we discuss these topics with others. Do we really just want to share something good and positive that works for us? Or is our pride involved? Do we want to prove that we are “right” and that we are “more Catholic” than those who make different choices?

In the end, we will find the most happiness in our vocations if we focus on our own specific calling. Each of us is uniquely called by God to grow closer to him, and that is going to happen in a variety of ways in different people’s lives. Focus on your own work!

In this week’s interview, I talk wth Katherine Barron of Catholic in a Small Town podcast. Katherine shares beautifully about her own experience of motherhood and some of the lessons she has learned along the way, parenting four boys and co-hosting a podcast with her husband Mac.

This week’s Girlfriends Shout-out goes to Melissa Hix who emailed me to share a fun activity her family does to beat the “winter blahs” that we talked about last week. Melissa and her family had a family cooking competition last year, with some kids and parents cooking and other kids doing the judging, and now she is planning to do the same again this year. A super fun and family-friendly way to beat those seasonal blahs this time of year! Way to go, Melissa! Thanks for sharing with all of us. 🙂

This week’s challenge is to think about the kinds of topics we discussed this week — those hot-button topics — and challenge an assumption you might be making about other people in your life with regard to those topics. Is there a person in your life you keep at a distance because of something you assume about them, based on their life choices? Or because of a judgment you think they may be making about you? Challenge yourself! Move beyond assumptions and labels and work on developing real relationships with people in your life, even those who make very different choices from you.

Thank you, as always, for being here. Your encouragement and support of Girlfriends means so much and I am so grateful for your presence here. God bless your week!

Links for this episode:
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Katherine Barron
Catholic in a Small Town
Katherine’s blog
Katherine on Twitter
Katherine on Instagram

Some Places I Will Be!
March 5: Together in Holiness (Orlando)
April 9: Living in Truth, Kansas City Catholic Women’s Conference

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NOTES

This week, after a Lenten check-in, we are talking about the Winter Blahs that we can all be prone to this time of year. For some easy ways to combat the blahs, boredom, and frustration of late winter, I share the following ideas:

1) Enjoy a guilty pleasure.
Think of something you have enjoyed in the past but maybe don;t make time for anymore, and indulge in it! Make time for a movie marathon, or a book club, or going through old photos, or whatever pleasant thing will switch up your routine and refresh your soul.

2) Go outside.
Getting some fresh air and sunshine will lift your spirits and give you a boost of energy. Find an outdoor activity to engage in with your family or make any excuse to get yourself outdoors, even for just a little bit this week.

3) Clean something you see every day.
So much about the “blahs” we feel this time of year comes from our surroundings, so switch it up! Super-clean and spruce up or decorate a space in your home that you see every day. Give yourself and your family something simple and beautiful to enjoy in your home. Then every time you see it, your mood will get a boost!

4) Take a trip.
If you can afford the cost of a small family trip, go for it! But there are also many things you can do that cost no money at all. Check out activities and places in your community where you and your kids and maybe some friends can see or explore something new to refresh your senses this time of year.

5) Make a mess.
There are many fun things we say no to or avoid because we just don’t want to deal with the mess. Well, this time of year, say yes to the mess. Do something or allow your kids to engage in something that takes you a bit out of your “clean” comfort zone. Cooking, baking, crafts, sewing, and play-doh (here’s a recipe!) are all great ideas. Make the mess and enjoy the lift in spirit you get from doing something out of the ordinary and fun.

In this week’s interview, I talk wth Sarah Vabulas of CatholicDrinkie.com. Sarah shares from the perspective of a young, single woman living, working, sharing, and writing in the Church today. I am so grateful she took the time to share with us on this week’s show.

This week’s Girlfriends Shout-out goes to Brenna. Audra wrote to tell me about all about her and how awesome she is. Brenna is going through some tough times living with and sharing space with her in-laws while saving money for a house, and her charity and patience really inspire others. Way to go, Brenna! We are so proud of you, and your friend Audra loves you and is grateful for your example in her life. 🙂

This week’s challenge is to think about the things we discussed about the 5 ways to beat the Winter Blahs, choose one and use it, to improve your life or a friend’s life in the coming week. Then let me know how you’re doing and how you are working at beating down those blahs in your life.

I want to thank listener AMHancock for leaving me reviews on iTunes this week. The reviews help so much and are so encouraging to me! I would love it if you could rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes as well. THANK YOU!

And thank you, as always, for being here. Your encouragement and support of Girlfriends means so much and I am so grateful for your presence here. God bless your week!

Links for this episode:
Subscribe to Girlfriends in iTunes
Subscribe to Girlfriends in Stitcher
About Danielle Bean
Danielle’s Books on Amazon
Catholic Digest
Subscribe to the Danielle Bean newsletter

Sarah Vabulas
Sarah’s website
Sarah’s book, The Catholic Drinkie’s Guide to Homebrewed Evangelism
Sarah on Twitter
Sarah on Instagram
Sarah on Facebook
The Catholic Drinkie podcast!

Resources for Young Widows
(recommended by reader Beth Anne)
Center for Loss bookstore
Grief Resources

Some Places I Will Be!
February 25-26: LA Religious Education Congress
February 27: Catholic Women of Buffalo
March 5: Together in Holiness (Orlando)

Contact:
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(As my family and I begin making plans for another Florida road trip this summer, I thought it would be fun to share this old blog post about family travel.)

My husband and I were recently inspired to pack ourselves, our eight kids, and 13,000 Capri Sun juice boxes into our twelve-passenger van and drive more than 1,500 miles to spend Christmas in south Florida.

It was epic – if by epic you mean a wildly memorable trip that was “so perfectly worth doing” but also “I am so glad it’s over with” all at once. For good or bad, nothing says “togetherness” quite like a long family road trip.

Before we left for this trip, I was a bit nervous. I recalled our trek to South Carolina a few summers ago. That was the legendary drive where I carefully packed goodies, distractions, and various forms of entertainment for the tantrum-prone children but neglected to do the same for my tantrum-prone self. The kids still refer to that as the trip where “Mama threw Papa’s clothes all over the hotel room.” And I still thank God that’s the worst they remember.

I broached the subject of potential conflicts with my husband shortly before we left. I explained my concern that the stress of travel with a gang of kids might have the power to turn our thoughts from “holiday” to “homicide” faster than you can say “traffic jam with a potty emergency in the back seat and a carsick kid in the front.”

I talked to the kids about the need for greater charity and patience while on the road as well. It is true that the close quarters of the interior of a vehicle, a hotel room, and a beach cottage, multiplied by many days, tend to highlight some of our more annoying personal habits. Like humming, kicking the seat, snoring, snapping gum, obsessively counting black pick-up trucks, cheating at the Alphabet Game, and singing the Sponge Bob Campfire Song until your voice grows hoarse. And that’s just one kid.

Together, we agreed that in the face of high stress levels, the best remedy would be space. We would take a break from each other’s presence if we needed to. Even if iPod earbuds were the only way to get that break.

It wasn’t until we had made it all the way to our tropical destination that I realized we hadn’t needed much of that space during the ride. We actually had a lot of fun getting there, and having talked about the potential for conflict had helped my own perspective a bit.

A few moments during the ride back, however, were a different story. Despite the fact that I know all of you are dying to hear about how very wrong my husband was about the best way to get from Pennsylvania to Connecticut, and how very unfairly he interpreted the motivations behind my astute travel tips, I won’t bother you with the details. Just know this: I was right and he was wrong. And if you want to hear his perspective, you’ll just have to read my husband’s column about our trip where he might share the story of how I lost the van keys and forced him to paw through a trash can in a 20-degree parking lot in Gettysburg. Except he hasn’t written one. Thank God.

Now that I can assess our return trip from the comfort of my own home, with my children sleeping soundly in their beds and my own typhoid-free bathroom just footsteps away, I can recognize that we had some laughs along the way.

Like the time my husband asked me for some fruit juice while he was driving. I pulled a bottle from our cooler, opened it, and handed it to him. He took a sip and nearly spat it onto the windshield. Turns out it was not just fruit juice but a rum punch he had packed for our day at the beach the previous afternoon. Here we were, responsible parents of eight children, swilling rum punch as we cruised the highway at 70 miles per hour.

And then there was the time that Google Maps, my husband, and I hatched a wild plan to avoid stop-and-go traffic on Interstate 95. We followed secret directions on back roads and chuckled with delight at our own cleverness until we saw the signs.

“Stop!” they ordered, and “No Trespassing!” they barked rudely. “No unauthorized vehicles,” one of them finally explained: “Airplane Runway.” We backed away slowly.

One of the highlights of our return trip was discovering a small, folded piece of paper in one of our hotel rooms. On the outside, in Gabrielle’s unmistakable seven-year-old handwriting, was the title “How My Family Is Weird.” On the inside was a list of family members’ names with varying numbers of stars next to them, presumably representative of one’s level of “weirdness.” The rest of us looked over the list and collectively determined that keeping a running tally of the weirdness levels of one’s own family members was pretty much the weirdest thing any of us could think of.

But weird or not weird, one idea that was cemented in all our minds during our epic trip was that, for better or for worse, we are family.

On our route home, when we stopped at a small parish in South Carolina to attend Sunday Mass, the priest spotted us afterward and wanted to say hello before we left. He didn’t know our names, so instead he called out, “Hey… family!” At that call, every one of us stopped in our tracks and turned toward him. We recognized ourselves in the word he used.

We might be weird, but we are family. And we thank God for the privilege.

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NOTES

This week, we are talking about the power of positive thinking. In discussing the ways in which changing our thoughts can change our lives, we look at three main points:

1) Thoughts have consequences.
Thoughts are powerful. The way we allow ourselves to think can affect our emotions, which then in turn can affect our actions, all of which affect our relationships and our levels of happiness and satisfaction in life. But the good news is, we get to control our thoughts. We can make a conscious effort to change negative thoughts into positive ones, and to challenge and think critically about the ways we talk to and about ourselves.

2) Switch to gratitude.
When faced with a challenge, make an effort to look at the situation from the perspective of gratitude. Despite a negative situation, what can you find to be thankful for? Making this simple change can make a huge difference in your thoughts, feelings, and actions. Get grateful!

3) Be bigger than your problems.
When facing a problem, do you tend to feel overwhelmed and helpless? Making a small change toward having a more global perspective can help you see that you are not a victim of your circumstances and that you have more power in your relationships than you might think. Looking at the “big picture” can help you see that it’s not always all about you and that sometimes people disappoint us or bad things happen, but it has nothing to do with us. We cannot always control our circumstances, but we have the power to choose how we will respond, even to very negative events.

In this week’s interview, I talk wth Allison Gingras, radio talk show host from A Seeking Heart at Breadbox Media. Allison shares some inspiring thoughts about her ministry work, some marriage advice, and some ideas for taking care of ourselves so we can better care for others. Also, you will not want to miss when Allison reveals a secret hidden talent — a first for Girlfriends!

This week’s Girlfriends Shout-out goes to Beth Roche who wrote to share how her family is adjusting to her being home full time after leaving a full time job outside the home. Way to go, Beth! We are proud of you!

This week’s challenge is to think about the things we discussed about positive thinking, and to catch yourself either thinking a negative thought or tempted to think a negative thought this week. Intervene in one of the ways we talked about instead, and then let me know how it goes for you. Tell me how you work at using the power of positive thinking in your life.

I want to thank listeners MissyBarry and Squint1978 for leaving me reviews on iTunes this week. The reviews help so much and are so encouraging to me! I would love it if you could rate, review, and subscribe on iTunes as well. THANK YOU!

And thank you, as always, for being here. Your encouragement and support of Girlfriends means so much and I am so grateful for your presence here. God bless your week!

Links for this episode:

Subscribe to Girlfriends in iTunes
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About Danielle Bean
Danielle’s Books on Amazon
Catholic Digest
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Allison Gingras
Allison’s website
Breadbox Media
Allison’s radio show, A Seeking Heart
Allison Gingras on Facebook
Allison Gingras on Twitter

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(This is an old column of mine that originally appeared at InsideCatholic.)

I am not a crafty mom, but I sometimes let fantasy and ambition get the best of me.

Two days before the start of Lent this year, my oldest daughter reminded me of a family activity we had done together many Lents ago. It was a craft I had read about in one of those “Living the Catholic Family Liturgical Year” kinds of books. You know the kind – filled with inspiring recipes for St. Francis Xavier goulash and guilt-inducing photos of family harmony, coupled with breathtaking examples of liturgically themed crafting perfection composed entirely of marshmallows, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, gumdrops, cotton balls, googly eyes, glitter, and glue.

I have nothing against these kinds of books. In fact, I enjoy browsing through collections of Catholic crafts and recipes. It’s just that I have come to recognize and accept the enormous chasm that exists between the contents of their pages and a little thing I fondly refer to as Reality in a Household of Ten.

The craft my daughter remembered was simple enough. At the start of Lent that year, we made papier-mâché eggs. We painted them, cut small slits in their sides, marked them with our names, and displayed them in a prominent place. Then, throughout Lent, we performed good deeds for one another, said secret prayers, and thought of special compliments and blessings we could give one another. For 40 days, we wrote these down on small pieces of paper and slipped them into each other’s eggs. Finally, on Easter morning, we cut open our paper eggs and enjoyed reading the secret gifts others had given us during the Lenten season.

My daughter’s happy memory of the project was enough to spark renewed interest on my part. The next thing I knew, I was racing through the aisles of WalMart, tossing poster paint and balloons (for the papier-mâché!) in my cart. By the time I came to, I was seated at the dining room table, surrounded by sloppy bowls of goop, eager sticky hands, and torn strips of newspaper.

The balloons were… rather large. Okay, they were enormous – as in 10 inches to a foot long. I blame McDonald’s. There simply was no convincing any one of my children that a papier-mâché egg need not be super-sized.

Then there was the newspaper. Does anyone read newspapers anymore? Well, we don’t. I had found it necessary to swipe a pile of those car ad “magazines” you usually find stacked inside the front doors of the supermarket. The print was dark and multi-colored. Even once the papier-mâché dried and we painted them, our eggs still were plastered with visible Ford F-150’s with electric power steering and Jeep Wrangler Unlimiteds with low mileage. Not exactly Lenten inspiration.

When our Lenten eggs were finished, we placed them on the shelves of a cabinet in the dining room. They were colorful, original, lopsided, and real.

Just like us, I thought.

Distinctive though they are, I am leaving our papier-mâché eggs right where they sit, on display in my dining room. Because, you see, the children are already busy filling them. With notes about beds made, lollipops left, and secret favors done. With words of encouragement and blessing. With love.

At Mass on Ash Wednesday, five-year-old Raphael’s chocolate eyes blinked wide and innocent beneath the priest’s thumb as he received his ashes.

“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

No, he is not! I wanted to interrupt. Not this sweet and perfect child! Not this boy who still blushes at the sound of praise and leaves his favorite shells from our beach vacation on my pillow for a secret surprise. He is not dust, and to dust he shall not return!

And yet he is. And he will.

I watched as his immaculate forehead was marked with the sign of the cross and felt an overwhelming sense of grief and sorrow for sin, for the poor and fallen nature of man – and yet, at the same time, a rush of gratitude for our redemption.

Because we already know the secret happy ending.

O happy fault,
O necessary sin of Adam,
which gained for us so great a Redeemer! (Exsultet)

He came for us. For you, for me; for my children, and for yours. Because we need Him. Because we are lopsided and empty eggs. Because we need Him who saves, who fills, who completes us. We need Him who gives us life. This Lent, this Easter, and always. Amen and alleluia.

Tiny hands cupped my face.

“Mama, Mama,” I heard a voice whisper. “I need you.”

“Gah!” I responded.

To explain my somewhat inelegant response, I should tell you that it was about 2 a.m. when the tiny hands cupped my face and the small voice awakened me from a sound sleep.

The little person needed a change of sheets. And a drink of water. And a re-arranging of stuffed animal friends. And a tuck-in. And a kiss.

As I met these needs willingly and then made my way back to bed, I reflected on the fact that I no longer fight the battle of sleep the way I once did.

I remember pacing the halls of our tiny one-bedroom apartment with our first baby – a screeching, colicky newborn, and thinking to my exhausted self, “This makes no sense. Surely someone is going to step in here and make this right, because people need to sleep.”

But no one did step in, except for my husband on occasion. And if the ensuing years have taught me nothing else, they have quite surely taught me this much: Though you might occasionally get one, no parent has a right to expect a good night’s sleep.

Here are some other parenting sleep facts I have learned over the years. Mostly at 2 a.m.

Parents gain new sleep skills.

At a baby shower, it seems there is always some older mom ready to “shower” the pregnant newbie with helpful information, like how she would rather eat glass than ever experience labor again. These are the same women who relish warning innocent young couples that after their baby is born, they will “never sleep again.”

This is ridiculous. Of course they will sleep again. In fact, they will learn to catch their Z’s in all variety of new places – in the dentist chair, in the confessional, in the shower, and while standing at the kitchen sink, washing the dishes.

Never say never.

When it comes to parents sharing their bed with infants and toddlers, anything goes. Once upon a time, I rejected co-sleeping because I “just wanted to get some sleep.” In ensuing years, however, I found myself embracing co-sleeping because, once again, I “just wanted to get some sleep.”

I reserve the right to continue to reject and embrace co-sleeping as much as I need to, for this precise reason. As every parent should. When it comes to making family sleep decisions, you answer to no one but yourself and your spouse. And possibly your employer, if you operate heavy machinery.

It’s all about attitude.

I used to struggle and fight to get eight hours of uninterrupted sleep each night because I thought getting that much sleep was a “basic necessity.” As motherhood helped me readjust my definition of “basic necessity,” however, I lowered my standards just a bit.

Now, when I find myself awake with a fussy baby at 12 a.m., up with a nightmarish toddler at 2 a.m., and changing an older child’s sheets at 4 a.m., I crawl back into my bed at 4:30 thinking, “Maybe no one will need me for another 3 hours. This will be a glorious nap!”

And it is.

There are no guarantees.

Especially with babies, it can be tempting to think you can win the sleep lottery by stacking the odds in your favor. We parents think rational thoughts like, “If I don’t let the baby nap for too long today, he’ll sleep well tonight,” or “If she skips her morning nap, she’s bound to take an extra-long one this afternoon.”

It all looks good on paper, but don’t count on it. There’s this thing grandmas call being “overtired.” If a baby lacks proper rest, he’ll sometimes become over-stimulated and incapable of falling asleep or staying asleep for any length of time.

If your baby gets “overtired,” you might just find yourself standing over his crib screaming something logical like, “I haven’t showered for three weeks! You owe me a nap!”

No he doesn’t. No guarantees.

Nighttime can be nice.

There, I said it. Sometimes, even when my eyes ache with fatigue, some crazy part of me enjoys being awake in my house when no one else is.

For one thing, my living room never looks so fantastic as it does bathed in moonlight at 3 a.m. Dust bunnies, wall markings, un-mopped floors, and fingerprinted windows all blend in with the shadows.

A second bonus is the quiet. Sometimes, when I find myself alone with a wakeful child in the night, I sit still and let the silence run over my ears like a soothing balm. I watch the flames flicker through the window of the wood stove and bask in God’s presence right there, where He always is, beneath the noise.

I do wish every parent a good night’s sleep, but since none of us is likely to get that anytime soon, I wish each of us something even better – grace.

Grace is what keeps us keeping on when there’s nothing left in the tank. It’s what tells us the job we’re doing is important, even if it’s 3 a.m. and nobody remembers to say “thank you.” And it’s what makes me smile as I rock a feverish baby in the dead of the night and sing him the words of a Bon Jovi classic:

“Until I’m 6 feet under baby, I don’t need a bed. Gonna live while I’m alive, I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”

This is an old column of mine that originally appeared at InsideCatholic.

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NOTES

This week, we are preparing ourselves for Lent, and so we discuss some creative ideas for ways to add prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the 40 days between now and Easter.

I really encourage women and families to add small things to their daily routines to set Lent apart from the rest of the liturgical year. To get you started, we share dozens of ideas on the themes of Pray, Fast & Give.

In this week’s interview, we talk with the awesome Sarah Reinhard. Sarah shares some inspiring advice for trusting in God more, and also tells us a hilarious story of something crazy she recently did at a junior high school basketball game. Sarah is always a joy to talk to!

This week’s shout-out goes to Christine. Christine’s friend Georgianne wrote to tell me about how Christine, a single mom, recently completed coursework and became certified to become an elementary school teacher. Christine has worked hard and made many sacrifices to plan a better life for herself and her children. So GREAT JOB, Christine! We are so proud of you!

This week’s challenge is to think about the themes of Praying, Fasting & Giving that we talked about (as well as some of your own) and choose one small thing to try in each of these categories this Lent. Let me know what you choose and keep me posted on how it goes for you!

Thanks SO MUCH to listeners Samjmj, Frustrated basketball fan, Melissajo, Motherswagyolo, and Semper Paratus for reviewing Girlfriends on iTunes this week. I would love it if you would consider doing the same, rating and/or reviewing Girlfriends in iTunes to help me get the word out about this new podcast.

Links for this episode:

Subscribe to Girlfriends in iTunes
Subscribe to Girlfriends in Stitcher
About Danielle Bean
Danielle’s Books on Amazon
Catholic Digest
Subscribe to the Danielle Bean newsletter

Catholic Apps for Lent
Relevant Radio App
iBreviary
Mea Culpa
Laudate
Truth & Life
Daily Emails for Lent from Danielle Bean

Sarah Reinhard
Sarah’s website
Sarah’s books on Amazon
Word by Word: Slowing Down With the Hail Mary
A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy
CatholicMom.com

Contact:
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Rate and Review Girlfriends in iTunes
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Danielle Bean on Facebook
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