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Transcript:
I can’t express enough how grateful I am for all your support on this podcasting journey. I can’t believe I’m only 3 months “in” since my soft-launch in May. We have thousands of listeners in 34 countries and growing every week. It’s all because of your taking the time to listen, share and subscribe. I praise God for each and every one of you.
Although I launched only 3 months ago, this journey was actually started 3 years ago, it just took me 3 years to actually launch the first episode. It was 3 years ago when this “idea” came into my heart while having a chat with my dear friend, author, speaker Lisa Mladinich. I mentioned it to her briefly and she was excited for me to move forward with it. The idea was that once I got it together, I’d interview her on her latest book.
In my heart I was like, “No, no, no! I can’t do this!” I’m not very techy, I don’t have any money to buy equipment, and I’m not a very articulate person. I have a foggy brain as many of us stay-at-home moms do and there’s no way I’ll have enough quiet time to record anything.
I’m reminded of The Parable of the Two Sons (Matthew 21:28-32). I said “no, no, no” but later changed my mind and did it.
For the next year, I tried to put the idea out of my head. Honestly, I didn’t even pray to God in discerning because I just flat out didn’t want to do it. Nevertheless, he sent me signs through people and circumstances that this is what he wanted me to do.
Our Lord had also led me to start evangelizing through presenting Catholic talks on a variety of topics. Did I mention I’m not very articulate? That, combined with being awkward in social situations and in front of groups of people was very difficult. The only way for me to prepare was to thoroughly research, write everything down, and practice.
But it started with being asked by one group, then referred and asked by another, then another. Then I became part of the speaker team at the Pilgrim Center of Hope here in San Antonio through God’s Providence. Now I’ll be speaking at the Catholic Women’s Conference in September, praise God!
Two years ago, I bought a good quality microphone and professional headset. Didn’t know how to use it. I knew I’d need editing software and began recording my Catholic talks and editing them on a free program called Audacity. This gave me the basics for audio editing that allowed to transition into Adobe Audition. By this time, I was working full-time.
It’s hard for many to believe I was a quiet and utterly shy child growing up. Come to think of it, I was an utterly shy and quiet adult most of my life and in many ways I still am. But I get out of my comfort zone for the Lord. I don’t do it perfectly and I probably make a fool of myself more times than not. But God has given me a calling. He was generous in leading me to podcasting because it is a highly flexible medium for evangelization. It gives me the opportunity to share the stories of my very saintly guests and give them a platform to reach more souls.
Of course, it’s still a work in progress but I don’t have to do it alone. This podcast was consecrated to our Blessed Mother. She holds my hand and leads me to the guests whom She wants me to reach. It’s all her. And when I don’t know what decision to make, She leads me to her Son and says to me, “Do whatever he tells you.” (John 2:5)
And for the technical stuff, I prayed for a good mentor and found John Lee Dumas who has a course that teaches everything. From interviewing guests to recording, editing, to building the website, monetizing, and much more. I would never have been able to afford him without the Lord’s help.
This has become our family apostolate because I couldn’t put out a single episode without the support of my husband and children. We’ve discovered our family culture to be one of evangelization in witness to Christ in the modern world. My guest Patrick Sullivan, founder of Evango, speaks about the importance of identifying and developing a family culture in Episode 22: The Secrets of Fruitful Evangelization at Home and Beyond.
This journey hasn’t been without challenges, but I believe it is God’s way of testing us to see if we would just abandon the idea and give up. We’ve had financial challenges, time challenges, space challenges, but the biggest delay in launching the first episode was during my difficult pregnancy with Baby Gigi and her subsequent 2 month-stay in NICU. That, along with all the medical appointments needed for a baby with down syndrome and who feeds through a g-tube, an entire year passed before I was able to get back to working on the podcast.
My Holy Mother taught me my first lesson that, although this Catholic podcast is good work pleasing to God, taking care of my spiritual health and my family were my first responsibilities. Our Lord will iron out everything else if we leave anxiety and worry behind.
Speaking of my spiritual health, this was also something I had to increase my commitment to. I took on additional spiritual practices, prayer, and meditation to support me on this journey. But just as importantly, I did-away with wasting time on needless entertainment. I used to use entertainment to relax and sometimes I still do a little. I love watching funny videos. But I’ve made the conscious decision to use meditation as my primary way of relaxing – resting my heart on the Lord is way more fruitful. Plus, I’ve had to make the decision to set clear and hard boundaries from toxic and abusive family members while continuing to pray for their spiritual and emotional healing. I realized that I can’t “fix” people. Only God can heal and fix people. My job is to cooperate with His Will.
Well, the most recent challenge is having been laid off from my job a few weeks ago. Three years-ago this would have devasted me because it was a good-paying job directly related to what I studied for. With a Bachelor’s in Instructional Design, I was an Instructional Design Manager. Most recently, having the job was such a burden on my soul. I knew God would see my family through this sudden turn of events and He has most definitely blessed us.
I’ve learned so much on this journey but if I could pick two more, the second would be that, there’s no amount of money or worldly gifts and glories that could replace the Lord’s peace of mind and heart. That’s where the real treasure lies. And the third is that joy comes from our steadfast commitment to live in cooperation with God’s Will.
Please don’t think I’ve learned these lessons perfectly. God gives me plenty of opportunity to dive deeper and learn more about myself and my personal path to Holiness. More lessons to come and I’m grateful for the continued opportunity to share them with you.
Let’s pray together… Glory be…
You’ll find the transcript to this episode on TheCatholicServant.com/three-lessons and please continue to send me your prayer requests to Alexandra@TheCatholicServant.com so we can lift you up in prayer during our next family Rosary.
May you have a blessed and prayerful week.
Resource:
Free Podcasting Masterclass with my mentor John Lee Dumas
https://bd140.isrefer.com/go/sales/akubebatu/
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