In order to answer our parental vocation to evangelize our children, Pope Francis says we must be approachable to our kids. We must develop and cultivate an attitude of approachability. As a parent, you want your children coming to you to ask difficult questions, right?! After all, if they don’t come to you, to whom… [Read More]
Four Attitudes of Evangelical Parenthood
Parents are called to evangelize their children – to be evangelical parents. Yet, all too frequently many of us fail to answer the call to share the “Good News” with them because we never preach the Gospel to our children. We leave that to the priest in the Sunday homily or the religious education teacher… [Read More]
Guru Macaroo
His mother calls him “Pete,” (for “Sweetie Petey.) His dad calls him “Macaroo.” Meet Mac. I know he didn’t say anything you recognize as “How do you do?” But he knows you’re here, and that you are a new person in the room. I wonder what he thinks? I like to tell him he’s my… [Read More]
Are You the “Disciplinarian” in Your Family?
The description of someone as a “disciplinarian” carries certain connotations. Typically, the “disciplinarian” in the family is considered to be the person who administers punishment, who is considered the more strict of the parents. You may remember when you were a child hearing your mother say (after disobeying her or talking back) something along the… [Read More]
Faith and Frozen [the movie]
I admit it, even as an adult I love animated children’s movies. There’s something about the humor, the joy and the fun that children’s movies have that many adult movies don’t. Kids movies don’t take themselves too seriously, yet often have a life lesson or two to share with us. And Disney’s most recent animated… [Read More]
The Giver and the Gift: A New Year’s Resolution
Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights – James 1:17 A little over 40 years ago, my mom taught me a lesson that I will never forget: The giver of a gift is always more important than the gift itself. I believe that it was either… [Read More]
Part 5 of 6 – Pope Francis, Teaching, and Parenthood
As with previous Popes, Francis teaches. It’s his job so to speak. As parents, we also are called to be the first and primary teachers, the “first heralds” of the faith to our children. We can learn a great deal about fulfilling that role by watching him do his job. In order to help us… [Read More]
Part 4 of 6 – Pope Francis, Parenthood, and the Importance of Admission
By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them. (Cathechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) Early in his pontificate, Pope Francis has given parents yet another tip – admitting our failings to our children. One of the common themes of Pope Francis has… [Read More]
Pope Francis and Parenting by Example – Part 2 of 6
Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2223) From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Francis has led by example. He has put flesh on the message, so to speak. He as our “Papa” has taken ideas, concepts, and truths and concretely put them into… [Read More]
Ya Gotta Be A Straight Shooter Do Ya Got it?
If you didn’t catch the Aladdin reference, here you go. The joke ends at about 35 seconds in. Thanks and Gig’em. “Do you have what it takes?” The recurring trial of being a man; the question that can plague a man’s heart in the midst of suffering. This question has been on the soul of every… [Read More]
Oct 20 XLT for Austin Diocese Youth
This weekend there is great event for the high school youth of our diocese. There will be hundreds of teens gathered from across the area to come together for mass, a meal, and Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the AustinXLT site for more info. The event will include a keynote presentation by Matt Regitz from Prince of Peace… [Read More]
A (Chaste) Movie Review of “Don Jon”
After my last post on pornography, I felt it was only fitting that I follow that up with my take on the new movie by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, called “Don Jon”. If you haven’t seen the trailer, it’s about a young man who is into fast cars, hookups and porn. Oh, and he claims to be… [Read More]
The 10-Minute Phone Call That Changed My Day
“You know, of the 10,080 minutes you have in a week, I sure am glad you spent 1/1,000 talking to me,” quipped my 87-year-old grandfather. The fact that I called him was a complete fluke. He’s been on my mind for weeks. I’ve wanted to call for longer than that, but I was busy. You… [Read More]
Mary of Nazareth Movie in Austin and Ticket Giveaway
One of my favorites subjects is the relationship of art and the faith. I’m absolutely convinced that the Church is in need of improving the quantity and quality of art it produces, and film is one of the areas where we are lacking the most. There is a new film about our Blessed Mother Mary,… [Read More]
The Mystery of Parenthood: God’s Vulnerability
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16) We’ve been contemplating this concept of the mystery of parenthood for years – the idea of living parenthood with a heightened sacramental sense. We’ve attempted to be outward, visible signs… [Read More]
Parenthood, Faith, and Mystery
In reality, it is only in the mystery of the Word made flesh that the mystery of man truly becomes clear … Christ the Lord, Christ the new Adam, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of His love, fully reveals man to himself…He, who is the “image of the… [Read More]
Setting Your Family Ablaze – Relationships – Part 4 of 5
Relationships must be cultivated if we are to set our families ablaze and begin to change this culture. Relationships are the third necessary piece to the puzzle of transforming our families. For them to flourish, three elements, properly understood, must consciously and actively be made present in our families through the parents. As with all… [Read More]
Four Keys to Setting Our Families Ablaze – Part 1 of 5
I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! (Luke 12:49) Jesus desired then, and He desires now that a fire be kindled on earth. Today, as much as at any time before in history, we as Catholics, as Christians, must take these words to heart. We must “rekindle… [Read More]
Attention! (please?)
Photo credit Recently I watched a mash-up of family videos in piece meal fashion from my childhood. This is normal in our family since Dad was famous for taping over one event to catch the next one, not deliberately, but because we were always running out of film. We flew through memories strung together… [Read More]
Summer Is For Living: Enjoying (not just surviving) the Season with Your Kids
Whether your children go to school, stay at home or do a combination of the two, there is no doubt that summer brings a new schedule to the house. I mean, you can smell the chlorine, taste the ice cream and feel the heat, am I right? At our house, there’s a schedule, albeit much… [Read More]
The Mystery of Parenthood
Fifteen years ago at St. Mary’s in College Station, I walked down the stairs with my then 3 year old son. What happened on those stairs opened my eyes and subsequently my wife’s eyes to the fact that parenthood does more for the parents than it ever does for the children. On that stairway, our… [Read More]
5 Secrets of a Happy Summer at Home
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1 Central Texas is amazing place to live. I’ve been here for 10 years and never desire to live elsewhere… unless of course it’s summertime…..when (as a visiting friend once described to me) we feel as though we… [Read More]
Don’t Call Me Crazy: A Christian Response to the Stigma of Mental Illness
“That’s so crazy!” “You must be crazy…” ‘Crazy’ is a word we hear thrown around often in our culture. We even have multiple variations now, with ‘craziness’, ‘crazy sauce’ and ‘cray cray’ floating around online and in person. I myself am guilty of using this word flippantly to describe anything from intense stress to something… [Read More]
Ora et labora, aka Work and/as/in Prayer
Driving home from class last night, as I offered a decade of the rosary to help calm my mind, what was the first thing the Spirit brought to my calm mind but a friendly reminder – don’t forget your blog post tomorrow! Oops! I had forgotten! This week has been crazy, and though I’ve been… [Read More]
from my side of the curtain: a memory.
I don’t remember much about having my babies. It’s a foggy time, really. I find myself periodically asking my husband to tell me the stories, like child who likes to hear the same favorite fairy tale over and over again. I guess it’s a ‘mommy fog’, made up of adrenaline, hormones, fatigue and pain medication… [Read More]
How to keep your tween a child for just a little while longer
Tween. Tween? Such a strange word. When I was growing up, we didn’t call ourselves that. We were either kids, or teens. There was no in beTWEEN. But, as weird as the word is, there might be some good in setting this stage of childhood off as its own separate category. There’s a lot going… [Read More]
First Ever Diocesan Men’s Conference February 16
We are living in turbulent times. The world needs a generation of men that recognizes its unique role of leadership, and sometimes we need to gather to remember the importance and focus of our mission. I was blessed to join a large group of men for the Diocesan Men’s mass with Bishop Joe last summer, and I… [Read More]
40 Days of Awesome: Giving Up More Than Beer, Cokes & Candy
Be reckless this Lent. Oh, I mean it. I’m talking about the kind of reckless that’s make you seek, without abandon, God’s will. If St. Paul can do it, so can you. For far too many Lents, I’ve done the traditional “give up beer, Cokes and candy.” But, you know what? I think that makes… [Read More]
The Cooking Priest Brings His Fajitas to Austin
In early 2010, I unexpectedly met Fr Leo Patalinghug at an event where one of his friends was speaking at my parish. Oddly enough, no one else seemed to recognize him, but if you’re at all into Catholic media, this priest is hard to miss. It’s hard to name a place he hasn’t been. These days Fr Leo… [Read More]
Epiphany Traditions
Yesterday was the Solemnity of the Epiphany, both the traditional date of January 6th and more recent “transferred date” of the Sunday between January 2nd and 8th, which is one of the marks used to end the traditional Christmas season. Growing up, all of our family traditions revolved around Christmas Day itself—opening presents, Christmas dinner and… [Read More]
25 Ways to Pray as a Family in the New Year
Despite what some feared might be our last few days on earth on the twenty-first of December, our Lord has given us the gift of a fresh, new year of life, and all around us people are forming resolutions for self improvement. I myself have a modest list of resolutions this year,… [Read More]
Advent Challenge and The Greatest Miracle DVD Giveaway
I hope everyone is enjoying ACNM’s first Advent Challenge and all the cool ideas that are coming from it. I’m here today to sweeten the pot a bit as it comes to our Challenge and post comments in general. Our friends over at the Maximus Group provided us with two copies of “The Greatest Miracle” to… [Read More]
How to think outside of the “gift box” at Christmas.
The other day, I was kindly asked what my children would like for Christmas. So, I surveyed their bedrooms, looked through their toy bins and took stock of their clothes and shoes. But I came up totally empty. My husband is an unabashed geek and being technologically savvy is the bread and butter of our… [Read More]
Keeping Advent Holy
Ahhhh, it’s almost December! What a wonderful time of year! We have SO many plans to make it an amazing time for our family! And we have so much to do! We get down décor from the attic. We put together a tree. We start making Christmas lists. The office Christmas party is marked the… [Read More]
In All Circumstances Give Thanks
That’s all for today, friends. Happy Thanksgiving!!!
5 Tips: How to Be a Good Mom and Not Lose Your Mind
While I’ve been ‘Mom’ now for almost 13 years, it seems that I’m still figuring out this motherhood thing. It can be hard to balance being an individual woman with thoughts, ideas, plans and inspirations that are all my own with the… thoughts, ideas, plans, inspirations, hunger, laundry, homework and tantrums of everyone else in… [Read More]
Being Connected
I tend to face life’s challenges and situations looking for the correct answer – Lord, what is the right thing to do? Lord, show me the right way to go! I was doing that yesterday in mass, seeking how to follow God’s will “correctly” – job stuff, grad school, the elections, friends and relationships were all on… [Read More]
The Guardians of Time
It is possible that I am delusional enough that I see myself as a superhero, who is shielding her family from a gigantic unstoppable time-eating Monster on a daily basis. If you’re picturing it, I’m wearing red, since red is my power color. Also, you can imagine some jewel encrusted arm cuffs and boots. Fierce… [Read More]
I’m not afraid anymore…
I’ve just realized it. Just now. I’ve been sitting here at my computer, attempting to design a stunning website for a client, listening to my two little girls (ages 4 and 6) playing in the living room next to me. They’ve been playing ‘Getting Married’. This entails putting on pretend make-up, going dancing and finding… [Read More]
Overcoming Failure in Evangelization
There is nothing sadder than seeing someone turn away from Christianity, especially from the Catholic Church. It breaks my heart every time. Even more so when they are friends or family. It’s a God given right to choose not to follow Jesus, but that doesn’t mean it’s right. “If there were no God, there would… [Read More]
