Do you have a favorite place where your heart just sings while there? I have a couple — Napa Valley, California and Conception Abbey in Missouri. A strange combination, yes. But oh, how I love both! Joel and I recently participated in a spiritual retreat for deacons and their wives at one of those locations … [Read more…]
In Sonja Corbitt’s fantastic book Fearless: Conquer Your Demons and Love with Abandon (go get it!) she writes, “I’m no prophet but I have learned through discerning patterns that, when I see or hear something two or more times, I can be sure God is at work somehow. I know to pay attention to what happens next … [Read more…]
It’s been almost two years since Joel or I have shared any new content on this site. Wow, two years? I really didn’t think it had been that long. It’s not like we set about to intentionally take a break. It just organically happened. In hindsight, necessarily happened. As Jesus says in the Gospel of Mark 6:31: Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while.
My smile is presently bigger as October ushers in many events and celebrations that simply make me happy. But it’s also a bittersweet time of year for me given my father suddenly passed away on September 30, 2009. I now am annually flooded with memories of that fateful day just about the same time the … [Read more…]
“I grew up Catholic but haven’t always been sure what it means to live out my Catholic faith beyond Sunday.” If this sounds familiar, here’s a resource for you! Even if doesn’t sound familiar, here’s a terrific resource for you: a field guide for the daily acts of Catholic life.
“Enter the Tomb and Wonder!” Here’s Joel’s Easter Sunday 2016 homily and other Easter bits and pieces from Das Schmidt Haus.
Running the race with perseverance doesn’t always involve running. Sometimes, running the race simply means moving forward. St. Joseph certainly did a lot of walking. From Nazareth to Bethlehem to Egypt and back again. He is a model of faith because he keeps walking, even in the dark. So here’s to saying yes to God, to walking and moving forward even if (when?) doors are slammed in your face.
Happy Leap Day! Given this day comes around once every four years, I am excited to use (or abuse) the occasion to ask you to take … wait for it … a leap of faith with me. Read more about this call from God that has me completely energized and absolutely terrified all at once. It’s called The Well: An Encounter for Women.
Feeling tired? Limping along? Thanks to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and a sweet five-year-old, I was reminded that sometimes we simply must allow the Good Shepherd to give us a piggyback ride for a while.
While reading the daily Mass readings on the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle, I was struck not so much by Saul’s dramatic conversion rather by Ananias’ faithfulness and obedience. St. Ananias reached out to me so forcefully that I declared him my February Saint of the Month right then. Here’s what he’s teaching me about developing a close relationship with the Lord.