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“Love alone brings a human being to full awareness of personal existence. For it is in love alone that man finds room enough to be what he is.”
- Dietrich von Hildebrand
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20 years today with this man! Didn’t know I could love him this much or feel this loved.
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To me this is a miracle! I never saw an example of marriage that lasted this long growing up. If they did, they didn’t seem “in love”. Or, I heard things like, “things are tough, but we made it!” Or, “glad I got to annoy you for the last 20 years!”
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So to feel this in love and be truly loved for who I am is a miracle. God is so good. I am so very thankful. Praying together and for each other, sacrificing for each other, good communication, being open to life, following God’s plan for marriage. It is all worth it. With Him all things are possible. So thankful for my husband, Jesus and the sacrament of marriage.
Photo credit: Joseph Hardin Films
“To reform a little each day. This must be your constant concern if you really want to become a saint.” -St. JoseMaria Escriva
So many ask me as a Woman School Strategist what I do and what is The Woman School all about? In an easy explanation “It’s all about becoming a saint.”
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Personal development can be perceived as selfish or looking to oneself for happiness instead of toward Jesus who is our true source of happiness. But, how can we truly love well if we are depleted and underdeveloped? We must understand our self worth. We must understand it was given to us by God not earned. You can listen to a hundred podcasts and attend lots of retreats, but the retreat high goes away after a couple of weeks and you can only remember 5 % of what you heard in that podcast. That is why you need The Woman School. This class will teach you how to finally hardwire what you are hearing and learning into your mind so you can actually consistently follow through.
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As a strategist I serve as a guide and accountability partner to accompany women on a journey through this amazing masterclass. I personally hold your hand and walk you through it. I have been blessed to watch the transformation of many women after they have suffered for years with feeling overwhelmed, anxious, depressed or stuck. We help them to figure out why they are where they are, where they want to be and finally build the skill set and mindset to get there.
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Join me in my next class and let me guide you forward as you learn to dream and grow into the best version of yourself and therefore be able to contribute a true gift of self from a place of wholeness.
Deadline December 14th. Message me for more info.
Take this 5 minute quiz to rate your wholeness.
https://zl725.isrefer.com/go/ABWMCQuiz/AK001/
Photo credit: Joseph Hardin Films
Success does not define me. If my house looks great, if my kids turn out well, if I make people happy, if my marriage is perfect, if I work out all the time, if I do well at work...these are all great things, but they do not define who I am.
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Somewhere a long the line I got the mistaken impression that I was good if I proved it. That then I would be loved. Perhaps, it was when my mom left when I was little. Perhaps I thought, if I was just good enough she would come back? That got hardwired into my brain. Proving and pleasing everyone to be loved. That feeling unfortunately spilled over into many arenas of my life. I have worked super hard to erase that from my brain. To realize that my true worth and value was given not earned. Through The Woman School I have finally realized that God gave me my self worth and that I no longer need to please, perfect and produce to be loved. It is still something I work on daily. Even this weekend, when I got sick and couldn’t cook the Thanksgiving dinner, I started crying. My poor kids, who will give them an amazing holiday? I had to stop. I realized I was doing it again. I was so stressed over the fact that I thought the whole Thanksgiving happiness depended on me. I also felt that tug of “if my kids are happy, They will love me more and I am a good mom.” All absolutely not true! I had to stop and ask myself is that truth or a lie? Where is this coming from? Awareness is the key. Only when we are aware of WHY we do the things we do, then we can change.
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My family totally stepped up and Thanksgiving was better than ever! It was so good! We all got a lesson in charity. Are you doing this as well? When did you feel like you had to prove your worth as a kid or now?
.photo credit: Joseph Hardin Films
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“Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well and times shall be good. We are the times, such as we are, such are the times.” -St. Augustine of Hippo
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As an engaged couple almost 20 years ago. We had watched many marriages fail. We didn’t want that to happen to us.
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We had taken every marriage prep course we could through our diocese that we knew of. Even ones that weren’t required. We savored that time, realizing that this was a time of discernment for marriage. We tried not to be caught up in the planning of the wedding, but, in the preparation of our marriage.
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It wasn’t until after our marriage that someone introduced us to Saint John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and Natural Family Planning. We were amazed at the beauty of this teaching once held true by every Christian denomination. That the marriage act should be open to life. That it should be both for life giving AND love giving purposes. And, that in separating the two you can actually do harm to your marriage.
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We were so thankful to learn the Creighton Model System to navigate my fertility for times we prayerfully discerned to space babies apart or sustain pregnancy after my repetitive miscarriages.
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But, what came out of surrendering our fertility to Jesus and letting Him decide when and if a life would be created, we discovered a whole new level of love in our marriage. I can definitely say we have learned to love each other in a much deeper way. We truly believe that it’s because we have invited God into ALL aspects of our marriage including our fertility.
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Some might say they aren’t sure they can trust that much. Or, some may be using NFP but struggling with it. My suggestion would be to pray together as a couple about it. Ask God to help you with it. Whether it’s to trust Him more or even for more green (infertile) days during times when you have serious reasons to avoid pregnancy, or to guide you for help with abnormal hormones or infertility. God cares about all the tiniest details of your life. Praying together, our faith and NFP have allowed us to be happily married all these years. Trust in Him and you will find happiness.
#marriage #naturalfamilyplanning #creightonmodel #womanschoolstrategist
Photo credit Joseph Hardin Films
What an unbelievable wedding. Thank you Ariel & Kyle for choosing Graingertainment. Check out this amazing video by Joseph Hardin Films .
Also to all the amazing vendors who was a part of this special day:
Coordination: Alexa Kritis Events
Ceremony Venue & Florist: Fancy Free Nursery
Reception Venue: CAVU
Catering: SaltBlock Hospitality
Photography: Ashley Izquierdo
Videography: Joseph Hardin Films
Rentals: So Staged Event Design + Rentals / The Treasury Rentals
Desserts: Simply Done Donuts
Cake: The Vine Baking Co.
Beauty: Femme Akoi Beauty Studio
DJ Desmond Williams with Graingertainment
The title says it all: most emotional vows EVER. Daphne + Christian have an electric connection that was poured into their sweet words for each other 💜
Joseph Hardin Films
