Living
-
David Harburg, Daring to Dream
David Harburg is daring to dream. He’s putting on a concert to raise $11,000 to restore a vocational school in Kyakatara, Uganda. I have to say, it’s refreshing to find somebody whose “dreams” include putting their gifts at the service of helping those in need. This is all the more reason why we just have to help him reach his goal! The story of how he got here, is an interesting one. It began somewhere over the rainbow — quite literally. David is the great grandson of Yip Harburg, probably most famous for his song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. Yip Harburg was friends with the likes of Ira Gershwin and…
-
Mackinac Island, Building Community, and Taking a Break
Do you ever dream of days gone by, when life was simpler than it is today — no cars, no phones, no television — time to just be with people, and enjoy the simple things of life? Yeah, me too. The only problem is that when you actually think about all the time that was spent on cleaning clothes, maintaining a house, and cooking meals — you realize that those who have gone before us might have actually had less time to just be than we have. Sure, we can choose to get distracted by our phones, our televisions, and the things that don’t really matter — but we can also…
-
7 “Sure-Fire” Ways to Keep Your Kids Catholic
That’s right, folks, here’s my “7 sure-fire ways to keep your kids Catholic”. In just 7 easy steps, you too can keep your kids Catholic. Don’t forget to pre-order my book, Forcing Your Kids to Be Catholic in 7 Easy Steps, available where all parenting books for desperate parents are sold. 🙁 Quantities are limited. So get it today before they are sold out! Now, on to my 7 Easy Steps…Satisfaction Guaranteed. ~Step 1~ Accept That There’s No “Sure-Fire” Way to Keep Your Kids Catholic. Sad, but true. From the get-go you have to accept the fact that your kids, my kids — they have free will. There simply is no…
-
Clutter, Clutter, Clutter
This past weekend we participated in a beautiful Corpus Christi presentation. It was a lovely, prayerful procession — a great reminder of Christ’s promise that He would be with us always, until the end of the world. He was with us — and it was beautiful. It reminded me of the beauty of our faith. All the “smells and bells” of Catholicism, the procession, the people, the church building itself — they’re incredibly important. God made the physical world good, and He has redeemed it through His presence. This is especially true in the Eucharist: simple bread and wine become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of God. Amazing! And after…
-
Helping Our Kids Encounter Beauty
In last week’s post, Beauty Will Save the World. I shared why Beauty is the antidote to all the evil and ugly in our world. This week is more about the “how” to bring beauty into the lives of your kids on the daily. It will look different in every family, but I always appreciate seeing other peoples approaches to things that matter. Hopefully you do too! Without further ado, I offer you my 7 suggestions for helping kids to encounter beauty. ~1~ Is it Bad to Shelter Your Kids? Right up front I’d like to respond to two objections I hear out there in the world. The first is…
-
Beauty Will Save the World
“Beauty will save the world.” F. DOSTOYEVSKY, The Idiot Recently I found myself sitting in a faculty concert of some amazing musicians — it was such a gift. I just sat there and was transported to another place — a beautiful place. I found myself being overwhelmed by beauty — in a good way. It was a good moment — a series of good moments, really. It restored my mind and soul after a hectic week. It reminded me of the importance of beauty. Beauty — it’s important. It can lift a soul out of the depths of despair. It can satisfy our deepest desires in this life. It’s a foretaste of Heaven, and…
-
7 Ways to Make the Most of Your Summer
Summer is quickly approach. Yay for summer! I just love summer — I never want it to end — and if you’re anything like me, you want to make the absolute most of it. I was tempted to say summer “break” — but let’s be honest, life still keeps moving around us at a pretty hectic pace during the summer. Might as well leave “break” out of our vocabulary, or you might end up quite disappointed with your summer. The pace is definitely slower in the summer — but I have learned through the years that a complete shut down ends up in a disastrous beginning to my school year. For…
-
Dream Big. A.K.A… Life Doesn’t End With Kids
Before I was married, I travelled the country talking to kids about chastity. The year before I took on this crazy “job”, it wasn’t even on my radar as a possibility. I had thoughts of traveling as a missionary one day, but never in a million years did “Chastity Promoter” come to my mind. A funny thing happens when you start to seek out what God is asking of you, these things you never even dreamed of start to rise up in your thoughts — and desires you never imagined begin to surface in your heart. Honestly, my greatest advice before you pray the prayer, “Lord, what do you want of me?” is to buckle up —…
-
Moths, Momming, and Storing Up Treasure in Heaven
As some of you know, I am trying to make Sunday mornings a little less stressful by leaving for Church on time — it’s going as well as could be expected. Trying to be patient with myself, because old habits die hard. 🙁 For the past few months, one of the causes of starting off on the wrong foot on a Sunday morning (besides my poor planning) has involved throwing on one of my go-to sweaters for Sunday Mass — only to realize that there was a very noticeable hole in it. 🙁 At first, I didn’t think much of it — I didn’t have time to think about it — but after a few Sunday’s of finding holes…
-
Fostering Independence in Our Kids
This week, family is in town and we are getting ready for my oldest son’s Confirmation — Come Holy Spirit! As an aside, May is always crazy — why is that? It’s chocked full of really, really good things — it’s just too many good things for me to process while maintaining my sanity at the same time. 🙁 Wish me luck! I prepared a talk for a parents’ discussion a few weeks back, Ways to Foster Independence in Your Kids. Anyway, the talk was cancelled because of scheduling conflicts, but I figured I’d share my thoughts with you because it’s really worth thinking about. If you have read any of my previous posts, you know…
