"Daddy, when will the leaves change colors?" With that, I knew I was entering into the time when my 8 year old was beginning to understand the changing of the seasons. "Do they call it 'Fall' because the leaves fall on the ground?" Wonderful! I confess a deep love for...
Sometimes an extreme example is needed to restore the equilibrium to a society, a country, or even a person. And that moment of extreme example, action, behavior, sacrifice is rarely embraced or accepted by those who don't want the restoration or don't see that it's even necessary. You see, the...
Being a typical man (that's not a bad thing!) I always assume I don't need to read the directions! After all, I'm educated. I'm capable. I know what's going on, right? Uh, yeah, right. So, with that confidence (perhaps overconfidence) I launched into putting together the table we just purchased...
She said this to me with such painful expression. I had really let her down by wondering aloud if another one of our mutual friends was really going to follow through on what he promised to do. I can still hear the pain and disappointment in her voice "you...
Fr Barnabas Powell: Orthodox on Purpose Posted By Staff on October 2, 2015 Fr Barnabas Powell, host of Faith Encouraged Live will lead a retreat in Chicago on October 10. A former Pentecostal pastor that made the journey to Orthodoxy after years of study and struggle, Fr. Barnabas insists that it was his...
Let's face it, grammar wasn't my best subject in school! I've always been impatient with the rules, wanting to get to the end without having to mess with all that "process" nonsense! And yes, that is a problem because the process is part of the solution! A bit of...
I love the old musical "The Music Man" and one of my most favorite scenes in when that old con man Harold Hill begins to spring his trap on the good folks of River City by pointing out they have a pool hall in their little town, and we...
I never will forget certain momentous times in my life. There are only a handful of moments when the enormity of a moment calls for an all night focus. One such moment in my life was when I was to be ordained as a deacon in the Orthodox Church. As...
My girls love when I do this. Well, not really, but they do laugh. Sometimes, when we are all in the car, just driving down the road, everybody minding their own business. Conversation has lagged and the music on the radio is boring, when no one expects, I'll holler...
In one of my retreats that I give around the country, I have a particular presentation about how to heal the weaknesses of our modern age. I use examples from sociology, psychology, science, and even religion. But then I get down to the timeless and purposeful answer from Orthodoxy:...
