Meditation…pure bliss or pure torture? Sitting in utter quiet for minutes on end focusing on your breath. Nowhere to go, no one to bother you, nothing to accomplish. People who meditate often look so serene and peaceful. They seem to be in some ethereal state that the common man feels is out of reach. However, […]
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Monk: A person who dedicates his life to serving others and/or to a life of prayer and contemplation Mother: A person (usually a woman) who cares for children: nurturing, teaching, loving, and awakening goodness within them. Said person usually has little time for contemplation and is in great need of prayer. Is it possible to
Mommy Monk: How to Parent with Wisdom and Love Read More »
Growing up, I saw Jesus as a fully divine being walking the Earth in a physical body. He clearly had spiritual advantages that other humans did not. I figured it was something like a math PhD taking a fifth grade math quiz along with a bunch of first graders (the rest of us humans) and
Jesus in the Wilderness: What We Can Learn from The Temptation Read More »
Grief is different for everyone “Lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice.” Roy Sullivan, who survived being struck 7 times in his lifetime, would probably have disagreed with that statement. Our family, like Roy, is no stranger to repeat tragedies–I’m not the first in the family to grieve the loss of a spouse relatively early
Leaning into Grief: How to Heal from Losing a Loved One Read More »
Daddy Cardinal Each morning, I enjoy a half-hour meditation in our family’s backyard. We claim ownership of the place, paying our mortgage, property taxes, and rather extensive HOA fees. I mow the lawn when the weeds begin to get knee high in our paltry backyard (most of the rest is moss and dirt) or just
“Mine” vs. “Ours”: Becoming Rich in the Things of God Read More »
Four Types of Love How do you quantify the value of a human life? Is it the number of non-traditional breakfast foods a man consumes, the number of Orioles games or Law and Order episodes watched, or how many times his one-of-a-kind humor makes us laugh? I can only speak to my own experience with
An Agape Marriage: A Eulogy for My Husband Read More »
The Prelude My cousin Katie and I grew up as next door neighbors on the remains of a several hundred acre plot of land that our great-grandparents owned. I was older by a little more than a year. This was such a bonus as a kid. I got to do everything first–school, dating, driving, college,
How to Be a Good Human in 3 Easy Steps Read More »
I don’t like writing Though this statement is no longer true (you are after all, reading my blog), for many of my formative 20 years, I DESPISED writing. From scratching out thank you notes to pushing myself through college literary analysis essays, writing was drudgery. Yet, when God plants a seed within you, he finds
The Song Inside of My Soul: Why I Write Read More »
Seeing Beauty Our family spent the past three days in New York City, enjoying the beautiful sights. We walked to the center of Brooklyn Bridge and took in the gorgeous free view of the skyline. The boys requested to go to the MET, so we spent three hours viewing ancient Greek and Roman busts and
Overcoming Our Negativity Bias Through Joy Read More »
What is God’s Name? When our oldest was in preschool, he would pray the “The Lord’s Prayer” (The “Our Father” to our Catholic brothers and sisters) at church every Sunday, loudly and proudly: Our Father, Who art in heaven, Howard be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is
The Song of the Heart: Living the Lord’s Prayer Read More »
