Hey, we were kids! And it was Christmas morning AND our parents were still asleep AND it was a snow cone maker AND there were sugary syrup packets! What did you expect was going to happen? Well, let’s just say that after THAT Christmas morning a general rule was...
She just rolled her eyes. I'm getting that more and more from my 12 year old lately! Sure, I had just used one of my old, worn out Dad sayings, one of my favorites when I say that everyone would be happier if they would all just do as...
Jesus gave us many promises as he preached and taught during His ministry. The problem is we want to pay attention to the "happy" promises like "ask, and it shall be given to you." We have a bit more trouble hearing this promise to us from Jesus: "If the...
When I am at peace with the direction of my life I find that restfulness spills over onto those around me. But that makes perfect sense. After all, we constantly pray in the liturgy "For our deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and necessity, let us pray to the...
This famous conversation between St. Seraphim of Sarov and a young, Russian nobleman is a true treasure for us today: Movilof asked: "What does it mean, acquiring the Holy Spirit?" Abba Seraphim replied: "When you acquire something you own it, like owning money. The Holy Spirit is your heavenly capital....
There are real and debilitating consequences to living life asleep. Wow, what a way to begin a devotional! But seriously, the ancient saying "the unexamined life is not worth living" hits home precisely because most of my troubles in my life are self-inflicted AND result from not taking the time...
“They have to keep the rules, just like us!” Yeah, that’s true. We should all be held to the same standard. But wait a tick, have you kept the “rules” you expect others to keep? I know it’s hard to get your mind to shift from “what should be”...
Today is the Feast of the Ascension, and this Feast begs the question: What is this whole ascending from the Mount of olives all about? Why didn’t Jesus just “POOF” disappear and go to the Father’s side? Why all this theatrics? It is almost axiomatic that any truth or tradition...
Christ is risen! What does it mean to "believe in" something? I confess most of my life I've just taken for granted that I knew, and everyone around me knew, what that meant. I was wrong. The word "believe" means so much more than just agreeing that certain ideas are correct....
Christ is risen! In World War 1 the two opposing armies would dig in and conduct what was then called "trench warfare." The land between the two armies entrenched for the fight was called "no man's land" because anybody who tried to attack would be shot by the other side! Not...
