In my old law enforcement days, I served on the DUI Task Force in our local community. This was when Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) was just getting started and there was a real push to get impaired drivers off the road. We had to do extensive training on just how alcoholic beverages or any…
"Smiling faces, smiling faces, sometimes, they don't tell the truth, smiling faces, smiling faces, tell lies, and I've got proof..." The Temptations did this song in 1971 and it's a favorite. But its message is all too familiar. Sometimes, a friend turns out to be no friend at all. Sometimes, the smiling mask someone wears…
Drama! I confess I am not a fan of drama in my house. And here I am living with three women! I guess the joke's on me! And one of them is a teenager and the other is a pre-teen! I'm doomed!
OK, before I get in real trouble here, let me say that I have…
Why is it I keep having to learn wisdom the hard way? I mean, it isn't like I haven't had wise men and women and friends who have offered wise counsel. I've seen how bad choices can really wreck a life and then I've watched myself make those SAME BAD CHOICES! What gives?
Well, what gives…
If you've spent any time with me at all, you know I'm a big fan of asking the "WHY" question when it comes to our motivations for living. In fact, I'm convinced that no one sticks with a pattern of life that is effective without really understanding WHY it is effective. And that's because the…
Fr. Alexander Schmemann once said, "The greatest charge against a Christian is that he has no joy." Frankly, the normal Christian faith is incompatible with life without joy. It is specifically joy, regardless of the outward circumstances that should be the "normal" Christian life.
Now I know what you're going to say: "But father, we…
Nelson Mandela once said, "The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." This is so true. I've found too many people think that because they feel fear, they are not courageous. This isn't true. Feelings come and go, but it's what you do in reaction to…
When I get discouraged, I can always trace it back to a loss of perspective. I mean, it's inevitable. My challenges give me tunnel vision and I lose the ability to see beyond my own immediate pain. And staying aware of how pain or trauma or even conflict gives us "tunnel vision" helps me avoid…
They say there is a point of absolute clarity when a person is facing their own mortality. We've heard it all before; "Your life flashes before your eyes." Of course, this is a moment in human life we humans regularly avoid thinking about. Our mortality isn't something we like to dwell on. And yet, it…
Daring to follow God's plan for your life is an act of faith that rarely happens by accident. You have to be listening to hear His plans!
So how do you develop a lifestyle that makes you attentive to God's direction for your life? It all starts with being willing to be taught. It begins with…