Talking
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7 Things I Am Grateful For
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your celebrating was beautiful and you have woken from your turkey coma and are full of gratitude for the time you had with family and friends yesterday. I hope you soaked up all the great conversations and food and wine that you could, because just around the corner is Advent, which is traditionally a time of fasting. Just remember, it’s the lukewarm ones that God spits out of His mouth — so if you have got the feasting thing down, the next season of Advent is a great time to get the fasting thing down, too. That being said, today is a day to reflect on all…
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Apparently, I’m HUGE in Lithuania
Hey guys! I had planned to write about our Anniversary and bringing our kids back to the spot where John proposed in Glendalough, Ireland — but alas all of that will have to wait because of a little bit of housekeeping. E-mail list housekeeping, that is. It all started last month when I began receiving copious amounts of sign-ups for my e-mail list. At first I was left to wonder which thought-provoking post had led to all these signups?! Then I noticed an unusual repetition of certain names from the same server which I linked back to the Lithuanian government. Guys, Apparently, I’m HUGE in Lithuania. Who knew? Or…
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You Are Not Enough — But That’s Okay, Because Jesus Is.
The phrase, “You are enough” has become a big catch phrase that has blown up social media and Christian circles for the past year or so. Honestly, I was kind of sold on the concept — that is, until I wasn’t. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to attack all those good people out there trying to help, especially women, to accept themselves for who they are. The problem is that, like many slogans, it all depends on what you mean. Yes, God made us good. Yes, He made us in His own image and likeness. So, in that respect we are enough and are worthy of being loved…
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Nobody Puts Mary in a Corner
Last week, I was sitting in Mass trying to pay attention during the homily — and failing miserably. I just couldn’t help myself from thinking about that famous quote from the oh-so-popular-and-yet-so-awful movie, Dirty Dancing. That famous line of Patrick Swayze, “Nobody puts Baby in a corner” just kept popping up in my head. The struggle is real, people. Those of you who have no idea what I am referring to, you must have had a very blessed childhood — for the rest of us, I’m sure we can agree it was hardly the place for that memory. At least I could be comforted by the words of St. Teresa of Avila…
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Will He Find Faith? A.K.A. What’s Next?
We all survived our Irish pilgrimage — hip, hip, hooray — but the transition back has had it’s challenges. Not going to lie, I am also missing Ireland a bit — I wasn’t expecting to miss it like I do. It was a grace-filled time, and when a time of grace comes to an end, it is challenging to enter into “ordinary life” again — whatever that is. Honestly, I knew it would be beautiful and we would have fun as a family, but I was worried that the faith would be missing from our trip to Ireland. I wondered if all the priests would just be going through the…
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A Crisis of Holiness
Recent scandals among some of the Cardinals and Bishops in the Catholic Church have left many Catholics angry — angrier than I have seen faithful Catholics in a long time. We should be angry and we need to be bringing these things out into the light. We also need to move beyond discussion and do our part to right the wrongs –and that is going to look different for each one of us. I have to admit, some people’s reactions have worried me a bit — only because I have seen a subtle attack on the authority of the Church that has little to do with solving these problems. I agree…
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Perhaps It’s Time to Flip Over Some Tables
I begin this post with a bit of trepidation. The truth is, I don’t want to come down on the wrong side of things, because coming down on the wrong side of things would mean finding myself in a battle against Jesus and His Church — which is not my intention. No Siree! To be clear, my beef is not, nor will it ever be, with the Church Christ established. My beef is with the people who are trying to destroy it from within: the abusers, the careerists, the wolves in sheep’s clothing. I write this after a few days of wrestling with the reality of a Cardinal in the…
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Seeking Out Community
Summer is in full swing, and for us Midwesterners that means making the most of the beautiful weather and packing our summer with parties and get-togethers. Honestly, it can be exhausting — but it’s the best kind of exhausting. It’s the kind of exhausting where we get a chance to catch up on each other’s lives and have deeper conversations about ourselves and our families and the things that matter most to us. It seems many of our get-togethers, as of late, have included conversations about the desire to live an intentional life — to not get stuck in the weeds of life, but to live our lives with purpose.…
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Choosing Your Battles Wisely
Being a parent can be exhausting sometimes. The physical demands of life with littles, combined with the emotional demands of responding to the deeper needs of your children has its challenges — which is why we need to choose our battles wisely. Believe me, if you’re a parent who cares about your children, there will be battles. Kids are naturally going to try to push the limits, at least a little bit, and these are great opportunities to clarify what you value as a family. These moments can help our kids to develop their own moral character. They also force us to examine why we believe what we believe and to own…
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Staying Consistent in a World of Sound Bites
We live in a world of soundbites and scrolling slogans. More than ever before, we need to be a people who think deeply and remain consistent in our approach to the challenges our culture is facing. If we don’t take the time to really examine our own ethics, to develop our morality in a way that is consistent, we’re not going to have the answers we need when the challenges get complicated. Recent events at our nation’s border have really left a lot of people upset by what they are seeing, and for good reason. I don’t know enough about what is happening at the border to offer the solution…
