Choppin’ Wood Podcast

Saint Spotlight: St Catherine Of Sienna

🌹 Saint Spotlight: St. Catherine of Siena — Holy Fire
Episode Show Notes
What does it mean to become fully who God created you to be?
In this Saint Spotlight, Kristen reflects on the bold, beautiful witness of Catherine of Siena — mystic, lay Dominican, Doctor of the Church, and one of the fiercest women in Catholic history.
Catherine lived during a time of scandal, division, and spiritual exhaustion in the Church, and yet she did not stand at a distance criticizing from the sidelines. She entered into the suffering, interceded for renewal, and spoke truth with courage rooted not in ego or outrage, but in deep intimacy with Jesus.
Her famous words — “Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire” — are more than inspiration. They are an invitation.
🔥 An invitation to stop shrinking🌹 An invitation to surrender fully🕊️ An invitation to let grace sanctify who God uniquely made you to be
Because sainthood is not cookie cutter.
God is not asking you to become a copy of someone else’s holiness. He is asking you to become fully alive in Him — allowing your temperament, your gifts, your wounds, and even your particular wiring to be transformed by grace.
In this episode, we explore:
✨ Why St. Catherine’s life mattered so profoundly to the Church✨ How intimacy with Christ produces holy courage✨ Why holiness is not quiet compliance, but courageous love rooted in prayer✨ What it means to become who God made you to be — not watered down, not playing small, but wholly given to God
If you’ve ever felt like holiness meant fitting a mold, this episode is a reminder:
God does not need a smaller version of you.He wants you fully surrendered, fully alive, and fully His.
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📖 Mentioned in this episode:
• Catherine of Siena• The Dialogue• Thérèse of Lisieux• Teresa of Ávila• Padre Pio• Philip Neri
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🪓 Your Turn to Chop:
Where have you confused holiness with fitting a mold?
Where is God asking you to be bolder in love, stronger in truth, or deeper in prayer?
What parts of who He created you to be are still waiting to be fully surrendered?
Because somewhere in that surrender…the fire starts. 🔥
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Until next time — keep choppin’ wood. 🌹🪓🔥

The Lent (And Apparently Easter) That Jumped Me And Took My Lunch Money

🌪️ Ep. 16: The Lent (and Apparently Easter) That Jumped Me and Took My Lunch Money
Well hey there, fellow holy hot messes…
The Lent I planned and the Lent I got were definitely not the same thing.
😅 Emotional support Snickers may or may not have entered the chat.🤢 Norovirus took down the whole house.🙏 Confirmation had to be rescheduled.🏥 Michael was discharged from the hospital an hour before Confirmation, watched the whole thing on livestream from home, and somehow we all kept moving forward.🐔 Teddy now has chicken pox.💔 We’re grieving the unexpected loss of a dear friend.🌱 And somehow… God has still been moving.
In this deeply personal episode, I’m reflecting on a Lent that stretched me, humbled me, exposed wounds in my own heart, and reminded me that life does not limit its suffering to Lent.
We talk about:
✨ what happens when your spiritual plans completely fall apart📿 praying a 54-day rosary novena for someone you love❤️ the healing that comes when we invite Jesus into our wounded places🛡️ recognizing spiritual attack without getting weird about it🌿 learning to see grace in the middle of chaos🙏 and why the things we’re handed may be doing more in us than the things we planned
Sometimes the most meaningful parts of Lent aren’t the penances we picked…
They’re the crosses we were handed.
And those things matter.
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🪵 Your Turn to Chop
A few questions to sit with this week:
💭 Where did life interrupt your plans this Lent—or even after Lent?💭 What crosses have stretched you, humbled you, or brought you to your knees lately?💭 Is there a place in your life where Jesus may be inviting deeper healing?💭 Have you been so focused on surviving your season that you’ve missed where grace is quietly breaking through?💭 What is one burden you can intentionally place in the Lord’s hands today?
🙏 Spend a few quiet minutes with Him this week and ask:
“Lord, what are You trying to teach me in what I’ve been handed?”
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💛 If this episode encouraged you, share it with a fellow holy hot mess who might need it.
⭐ Leaving a review helps more people find the show and join our little corner of grace-filled chaos.
🌹 Until next time…
🪓 Keep choppin’ wood.

The Tired Catholic's Toolbox: Learning To Hear His Voice

🧰 The Tired Catholic’s Toolbox (Part 2: Learning to Hear His Voice)
In Part 2 of The Tired Catholic’s Toolbox, we begin adding a little weight to the bar. 💪
After talking about staying connected to God in the middle of tired, busy, ordinary life in Part 1, this episode moves into the next step: formation.
Because if this is a relationship—and it is—it cannot stay one-sided.
We don’t just talk to God.We learn to hear His voice.We learn to recognize how He speaks.And we learn to listen.
This episode is all about Scripture—why it matters, why it can feel intimidating, where to begin, and how to build a habit that actually fits into your real life.
We walk through:    •    Why the Gospel of John is so powerful    •    What it means that Jesus is the Word made flesh    •    Why Scripture is truly living and speaks into every season 📖    •    Why I often recommend starting with the Gospel of Luke    •    How Scripture forms the way we think, see, and respond
We also talk about practical, accessible ways to begin—even if you feel overwhelmed—including listening instead of reading, using daily Mass readings, and choosing a Bible you’ll actually stick with.
The goal is not to conquer Scripture.
The goal is to begin. 🌿
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✨ In This Episode    •    What it means to hear and recognize the voice of God    •    Why Scripture is essential for relationship, not just knowledge    •    John 1 and the reality of Jesus as the living Word    •    Why Scripture is never stale or outdated    •    Why Luke is a powerful and approachable place to start    •    The Good Samaritan & the Prodigal Son    •    The hemorrhaging woman and desperate, reaching faith    •    How Scripture shapes your thoughts and responses over time    •    Why consistency matters more than intensity
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📚 Resources Mentioned    •    Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz 🎧    •    Laudate App 📱    •    Daily Mass Readings
Bible translations:    •    New Revised Standard Version (Catholic Edition)    •    Douay-Rheims
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🪵 Your Turn to Chop
Pick one place to begin this week:    •    Read one chapter of Luke a day 📖    •    Open the daily Mass readings with your coffee ☕    •    Listen to Scripture in the car 🚗
Start there.
Let that be enough.
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💭 Sit With This    •    Have I been approaching my spiritual life more like a checklist to manage or a relationship to cultivate?    •    Which Gospel feels like the right place for me to begin right now, and why?    •    What is one realistic way I can spend time with Scripture this week?
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🔜 Coming Next
Next week, we’re going to keep building.
We’re going to start talking about what it looks like to take all of this and actually integrate it into your daily life in a deeper way—the rhythms, the habits, and the small practices that begin to shape your day from beginning to end.
We’re adding a little more weight to the bar. 🏋️‍♀️
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💛 Let’s Stay Connected
I love hearing from you—your questions are helping shape this series in the best way.
📲 Instagram: @choppinwoodpod📘 Facebook: Choppin’ Wood Podcast📧 Email: choppingwoodpod@gmail.com
If this episode encouraged you, share it with a friend, leave a review, and make sure you’re following along so you don’t miss what’s next.
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🪓 Until next time… keep choppin’ wood.

Divine Mercy Sunday: Mercy Wins

Divine Mercy Sunday: Mercy Wins 🕊️✨
Divine Mercy Sunday is the feast that reminds us God’s mercy is always bigger than our mess.
In this episode of Choppin’ Wood, Kristen reflects on why this feast feels especially personal this year. Not only did Michael recently come home from the hospital, but this Divine Mercy Sunday also marks ten years since Kristen and Michael returned home to the Catholic Church. Their “let’s begin again” moment happened on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2016, which makes this feast feel beautifully full-circle.
This episode is for tired people, struggling people, starting-over people, and all of us Lord-have-mercy-I’m-trying people. It is a reflection on trust, restoration, and the kind of mercy that does not wait for us to have it all together before inviting us home.
Kristen also shares the conditions for receiving the plenary indulgence offered on Divine Mercy Sunday and offers encouragement to anyone who feels nervous about confession. Mercy does not shame us for coming late. It simply receives us. 🤍
In this episode:
✨ Why Divine Mercy Sunday feels so personal this year✨ The 10-year anniversary of returning home to the Church✨ Jesus’ words to St. Faustina: Jesus, I trust in You✨ The beauty of beginning again✨ What the Divine Mercy plenary indulgence is✨ Why confession is one of the most beautiful gifts in our faith
Saint Quote:
“The greater the sinner, the greater the right he has to My mercy.” — Jesus to St. Faustina 📖
Divine Mercy Sunday indulgence conditions:
🕊️ Sacramental confession🕊️ Reception of the Eucharist🕊️ Prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father🕊️ Complete detachment from sin
A question to carry into prayer:
What part of my story most needs mercy right now — and what would it look like to trust Jesus there? 💙
Listener Reflection:    1.    What part of your story most needs mercy right now?    2.    Have you ever had a moment when God invited you to begin again?    3.    Where has trusting Jesus felt hardest for you lately?    4.    Who in your life might need to hear that mercy is still possible?
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Easter Sunday: Easter People, Alleluia Hearts

Easter Sunday: Easter People, Alleluia Hearts 🌅✨
He is risen — truly, He is risen.
After the palms, the perfume, the betrayal, the Upper Room, the Cross, and the long held breath of Holy Saturday, Easter arrives not as a mood shift, but as an answer. The tomb is empty. Death has been undone. Love has won.
This episode of From Hosanna to Alleluia reflects on the joy of Easter as something deeper than optimism or surface-level celebration. The Risen Christ still carries His scars, which means resurrection does not erase suffering — it transforms it. Easter tells the truth about what hurt and reveals that love is stronger still.
Easter People, Alleluia Hearts is a meditation on resurrection in ordinary life: in our kitchens, our grief, our healing, our homes, and the places we thought were too far gone. Because the same God who rolled away the stone is still rolling away what keeps hearts buried.
In this episode:
✨ Why Easter is the answer to the whole week✨ The scars of the Risen Christ and what they reveal about resurrection✨ Easter joy as wounded love made indestructible✨ What it means to be Easter people in ordinary life✨ The empty tomb as hope for every place that still feels sealed shut
Opening Scripture:
“He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said.” — Matthew 28:6 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
Where is God inviting me to believe that resurrection is still possible — even in the places that once felt final? 🤍
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
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Holy Saturday: Between Cross And Dawn

Holy Saturday: Between Cross and Dawn: Waiting with Hope 🕯️
Holy Saturday feels like a held breath.
In today’s reflection, we sit with the in-between day of Holy Week — the day between Cross and Resurrection, between heartbreak and glory, between what has already happened and what has not yet been revealed.
This episode of From Hosanna to Alleluia is for anyone who knows the ache of unfinished stories, unanswered prayers, or seasons that feel sealed shut and suspended in waiting. Holy Saturday reminds us that what feels unresolved is not abandoned. Even when everything looks still on the surface, Christ is not idle. He is at work in hidden places.
The Church gives us this day not to rush past, but to inhabit with trust. To wait without forcing. To remain in the middle without mistaking silence for absence. To remember that resurrection often begins underground, long before the stone is rolled away.
In this episode:
✨ Holy Saturday as the unresolved middle✨ Why so much of life is lived in the in-between✨ Christ descending into hell and the hidden work of redemption✨ The temptation to confuse hiddenness with abandonment✨ Learning to wait with trust when hope feels fragile
Opening Scripture:
“Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.” — Luke 23:56 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
Where in my life am I being asked to wait without rushing, and to trust that God is still at work beneath what I cannot yet see? 🤍
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
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Good Friday: Standing At The Cross

Good Friday: Standing at the Cross ✝️🕯️
Good Friday turns our eyes to the Cross — and to the Blessed Mother standing beneath it.
In this reflection, we look at Mary at the foot of the Cross and the profound mystery of her steadfast love. She could not stop the suffering. She could not change the outcome. And still, she stayed. Her yes to God did not end in Nazareth. It followed her all the way to Calvary.
Standing at the Cross is a meditation on Mary’s sorrow, the hidden suffering of motherhood, and the invitation to remain near Jesus in the places where love hurts and answers do not come easily. It is for anyone who has ever stood at a cross of their own — a heartbreak, a diagnosis, a broken relationship, or a grief too deep for words — and wondered what faithfulness looks like there.
Good Friday reminds us that love does not end in the dying. It is transformed through it. And even in the darkest places, Christ remains near. 🤍
In this episode:
✨ Mary at the foot of the Cross and the theology of standing✨ The sorrow of motherhood and the crosses women carry✨ The kind of love that refuses to abandon what it cannot fix✨ The mystery of redemptive suffering united to Christ✨ The invitation to stay near the Cross in trust
Opening quote:
“At the cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last.” — Stabat Mater Dolorosa 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
Where is God asking me not to understand everything, but simply to stay? 💔
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
Connect with Choppin’ Wood:
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Holy Thursday: Love To The End

Holy Thursday: Love to the End ✨🕯️
Holy Thursday is not sentimental. It is sober, intimate, and almost unbearably tender.
In today’s reflection, we enter the Upper Room and sit with the night Jesus loved His own to the end — kneeling with a towel, feeding them with His very Body and Blood, and giving Himself completely even with betrayal already in motion.
This episode of From Hosanna to Alleluia reflects on the deep connection between the Eucharist and service: the towel and the table, adoration and poured-out love, receiving Christ and then becoming a person who kneels in love for others. It is also a meditation on being served by Jesus before we ever go out to serve, and on the quiet ache of a God who chooses to remain with us in the Eucharist. ✝️
Holy Thursday reminds us that the Upper Room was not full of saints yet. It was where saints were being made. We do not have to wait until we are holier to come close. We come close so He can make us holy. 🤍
In this episode:
✨ The Upper Room as a place of sober, intimate self-gift✨ The Eucharist and the washing of feet interpreting each other✨ Why adoration and service cannot be separated✨ Peter’s resistance to being washed and what it reveals about us✨ The first Eucharist given to imperfect men✨ The question Holy Thursday leaves with us: He stays with us… do we stay with Him?
Opening Scripture:
“He loved them to the end.” — John 13:1 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
Where is Jesus asking me not only to serve, but first to receive — and to stay with Him tonight? 🕯️
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
Connect with Choppin’ Wood:
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Spy Wednesday: The Hidden Deal

Spy Wednesday: The Hidden Deal 🕯️
Spy Wednesday carries a sadness that sinks in slowly.
In today’s reflection, we sit with one of the more unsettling truths of Holy Week: betrayal rarely begins all at once. More often, it starts in the hidden places — in disappointment left unattended, in compromise we justify, and in the slow drift from trust into negotiation.
Judas handing Jesus over is the visible heartbreak. But Spy Wednesday also asks us to look beneath it, at the sadness underneath disappointment and the small agreements that can cool love over time.
This episode of From Hosanna to Alleluia is an invitation to honesty before the Triduum begins. To let Jesus bring into the light whatever has been hidden, compromised, or buried. Holy Week is not meant to flatter us. It is meant to free us.
In this episode:
✨ How betrayal often begins in secret before it becomes visible✨ The small compromises that slowly cool love✨ The sadness underneath disappointment in Judas’s story✨ Why hidden grief can harden into transaction✨ The invitation to honesty before entering the Upper Room
Opening Scripture:
“What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” — Matthew 26:15 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
What hidden deals am I carrying — and what needs to be brought into the light before I walk into the holiest days of the year? 🤍
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
Connect with Choppin’ Wood:
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Holy Tuesday: Loyalty In The Shadow Of Betrayal

Holy Tuesday: Loyalty in the Shadow of Betrayal ✝️
Holy Tuesday carries a different kind of heaviness.
In today’s reflection, we sit with one of the harder truths at the center of Holy Week: Jesus knows exactly who will falter, and He keeps loving anyway. He knows Judas will betray Him. He knows Peter will deny Him. He knows the others will scatter. And still, He stays.
This episode of From Hosanna to Alleluia reflects on what it means to be fully known in our weakness and still chosen in love. It’s about the fragility of sincere hearts, the difference between Peter and Judas, and the sobering truth that failure is not the end of the story — isolation is.
Holy Tuesday invites us to stop pretending strength we do not have and instead remain within reach of mercy. Because real loyalty does not begin in our confidence that we will never fail Jesus. It begins in our willingness to stay near Him when we do.
In this episode:
✨ Jesus naming betrayal and staying anyway✨ The ache of being fully known and still loved✨ Why Peter often feels closer to home than Judas✨ The difference between failure and walking away from mercy✨ What Holy Tuesday teaches us about honesty, weakness, and remaining near
Opening Scripture:
“One of you will betray me.” — Matthew 26:21 📖
A question to carry into prayer:
What would it look like to stay near Jesus even in the places where I know I am still fragile? 🤍
Part of From Hosanna to Alleluia, a special Holy Week series from Choppin’ Wood.
Connect with Choppin’ Wood:
Instagram: @choppinwoodpodFacebook: Choppin’ Wood PodcastEmail: choppingwoodpod@gmail.com