Remarkable People Podcast

Mary Katherine Morales | Feeling Empty Inside, Being Held Hostage, & Living a Transformed Life | Episode 60

June 08, 2021 David Pasqualone / Mary Katherine Morales Season 3 Episode 60
Remarkable People Podcast
Mary Katherine Morales | Feeling Empty Inside, Being Held Hostage, & Living a Transformed Life | Episode 60
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Show Notes Transcript

Deaf as a child, captive to addiction issues in adolescence & early adulthood, held hostage for five days in Orlando, FL, shot once, former professional broadcaster, current author, consultant, business woman, and now proudly a Woman of Principle... Ladies, Gentlemen, & Friends around the world, welcome to the Mark Katherine Morales story!

Watch or listen now to this amazing podcast episode to not only hear how God has used MK in so many ways, but how she did it, and you can grow and overcome life in the same ways too!

GUEST BIO: 

Mary Katherine is an author, interactive workshop expert, accomplished professional and visionary leader. For the past 15 years, she has been inspiring women to embrace their divine purpose and live their dreams! She is an authentic, fun-loving, spiritual leader who is transforming, living courageously, and rising as a Woman of Principle – every day! However, her life was not always so inspiring! When she was 14 the Spirit of God literally gave her the direction, she would write a book. She heard the call a second time in her thirties suffering as an addict, on the verge of death and homelessness. Her book, Becoming Woman of Principle, was released in 2020.

FEATURED QUOTE(S): 

  • “There is no way you can fix this with make-up.”MK’s Dad

EPISODE PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: 

SHOW NOTES, LINKS, CONTACT INFO, SPECIAL OFFERS, & RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Contact MK:

  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WomanofPrinciple
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-katherine-mk-morales-574926bb/

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THE NOT-SO-FINE-PRINT DISCLAIMER:

While we are very thankful for all of our guests, please understand that we do not necessarily share or endorse the same beliefs, worldviews, or positions that they may hold. We respectfully agree to disagree in some areas, and thank God for the blessing and privilege of free will.

Mary Katherine Morales | Feeling Empty Inside, Being Held Hostage, & Living a Transformed Life | Episode 60

Hello friends. I'm David Pasqualone and welcome to this week's episode of the remarkable people podcast. And do we have a special episode for you today? We have the remarkable Mary Katherine Morales ,or MK, and she is going to share her story that will blow you away. She was deaf as a child. She had. Addiction issues.

She was held hostage for five days. She was shot. She was a broadcaster. And today she's a [00:01:00] woman, a principal. She has her own books that she's written. She has a coaching business and a consulting practice, and God has used her in so many ways. And you're going to get to hear how, not just her story. But how you can grow and overcome in the same ways.

So you can live a free life. So get ready for a remarkable episode. I am super pumped. I really enjoy talking to MK today. I hope you love the episode to listen all the way through the end, and she's got a really remarkable, special offer for you. So check it out before we begin the episode though, I just want to thank our sponsors.

Piece right. If you're watching, we've got two sponsors today. We have Pam Heinold, better homes and garden Realty, Pensacola, Florida. She's been supporting us since the very beginning of the podcast. We love you, Pam. We thank you. And if you were looking for a [00:02:00] home in Pensacola, Florida, a rental property, a vacation getaway call Pam Heinold, Pam H E I N.

O L d.com the next sponsor, another great, not just sponsor, but friend of mine. Rob Jackson, you heard Rob Jackson in a previous episode. He's amazing. He helped other of our guests. He was the catalyst. God uses a counselor to help them overcome the pornography and their marriage, the damage from their childhood and get them both back on track, serving God with joy and peace.

So Rob Jackson has a real gift that God's given him in counseling. He works. In different States that he's licensed in, but he can also coach in every state and he does it right through zoom. And I myself has talked to Rob and he's helped me tremendously. God really [00:03:00] uses the man. So I will put the links into the show notes for Pam and Rob, but.

You can't go wrong with either one. So at this time, unless you're driving, grab your pen in your paper, or I guess if you're working out, you can take notes later, but get ready for this remarkable episode of the remarkable people podcast. The MK Morales story. We'll 

PART 3 EPISODE RPP E60 Mary Katherine Morales: [00:03:22] Hey Mary Catherine, I'm doing awesome. How are you, man? I'm doing fantastic. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages today. Like we just discussed, we're here with Mary Catherine or MK. We'll refer to as MK for the rest of the show and you're in a special treat.

So MK, you know, the format of show, our listeners know the format of their show. We're going to go through your past what God used to form your life, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the fantastic. Then we're going to transition in your journey and you're going to pick out some of the obstacles you had overcome.

Some of the [00:04:00] challenges, the things that were really hard. And then share with us the practical steps of how you overcame them. So our listeners can too, then we'll transition into where is MK today and where are you going? So us, all our friends in this community can help you get there. Sound good. I love it.

Awesome. Then take us back. How were you born? Was it noon AF no eat? No, I'm just kidding, but start wherever you want in the MK story. And we will go from there. All right. Well first let me say thank you. And I just want to give a big shout out to all of your tribe. You mentioned that you have You have listeners from 80 countries.

So I just want to say hello and I want to say, thanks. My journey to becoming all that God has called me to be is like so many others. You're absolutely right. I had highs. I had lows. I had in-betweens, but through it, all the grace of God has been with me. I think my biggest challenge [00:05:00] was I was deaf as a little girl.

It was actually, I was in second grade and my second grade teacher called my mom and said, Hey, Sandy, I don't actually think that Mary Catherine is disruptive or disrespectful. I think that she is. Def, I think she has a hearing impairment and she was right. So that kind of sent me, sent me off into a series of doctor's appointments.

I was diagnosed as a young girl who was legally deaf and that was second grade. And I didn't get my hearing fully re restored until I was 13. And I remember Dave at that time really feeling for the first time that I wasn't good enough that I wasn't connected to people in the world. People would tease me because of my hearing impairment.

And that was the [00:06:00] first time I remember creating a story called I'm not enough. And that story carried with me through my teenage years and into my Years as a young woman, as an adult woman. But I, no. And before you go on, but just so we understand the forming first off, Mary Katherine, what kind of background?

I'm from new England. So for the first question you ask your buddies, where are you from? Like nationality? Right. So Mary Katherine, what kind of backgrounds at, so I'm Irish Catholic. That's what I was going to guess. I just didn't want to say born in a very small farm town and right outside of Chicago, Illinois.

Today there's probably less than 10,000 people in that town. And at the age of two, I moved to St. Petersburg, Florida, and mom and dad. [00:07:00] I have a brother named Johnny and we have a small family, but I have a huge Midwest family. Yeah, small, real American or small Irish Catholic. There's a difference, right?

What, how do you see the difference? Everybody? I knew we were Italian. I was first-generation American. And in my town you had, there was one race, the human race, but you have nationalism. You're proud of it. And you had the Italians, the Portuguese, the Irish, and the Irish had monster families like nine kids, 13 kids.

So that's why. And Mary, Catherine was like a net or Tony in Italy is like Mary Catherine with Irish Catholic. So I always get a kick. Well, we have I have 18 first cousins, 22nd cousins. So yes. We have a lot of family fun. We have a lot of family chaos. But we're all from that really small town.

That's awesome. That's awesome. I didn't mean to do real a story, but I [00:08:00] want to listen to us and get a, get that feel. So you definitely have that background and then you were deaf until second grade and then they finally picked up on it. How long did it take you? Cause you speak perfectly, like I've never met anybody that I know of that had a hearing impairment and speak so eloquently.

And clearly, did you go to therapy or how did that affect your development and social development? So from probably ages seven to 13, I spent a lot of time in hospitals. I spent a lot of time in my, my physician's name was Dr. Diamond and what they ended up discovering. It was an allergy or a series of allergies.

So I had a number of surgeries to kind of remove the buildup that was in my ears. And I kind of outgrew it. So at age 13, I remember very distinctly being in the doctor's [00:09:00] office. I used to go weekly to try to, you know, fix my hearing impairment. And finally, one day he said, you know what, Mary Katherine, I think you've outgrown it.

And I don't need to see you anymore. And so having this kind of hearing impairment even though I was a really, really great swimmer because the fluids would build up in my ears and would cause me to be deaf. You know, I had to wear I didn't take a shower basically from second grade until I was 13 years old.

I used to wash my hair in the sink. And so I remember the very first thing I did when I got home was I went into the shower and I just stood there and I. My parents finally knocked on the door, David, and was like, are you ever coming out of there? But what we take for granted like that sensation of the, our head kind of falling on top of your head?

I hadn't felt that in six or seven years. And [00:10:00] so but by that time, you know, I, I got very good at reading lips. I got very good at overcompensating for my limitation and my learning disability. Not very good at math because of that. I think I missed all of the basics, but I became a very good writer.

That's awesome. And yeah, anybody listening, who knows any kind of from the simplest to the most, what seems important when you're denied something that's just common. You have such a deeper appreciation for it. And I remember I ruptured the tunnel in my ear, not my eardrum. And I couldn't get it wet or go swimming for almost a year and a half.

And then as soon as I dunked underwater, the first time I thought, how long can I hold my breath? That's right. You just want to be under there. It's like, Oh, this feels so good. I can paddleboard again. But you had like hearing and [00:11:00] then when it cleared up, has it stayed clear sense or do you still have to be careful?

No, I actually full health, full restoration. Never looked back. I really believe it was one of the first miracles that I received in my life. I used to pray all the time. I actually, as a little girl when I was going through this, cause it was so hard again, I felt left out all the time. I remember praying that Jesus would come and sit on my bed and heal me of this hearing impairment.

Because I just wanted to be like, I just wanted to be like other kids, other teenagers and I wasn't for quite a while. And so, yeah. You dunking in the water and me like standing underneath the shower was just like, Oh my God, I haven't. Yeah, it's great. Now nothing. Usually sometimes there's things in life, there are instantaneous, but most of the time with us, there's like in [00:12:00] a healing process.

So you felt shy and you know, like you were saying insecure in a lot of ways. How did you build that confidence back? Was it just time or how did you break free? So people who are listening, who are shy, who have physical impairments, what advice do you have for them to kind of overcome and accept and to conquer?

That's such a good question. I wouldn't hope that my journey would be others. I associated myself worth with my hearing and that's not a prerequisite. Right people. I know a lot of people who have other types of disabilities or limitations, so to speak physically and don't have a confidence issue. But what I would say is that if I had truly believed that I was loved wonderfully and [00:13:00] fearfully made and perfectly imperfect I probably would have associated with others differently during my greatest challenge.

My confidence did not come back right away as a matter of fact it wasn't until many, many, many years later that I actually remembered how powerful and beautiful and special I actually am. So it was a long, hard process for me. As a matter of fact, my self-worth got much worse. I became, I started drinking a little bit in high school and began using drugs, you know, to kind of cover up the pain and the story of unworthiness, which made things even worse for many years.

And I, I'm happy to talk about that more if you want to, but it didn't get easier for [00:14:00] me. It actually got worse and I was actually very popular. I was a cheerleader. I, you know, all those things that are important, then, you know, I was in all of the clubs. I was, you know, homecoming queen high school college, but I felt very empty inside.

So there was a huge gap between how I showed up in the world and actually how I felt about myself behind closed doors. Yeah. I mean, sadly, that's all too common for us to struggle with. And we have listeners now, right now, listening to your story MK. And they are in that moment still. They're still stuck.

So if you have any advice at all, you can share your story, which is crucial and important. And it's yours. You're the expert in that. But if you can illustrate ways of how you grew out of it and how you overcame that, that would be great. Cause there's probably women listening right now. And men they'll be like, tell me how you did it.

You know? So the story that I created about myself [00:15:00] as a deaf young woman, even after I got my hearing back like I said, unworthiness, shame, not good enough, a ton of self doubt. It didn't matter what I achieved, how popular I became. I still had this emptiness inside and I really believe the practice that I picked up of comparing myself to others.

When I did have my hearing impairment is what led to that habit through my twenties and thirties. So what ended up happening is my out, you know, I tried, you know, some alcohol in high school and a couple of substances in high school. I went on, I became a college cheerleader. I was, again, I use that it was very good athlete, but it was a distraction.

So as soon as my so-called cheerleading career was over and there was no more sorority, there was no more orientation club at the university that I went to. I [00:16:00] was left with an empty canvas and instead of building a beautiful portrait of my life, I began the drug addiction became worse. The story of unworthiness and shame became worse to where I went from a very bright.

Woman in her twenties with a very dynamic career in broadcast media, representing national clients to a woman who was severely addicted. I lost my high paying job. My addiction became worse and I went through a lot of really, really intense challenges. And I don't know if you want me to talk about that.

I'm happy to do that. It's whatever you want, however, God leads you, you share open. That's why I was saying about their show. We go, we go deep and wide. We go all over the place and we'll always get back to your central message, but you go wherever, God leads you. [00:17:00] So here's the deal. Because I led a superficial life and because I really was more concerned about looking good.

And having fancy cars and being popular and social, you know, all of those things. I really wasn't. I became an empty vessel. That's not how I started, but because I B I cared more about what other people thought about me than I did what I really wanted to do and who I really wanted to be. I began living other people's lives.

I am a recovered addict. I'm a recovered alcoholic, but my journey took me to a place. I'll give you a real example. And I talk about it in my new book, becoming a woman or principle is the story of unworthiness and shame grew so much. And my addiction became so intense that I actually found myself kidnapped [00:18:00] for five days in a very dangerous neighborhood in Orlando.

Because I was making really, really bad decisions. And in that home, what ended up happening is a woman wanted to use my car. And I was like, I don't want you to use my car. And that's really where the violence began. So for five days they held me against my will. And they kept moving me from room to room because there were people in the neighborhood who didn't want me there and did everything that they could to try to get into the house.

And it was a very dangerous, it was very scary and it was an outcome of poor choices that I had made through my career in broadcast media and very lucky to get out of there alive. [00:19:00] So what ended up happening is I was held against my will for five days. The woman who had taken my car was arrested by the police.

And someone came into the house and David, they said, you know, you got to get rid of the girl because the cops are out there looking for her. So a bunch of guys came into the house. None of which I had ever seen before I begged that was my 30th birthday. And I'm 52 now. But so this was on my 30th birthday, but it came into the house and I said, please let me go.

It's my 30th birthday. My parents are going to be looking for me. I'll do whatever you ask. Long story short. They put me in the back of a car, drove me down the street. And I was thinking the whole time, Oh shit. Like this is the end for me. Right. But through the grace of God, another miracle in my life is.

Some guy that I don't know, drop me off [00:20:00] at a gas station. And Dave, within 30 seconds, a police officer came and said, are you Mary Katherine? And I said, I am. And he said, get into the back of my car. And he said, let me see your driver's license handed on my driver's license. And he said, wow, you're really beautiful in this picture.

And he said, if you keep coming back to neighborhoods like this, you will never recover. And you'll never look, you'll, won't look like this in a year's time. If you keep making bad decisions and keep putting yourself in such dangerous situations, he said, you're very, very lucky to be in the backseat of my car.

Yeah. And that's quite the true statement. Yeah. It took that officer. You know, I'm glad he said that to you because I know I've never had the privilege to be in military law enforcement, but I used to sell less lethal weapons and body armor. So I always got to hang out with great humans in that field.

And I remember [00:21:00] going in to the prisons and jails and seeing people right there being booked and women who are gorgeous and men 20 years old. And they looked like they were near death, like 50 years old and it takes its toll. So when he said that was at your first real wake up call, I, I knew what he was saying was true that I had just received another miracle that, you know, I didn't, I mean, the woman, her name was Tina.

She did throw me around in the house and I had a bunch of black, you know, bruises and but it was more, it was more of an emotional abuse over five days than really a physical abuse. But it left an imprint on me. You know, I became very afraid of different things. And I actually have a picture of what I look like the next day, because what happened is my parents became so overwhelmed.

They didn't [00:22:00] know how to help me. So they took me to a treatment center in Del Ray beach. And because I was so jacked up in my thinking, I didn't know what city I was in. I didn't know where I was. I just knew that they were taking me to a medical clinical environment, but I was so used to covering up. The internal turmoil and the pain.

And now this kidnapping, right? In addition to the drug addiction, that when I pulled up, my dad pulled up at this, how this clinical setting, the very first thing I did is I reached down and I got my purse and I started trying to like put makeup on and tried to do my hair. And he's like, what the hell are you doing?

There is no way that you could fix your life by putting on makeup and lipstick. He's like, you got to get real with where you're at. But I was used to covering things [00:23:00] up with clothes and cars and jewelry and money and, you know, nightclubs, fancy nightclubs. And when they dropped me off there at that treatment center I slept for three days.

And the only time they woke me up was to take my vitals. And it was on the third day that a woman named Doreen came in and said, it's time for you to get up. And that's amazing. Yeah. And that really was the beginning of a very long road of healing. I wish I could say that I stayed sober after that life-threatening, you know, environment, but that's not the case.

Yeah. And for those listening to the podcast, you can't see MK and she's a very beautiful woman. So I don't know if you want to share this. Now we have people watching on YouTube and we have people listening to the podcast, but in the show notes, if you want to share the picture, we can put like side by side, you know, for all of us to remind why we [00:24:00] don't mess and medicate with drugs and alcohol and for our kids to be like, Hey, the best of the best it can happen to any one of us, myself included.

And that's why I am. So I'd be happy to do that. And that's why I'm so passionate that either Jesus is who he says he is, and that we can have the kind of healing and power that he promised, or we can't. And that's why as a, as a confidence and freedom coach and two time author, the one thing I tell women over and over and over and over again, is with perseverance and following and implementing simply daily practices into your life, which I'm happy to talk about what I did.

We can transform our mind, our financial our marriage, the relationship we have with our children at every part of my life has been completely transformed. So fast forward. [00:25:00] I met my husband and I was able to somehow or another. I tried to hide my addiction and my alcoholism from him that always works.

It works really good. That's total sarcasm. Hey babe. I called you like two days ago. Where are you been? You know, so but I'll take you all the way to the end of the story. My husband asked me to marry him and I called my mentor at the time and I said, you know, Stephanie, I'm going to get married. And she's like, what?

You're going to do what you're getting married. No, that's a terrible idea. You're not sober. You're not well. And what about Al? What about Mia? And going back to, I like to say that Al alcoholism is all about ice self me, me, myself and I. All I cared about was my. Wedding dress, the party [00:26:00] invitations. I just wanted to get married and pretend like I had my life all together.

So we managed to get married. We had a beautiful ceremony. It was a Friday night. Everything you can imagine, the crown, the Tiara, the dress 300 guests in a candle lit room.

Well, it was, and what happened was the waitress comes over to me and she said, Mrs. Miralis I understand that. You wanted a non-alcoholic champagne, so the non-alcoholic champagne is on your left and the true champagne is on your right. And just wanted you to know that. Well, Dave, because I hadn't done the work.

To heal my heart and transform my mind as it talks about in Romans 12 two, I was still a beautiful woman, [00:27:00] but an alcoholic and address a broken woman in a beautiful gown. And my best friend was sitting next to me. And I was like, I think I'm going to have a glass of champagne. She's like, you deserve it.

I'm like you're dark Ryan. I do. And I was like off to the races and that one drink led to a series of other very intense events that led me to a treatment center. And, and Hey, I don't want to stop your story, but I do want to fill a gap. We went up to you're 30 years old and you're being checked in the first treatment center.

Then we fast forward into your getting married. Is there anything significant between there to fill in the gap before we move forward? Well, the I got married at 36, so between 30 and 36 basically I could say it in just a couple of sentences. I had periods of sobriety. I had periods where I did really well, [00:28:00] but I had not done the honest work to transform my life.

And talk about that honest work that might be where you're going in the future. So we'll hold off. But if there was honest work that you're talking about with give a quick definition, so people know what you're referring to. So the program that I've designed has five basic practices to it. And it's becoming beautifully transparent through the practice of honesty.

It's becoming impeccable through the practice of being your word, standing in victory, by running with champions, becoming generous through servant leadership and becoming wise through putting God first. So how I put any of those practices into my life on a consistent basis that six years that I'm referring to would have looked very, [00:29:00] very different, but because any time a human being is filled with shame and unworthiness, we begin to live our lives through a series of white lies.

And these white lies begin to turn into big lies and we live in an authentic life. And essentially that's what happened to me is because I refuse to practice simple honesty and live in transparency and really get the help that I needed. I continue to relapse over and over again. So I would build my career and then I would fall, I would take four steps forward in my marriage, and then I would make a bad decision and we would take two steps backwards.

So there really wasn't any sustained well-being in that six years. It was a series of [00:30:00] again, doing things really well. And then, because the foundation hadn't been laid, I would crash and burn. Yeah. And let me ask you a question you're medicating clearly, which I've done. Most of our listeners have done.

Do you know what you're medicating or, and hold on, let me say this. You probably know now, but is it okay to share in the air what happened. That you had to Medicaid, like, is there, what was the, what were you running from that you were trying to fill and hide from? You know, I've asked myself that question a hundred times and I wish that I could say I had this big dramatic, terrible childhood, but my parents were amazing.

I have an amazing relationship with my brother and always have I grew up in a loving home. There's nothing there other than the only thing I can really attribute it to was being deaf as a little girl. I began to create stories of unworthiness and shame, and the [00:31:00] spirit of fear comes to kill, steal and destroy.

And so the fear that I carried around in my life, I really became a chameleon. And I made some bad decisions and I wanted to be part of the in crowd, so to speak. And but there isn't anything other than just not ever thinking I was good enough. I had a lot of self doubt. Yeah. And I think for myself and for anybody listening for you, I mean, we have people listening, again, all different cultures, all different worldviews and belief systems.

But I know for myself, I've trusted Christ as my savior. And that was a game changer because when things were bad before and there was that emptiness, it was how do I fill it? And now when the crap hits the fan, my number one source of power is God. So is there a point in your story where you actually got a real relationship with God?

[00:32:00] I would say that ever since I was a little girl the first time that I heard from the spirit of God, I was 14. And I know that may sound weird to some people, but I was, it was 14. I had just gotten my hearing back and I was outside. It was a Saturday afternoon. And I literally heard the spirit of God say, you're going to write a book.

All right. So I ran inside, I got a red spiral notebook and I came back out and I began to write and I knew it would be a love story, but I got about two paragraphs in and it was like, nothing was there. What do you know about that kind of love at 14? Right. Fast forward in the middle of the, really the heat of my addiction.

This was before I moved to I think it was before I moved to Del Ray beach, but my dad was out cutting the lawn and he, they lived on this huge two acre piece [00:33:00] of property and I had drugs in the closet. And I was really torn. Do I do what I want to do? Or do I respect my parents and not use in their house?

So I went over to the closet and I reached in to get my drug of choice. And I was like, God, please, you know that I've loved you my whole life. And I am dying over here. Literally I'll take anything other than this. And I named off five major illnesses, all of the ones that you don't want. And once again, Dave, I really, I literally heard in my spirit, Mary Catherine, you will recover.

You will write a book about the journey through hell to home and you will recover. And I remember thinking in that, in that moment, I was like, that is the worst idea I have ever heard. No, I am not writing a book. I am [00:34:00] not telling the world that I'm an addict and that I feel like shit all the time, because I was so petrified of what people would think about me.

So I always knew that God was with me, but because I was so selfish and self-centered, and so afraid, I think it, I, it didn't ever really, until I started reading the word of God and implementing truth in place of the lies that I had believed about myself for a decade. That's when I really began to know that God loved me.

Just like it says in scripture that he knows who I am. He knows my hopes and dreams and what breaks my heart. And it was then when I began to read the word of God that I really felt close to him. Amen. Yeah. And if you, if anybody's out there listening, MKS had that journey, I've had that journey. And if you haven't had that journey yet, try it.

God [00:35:00] literally speaks to you when we read the word, he's speaking to us. When we pray, we're speaking with him just to have a dialogue and he loves you and he wants you there. Going back to this journey or having, I want the, if people are listening, a lot of times, we just go on with life and our frame of references today, and we just take things for granted.

In the last five years, it's become very easy to become an author, and it's very common people write books, but going back. You were like, it's like a big deal to write a book. And most people didn't say, Oh, I'm going to write a book. So this was something for a 14 year old girl to have God say, you're going to write a book.

I can't even imagine what that would, how intimidating and IX. I mean, maybe it was exciting. They were scared. You tell me, but that wasn't a normal thought. And you know, everybody today is like, you know, what is it? Their 15 minutes of fame, Andy Warhol, you know, everybody's [00:36:00] got their tick talk their camera in their face.

But reality back then, if you wrote a book, you're a big deal and God's telling you to write a book. So all right. So you're in treatment center at 30. You're having the struggle, but it's still not fully healing. And then you get married at 36 and you have a friend who gives you horrible advice and says, take a drink.

You deserve it. By the way, you're still friends with that person. She's still my best friend. So that's something that usually people like they are almost, it's not, self-sabotage, it's help sabotage, you know, they're So, so go on, bring us to that point. So you derail one drink, you, me, anybody out there listening, one moment can change our lives.

That moment brought you down. So talk about the journey back. So that moment led me to, it was, I was out on a 10 day run. My brand new husband. We've been married. We've been happily married now for [00:37:00] 15 years. Couldn't find me. I was gone for 10 days and it was the loneliest 10 days of my life. I was in the fight for my physical life, my spiritual wellbeing.

I was in a spiritual battle where literally I could I was seeing and hearing things that were really frightening, but I managed to get to treatment. And in the treatment center, Dr. Gettys is the one who. Rocked my world. He said, Hey, MK, get over here right now, have a seat. So we sat down in the kitchen.

He said, look, you need to listen to what I'm about to tell you your husband does not have what it takes to be married to someone who's going to go in and out of treatment centers for the rest of your life. I need you to know you are a brilliant, beautiful [00:38:00] woman, but your life is like a crystal ball.

You've had a tremendous amount of success and you've had a tremendous amount of trauma and chaos in your life, but you need to understand Mary Catherine, if you ever drink or use again, it'll be the pain in your crystal ball that will change your life forever. Your marriage will be over. You will, you will not be a mother.

I need you to decide what do you want for your life? And I don't know if anyone listening has ever had a moment like that, where literally you feel like your heart drops into your stomach and you get like a rush of butterflies and you can feel that visceral reaction through throughout your body. I was scared to death, and I knew that he was telling me the truth about who I had become.

He said, go back to your room, get on your knees and decide what you want your life to look like, because this is the [00:39:00] last chance you have. And that was like scared the heck out of me. So I went back to my room. I got on my knees and it was there that I knew that I wanted to be sober. I wanted to change my life.

I wanted to be confident. I wanted to be courageous and strong. I wanted to have a great relationship with God. I wanted to have a happy marriage. I wanted to be a good mom and I wanted to finally have my dreams come true. And more than anything else, I didn't want to be afraid anymore. I didn't want to be afraid of the dark.

I didn't want to be afraid of what people thought of me. I didn't want to be afraid of making bad decisions. And it was in that moment that I was set free from it. Amen. Amen. So some tough love leads to real results, right? Yes. And you know, I don't know if anyone's facing that kind of challenge today. [00:40:00] It may not be an addiction.

Maybe it's, you know, maybe you have another habit that is coming in between you and your children or you and your husband or your wife. And someone has recently spoken like the school of hard knocks over you and said, look, man, if you don't change your life, the life that you know is, is it's over. And you're kind of at that jumping off place where you have some big decisions to make, you know, I just want to remind you that you have what it takes.

Scripture says you are strong and you are courageous. You are valuable, you are dearly loved, and it doesn't matter what mistake you may have made. There's another way to live your life. And I'm living proof of that. Amen to that. So this treatment center would, is it someplace you'd recommend? So if we have listeners right now, like, man, I need help.

Is this a place you want me to put in the show [00:41:00] notes to reach out and help people. You know, it was called the watershed treatment center. I think they've closed over the last 15 years, but if they were open, I would absolutely. They saved my life and I've never seen Dr. Gettys again, since I've graduated from that program, but he absolutely helped to save my life.

So I think the message would be if you need help there's no shame and getting the support that you need, so you can live the life of your dreams and you can be free. And you can be joyous. Yeah. Amen to that. It would be cool if Dr. Gettys heard this somehow and it got back to you and you guys reconnected, we can do a follow-up episode after you guys do your private moments.

All right. So you have this literally a come to Jesus moment and take us from there and your story through today. So when I got out of the treatment center my husband and I [00:42:00] became partners in, you know, restoring our marriage, rebuilding our family. And the Bible says that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind.

So I got busy, you know, I have a really good friend of mine is a mentor of mine. Simon T Bailey has been a friend and a mentor. And so he kind of took me under his wing. I had a number of other women that helped me to work through some of the trauma and the drama in my life and build a very different life.

And that's what I've done today. So as Simon and I began to work together, he said, you know, Mary Catherine, the Holy spirit has told you twice. To write this book. And are you going to be obedient to what you know that you've been called to do, but I was still so afraid of, you know, what, if someone listening in my workplace realized that I used to be an [00:43:00] addict or an alcoholic or a woman filled with shame, what would that be like?

And here's the other miracle is when he said to me, Mary, Katherine, are you going to do what you know, the Holy spirit has asked you to do? This is how I came up with the book. I had one other major encounter with the spirit of God. It was a number of years ago and my husband and our daughter, we were in siesta key.

It was eight o'clock in the morning. I went into my prayer time. I went into the ocean and I got on my knees. And I don't know if you can picture a beautiful crystal clear morning, sun's coming up. Seagulls are singing. And I literally got on my knees and I looked up and I was like, father, God, you keep talking to Simon, but I haven't heard from you in years.

What do you want from me? And I heard three words that I had never heard [00:44:00] before, woman of principle. And this is the outcome of that prayer time with God. And then, and just so you know, if you're listening only to the podcast, you just held up her book, women of principles. So we're going to put that in the show notes, put a click so you can get it on Amazon or however you shop.

But man, that's amazing. Yep. So in that moment because I had never heard the words, print woman or principal whole four, and, you know, I didn't actually know what that meant. So I got busy. I did research and I began to read and write and pray and meditate and read the word of God. And it took a number of years.

And Simon asked me one other question, Mary Catherine, how did you go from being an almost hump homeless drug addict, a woman filled with guilt and shame and a hundred forms of fear to being MK [00:45:00] 2.0, confident, clear about your purpose. Honest integrity and. So that's where I came up with the five practices and I began to write the book.

And the book is really designed in three ways, the journey through hell to home, because we all have that journey. I don't know anyone who hasn't had their own journey through spiritual health, financial, you know, insecurities, cancer, addiction, something trauma. And then there are practices to living courageously, but ultimately the purpose of the book is to empower and equip rising women of faith to reach their full potential and live with freedom and joy.

That's fantastic. Now, even though your gear. Is I, and I agree with this. I think men should focus on [00:46:00] men and ladies should focus on ladies. It's just more effective and there's less complications. But even though your book is geared towards women, can men benefit from it? Also, I take it or is this like pretty much female only?

I've actually had my husband, my dad, and three of my best male friends. And they've said like, Hey, what about us? Everything that you wrote about in your book, we need spiritual transformation. We need to, to, to have practices and principles that help us. So absolutely the men should read it. And the women should definitely read it.

Yeah. And then what's the age appropriateness of it? Is it something that like, you know, a young teenage girl it's probably overhead or is it dead on for what she's dealing with? Or is this something more for the middle age and older women? So I've been asked that question quite a bit. I have three goddaughters Madison, Chloe, and Skylar.

They've all [00:47:00] read the book. They're 18 to 21 now, but they read it a year and a half ago because it's a perfect book for a younger woman, because I think it level sets expectations that the story of unworthiness and shame is a bowl is a bullshit lie. It's, it's, it's not the truth about who we are.

And it's a, it's a powerful demonstration that when we care more about what others think of us, and we don't really take the time to develop a life and a thought process that aligns with what God originally intended for us, your life can go in a million different directions. But I would say my primary tribe and I do have a community called women are principle.

The average age is 35 to 60 65 that are in that, in that group. But any woman's struggling in their journey of this self-doubt and [00:48:00] this trying to fill that void, it would be great catalyst for them to use in their life. If there's a woman or a man in your tribe, in your community, that is struggling with self doubt, fear, insecurity, and wants to know whether or not God is who he says he is this book and the five practices can help you to discover your purpose and actually live into what God originally intended for you.

And yeah, that's all we need. That's absolutely what we need, you know, to know your purpose and to fulfill it. Wow. So, MK, we've gone a long way. We've talked about a lot of great stuff from your birth to today. Is there anything we missed before we go to where you're heading next? Anything else you wanted to discuss or share?

Well, I'd like to talk about one of the practices because this is the one practice throughout [00:49:00] my entire life. If I had practiced this particular habit, I wouldn't have got myself into trouble and it's the one that saved my life. Amen. Let's do it. That's what the show is all about. Right? So the very first practice is called becoming beautifully transparent through the practice of honesty.

So first I think it's important for your listener to understand there's a, there's a vast difference between a practice, a value. And a principal, Oh, a practice is something it's a daily habit. It's something we implement into our life over and over and over again. And because we implement this practice, we become, it becomes embedded in who we are.

Right. It's like going to the gym, you go to the gym once and your biceps may or may not, you may have some, you know, genetic disposition, but if you go to the gym [00:50:00] and you practice working out squats and bicep curls, and I can tell you work out a lot, then you have definition through the practice, right?

So a value is something that is like, honesty is a value. Would you agree that honesty is important? Oh, wholeheartedly a hundred percent. So honesty actually can be a principle or a value. But values are something that change over time. They're flexible as our mindset changes are our values change, but because they're flexible, we can also compromise our values and I'll get back to that in just a second, becoming a woman, a principle, or a man of principle means that we live our life by a set of guiding principles that transcend circumstances, experiences, and even my belief systems.

[00:51:00] And I'm going to give you an example. So let's say you and I are in a conversation, you and I both agree that honesty is a practice because we practice it over and over. It's a daily habit. We're honest that the little things and the big things. And Hey, just so you know, if your anybody's watching, I keep smiling because I don't know if you realize this I'm K, do you know what our slogan is?

Our tagline. Tell me, listen, do repeat for life. Listen to good wisdom. Do it every day. Repeat it consistently. So you can have a great life in this life, in the next and your senior, just like our community. You're just nailing that slogan. So if people saw me, why is Dave laughing at MK? I'm not laughing at MK.

I'm enjoying the Holy spirit right now. Amen. So we both agree that honesty is an important practice and it's an important value, but you asked me a really [00:52:00] hard question. Maybe it's about my political views. Maybe it's about my religious preferences. Maybe it's about something that's important to me.

And all of a sudden my, my belief system kicks in and my limiting belief system takes over. You asked me a hard question, let's say about my political preference. And I might say something to myself like, Oh my gosh. If I tell Dave what my political preferences are, maybe he won't agree with me. Maybe it'll ruin our relationship.

Maybe he'll condemn my political perspectives. And instead of being honest with you, which is a value in a practice, you and I just agreed is really important. We live in a culture that says white lies are okay. It's okay to tell Dave a white lie, because you don't want to hurt his feelings. You don't want to ruin [00:53:00] the relationship.

You don't want to say something that comes in between you and your relationship with whoever that person is. And I compromise my value because I think I'm doing you a favor now. The principle that I talk about in the book is transparency, transparency, transcends political views, belief, systems, interpretations, and experiences, because transparency just like this glass of water is super transparent, right?

The minute I tell you a small white lie, I have compromised my practice. I have compromised my, my, my my value. And now this transparent glass of water is like dropping black drops of [00:54:00] tea or black coffee in it. It forever changes the context of the relationship between you and I. Yeah, and it takes a lot of flushing and washing and time to get it back to clear if it can be done, if it can even be done.

So as a woman, a principal, what I would say if my guiding principle is transparency is I would say, Dave, you know, this is the first time that you and I are having this conversation. I love you as a child of God. I respect you as a business leader, and I'm going to be honest with you. I'm going to be transparent with you because I'd rather have us disagree on the issue than tell you a lie and lose you as a friend forever.

Yes. And that's a very good tactful way to say it. I'm so old school I'm like half Tufts scan or we, you know, just say it how it is. That's right. So it's like the mentality today though, is really, everybody's so damn sensitive and everybody's so [00:55:00] touchy and Oh, you said that word. Oh, how can you say that word?

It's like, come on guys, you shut up. You know, people are way too sensitive and people are way too dishonest. And I personally believe, I'm glad you're basically saying overcome your fears and be honest, be real. And that's what we have to have it talks about in the Bible. Especially first Shaun, it talks about the darkness and light and how the two can't have fellowship.

And if you're in the light, everything's going to work out and we don't have to agree. We can agree to disagree, but either you're right and I'm wrong. I'm right. And you're wrong or we're both wrong because God's always right. And our, our journey is to seek truth. You know, our journey study to show yourself approved a Workman unto God and yet not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

That's exactly what I'm saying is biblical. If you're listening to this and don't be afraid because people say all over the world, not just America, that Oh, never discuss politics and religion. Well, Hey, dummy, not you're a dummy, but if somebody, those are [00:56:00] the two most important things. Have you seen our society?

Have you seen the lack of morality? Have you seen the problems that we're having as a nation? There's one race, the human race, there's different cultures. There's different types of belief systems, but people are people and you're letting each other kill each other because of color of skin and because of bias.

And you have these horrible politicians purposely poking the bee's nest. So listen to MK, kick these politicians out of office and follow Christ. So keep preaching. MK. I'm totally on board. Well, and I learned that the hard way. And so people say, well, duh, of course, honesty is important, but I would ask you without condemnation, without judgment to go back over the last 72 hours to seven days of your life, where have you told any white lies to your colleagues, strangers, your [00:57:00] coworkers, your husband, your wife, your spouse, your children, and instead of condemning yourself for it.

What I would ask you to do is ask yourself, what is the fear? What are you afraid to lose? And, and to go back and, and make a commitment and learn how to develop the habits and the communication practices, because any, as long as we put looking good and being right over and above the relationship, and if you multiply this, if let's say in your office, you have 10 people and they all tell small white lies to each other all day long.

How is that going to implement your culture and your bottom line? Yeah, I was going to have a negative effect and it's going to be compounding that's right. And if the spirit of fear comes to kill steal and destroy, and life and death are in the tongue, [00:58:00] we have the power to transform the world. But it begins with me, like Andi said, right?

Let the change that we want to see in the world begin inside. So as I become committed to be practicing simple honesty and living a transparent life, I can live with more freedom. And as an, as a recovered addict and alcoholic, I can tell you that when I made the commitment to be as transparent as possible, my freedom parallels my commitment to transparency.

That's fantastic. And that is so true. And if you're looking for freedom, you know, reach out to MK reach out to me and I'll try to point you in the right direction, do whatever it takes to keep searching. Cause you don't want to be in the hole you're in. I don't want to be in the hole I've been in. You know what I mean?

I don't want to go back. So. [00:59:00] Searching for truth and implementing truth. All right. So MK, any more on that topic on that principle, you have five ladies and gentlemen, it's only one of the five, so make sure you're talking to MK pick up her book, you know, reach out and give her a call if you need to, if there's coaching that you need, but I'm emptying anything else on that topic.

No, I would just say that I once heard someone say there are many levels of honesty, but there's one truth. And so every time we have the courage to be honest about ourselves or about situations or experiences that we are facing, that it's like climbing a spiritual staircase one step at a time, we become closer to the supernatural truths of God.

And that's where the freedom is. Yeah. And one thing you touched on too, that I want people to understand is I know in my life I was surrounded by liars grownups. So I hated liars even before [01:00:00] I trusted Christ as my savior. And I always try to be like exceptionally honest and transparent, but I know in my life, the times where people ask you those direct questions and everything inside, you wants to lie in the flesh.

Right. We all have that. Don't lie about that. But those moments is when I was ashamed, because fear and shame, it was like, did you blank? And then your natural fresh? No, not at all. And inside you're like, Oh, Oh, Oh, please don't know. Please don't know. But those are the times that, you know, we lie and then you're gonna make it worse.

Cause then you gotta go back and tell the truth if you want to get right with God. Right. So listen to what MK saying, listen to what I'm saying more than listen to what God's saying. Don't be a dummy. See, and just here to, he has two objectives to one, keep you from trusting Christ as your savior. To, to destroy your life once you do so you can't tell anybody else, he's pretty much a basic guy.

And you know what, Dave, I'd love to piggyback on that because even more than destroying your [01:01:00] life like outright, like there are two kinds of themes, right? There's the theme that's going to kick in your door and you come home from work and all your material items are gone. And you're going to know that you're robbed and you're going to be like, Oh my God.

But the enemy that I think we're facing is just going to shave $10 off of your account every day or every few days. And you're not even going to miss it. And that's how I became an addict and got to the place where the kidnapping. I also have suffered a gunshot wound because I found myself in a really intense situation.

I didn't get there overnight. And that's, that's the power of transparency. And I, this was actually the hardest chapter for me to write David, because it implies that I think your listener, that the reader is an out and outlier and that's actually [01:02:00] not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that as powerful people in the world, if we want to live in power, freedom, confidence, connection with the people that we love, I'm saying, I know you're an honorable man.

I know you're an honorable woman. What, what is that one little area? How could you step away from those small white lies and really, truly become free in your skin and in the world? And that's the big challenge. I think that most Americans face today. Yeah. The only thing I'd add to that, it's just not just most Americans it's most people.

Yes. I mean, any culture. They got the same struggles. So, I mean, it might be wrapped differently or politically different, but it's just, yeah. So, okay. Well, MK, you've been, it's been a great conversation. I'm looking forward to continuing this. Anything else we missed between your birth and today, and then if not, let's turn this conversation [01:03:00] around.

Where's MK gone. What's your vision and where are you heading? So maybe me and the listeners can help you get there. Oh gosh, I appreciate that. So a little bit about me. I am a two-time author, as you know, I'm of a freedom and confidence coach. I coach women, small group coaching settings, and one-on-one but I'm also a nonprofit executive and brain health and education.

So I think where I'm going is we have a beautiful community of women called women of principle. We are on Facebook. You can learn about it on LinkedIn. And the mission of that group is to empower and equip rising women of faith, to rise to their full potential through spiritual transformation. And that's where I'm at now.

And that's really where my my true passion is. And then what's the best [01:04:00] way for people listening today or watching today to get ahold of you and get connected. So LinkedIn, they can go to Mary Katherine, and then there are parentheses MK Miralis on LinkedIn. They can go to women of principle on Facebook.

I have a private group there but I also have an I'm redesigning my website, but if you want to learn more about me, about my hearts I'm also a devoted wife, mom, you know, woman of God, servant leader, you can go to woman and principal.com and that's my website. And you can reach me there. That's and we will put all those links in the show notes.

So people, if you're listening, don't get in a car accident, try and write down, write, go back, replay it, check out the show notes and we'll get you there. MK, it's been a true honor and a privilege. Anything else you want to share? Anything else we can do for you to help you? Well, if you're looking [01:05:00] for a speaker, you know, predominantly, if you're looking to transform your life, If you're looking for practices and principles that will help not only with your spiritual transformation, but help your company to meet its bottom line.

I'm available for retreats. I'm available for workshops and would love to be considered for that. Awesome. So you heard it, you can not only just listen to this episode and share it with your company. You can hire MK and get her in and whether it's zoom or physical in person, depending on where you live, you know, flyer, if you can get her firsthand and then have a great meeting.

So MK, it's been a true pleasure and honor, thank you for being here today to our listeners. We love you. And like Mary Kay said, Mary Kath. I keep saying Mary Kay now. Sorry. MK, Mary Catherine. Like she said, like our slogan says, don't just listen to this. But do [01:06:00] it, repeat it. You can have a great life. We're not benefiting everything, anything other than someone shared this with us, because God loves us.

God loves you. Take this info and run with it. So I'm David Pascoe on that was MK. Check out the special offer right after this episode in seconds. And then we'll see you next week. Ciao. 

PART 4 SPECIAL OFFER RPP E60 Mary Katherine Morales: [01:06:23] Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you love this episode with MK. I seriously, sincerely did. And I am looking forward to listen to it again. I don't know if you know this, but every episode I record, I listen to once and the post production, so that's twice. And then I listened to it. Third when it goes live. So I'm listening to every episode, at least three times.

And they're a blessing to me because this is led by God. I hope it's a blessing to you. But I'm really looking forward to relisten to this episode. So thank you, MK and Oh yeah. And for our listeners, M cash has a special offer for you. So MK, [01:07:00] you're sharing your story with us. You're sharing your wisdom and insight, but you're also sharing more with our listeners and our community.

What do you got for them? 

Okay. I have two offers. The first is if you go to woman@principal.com, you'll see two very special offers. The first is a free copy. Electronic copy of my book, becoming woman of principle, which is about three things, transforming your mind, living courageously and rising to your call.

The second gift I have for you is a brand new guided workbook that I just created called overcoming self-doubt through God's promises. Again, if you go to woman or principal.com, you can get one or both of those gifts on me. And I really appreciate it, Dave. Oh, we appreciate you. MK. So as a listener, what's better than great wisdom that you pay for great wisdom.

That's free. So go ahead and check that out. MK. Thank you so much. We love you to our listeners. We love you too. [01:08:00] And MK really appreciate you have a great day and we look forward to following up with you soon. Thanks everyone. God bless you. All right. Have a great one. And ladies and gentlemen, we'll see you next week.

You can binge watch the episodes from the past in between they're evergreen. You can tell your friends, you can share, you can like you can subscribe, you know what to do, but more than anything, go live a fantastic remarkable life and then go tell others how to do it for Jesus. We love you and we'll see you next week.

Ciao.

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