In pagan Greek mythology, Hypnos is the god of sleep and his brother is Thanos, the god of death. They both live in Hades and Hypnos lives in a cave that is the mouth of the River Lethe and that means "forgetfulness." I'm sensing a symbolic opportunity here! And the...
St. John Climacus, the author of "The Ladder of Divine Ascent," once said "Humility is the only virtue that no devil can imitate. If pride made demons out of angels, there is no doubt that humility could make angels out of demons." Humility is what kept 2/3rds of the...
It scared me to death! I was convinced something was lurking in the dark in my room, and I wasn't about to shut my eyes! After all, it was only my constant vigilance and watchfulness that was keeping whatever was "out there" away from me, right? Imagine my surprise...
One of the greatest attractions to me towards the Orthodox Church was the continuity of practice and, more importantly, a real connection to the People of God. There’s an old story about a British journalist visiting the library of one of the ancient monasteries on Mt. Athos in Greece. He was...
The playground bully was speechless. He was bigger than me. He was stronger than me. And he was better at fighting than me in every way except one. I was faster on my feet with a verbal response. He had just taunted me about being a "weak, mama's boy"...
Distracted again! And once again the familiar reminder! "Sweetheart, stop watching the IPad and finish your homework." Back to the task, but slowly the distraction returns, and the pull of what I want rather than what I need starts its all too familiar tug of war inside my precious...
Most people want to believe the best of themselves. We have an idealized image of ourselves in our brain, and sometimes this "image" is so different from the reality that it is actually a danger to our spiritual maturity. But the struggle to embrace reality is filled with difficulties...
My grandmother use to say "Your actions are so loud I can't hear what you are saying." When I was small, I didn't understand what she was trying to teach me, but as I got older I began to realize that she was trying to tell me that my...
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On Tuesday, October 19, and Tuesday, October 26 I was honored to be the featured speaker at St. Innocent Orthodox Church in Macon, GA. Annually they have speakers come and speak on a topic that is open to the public and advertised heavily in the area. The parish has...
