-
Modern-Day Feminists, Radical Tradwives, and the Women Caught in the Middle
This is a blog written by a Gen-Xer, which means it’s sure to irritate many in the Boomer generation and, subsequently, in the generations below me in equal parts which is always a good time. Though I come from a generation that gets mostly ignored, I do have a unique perspective as I’m caught in…
-
When They Seek To Divide Us
Yesterday, I went to the post office to mail a few packages. My local post office is tiny and always blazing hot, so if there is a line most people wait outside. When I walked up, an older man was standing there waiting his turn. After waiting for awhile, he turned to me and said,…
-
The Humble Beginnings of a Married Life
I was married at twenty-two which for many, in this day and age, seems wildly young. Not only did I marry young, but when my husband and I married, we were already parents. It basically went something like this: I graduated from college, took off my cap and gown, got into a hospital gown to…
-
The Push to Embrace Fantasy
If you live in a first-world country, chances are that your life is significantly more comfortable, more pleasurable, and easier than a majority of people in the world. In general, your external woes are nothing compared to someone living in a third-world country. That isn’t to say that people in first-world countries don’t have burdens,…
-
The Weight of All My Shame
When I was preparing to start my new podcast, “Journeying With the Saints,” where I spent one year going through St. Faustina’s Diary, I came across this quote from her at the very start of her notebook recordings. “It is no longer in my power to change, correct or add to the past; For neither…
-
Natural Disasters Have A Way of Bringing Out the Best In Us
This past Friday, my family went through a pretty intense 7.0 earthquake. My kids and I were sitting on the 15th floor of our high-rise apartment here in Izmir, Turkey and we started to feel the building move. At first, my brain couldn’t process what was going on, but within a few seconds, I realized…
-
The Smothering Expectations of Modern-Day Feminism
All throughout my 20s and some of my 30s, there was a great war being fought within my mind. It was an unnecessary battle but one that had been waging since my college days. The war was between two Amys: Amy 1 felt it was her moral duty to get out in the workforce and…
-
Please, No More of the Virtue Signaling Wars
Enough is enough. When I was a kid and was driving my dad crazy, he would say to me, “Amy, you are driving me to the hilt of Gannilt.” It was his way of saying that I’d pushed him to the limits of his sanity. Lol. And now, I say it to my children. Well,…
-
Watch Yourself: Don’t Become What You Say You Hate
Have you ever read the book Animal Farm by George Orwell? Well, if you haven’t, I’ll give you a very quick run-down. At the start of the book, there is a farm–Manor Farm. The animals on the farm are dissatisfied with their lives because living under the farmer–Mr. Jones–is laborious and meager. They are not…
-
Don’t Be A Kill-Joy Christian
Awhile back, I was doing some fact-checking and I came across a Catholic group that gets a lot of followers. I’m not going to name them because I don’t want to draw too much attention to them, but a lot of you will probably figure it out. Anyway, I was watching a video by them…
-
That Time When Our Blessed Mother Was Compared To A Donkey
On the Feast of the Assumption of Mary, I posted one of my all time favorite religious pictures. It’s a stunning depiction of Mary being carried into Heaven by four angels. It’s one of those paintings that’s too beautiful for words. But, you always gotta have the Negative Nancys and Nates come along and spoil…
-
As Catholics, We Should Affirm That Black People Matter. Supporting the BLM Organization Is Another Story, Though.
As many of you know, my professional background is working in the area of sexual violence. When I got my Master’s in Applied Behavioral Science, I chose to specialize in sex crimes. Not the most uplifting topic, but one that I feel is extremely important to shine a light on. As one who has dealt…
-
For All Her Faults and Failings, I Do Not Believe That America Is Inherently Racist
Yes, I am aware that I am a white woman giving my opinion on a touchy, heated subject. Yes, I understand that a lot of people don’t want to hear that opinion because of the color of my skin which is highly ironic. Yes, I understand that many will see my opinion as coming from…
-
Look, If I Don’t Agree 100% With You On Everything, I Will Delete You From My Life
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that the start of my blog was in response to an old friend of mine becoming an atheist. We had met in college and were instantly friends. She had this smile, this electricity about her that attracted you like bees to honey. We had…
-
What Do I Do If My Kids Stray From the Faith?
Last week, I set aside a day of prayer to pray for the intentions of my followers on my social media accounts. I thought that I would be offering a lot of prayers for relief from Covid-19 but, instead, I got numerous–mostly private–messages from mothers asking me to pray for their child that has strayed…
-
So What’s It Like Being A Catholic Military Spouse?
Growing up, I always thought I would meet a Kansas man at college, get married, and settle down in my home state. Never once did I contemplate the idea that I would leave its borders and live elsewhere. I was born in Kansas and I thought I’d live out my days in Kansas. Seems God…
-
Dear Jesus, Should I Ignore Your Mother?
As I was coming into the Catholic Church, one of the hardest things for me to fully wrap my mind around was the issue of Mary. For nearly thirty years, I hardly spoke or thought about her. She was mentioned at Christmas time but that was about it. I didn’t contemplate that she might love…
-
“Oh My Word, I Am So Morally Disgusted By You.”
Well, here we are in the 500th week of enduring the Coronavirus outbreak. You know, when this all first started, it seemed sort of unreal like we were being punked. “Pshhhh,” I thought to myself, “this all will be over here pretty quickly.” That’s what wishful thinking can do for you. As it became apparent…
-
“If You Truly Love Me, You’ll Condone My Sin. Nay, You’ll Even Join Me In It.”
During my junior year of college, a few of my girlfriends and I decided to make the trip to Padre Island for Spring Break. We were so excited to go and it was a topic of conversation weeks before we left. Around Spring Break that year, I also had entered into a pretty serious relationship…
-
The Value of a Grandmother
I know I should probably give you all some thoughts about Easter or COVID-19, but my grandmother died this past week and she’s on my heart. I, also, know that writing a personal blog about someone you all don’t know will probably not be very popular. But, I’m a writer and I’m always compelled to…
-
The Questions Are Simple: What Is A Woman? What Is A Man?
(This blog contains a very sensitive, controversial topic. I will not tolerate any name-calling, blatantly rude, or hateful comments from anybody. I will delete anything I deem out-of-line. You can disagree with me, but be a mature adult about it.) When I was seventeen, I started dating a guy named Gary. Not long into our…
-
“Being Sexy” Is Not the Highest Virtue For Women To Attain
(I know I’m late to the game with this blog, but I had to wait until my anger subsided to write on it. While the rest of the world has moved on from this issue, I feel I have a unique perspective on it given my background. So, now that the dust has settled and…
-
What If My Parents Aren’t Worthy Of Honor?
When I worked as a counselor for victims of domestic and sexual violence, I heard some of the most horrific stories you can imagine. The ones that were the hardest for me to deal with were the ones where people had been physically, emotionally, and sexually abused by their parents. There’s just no excuse for…
-
Ladies, We Are Wired To Be Pro-Life
Out the gate, let’s be perfectly clear: I do not hate men. This is not an anti-male blog. But, to get the point across in this blog, I’m going to have to lay down some truths about men that may leave them a little uncomfortable. Maybe not. Men, for the most part, possess a sort…
-
Can It Really Be So Bad To Covet And Lust After Others? It’s Healthy To Be Attracted To People, No?
This will be my most humbling and embarrassing blog to date. I’m a story-teller, it’s what I do, so sometimes my stories definitely don’t shed me in the best light. Much of what I write is for me; reminders on what to do or what not to do. If someone else can benefit from my…
-
Do Your Kids A Favor: Don’t Set Your Marriage On The Back Burner
I have been married to my best friend for 18 years. Eighteen beautiful years. The first time I saw my husband, I knew he was the one. It was like, “Yep, there’s the rest of my heart sitting there across the room.” Dustin and I both had significant others when we met, but…well, you see…
-
Let’s Just Hate All The Good Things, Shall We?
When my Facebook page blew up a few weeks ago with all the “child-free” advocates of the world, I was bombarded with some of the most heinous comments imaginable. I read them, not because I enjoyed it, but because I’m prone to studying people and they laid in my lap a morbid, yet fascinating case…
-
What Is The Purpose of Marriage? Is It Whatever You Want It To Be?
So, last Thursday, I wrote a post commenting on the recent poll from the Wall Street Journal and NBC News. The poll showed that only 30% of Millennials and Gen Zers believe having children is important. That means 70% don’t which is a startling number. In my post, I gave my opinion on why I…
-
Responsibility Is A Dirty Word. Or Is It?
My name is Amy and I have rights. Look, I have so many rights, you betta just settle on back whilst I get started decreeing them to you. (Proceeds to role out a scroll with said rights) I’ve got rights you don’t even know about and everything you think isn’t a right of mine, well,…
-
So You Say You Want To Homeschool?
Very soon, our family will embark on our 11th year of homeschooling. We recently just graduated our oldest and she leaves for college in one week. I started teaching her when she was in 3rd grade and now my time as her school teacher is through. It’s hard to believe that I will no longer…
-
Not Only Do I Ask That You Lie To Me, I Demand That You Do
You’ve all heard that if a woman asks if she looks fat in a dress, a man must never tell her the truth even if she does. The impression you get is that women liked to be lied to. Here’s the thing, deep down, we really don’t. Nobody really likes to have someone lie to…
-
But What If I Enjoy My Sin and Just Want You To Shut Up About It?
When I was sixteen, I had a no-good-dirty-rotten boyfriend. True story. My mother could tell that he was a no-good-dirty-rotten boyfriend. After we broke up the first time, she stepped in and told me that I wasn’t to see him anymore. He was bad for me. He didn’t respect me. She didn’t like the way…
-
If I Can Just Have What You Have, I’ll Be Happy, Right? Right?
This post may be TMI. I have toyed with this blog in my head for years. YEARS! Each time, I talk myself out of writing about it because I worry it’s going to be more than people want to hear. I’m gonna try not to be too in the weeds with the details. What I…
-
All This Contempt Is Sucking My Will To Live
Do you like my Wayne’s World reference in the title? I’m one of those people that takes any opportunity to quote movies and I do not apologize for it. What comes to mind when you hear the word “contempt?” Do you picture a seething, hateful person? Maybe you picture someone who sneers the smile of…
-
How I Can Be A Good Mother to My Son
When my oldest daughter was in my womb, she was an active little thing. I was pregnant with her my senior year of college and during my afternoon classes, she would have exercise time in my belly. It sure kept me awake with all her jabs and kicks. She was also very responsive to touch…
-
You Cannot Buy Your Kids Happiness
Growing up, I was always a good student. From the time that I was five-years-old, I had been making plans to attend Kansas State University. You may think I was a tad young to really have a dream like that, but it’s true. My dad attended Kansas State when I was a little girl and…
-
You Don’t Deserve My Forgiveness
When I first started dating, I had romantic notions in my 16-year old head. My first boyfriend had pursued me for years and when I finally relented to him and opened up my heart, I was sure that he would guard it. That didn’t happen. Our relationship was a tortured, twisted one. I was constantly…
-
I’ll Ignore Your Sexual Sin, If You’ll Ignore Mine
Years ago, back when I was a young college student, I was sitting one day in a lounge chair reading the student newspaper in the library on campus. During breaks between classes, I always went to the library and read the newspaper front to back and then I would tackle the crossword puzzle found on…
-
Lord, Please Let This Cup of Anxiety Pass
If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that my first two boyfriends treated me horribly. Both of them were cruel in their own way and I suffered much at their hands. I need to talk about them in order to get to the point of this blog, so bear with me.…
-
I’ll Offend You, You Offend Me and We’ll Be As Joyless As We Can Be
Imagine a world full of offended people. What might such a world look like? No need to imagine, folks, we’re living in that world. Offended people to my left. Offended people to my right. Do you feel as though you must watch your every word, every action, every interest, thought, feeling, desire, need, want, or…
-
From the Bottom of My Thankless Heart
Years ago, when I was a counselor for victims of domestic and sexual violence, I encountered many different kinds of people. My eyes were open to the difficulties that some people go through in this life that make my worst days seem like a picnic in the park. There is one girl who remains ever…
-
A Late Night Conversation With My Teen Daughters About Abortion
Tonight, I mindlessly looked out my living room window for about 30-minutes trying to figure out how to start this blog. Honestly, what more can be said on the topic of abortion that hasn’t already been said? Is there anything new I could possibly bring to the conversation? Don’t I wish I had the magic…
-
Help! My Marriage Has “Lost That Loving Feeling!”
Recently, I’ve had a lot of people private message me about their marriages. They are writing about marriages that have lost affection, ones that are void of love, and marriages that are teetering over the edge of a cliff poised to fall into destruction. It’s heartbreaking. There is a real and true pain that comes…
-
Celibacy Does Not Lead Catholic Priests to Commit Sexual Crimes
Sometimes I get so riled up about an issue that it’s a good thing I have three kids to keep me occupied, otherwise I’d be prone to blasting off angry blogs. Yesterday was one of those days where the good Lord had to pull back on the reins because I was ready to bust out…
-
Raising Capable Kids Means Sometimes I Need To Back Off
A few weeks ago, while my husband was on TDY (military business trip), someone broke into my car. As I was going out the next morning to drive my daughters to practice, I opened up the car and noticed that everything in the middle console was strewn out everywhere. The intruders didn’t take a single…
-
Q & A: Does the Church Only Allow Catholics to Marry Other Catholics?
A few weeks ago, I was asked about my thoughts on whether Catholics should marry people who aren’t Catholic. Since I’ve been moving, I haven’t had the chance to really sit down and write my thoughts out. I’ve finally found a few moments between the boxes, painting, and organizing our new home. First, I wasn’t…
-
It’s Time To Reclaim our Families
One afternoon when I was young, my brother, sister, and I lugged this gigantic box out onto our back patio. My parents had just bought a new dryer and here was this huge box full of possibilities. Something had to be done with this great box; to leave it by the trash pick-up seemed like…
-
My Journey: Living Together Before Marriage
When my husband and I were first dating, we literally spent all our time together. You know how it is in those first new days. It’s intoxicating. When we started dating it was the second semester of our junior year and classes just got in the way. Homework? What homework? All we wanted to do…
-
Why I Love Being Catholic: Kedon from Kid Catholic
I’m so excited to bring you April’s male voice. Kedon is the youngest person I’ve interviewed. I was first introduced to Kedon when I opened my Seton Homeschooling Magazine a few months back. His family was the featured family for the month and I discovered that Kedon runs a Youtube channel where he speaks about the…
-
Why I Love Being Catholic: Michelle of the Give Him 5 Ministry
(Update: Michelle passed away on July 10th, 2018. If you are reading this, please offer up a prayer for her and her family.) I’m so happy to bring you April’s featured woman, Michelle, of Give Him 5 Ministry. Michelle was prompted to start her ministry to encourage people to give Christ at least five minutes…
-
If I Could Have Met Christ In Gethsemane
One of the moments in Christ’s earthly life that I reflect on the most is when He was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. Aside from the Crucifixion, it’s one of the most emotionally stirring accounts of Christ for me. I think it’s because in a small way, I can relate to Christ in that…
-
Why I Love Being Catholic: Joseph From Kansas City
I’m so excited to bring you March’s featured guy, Joseph. His wife, Chloe, was January’s female voice on why she loves being Catholic. I was listening to a podcast they did together on Chloe’s podcast “Letters To Women” and I found myself smiling the whole time listening to them share their love story. While listening,…
-
Believe It or Not, I Fell In Love With Going to Church
After my middle child “retired” from gymnastics, she wanted to try out different sports. She chose volleyball first and after learning the game, she was invited onto the traveling team. She was pretty excited, as was I, seeing as I played volleyball growing up. The coach set up an orientation meeting with the new parents…
-
Why I’ve Struggled to Call Myself a Feminist
It wasn’t until I entered college that I really heard the term feminism. My degree is in criminology which is within the sociology department. I had a few classes that were downright hostile to anyone who was more conservative in thought. Since I have always been one to speak my mind, it brought me into…
-
The Day I Met My Guardian Angel
We all have people that come into our lives who bring meaning and memories. There are some, though, whose presence is so impactful that it cannot be denied that your meeting was no happenstance. I have one such person. Of all the hours in my life, the one hour I spent with her was one…
-
Your Marriage Isn’t a Business Contract, It’s A Sacred Covenant
My husband and I started dating the 2nd semester of our junior year of college. We were first friends and I’d been to his house before, but I’d never seen his bedroom. He lived in a house with one other guy and it was a typical college bachelor pad. The first time I went into…
-
It’s Hard When People Fade From Your Life
I was watching Moana for the first time the other night with my kids. Towards the end of the movie, a particularly touching scene occurs where the deceased grandmother returns in spirit form to encourage Moana on her mission. When Moana sees her she runs into her arms and is able to hug her grandmother. Moana…
-
The Fear of Being Replaced in Your Spouse’s Heart
When I was a teenager, I watched Braveheart for the first time. In the beginning, William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson) falls in love with a beautiful peasant girl, Murron. Early on, the two lovers are sitting on a hill and the way that William talks to her and looks at her sure makes…
-
Behind Every Good Marriage Is A Lot of Effort
My husband and I celebrate our 16th anniversary this week and every year I’m amazed at how I grow in love for him. I would humbly say that Dustin and I have a wonderful marriage. It’s not perfect and we’ve had our share of trials, but we are still best friends, still committed to each…
-
Q & A: How Do I Navigate a Relationship With Someone That Is Different Than Me?
I wrote last week about how I learned to love and forgive a family member that was completely different than me. Here’s that blog if you’d like to read it. From that blog, a question was posed to me. I’d like to take this blog to answer it. Question: How do you navigate a relationship with someone…
-
The Struggle To Love Someone Different Than Me
When I was a little girl, my cousin and I were as thick as thieves. She’s two years older than me, but when we got together to play at my grandparent’s house we had such a wonderful time. As children, we played at the pool, walked down to the old movie theater, played dress-up with…
-
The Joy in Putting Down the Electronics
I grew up in the 80’s, back in the days when MTV was good and big hair ruled supreme. I’m the first born and quite a bit older than my siblings, so there was a good deal of time in my early days where it was just me. My parents didn’t have much money when…
-
How Each Military Location Shaped Me
A few weeks ago, my dad sent a picture to me of his front lawn in all its glorious greenness. My family is stationed in Vegas right now, so we don’t see too much green. I saw the picture and my heart literally ached. We texted back and forth and then we had this exchange.…
-
Sharing the Truth of Chastity with Your Teen
When I was maybe 12-years old, my grandmother gave me the birds and bees talk in the car while driving me back to my parent’s house. There I was trapped with no where to run and all I really remember about the “talk” was my desire to melt away into the seat. Hearing my grandmother…
-
When I Put God First In My Marriage, Nobody Competes For My Love
Many years ago, my husband was trying to explain to someone how your relationship with your spouse, if you have one, is more important than any other earthly relationship. The other person quickly said, “No, it’s with your kids.” To which my husband said, “It doesn’t mean that you love your kids less, it’s just…
-
Are Pets Kids, Too? Our Culture Says Yes.
I’ll always remember when I picked out my first pet. Her name was Puffy and she was a black and white cat; one of the toughest, hardcore cats I’ve ever known. She took absolutely no bull from anyone or anything. She’d get in fights with anything that moved onto her territory and she’d leave us…
-
Having A Baby Young and What It Has Meant For My Life
I had a hunch that I was pregnant, but seeing that I was a young, unwed college student, I just wanted to live in a state of denial. Once the morning sickness really hit hard, there was no denying it anymore and I took a pregnancy test. Sure enough, it was positive. I was beyond…
-
How Am I #Rocking Motherhood? The Challenge To See How I’m Doing Motherhood Right.
Recently, I was challenged by Sara over at To Jesus, Sincerely, to talk about how I’m “rocking motherhood.” At first, I felt all squeamish inside, because I was being asked to “brag” on myself. I know that quite often I have mom fails and blunders. I do, though, think it is good to humbly…
-
Don’t Hold Your Husband Back From Challenging Himself or Your Children
A few weeks back, the window on my husband’s car wouldn’t roll back up. It made this awful grinding noise and I feared the repair bill that would follow. My husband has had the car for a long time and it’s starting to wear down. But, instead of taking the car to the shop, my…
-
My Spouse Doesn’t Care If I Look At Other People! I Promise You They Do.
Recently, I heard a story about a guy who went on an anniversary vacation with his wife. They went to a beach location and the guy said, “I’m not gonna lie, I was looking. I was at a beach and my wife knows that guys look. She’s cool with it.” To which my husband responded,…
-
Is Married Life More Valuable Than the Single Life?
Recently, I had a single woman comment on one of my blogs about marriage. I honestly don’t know her story, but it was very clear that 1. She was single involuntarily. Â 2. She did not enjoy being single. 3. She felt as if married life is held up and celebrated, leaving her feeling “subhuman”…
-
Conversations With Your Teens About Dating
My oldest will turn 16 in a few short months. She’ll be of dating age soon and while it does give me heart palpitations, I must trust in the fact that through the years I have prepared her to discern decent men. More often than not, when we send our teens–mostly our girls–out into the…
-
Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas for Men Based Off Of The Five Love Languages
What do you get a man for Valentine’s Day? There aren’t too many men I know of that like stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers or fancy jewelry. Quite honestly, Valentine’s Day seems more for the ladies. I pity the man who has a birthday on Valentine’s Day. Actually, I have an uncle whose birthday is…
-
Our Words Have Power: Are We Using Them to Speak Love and Life?
I was in the parking lot of the BX (Base Exchange) the other day with my kids. Â As I was placing my goods in the car and getting my son buckled in, I heard loud shouting and cussing coming from somewhere in the parking lot. Â I couldn’t really hear what the person was so upset…
-
When God Came To Rest in the Arms of a Mother
I think every mother remembers that exact moment when the doctor placed their newborn baby on their chest. My firstborn looked me right in the eyes and there was no doubt that my life would never be the same. There was nothing more perfect than her in the whole world. My second child, I couldn’t…
-
The Beautiful Journey of Growing Older With Your Spouse
I’ve been my husband’s personal barber now for 17 years. We started dating in Air Force ROTC in college and to save a little bit of money, we thought it would be a good idea for me to start cutting his hair. I’d never donned clippers before, but it seemed like a great idea. That…
-
End of the Year Round-Up of Featured Married Couples
Here we are at the end of 2016. Â What a year it is has been! Â I thought for this last month, I’d do sort of a round-up of all my featured married couples throughout the year. Â I went through each of their answers and picked out my favorite quotes from both the wife and husband.…
-
Our Blessings Are Meant To Bless Others
“You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produced thanksgiving to God” 2 Corinthians 11:22 In this life, there will be those that are blessed with much and those that will have little. Â We must never make the mistake of thinking that because we have been given much in the…
-
The Beauty in Sacrificing Our Bodies for Love of Another
I love beautiful things.  Mostly I love finding beauty in human stories; those stories that bring tears to our eyes, because they are so good, so true….so beautiful.  I love listening to my grandmother read a poem or a card received from a loved one.  If it moves her, tears well in her eyes and…
-
November’s Featured Married Couple: Javier and Yvette “Love Unconditionally”
November’s Featured Married Couple is Javier and Yvette.  My family first met them when Javier and my husband, Dustin, worked together at Edwards AFB.  I am so grateful that our paths crossed, because both of them are true and genuine friends.  They are a beautiful couple inside and out and you can’t help but want to…
-
When the Military Plants You Somewhere and It’s Hard to Bloom
Through my family’s time in the Air Force, we’ve loved every place we’ve lived…until now. Moving to Vegas and leaving behind our beloved Virginia has been one heck of a difficult thing to overcome and deal with for my whole family. It’s been almost a year now since leaving Virginia and I still feel like…
-
October’s Featured Married Couple: Lindsay and Vinnie “Marry Your Best Friend”
If October’s Featured Married Couple doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, well, you may need to see a doctor.  Lindsay and Vinnie just celebrated their one year anniversary on September 5th, but their marriage has the wisdom and beauty of a veteran couple.  Reading through their answers gave me a renewed hope in the future of marriage–there…
-
Our Country Is Growing Sicker With Hefty Doses Of Racial Tension
If you are going to read this, you must promise to read it with an open mind and heart. Â If you are looking for a conservative agenda or a liberal one, shut off the blog and walk away. Â If you desire to fight and lash out, move on. Â If you want to offer solutions or…
-
What Do You Mean There’s No Marriage In Heaven?!
There are many things in the Bible that cause a lot of emotions in me. Sadness, gratitude, awe, devotion, immense love, confusion, and, sometimes, anger are all emotions I have felt when reading different passages. There is one thing in the Bible, however, that almost always gives me heart palpitations when I read it. I get a…
-
Facing A Spiritual Mirror Is Tough, But The Pain Is Worth It
Ahhhh, yeah. Â This is gonna be a tough one to write. Â God has recently held up a mirror in front of me. Â Not a mirror to check and see if my hair looks good, but a mirror to see something way more important. Â But first, let me set the stage. Have you ever seen the…
-
September’s Featured Married Couple: Michael and Sterling–Marriage Echoes the Love of God"
September’s Featured Married Couple is Michael and Sterling from Idaho. Â Sterling is a fellow blogger and that is how I became acquainted with this lovely couple. Â Like me, Sterling is a convert to the Catholic Faith, so I feel a connection with her. Â This couple is very much on fire to bring the Gospel to…
-
A Story of a Drifting Life, Hard Truths, and a Friend Who Cared Enough to Ask, "What Are You Doing With Your Life?"
Recently, during our family Bible study, we were working through a Matthew Kelly workbook from Dynamic Catholic. Â We were watching a video and Matthew Kelly was talking about the impact it can have when someone says to you, “What are you doing?” Â Those times in our life when we are doing something bad for us…
-
When You Don’t Forgive A Friend, Pride Takes Their Place
In middle school and part of high school, I had my best buddy. Â We pretty much did everything together. Â Even cooler was that we had names that rhymed. (Dork alert!) Â We swapped sleeping over at each other’s house, shared clothes, watched movies together while eating ice cream, cruised around in our cars once we got…
-
It Is Up To Us Where We Spend Eternity
When I first moved to Dayton, Ohio back in 2002, I was fresh out of college and eager to get into the workforce. Â I ended up working for some defense attorneys doing a job that was humbling, to say the least. Â I thought I was going to train to be a type of paralegal; I…
-
August’s Featured Married Couple: Mike and Kim "Learning to Love Well"
The Featured Married Couple for August is my brother, Mike, and his wife, Kim. Â It’s their anniversary month, so it seemed a perfect time to feature them. Â As the big sister, I always wanted, of course, the best woman for my brother. Â I honestly could not have picked someone better than my sister-in-law, Kim. Â To…
-
The Five Things I Teach My Kids When It Comes To Truth
“Truth?! Hello?! Truth?! Where are you?” Apparently, in our day and age, it’s nowhere to be found. We’ve taken truth, smooshed it into a box, buried it somewhere where no one can find it, dusted off our hands, and marched off to immerse ourselves in our world of believing only what we want to believe.…
-
Through My Brokenness, God Made Good Out of Bad. He Can For You, Too.
He swept into my life completely unexpected. I knew of him in high school, but we were about as different as you could get and barely acknowledged each other. He was bad and that’s about the best description I know how to give. Â Just bad. And not in that rough exterior, good interior kinda way.…
-
July’s Featured Married Couple: Ernest and Sarah "Love is a Choice"
July’s Featured Married Couple is Ernest and Sarah.  I met them while we were stationed together at Edwards AFB and now we are stationed together again.  Small world…even smaller Air Force.  They are a beautiful couple that have been married for 13 years.  They met at the Air Force Academy and married three days after graduating…
-
Military Life Is Not A “His/Her Turn,” Situation–It’s An Our Turn
“So, when your husband retires from the Air Force, it will be your turn then, right?” I hear this a lot as a military spouse. Â We are still several years away from my husband retiring, but we are on the tail end of this wonderful, crazy life. Â I knew when marrying my husband that the…
-
Featured Married Couple of the Month: Erin and Michael “Cooperating with God’s Grace”
June’s Featured Married Couple of the Month is Erin and Michael from Louisiana. Â Like last month’s couple, I have never met them, but I follow Erin’s blog and have truly enjoyed reading her thoughts. Â I first came across a blog of hers written on miscarriage and I could relate on so many levels. Â Erin blogs…
-
Question and Answer: How Can You Overlook The Church’s Sex Scandal?
Question time. I’m tackling a difficult subject today and I hope you’ll stick with me through to the end to get my thoughts on the matter. Question: Â How you can overlook the long, long history of Church authority figures (sexually) abusing children? Â How do Catholics move past this horrific thing? Right off the bat, let’s…
-
Teaching Teens About Authentic Love
“You don’t know what real love is!” How many teenagers have heard this statement from their parents? Â I know I did. Â While parents may be right in this statement, it is unfair to treat teenagers as if they don’t know, especially when parents haven’t taught their kids what real love is. I was a late…
-
Pornography Never Equals Freedom: It’s Slavery For All
Usually, when people find out what my degrees are in, they wince. Why would anyone choose to specialize in sex crimes, they wonder? Well, when it hits home, it hits home. God often uses your tragedy as your story and then your vocation. When I first started out working in this field, I could not…
-
Monogamy–That "Out-Dated, Old-Fashioned" Call To Love
 A few weeks back I wrote about monogamy and touched on the very basic claims against monogamy.  You can read that here.  I didn’t want to go too deep philosophically or morally, because this is a complex topic and trying to cover too many things at once gets overwhelming. One of the claims against…
-
Abstinence: Not Just For Religious People
This is a guest blog by a woman I deeply respect and love. Â I first met Shawn when I was working at the Salvation Army Domestic Violence and Rape Crisis Center in Panama City, Fl. Â Shawn just has a way about her–she is funny, intelligent, honest, a self-proclaimed diva, a wonderful friend, one of…