I'm calling this a love letter, because that's the way I hope you experience it. If you've glimpsed yourself and/or feel despair, dread or fear, there's really, really Good News. Check it out.
Is one of your resolutions to grow in your faith or go to church more in 2021? Great decision! If you don't have a church, consider visiting mine: Harborside Christian Church. You can attend from the comfort of your living room.
We're starting the year with a church-wide fast and a series on the heart. Here's the first message. We're also reading through the foundational Gospel of John, the basis of the Love Letter Jesus video I posted above. Consider reading through it. It can change your life if you let it.
You can subscribe by clicking on the video link and subscribing to the Harborside Channel.
Reflections on life, faith, culture & society.
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Witty, wise and brutally frank, Isabella is available to teach or speak at your event, retreat, or small group.
So many people are hungry for spiritual connection, for hope, for a practical, yet morally grounded and empowered way to deal with life challenges in this increasingly uncertain world. It's my personal mission to bring comfort, encouragement, and wisdom to the hurting, the seeker, and those who are simply eager to grow in faith.
While I feel a special affinity for intellectual skeptics, people in recovery, survivors of dysfunction, and those who have been injured by traditional faith systems, I can connect with any audience. I draw on a lifetime of rich and challenging experiences, rigorous Bible and spiritual study, and more than twenty years in Twelve Step recovery to bring insight and hope to others with wit, wisdom, and candor.
Speaking & Workshops
Workshops & Presentations...
Connecting with people face to face can be transformative. I've presented at churches, radio programs, community centers, and at international recovery conferences with workshops that are inspiring, informative, and brimming with practical application. Here are a few recent workshop titles:
Write to Inspire: Sharing your experience to heal & help.
Discover how to find your unique voice and tap your life experience to help yourself and others. Explore your life stories, write your personal mission statement, define inspirational themes, learn about practical tools to build your platform, and more. This non-sectarian class is open to people of all faith traditions.
Cultural Codependency: When culture clashes with healthy recovery.
Our native or adopted culture—whether expat, religious, or socio-economic—may clash with healthy recovery--creating, contributing, or amplifying codependent patterns with major impact. As a first generation American of Italian parents who migrated later in life, I’ve experienced this first-hand. This workshop seeks to help people identify, address, and navigate the potential pitfalls of cultural codependency.
Embracing Life: Letting God determine your destiny.
With frank, hard-won insight, I outline ten God-centered life lessons and encouragement that can be applied to every area of life, especially when facing challenges and unexpected detours. Based on my Bible study of the same name, this workshop will help you see how God can use even the most challenging life transitions and losses to work good for, in, and through you.
Here's a complete list of my workshop topics or I invite you to share what your community needs.
Video Messages...
Smartphones and easy streaming platforms make it easier than ever to share viewpoints with the world. Here are a few video of my recent video series, originally live-streamed on Facebook.
4 O'Clock Faith. A brief daily Facebook Live broadcast to share faith-based encouragement, humor and hope during this historic Covid-19 quarantine.
Darned Good Objections to Christianity. A series of frank messages addressing common questions and complaints about Christian faith offering perspective for atheists, agnostics, and believers alike.
Unfiltered. Commentary, reflection, and instruction on everyday topics, current events, life challenges, society, art and culture from a faith-based perspective.
Radio & Podcasts...
There's tremendous power in candid conversation. That's one reason I love interview format and welcome opportunities to discuss navigating a spiritual path.
IWDTF - Embracing Life Series. I did a series of interviews for clinical counselor Carol Ambrose about Embracing Life, Letting God Determine Your Destiny, my Bible study and workshop about navigating life transition with grace and faith.