Me and Jesus Got Our Own Thing Going! Really?
In 1972 America was experiencing an amazing movement among young people called “The Jesus Movement.” Jesus was the “hero” of a lot of the youth of the day! And I was right there in the middle of it. At 12 years old and about to step into my teenage...
Check Out Our New and Improved Ministry Website!
Thank you so much for being a part of our Faith Encouraged Media outreach! Our ministry website has gone through a redesign to focus on what we are doing now - written daily devotionals AND weekly videos of our homilies at our parish. Check out the new website and share it...
They Should Be Ready By Now!
An ongoing joke among church families is how long it takes to get ready for church on Sunday mornings! Of course, this isn't true of going to work or going to school, or going to a game, or a dance or most other social and work-related events. But, when...
The Paraclete
Emotionally, I'm done. Mentally, I'm drained. Spiritually, I feel dead. Physically, I smile! Ever been there? Yeah, me too. So what drives us to wait till it's almost too late to ask for help? Pride? Fear? Probably both, and then some other realities like not knowing ourselves well enough to...
You Are SO Close!
"Missed it by THAT much." OK, I know I'm dating myself and all my consultants and advisors always warn me when I do this I'm not communicating well to the younger generation. But, seriously, shouldn't everyone know Maxwell Smart? Well, perhaps not. But I do know that all of us...
Wise AND Innocent
Someone once said, "Anyone who says raising children is not the hardest job in the world isn't doing it right!" And that is so very true. But "difficult" doesn't mean "bad" or "broken," it just means the task is meant to focus you and make you more attentive! And raising...
A New Homily – What Makes Heaven’s Door Open?
The Temptation of Power and Control
Michael Josephson, the founder of the Character Counts Coalition, once said "Never underestimate the power of temptation to disarm your better senses." Very true, In fact, the central message of our Orthodox Faith is the life-long reality of becoming sober and attentive. I was recently struck by someone coming up...
You Belong to God
"Being precedes doing!" I heard the phrase and thought to myself "I'm not sure I understand what that is supposed to mean?" And, as I listened to the speaker longer, my confusion just grew. I think what the professor was trying to say was our actions flow from who we...
Jesus IS Our High Priest
What is the significance of the phrase "not made with hands?" We see this in our lesson today and we even see an Orthodox icon of the same name. You know the ikon I'm talking about. It is the ikon of the Lord's Face that the Lord sent to...