Paul used the word evangelium, translated as gospel, to talk about the good news of Jesus' resurrection. It's a word that the Romans were very familiar with. Paul, in fact, was using the word gospel to directly challenge their ideas about godhood, goodness, and joy. The letter to the Phillipians picks up this theme as Paul weaves a revelation and exhortation to hope, joy, and celebration. It's an exhortation that's connected to Isaiah. Karen leads this fascinating discussion.   Contact Info  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com   

More reflections and encouragement as we continue with Isaiah chapters 40-55. These are where the suffering servant passages are found. These are part of a larger story in Isaiah. Read these chapters and let them wash over you. It's a great time before Advent to read the poetry of Isaiah and reflect on who God is, how he acts, and what He's doing in the world today. We highlight key themes that you can listen for as you let this scripture unfold and speak to you. Join us!    Contact Info  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com      

We continue with Isaiah chapters 40-55. Read these chapters and let them wash over you. It's a great time before Advent to read the poetry of Isaiah and reflect on who God is, how he acts, and what He's doing in the world today. We highlight key themes that you can listen for as you let this scripture unfold and speak to you. Join us!    Contact Info  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com

Isaiah chapters 40-55 are powerful testaments to God's plans for His people. It's a great time before Advent to read the poetry of Isaiah and reflect on who God is, how he acts, and what He's doing in the world today. This poem opens, at chapter 40, with "Comfort, comfort my people…Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed… Here is a beautiful poem full of promises, remembrances, and expectations for a good future, written in the darkest of times for Israel, in the midst of its exile to Babylon, an oppression that they were never expected to leave. We can read these chapters and reflect on God's promises, who God says He is, and who you are. We encounter the creator operating at a cosmic scale that reaches down into the details of His creation with a message of hope and comfort unlike anything else in history. Join us!    Contact Info  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com      

The Three Good Things exercise improves your optimism and outlook after only one week. An optimistic outlook helps you in all areas of life. The Three Good Things exercise takes a few minutes around the end of your day. Martin Seligmann developed this exercise and tested it with many people. We tell you what to do, how to do it, and common mistakes or misunderstandings that might get in your way. It's easy and useful! It's not a gratitude exercise but it will involve gratitude, which is timely as we start to think about the Thanksgiving holiday.  Contact Info  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com

Pope Leo's Dilexi Te calls for a renewed orientation to serve and assist the poor and address poverty in all its many faces and circumstances. The early Christians addressed the needs of the poor in dramatic ways as they transformed the Roman empire and the culture of the world. That could inspire us to think in new ways about shifting our own culture.  Contact Info Text us: The Empowered Catholic Podcast: 612-208-9150  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com    

Yes, more thought traps, please.  Yes, we have lots more. Hooray. Listen and spot your favorite one to work on this week. These traps derail us or leave us spinning our wheels.  We discuss and share examples of some of them, like Personalizing, Blaming, Unfair Comparisons, Regret Orientation, What IFs, Emotional Reasoning, Inability to Disconfirm, and Judgment Focus. Email us about YOUR "favorite" thought trap!    Contact Info Text us: The Empowered Catholic Podcast: 612-208-9150  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com      

Humans (like you for instance) have some habits of thinking that are traps. We all fall into them, repeatedly. You have to laugh! These traps can shut down our thinking before we realize it, leaving us stuck or making poor choices because the traps often work at an unconscious level. Asking great questions is the key to uncovering thought traps. We discuss and share examples of some of them, like Mind Reading, Fortune-Telling, Catastrophizing, Labeling, Discounting Positives, Negative Filtering, Overgeneralizing, All-or-Nothing Thinking, and the infamous Shoulds. Listen and decide which one is your favorite, so you can work on it this week. Haha, tell us which one your spouse or friend falls into the most.  ;) This is a re-presentation of episode 74.  Contact Info Text us: The Empowered Catholic Podcast: 612-208-9150  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com      

What comes out of your mouth comes OUT OF your heart. It's a window into your heart. And what you focus on & the way you interpret it powerfully conditions what goes INTO your heart. We talk about SHIFTING your focus to transform your heart for the better!  Contact Info Text us: The Empowered Catholic Podcast: 612-208-9150  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com      

Let's chat a little bit about awareness. Try listening to yourself. We are necessarily using a lot of assumptions about what's happening around us. The world is complex and we need to simplify it so we can act. That's fine. Yet leaving our assumptions unchallenged creates blind spots. Like a map that's not accurate, we can get lost in some areas of life. Karen and I chat about tips to create awareness and the kinds of questions you can ask.  Contact Info Text us: The Empowered Catholic Podcast: 612-208-9150  Email us: [email protected] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweredcatholicpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theempoweredcatholicpodcast/ Website: https://empoweredcatholics.com