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Katie Donahue

@the.integrated.life

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Integrated Life Coach
Occupational Therapist
Helping you thrive when seasons change.

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When school drop-off turns into our just printed Winter Issue being in the hands of our very first customer! ✨

... Have you ordered yours yet? First orders will be shipped this week 🥰

#themustardseedpress
#catholicwomen
#schoolpickup
#tistheseason🎄
#winter by @the.integrated.life

Welcome to a preview of The Mustard Seed Press Winter Issue!

We are so excited to feature Amanda's artwork, an interview with Sister Sydney (a Salesian Sister of St. John Bosco), returning contributor Katie Donahue, several new-to-us writers, and photography by @novellalensphotography

... And as always, theological content reviewed and endorsed by Fr. Augustine Hilander, OP

Available to order at www.themustardseedpress.com

#themustardseedpress #thenativity #winter #salesians #christmas by @the.integrated.life

It is often the hardest things we carry that end up forming us the most. Grief and pain strip away what was easy to hide or fake. In comfort, we can wear a version of ourselves we have purposefully curated. In the cross, there is nowhere left to hide. What we believe, who we trust, what actually holds us up when the plans fall apart…that gets revealed in the letting go. We do not usually choose the things that shape us most. They arrive uninvited and unexpected, then we are left to decide who we will become in their presence.

Read the full article on Substack or my blog. Link in bio 🙏🏻

#integratedlife #griefandloss #hopeandhealing #formation #christatthecenter by @the.integrated.life

Class of ‘27 senior @ray_of_sun15
.
#MontanaSenior
#MontanaSeniorPhotographer
#KalispellSeniorPhotographer
#ClassOf2027
#flatheadvalley by @the.integrated.life

Writing doesn’t begin when I sit down at my computer.
It begins way before that…
In prayer.
In Adoration. On a quiet hike. Looking for huckleberries, even when there aren’t any to find. Gathering books and articles. Reading. Floating the river in silence. Camping with no signal and good books.
Reading previous submissions. Sipping iced Americanos.
Looking at old photos and recalling stories. Picking raspberries. Making a rosary. Pulling weeds. Cutting flowers.
Meeting with friends.  Praying some more. Breathing deeply.
And somewhere in the middle of ordinary life, the words begin to come.

I have slowly learned not to force the process. The best writing is not something I painfully manufacture…it is something I receive. My job is simply to make room, pay attention, and listen for what the Holy Spirit is inviting me to write.

Eventually, the blank notebook page isn’t so blank anymore.

That’s when I start typing.

#integratedlife #writing #comeholyspirit #blankpage #christatthecenter by @the.integrated.life

Planning my daughter’s bridal shower was so much fun with her theme of “Fresh off the Market”. She had a vision of fresh flowers and food as well as simple and meaningful decor. For me, this planning quickly became something much deeper, a reflection on the quiet work of motherhood, the beauty of letting go, and the sacred joy of watching a daughter step into her vocation.

I wrote this article for The Mustard Seed Press for every mother who has ever held her little girl’s tiny hands...and now finds herself releasing them.

The full story, Fresh Off the Market: A Mother’s Joy in Preparing a Bride, is featured in the newest issue. I hope you will pick up a copy and read it.

#motherofthebride #catholicmotherhood #freshoffthemarket #bridalshower #themustardseedpress by @the.integrated.life

What a beautiful weekend celebrating dance, storytelling, and artistry at Noble Dance’s recital, For the Love of Literature.

Watching Reghan perform is always such a gift. As she wraps up her junior year, I am continually amazed by the incredible dancer and choreographer she has become. Her talent is evident, but what makes me most proud is her commitment, hard work, perseverance, and the growth she has shown year after year.

Somehow, her senior year is just around the corner. A year that will be filled with so many final moments, final performances, and final curtain calls. Time is moving far too quickly, but I’m looking forward to savoring every step, every dance, and every memory still to come.

Love you @ray_of_sun15 and so proud of you!♥️🤟🏻♥️

Photo credit: John Kaemmerling by @the.integrated.life

Today, Bishop Vetter will bless the ground where Little Souls© Cemetery will soon take shape. This is a sacred place dedicated to babies lost through miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss.

Standing on this holy ground, marked by stakes that outline where the concrete will be poured, we will be reminded that this is more than a cemetery. It is a place where hopes, dreams, love, and grief will be honored. A place where families can come to remember, mourn, pray, and encounter the tender mercy of God.

What began as a vision is becoming a reality, thanks to the Dream Big grant awarded us by the @foundationdoh, and the outpouring of support from our community.

Holy work on holy ground, prepared to receive the little souls who left this world too soon but will never be forgotten.

#littlesoulscemetery #pregnancyandinfantloss #miscarriageawareness #stillbirthawareness #holyground by @the.integrated.life

"Pentecost, 1782"
Istvan Dorffmaister

"Today we have arrived at the peak of all blessings, we have reached the capital of feasts, we have obtained the very fruit of our Lord's promise." -St. John Chrysostom

It is fitting that on this day, fifty days from the Pasch, was celebrated the Jewish Feast of Firstfruits (Exodus 23:16).

The Feast of Pentecost, "commemorates not only the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and Disciples, but also the fruits and effects of that event: the completion of the work of redemption, the fullness of grace for the Church and its children, and the gift of faith for all nations." -Father Francis Weiser, SJ

Today in the Latin Church, the liturgical color is red, symbolizing the love of the Holy Spirit who descended upon the Apostles in tongues of fire.

You'll hear the sequence, "Veni Sancte Spiritus," a hymn that first appeared in liturgical books around 1200 AD. The poem has since been known as the "Golden Sequence" because of its richness in thought and expression.

In the poem, we find this stanza:

"Grant to Thy faithful, dearest Lord,
whose only hope is Thy sure word,
the sevenfold gifts of grace."

This, of course, refers to the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, first given at Pentecost, and now given to all the faithful at Confirmation.

"O blessed Light of life Thou art;
fill with Thy light the inmost heart
of those who hope in Thee."

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

(Interested in learning about the charisms, individual graces given by the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the Church? @the.integrated.life wrote about them in our summer issue! Here's a sneak peak: "A charism is not simply something you are good at, nor is it merely a role you hold in life... charisms are different: they carry a spiritual fruitfulness that points directly to God's action. They are graces that energize and strengthen you to serve.")

#catholicliving #catholicinspiration #pentecost by @the.integrated.life

Fifty days after Easter, the Church pauses in something like holy astonishment. The disciples had been waiting behind closed doors with uncertain hearts…and then the room filled with wind and fire, and nothing was ever the same again.

Pentecost is not just and one and done historical footnote. It is an ongoing event. The same Spirit who rushed into that upper room is rushing still, looking for open hearts, willing hands, and souls courageous enough to say yes.

The question Pentecost poses to each of us is both simple and staggering:

Will you do your part?

This is just the beginning… Read the rest of this article over on Substack or my blog. Link in bio.

#pentecost #holyspirit #doyourpart #renewthefaceoftheearth #integratedlife by @the.integrated.life

Note: This is the story of our first miscarriage. Our first loss, although not our first experience with the reality of death.

The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord in 2006 is etched into my memory in a way I could never have imagined. It was May 25th, and what should have been a day of joy became one of the great sorrows of our family life.

I was 15 weeks pregnant with our sixth baby, due on November 9th. I had always wanted a November baby…

Read the article over on Substack or on my blog. Links in bio🙏🏻🕊️ by @the.integrated.life

“The Ascension of Jesus into heaven, acquaints us with a deeply consoling reality on our journey: in Christ, true God and true man, our humanity was taken to God. Christ opened the path to us. If we entrust our life to him, if we let ourselves be guided by him, we are certain to be in safe hands, in the hands of our Savior.” ~Pope Francis

This quote comes from the meditation in the Magnificat for the Mass of the Ascension of the Lord. Today, place yourself in his hands and be open to where he leads.🙏🏻🕊️ by @the.integrated.life