Childhood Poets My oldest son enjoys writing poetry. Perhaps I’m biased, but I think he’s quite skilled. Some of his poems miss the mark, but some are objectively quite good. Age It may be a number but actually it is a blank page on which to orchestrate your purpose. Turtle Turtle looks from its shell-covered […]
The Most Important Message Your Child Needs to Hear Read More »
The Stranger One of my favorite childhood memories is hearing my dad whistling (slightly off-key) the intro to Billy Joel’s “The Stranger”. Something in me understood the lyrics to this song even as a young child. Yet, as an adult, I prefer another term for it: “the shadow”. We all have parts of ourselves that
Banishing Perfectionism: A Lesson In Shadow Work Read More »
Follow Thee More Nearly My mom LOVES Godspell. I thought I would like it–after all, I loved the song “Day By Day”. Then I watched part of the musical. Maybe I was just born in the wrong decade, but I couldn’t get into it. Yet, despite wondering why frolicking in the Central Park fountain is
Day by Day: Living True to Your Heart (and God’s Will) Read More »
God and Prayer How often have you prayed and received nothing but silence on the other end? Often we give up on God, falsely believing that we are too small and insignificant to matter to the creator of the universe. On the contrary, God hears and responds to every one of our prayers. However, he
Meeting Insanity with Love: How God Answers Prayers Read More »
I’m an engineer by training, a math teacher by trade…I like certainty. It just feels better when life makes sense. When A causes B, which causes C. When I can see and feel God’s hand on my life. But this week, that just isn’t the case. I’m in the early stages of writing my second
More Questions Than Answers…A Conversation with God Read More »
With the dawn of the Renaissance and Reformation comes the Catholic response to it all: the Counter-Reformation (oh–such a creative name!). The Catholics tried to get rid of all the corruption that had snowballed and led to the Protestant split. In some ways, they were successful (when’s the last time you’ve tried to buy your
How to Ascend by Going Within: Teresa & John Read More »
My Sole Desire On New Year’s Eve of this year (well, technically last year), I stressed the importance of God taking the lead in our lives. That is, the importance of our only desire being God reigning within our hearts and speaking and living through us. Then I made a cheeky comment about their not
Surrender…What Happens When God Takes Over Read More »
Lent is Upon Us… Besides the color purple, the cross, and cats choking on Easter grass, Lent also reminds me of fasting. For us Catholics, fasting can mean giving up food (sometimes just specific types of food) or a bad habit. Some take the whole fasting thing seriously. Others, not so much. Several times during
To Fast, or Not to Fast? The Value of Asceticism Read More »
The Clock Will Strike Midnight I remember the first time I heard Steven Curtis’ Chapman’s song, “Cinderella”. (Click the link to listen to the song if you have not heard it previously–the rest will make MUCH more sense–I promise! However, you will want to have tissues nearby–you’ve been warned!) At the time, I couldn’t much
Cinderella: Embracing the Beauty in the Present Moment Read More »
Note: This is the fifth installment in a series on the Christian contemplatives. For the first article in the series, please click here. Gregory the Great: Setting the Stage for the Medieval Period As the 6th century drew to a close, Rome forced the son of a Roman senator and a Christian mother into the
The Medieval Contemplative’s Dilemma: To Serve or Pray? Read More »
