"Treat me like a human being." These were the words of a friend of ours recounting a difficult situation to us recently. These words have stuck with us since. We - like so many we'd be willing to guess - often speak of the "dignity of the human person," and yet belief in that dignity is not always evident in the experiences of daily life. Christ tells us that the world will know us by our love for one another; that we are to love one another as he has loved us. Yet, we gossip, we slander. We are quick to desire empathy and we want to be given the benefit of the doubt, but we are not always so quick to extend that to others. How can we overcome this? What are the implications of the dignity of each human person, on the way we live our lives as social beings? These are some of the topics we dive into with our good friend, and special guest, Sr Fidelis Marie.

Enjoy some lighthearted fun and conversation with our good friend, Phillip Grothus! Back by popular demand, in this bonus episode as we begin the new year, Fred and Phillip battle in an exchange of dad jokes to see who can make Kara laugh. Will she crack? Who will be the winner? This is really just pure silly fun and we hope you enjoy it! Happy New Year!

Continuing to share some of our favorite Christmas stories this holiday season, here is a a classic that may just bring you to tears: "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. For this reading, Fred is joined by Siouxland Catholic Radio's, Joanne Fox, who narrates. He is also joined by his wife, Krystal, in the role of Della and his daughter who plays the part of Mrs. Sofronie.

We both will be inviting listeners into our homes and into our families as we celebrate this year by sharing some of our favorite Christmas stories. We invite you (and your family) to enjoy... in the words of Linus from the Peanuts, what Christmas is all about. This is a purely "sit back and relax," "story time" sort of "shorty" episode. We hope this reading will be a blessing to you this Christmas season. Thank you for listening and allowing us to be a part of your lives this year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We invite you (and your family) to enjoy this timeless story that Fred reads to his children every year! This is a purely "sit back and relax," "story time" sort of "shorty" episode. We hope this reading will be a blessing to you this Christmas season. Thank you for listening and allowing us to be a part of your lives this year! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We invite you into our friendship and family lives this Christmas season… sharing a few tears from laughing so hard, our favorite Christmas memories, traditions, and ways to make this season and Christ’s light shine in the home. Come laugh with us, enjoy Advent and Christmas, and pick up some traditions for your family.

We have some exciting things available to you!

Listen to the "I Believe in Love" chapter discussions from the first half of the book. Normally these discussions are exclusive on Suscipe.co, but they will be available December 21-January 6!

January 24th, exciting things coming!!

Dad Joke challenge episode coming before the end of the year.

Thank you to all supporters.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

In the deeply personal first half of this episode, Fred and Kara reflect on their relationship with Mary, and how that has changed and grown over the years. Fred shares more of his testimony about converting to Catholicism and the role Mary played in that process. He also reflects on issues such as identity, childhood trauma, mistrust, and difficult family experiences and how these can effect our relationship with God; as well as with Mary. He shares the story of his relationship with Mary, and how she has helped him to find healing.

In this BONUS episode of Draw Near, Fred is joined by Catholic convert, speaker, and creator of Lectio the Liturgy, Julie Storr. They talk about being a convert, the purpose and meaning of the Liturgy, hearing God's voice and how we can prepare our hearts and minds more fruitfully for Mass. Finally, we close with Julie's reflection for this first Sunday of Advent.

In our walk with the Lord, we can be tempted to take pride in what we see as "our own accomplishments." We may not realize it or admit it, but it is easy to succumb to. We can also give into discouragement when we believe ourselves to not be living up to our own standards (or the standards of others). Our "I Believe in Love" book study launches November 29, 2022 on Suscipe.co. We thought it would be great to offer another preview of some of the discussions! Please enjoy this clip from Chapter 3, where we discuss how St Therese's "Little Way" is a better, and more sure approach to the temptations toward pride on one hand, and discouragement on the other.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, we have found ourselves reflecting a lot on gratitude and the Lord's faithfulness. It's always good to take some time and reflect on what we have to be thankful for. Because we enjoy sharing our own lives with our listeners, we thought we would discuss those things that we are most thankful for this Thanksgiving. We hope this will be a blessing to you this year. As Scripture and experience both make clear, the word of our testimony is a great way to edify one another and inspire gratitude.

Does God seem distant, silent or nowhere to be found? Are the storms raging and you feel left out at sea? Our "I Believe in Love" book study launches November 29, 2022 on Suscipe.co. We thought it would be great to offer another preview of some of the discussions! Please enjoy this clip from Chapter 2, where we discuss how, HE STILL HAS YOU! You will not sink!

In this episode, we are joined by our good friend, Fr Patrick Behm. We ask him a number of questions we have received from listeners. In particular, Fr Behm spends some time carefully walking through the Church's teaching on the priesthood, and why women cannot be ordained. He also makes the case for why Jesus clearly was not, and cannot be, sexist. Additionally we talk being a godparent, cremation and whether or not we can donate our bodies to science. We also spend some time on Heaven, homilies about hell, and the value of our prayers for those who have died. We briefly discuss mental health and suicide. We wrap up with weddings outside of the Church and participation in non-Catholic weddings, online ordination, why the Catholic "Our Father" is in some ways different from the Protestant version, and finally, the hardest parts about being a priest and the greatest joys.

***** TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE *****

"They never told you in marriage preparation that some days, you won't like each other very much." Continuing our series on marriage and family life, Kara is joined by speaker, musician, podcaster, wife and mom, Noelle Garcia! Sharing from the heart and the "realness" of daily life as Catholic wives and moms, Kara and Noelle discuss the hardest and the greatest things about marriage and motherhood. What advice is there for those who struggle with mom guilt (or guilt in general)? How do you handle different parenting styles and different approaches to home life between spouses? What are the biggest challenges and joys of motherhood and how do we approach these and maintain joy? All of these questions are answered in this episode!

**Trigger Warning**: Noelle also shares her testimony of faith in the midst of the grief of a miscarriage. Add Notes

In this episode, we share some exciting news and rejoice in being back in the studio together for the first time since May! Reflecting on leading a time of music and prayer this past summer, we discuss one of our favorite songs, "Reckless Love" by Cory Asbury. Though not a new song, it is a phrase that has been debated. Is God's love reckless?

The ladies had to get their 2 cents in on this family series! If you enjoyed the husband/dad episodes, you'll love this one more. Tune in to hear Kara chat with her good friend (and Fred's wife) Krystal Shellabarger about marriage and motherhood.

Kara is back in this episode!!! We are continuing the series on family life, and joined by none other than Kara's husband Beej, as well as our friend Taylor Schroll. In this episode three dads share from their own experience and offer some perspective on the struggles and the joys of being a father. Complete with a few sports analogies, whiskey sipping, and Kara poking fun (in love of course), we hope you enjoy this lighthearted discussion on fatherhood.

Becoming a father, and the reality of being a father in the day to days of life can be both stressful, terrifying and joyfully rewarding all at once! Phillip Grothus joins us once again for an authentic, reflective, but lighthearted look at being a dad. Sharing both the highs and the lows, Fred and Phillip share from their own experience, how their relationship with Christ and the faith they profess shapes the kind of fathers they strive to be. They also discuss perceptions, experiences, and cultural norms that tend to make being a father a challenge some times and offer some advice on overcoming these obstacles.

Kara is back in this episode with a reflection on the Our Father as it appears in the Gospel of Luke.

Beginning a series on marriage and family life, Fred is joined by friend, Draw Near listener and fellow Cobra Kai super fan, Phillip Grothus for a discussion on marriage. What have they learned? What advice would they give themselves on their wedding day? How much more do they still need to grow? Find out in this episode!