Hello, and welcome! I am an author, speaker, coach and spiritual mentor. I also am the person behind ChristinaSemmens.com.
I seek to inspire, encourage and accompany others through my writing, speaking and coaching to live a life of purpose, peace and abundance in the pursuit of holiness. I also seek to share about popular culture (particularly books, movies and television) from a Catholic perspective and their influence upon us. My primary goal is to challenge and empower people to SAY YES to embracing the life that God created us for each and every day of our lives.
I am a graduate of Marquette University, receiving both a Bachelor’s in both History and Theology and a minor in Military Science before entering active duty as an United States Army officer. I served within the Air Defense Artillery branch as a Hawk and Patriot officer during an active duty tour overseas in Germany, and a combat tour in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. I subsequently transitioned into the Reserves and went on to receive my MA in History and Secondary Teaching Certification from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. As I taught social studies at the middle and high school levels, I also served in a number of Reserve assignments, including JROTC staff cadre, United States Military Academy Liaison Officer and being a member of the History Offices for US Space Command, US Strategic Command, and US Northern Command.
After 14 years, I resigned my commission in the Army Reserves, and went on to run a nonprofit multisport racing company and foundation for elementary age youth while completing my studies for a MA in Theology from Catholic Distance University based in Arlington, Virginia. Simultaneously, I supported my husband’s defense contracting business by spending ten years working as a Facility Security Officer within the defense contractor industry.
Since my conversion to Roman Catholicism over thirty years ago, I have actively served in a variety of roles within religious education, Confirmation preparation, youth ministry, social justice ministry, RCIA, adult faith formation and spirituality, including 5 years as the Director of Adult Education and Spirituality at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Madison, Alabama. I also have a Certification in Spiritual Mentorship that I received from the Apostles of Interior Life and the School of Faith under the auspices of Archbishop Joseph Naumann in the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas.
In addition to living out my primary vocation as wife and mother, I have been passionate about sharing the love of Christ and assisting others in finding God’s plan for their lives. This has led me to become certified as a Motivation Core (MCODE) practitioner and as an Unhackable Coach. I share all of what I have learned by actively serving others in a variety of roles: as spiritual life coach, spiritual mentor, member of the Region VII Regional Service Team for the Cursillo Movement, organizing pilgrimages to the March for Life in Washington, DC and the World Meeting of Families, assisting with vocations efforts in my home diocese of Birmingham, Alabama, and launching and supporting other evangelization and catechetical initiatives like SmartCatholics, intergenerational faith formation, and my own apostolate, Say Yes to Holiness.
In my recreation time, I live as a promised Family member of the Apostles of Interior Life; enjoy participating in outdoor activities like hiking, running and cycling; read all sorts of books–everything from fantasy like James A. Owen’s Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, Stephen Lawhead’s Song of Albion Trilogy, JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series and Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy, to thrillers by Tom Clancy, James Rollins’ Sigma Force novels, the Cormoran Strike Series by Robert Galbraith, and books on leadership and peak human performance like Becoming Built To Lead, Atomic Habits, Unrepeatable, The Art of Impossible, Pivot, The Motivation Code, Unhackable, Invisible Solutions, Herding Tigers, The Twelve Week Year, and Unstoppable; watch television shows like Outlander, Superman and Lois, Blue Bloods, Game of Thrones, and The Mandalorian, go to the movies (especially to experience stories from the Star Wars, Marvel and DC universes); hang out with family and friends; and take care of our big goofball of a Chocolate Labrador Retriever, Max.
On average, I write a blog post a couple of times a week, so if you don’t want to miss anything, I invite you to Say Yes and sign up here to join me on the Way to holiness!
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