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February is the Worst and Getting Ready for Lent
February is the worst — the absolute worst. It really is, and I know we’re supposed to get out our gratitude journals and look for the positives contained within the worst month of the year — but today, I’d rather complain about it. I don’t want to be grateful for February. I’d rather despise February and pray it passes by quickly. At least it’s only 28 days — so I guess that is a positive — but beyond that, I have little else good to say about it. I’d probably like February if I could lay in bed all day, watching English dramas while ignoring the many things that need…
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That Time We Went to Sintra (Part 2)…Thinking on Heaven.
After reading Part 1 of “That Time We Went to Sintra”, you might be wondering why we put all the time, effort and money into making these epic family pilgrimages happen — afterall, they do tend to resemble Survivor far more than a relaxing family vacation. My simple answer is that those extreme conditions that we usually find ourselves in while on pilgrimage are actually quite good for us. They really are. They act as a great test for where we are in our spiritual lives. Those humble moments of realizing you are not behaving like the “best version of yourself” remind us that we could be a pretty awful person without…
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That Time We Went to Sintra (Part 1)…a.k.a Never, Ever Be Vulnerable With Your Kids
Well, it’s been an intense week, so I thought I’d lighten it up a bit with that time we went to Sintra, Portugal. Sintra is an Unesco World Heritage Site — and for good reason — when you step off the train to Sintra, you feel as if you’ve stepped into a fairy tale. That is, except for one minor itty-bitty detail — everybody else in the world seems to be trying to visit this magical place at the same time. It’s really crowded. We had planned to jump on the bus system that looped around to all the sites, but the wait to get onto one of the buses…
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Herculaneum, Memento Mori, and Striking Out Against the Darkness
Today is a somber day. It’s a day when we remember the 59 million babies aborted since Roe V. Wade. It’s also a day where we remember their mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers. It’s a sad day for many. Last year, I wrote this post about Why We March. If you want to know why we march, please read that post. There is no judgement here, only love. If you regret your abortion, please know God wants to heal you and bring you past that hurt. He loves you — always has and always will! For more information on healing, start here. Like I said, it’s a somber day,…
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Lessons Learned from Getting Outdoors
Sometimes we can grow too comfortable with being comfortable. We live in a world that offers us so many artificial comforts, and if we’re not careful we just might choose comfort over real life. As much as possible, we need to pull ourselves away from the artificial and reconnect with the real — real people, real terrain, real life — and getting outdoors is a great way to do that. Getting outside isn’t just good for our body, our souls benefits from time spent outdoors as well. Whenever I feel like my prayer life is becoming really dry, just get me outdoors and all of a sudden it’s like my…
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Discovering our Gifts and Being a Blessing to Others
Merry Christmas! How’s your Christmas going? We’re currently getting ready for a family ski trip. Getting excited! All the preparation has reminded me of the blessings that one couple’s generosity has provided to so many families throughout the years. Every year, this particular couple spends their time negotiating pricing and seeing to all the details so that other families will be able to go on an affordable ski trip, packed with fun. It’s become a tradition for us — and one we look forward to during the bleak winter months. It brings light and joy to the darkest days of the year. Most of the families in attendance on these…
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Merry Christmas in 7 Quick Takes
Merry Christmas, everyone! Lots going on with year end, so I’m going to try to keep this one short, but sweet — no guarantees, but here goes. A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say, so here’s my Christmas so far, in pictures. ~1~ Joy Sunday, Put Up the Tree It was one of those years where everything seemed packed into an itty bitty Advent — but we made it! We managed to find a lovely tree on the Eve of Joy Sunday and kept up our tradition of decorating the tree on Joy Sunday. I just love Christmas trees, don’t you? I never want to take…
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Dealing With Difficult People
Well, it’s that time of year — chocked full of family gatherings and recitals and work parties galore. Sometimes, what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, can end up becoming quite stressful — ’tis the season for encounters with difficult people. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love this time of year. I love the opportunity to spend more time with the people I love and to get to know better the family, friends, and familiar faces that I don’t see so often — but there’s no guarantee that every encounter is going to be a pleasant one, am I right? I wrote this post…
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Fr. Solanus Casey’s Beatification and Asking for the Things We Need
Faith is a funny thing. When you’re a child, it often has no bounds. As you grow older, though, faith can begin to grow cold — almost without our noticing it. We can grow skeptical, jaded, and even weary of our prayers. Which is why we need a man like Fr. Solanus Casey to remind us of the place of faith and miracles in our lives, even today. It’s why we decided to trek to Detroit with people from around the country to celebrate the Beatification of Fr. Solanus Casey this past November. These are big deals in the life of the Church and we wanted to have a celebration…
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Letting Go of “Perfect”
“Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”. This quote by Voltaire seems to be thrown around quite a bit as of late. The truth be known, Voltaire was actually rather anti-religion in his sentiment, but I’m guessing that if this mother of six kids sat down with Voltaire, the youngest of five, there would be much we could agree upon when it comes to perfectionism. Just the other day, I was reminded of the changes that have happened in my life in my own battle against perfectionism. I was in the middle of cleaning windows (one of my Advent resolutions) and came upon this scene: The old me…
