Discerning Marriage

Episode 30: Discerning Through Cancer and a Breakup with Maggie Eckburg

December 3rd, 2021  |  Season 3  |  30 mins 41 secs

On this episode, Maggie shares her unique journey toward marriage with her now husband of ten years and father to her three children, Jacob. This couple knows suffering. Before they were even engaged, they faced Maggie's cancer diagnosis, as well as Jacob's own health scares that led to them both having spent time at each other's hospital bedside. Once the physical healing came, the need for spiritual and emotional healing became evident and it was clear that more discernment work was needed, including even a breakup. In their journey, we see that trust in God, our posture of openness toward suffering, and a willingness to recommit ourselves to one another with patience, understanding, and love is instrumental to the success of anyone's love story.

Come listen as Maggie, lover of music, books, comedy, and seeing God in all things, shares this story with us!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 29: Jeanette Clark's Discernment Story

November 12th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  33 mins 40 secs

Jeanette Clark, classmate with Christopher West in her Master's of Theological Studies degree from the JPII Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family and wife of the Executive Director of the TOB Institute, got married in her late 20s after a cross country move and a breakup with her future husband. Join us as we discuss her full discernment story!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 28: Beauty and Your Wedding Day with Spoken Bride's Stephanie Calis

October 29th, 2021  |  Season 3  |  35 mins

All brides and grooms want their wedding day to be special and beautiful, but did you know that this can actually be a way to glorify God with your relationship?? Join me as I talk with Stephanie Calis {of Spoken Bride Ministry!} about how to press deeply into your desire for a beautiful wedding day and how that can be a powerful witness to your guests! We also talk about her wedding planning book, which is a wonderful tool for you and your significant other to use when the time comes and a wonderful gift for people whom you love who are getting married soon!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 27: Original Solitude with Bill Donaghy

October 22nd, 2021  |  Season 3  |  25 mins 52 secs

The ache of longing to be in your vocation can be agonizing. Amazingly, Pope St. John Paul II pressed into this theme in his discussions on what he calls original solitude. Renown Theology of the Body expert Bill Donaghy joins me as we discuss what original solitude is and why it matters to you!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 26: The Courage to be Married with Damon and Melanie Owens

April 7th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  29 mins 54 secs

Getting married and staying married takes an incredible amount of courage, particularly in this day and age that is so hostile to such a union. Elizabeth is joined by renowned TOB experts Damon and Melanie Owens to talk about what it takes to live a courageous marriage and what you can do now, as you’re discerning marriage, to set yourself up for success.

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 25: Breakups Part 2 w/ Liv Harrison

March 17th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  29 mins 40 secs

Liv Harrison and I continue our conversation from Episode 19 right where we left off. We discuss an approach to breakups that can be helpful to process and heal from the loss of the relationship.

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 24: Dr. Greg Bottaro’s Discernment Story

March 3rd, 2021  |  Season 2  |  27 mins 35 secs

Dr. Greg Bottaro shares his incredible story of discerning out of formation for the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and into a marriage with his bride! And the turning point of his discernment that happened while watching The Truman Show. Yes, for real! This story is awesome! I can’t wait for you to hear it!!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 23: Online Dating with Kateri Bean from Catholic Match

February 17th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  17 mins 21 secs

One of the topics that I often get emails and IG messages about is online dating. This method of meeting people is increasingly utilized as a way to connect with people outside of your immediate community, and thousands of people have met their spouse online (including one of our closest couple friends!!). I wanted to have a podcast episode to be able to direct interested people to, so I’ve invited Content Manager of Catholic Match Kateri Bean to discuss some helpful tips and tricks of how to build the foundation for a successful relationship with someone that you’ve met online.

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 22: Married at 33 with Christina Jaloway

February 3rd, 2021  |  Season 2  |  20 mins 6 secs

Sometimes people will have a supernatural prayer experience where God gives them the assurance of who their spouse is going to be: “I just knew it was her!” Often, though, God works through a person’s reason and free will and allows them to choose whom they want to marry. This episode’s discernment story is an example of the latter. Christina Jaloway spent her 20s longing for her spouse and didn’t get married until she was 33, but man oh man did the Lord do big beautiful things during her wait!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 21: The Feminine Genius w/ Liv Harrison

January 20th, 2021  |  Season 2  |  28 mins 31 secs

For starters, this episode is for both men and women! 🙂 Back in the 1990s, St John Paul II wrote a Letter To Women, breaking open the beauty of femininity and completely busting the myth that women are less than men. On this episode, I’m joined by Liv Harrison to discuss a critical topic that St JPII discussed in that letter: the feminine genius. Both men and women need to understand the dignity and worth of the feminine heart in order to discern marriage well, and we hope this episode helps bring some clarity and springboards good discussions about femininity in this broken world.

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 20: Listener Q&A

December 16th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  27 mins 25 secs

Join me for this season 1 finale episode where I answer listener questions about the timing of transitioning to engagement, breakups, what to do when there is pornography in your relationship, and questions to ask each other in the pre-engagement phase!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.

Episode 19: Breakups (with Liv Harrison)

December 9th, 2020  |  Season 1  |  23 mins 46 secs

It’s the most wonderful time of the year...but it can also be the most painful time of the year for some people. This is true for people who have recently ended a relationship, because one of the most underrated sufferings in our current culture is that of breakups. It can be so tempting to just tell someone whom you see going through a breakup to just “move on” / “there are other fish in the sea” / “she was bad for you anyway” / “what a dumpster fire that relationship was, amiright?!” without validating the real pain that the person going through the breakup might be feeling. Breakups often affect the trajectory of a person’s future discernment, so I am incredibly passionate about people being intentional about how they navigate the end of a relationship. Liv Harrison joins me to discuss this critical topic. Note: this is a great episode if you are going through a breakup, have been through a significant breakup in your past, or you know and love someone who is or may at some point go through a breakup. Pretty much, if you or someone in your life is in a commitment and may break up one day, this is a must listen!

On The Discerning Marriage Podcast, we accompany you on the journey to discover if marriage is God’s will for you, and if you already know that you’re called to marriage, we want to help you bring glory to God in your vocation.