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Staring at the Serpent
Through an unfortunate series of events, already enumerated in the update I shared this morning, today’s original post was irretrievably lost. The thought has occurred to me that maybe the devil didn’t want me to finish that post — which, I know, sounds strange, but I feel like this little conversation we had with a man named Stewart is crucial in taking back what has been lost in recent years. It’s hard to even describe what has been lost, but maybe you have felt it, too. It’s as if we (and by “we”, I mean “Christians”) have given up the good fight and gone into defensive mode, just trying to…
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Once Upon a Time in Melaka a.k.a. Making the Case for Pilgrimage
Technically, John and I made our first family pilgrimage to Rome when our oldest daughter was still in utero. Understandably, our life with littles quickly transitioned from world travels to beach travels — and somewhere along the way, we began to lose sight of the importance of pilgrimage. Maybe it was because I assumed deeming something a “pilgrimage” would bring with it extra sufferings and hardships, and I was barely keeping my head above water with so many littles in the mix, as it was. Whatever it was, we likely would have kept choosing family vacations over pilgrimages if it wasn’t for an opportunity that John and I had to…
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Why We Travel With Our Kids
Summer is here and the living is easy. It’s time to start thinking about your next family adventure. Yeehaw! Don’t get me wrong. There is most definitely a time and a place for couple getaways and weekends with friends — but what if you began to see your family as the best partners in any travel adventure? Please note that I didn’t say they are the best partners in a relaxing or spa-like getaway — no, no, no — anybody who has ever traveled with a bunch of kids knows you will likely come home exhausted and ready for another vacation. So get words like “relaxation” and “spa-like” out of…
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Hiking Croagh Patrick and Discovering the Real St. Patrick
Find yourself at a typical bar or pub in America on St. Patrick’s Day, and many a person might be surprised to discover that St. Patrick was not actually a beer guzzling leprechaun. It isn’t likely to win you any friends at the pub on St. Patrick’s day — but it is a point worth making. In fact, Patrick was an amazing warrior of a man. His memory deserves to be kept alive because he had an heroic love for people that once oppressed him — and that love helped transform an entire nation of people. So go ahead, enjoy a pint or two on St. Patricks’ Day — but…
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On Pilgrimage: One Day in Fatima
Why go to all the time, effort and money to go on pilgrimage? Certainly that money could be given to the poor or spent on the many practical needs of every family — so how can a person justify the time and money spent on such a trip? Fortunately for John and I, traveling with our six kids has helped to purify our motives a bit. Let’s be honest, traveling with 6 kids for two weeks can be akin to traveling in the dessert for 40 years with the Israelites — complaining, moaning, hunger, thirst, wondering if the agony will ever end — and did I mention complaining? So, yeah,…
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7 Things that Make Family Travel Easier
I know that school is beginning soon enough for most of us, but as I’m preparing for a family pilgrimage to Spain and Fatima, I thought I’d share some of those things that have made traveling with the whole family far more manageable — dare I say, even enjoyable? To be honest, I love the adventure of traveling with my kids — but it’s not easy. A few years back, we made a little shift in our mindset about traveling and it has made all the difference for us. It’s hard to believe, but just recognizing that family trips aren’t easy or relaxing has helped tremendously. Honestly, if you keep…
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Pilgrim Toes, Thirst, and the Canonization of Mother Teresa
The weekend of Mother Teresa’s canonization began quite peacefully. The Romans were slowly returning home from their month-long summer break — boy do they know how to live — and the crowds in Rome were smaller than we had expected. There was a part of me that wondered how the Italians were going to pull off a huge ordeal like a canonization when they were so sluggishly returning to their routines. It seems people were avoiding St. Peter’s because they feared the crowds — that was a big win for us! Thank you Jesus for smaller lines at St. Peter’s and easier access to good food and gelato — I don’t think this tired…
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Florence: What Art, Beauty, and Naked Statues Have to Do with Being Catholic
“This world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair”. ~John Paul II, Letter to Artists~ One of the reasons I love being around kids is that they ask the honest questions that adults are too afraid to ask. When traveling to Florence with kids, a question that will almost inevitably come up is, “Why so many naked people?” I’m not talking about the people passing by, but everywhere you look — in churches, piazzas, and museums — there are naked people depicted in very life-like reality. It might surprise you that the Church was one of the greatest patrons of the arts — and without the Church,…
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The First Leg of our Family Pilgrimage and 7 Quick Takes in Assisi
“Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face”. ~Muhammad Ali~ “God doesn’t always give us what we want, but He always gives us what we need.” ~Me and about 10,000 other people throughout history~ If you missed my post last week, you may not know that we recently returned from a family pilgrimage to Italy. We had planned for months, and it only took the first leg of our trip to throw all of our plans out the window. We had to sit on a runway in Detroit because of rain in Chicago– really O’Hare — because of rain?! We were told we would have 15 minutes to run from one end of O’Hare…
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7 Quick Takes: The Do’s and Don’ts of Family Travel
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” ~Charles Dickens~ I just returned from a two week family pilgrimage to Italy, and on the morning of my return, I woke up thinking, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” — though Dickens was actually writing about the French Revolution, his words perfectly encapsulate our family trip– it was truly the best and worst of times. But it was worth it! If you find yourself traveling with one child, or multiple children, I guarantee you will find yourself thinking and saying things that definitely aren’t your best thoughts and words — but you will…
