Witnessing Truth

"Relax." A command so often given, Advice so often dispensed. "Drop the 'shoulds'" Isn't that in and of itself a "should"? My intensity, my drive is so often guided By this misguided direction, end game. The perfect Catholic. Who is she and what should she look like? How do I become her? How does she live and who is she friends with? What kinds of conversations does she have? Where does she spend her time? Relax. Relax?  But shouldn't I be driving, striving for perfection? An objective, a destiny, a destination. The saints, I'm mimicking. There are only so many hours in a day Heaven seems forever away! Let me attain it, let me work for it, let me hustle, and bustle. Here I am a flurry of activity, so busy you can't see me. Does anyone see me? Lord, you know when I sit and stand When I run, when I pray, when I fast, when I work, when I go, go, go. It's all for you, Jesus.  I promise. It's got nothing ...

Fall train rides. Beautiful colors whirring past As the train horn blares Beware, here we come, I'm on my way! To and fro That's where you go All the while seeing the places you pass

"We're in a war, man!" Name that movie.  Anyone?  Well, you probably can't name it because it is such an innocuous and obscure line from Mulan.  Yes, the cartoon. For whatever reason, it has always stuck with me, and often comes up when I think of the spiritual life.  It captures what I need to be reminded of sometimes.  We are in war!  This war may not involve impressive martial arts skills.  Nor does it involve a bunch of cartoon characters breaking out into song.  But this war is for my soul and your soul.  It demands that we know who we are fighting and what we are fighting against.  It is only with this knowledge that we can choose our appropriate weapons.  My current battle ground: my life, my priorities, my time.  So quickly and so easily I find myself bowing to the pressure to stay at work for "just another hour."  Or cutting my prayer time short so I can finish a production schedule because "Jesus understand...

Have you ever been slacklining? If your answer is yes, keep reading.  If your answer is no, I instruct you to shut down your computer or electronic device, and make your way to the nearest park, find a group of people slacklining, and ask to give it a go.  It will change your life.  Okay, maybe that's an overreaching promise, but it will help you understand this post a little bit more. The first time I approached a slackline, I was terrified, but I wasn't going to let anyone else know my secret fear.  I bravely raised myself onto the line, began to extend my legs so I was standing, and then promptly tumbled off.  After a few more shoddy attempts, I eventually gave up on slacklining and regressed to playing with sidewalk chalk (true story).  It was a year before I had another opportunity to approach this "hippie" and "crunchy" activity. This time it was through the same friends that introduced me to the wonderful world of rock climbing.  The very ...

We are, indeed, in an age of disconnection.  But, please, do not let yourselves fall into the depths of despair, because there is hope. There is a cure!  (No thanks to modern medicine). Vulnerability . Yupp, I said it.  Vulnerability is the cure to disconnection. Unfortunately, vulnerability also sounds like the type of medicine you need to swallow with a spoon full of sugar Mary Poppins style. For so much of my life, I quaked (and sometimes still do) at the word "vulnerability."  It means putting myself out there, risking my image and reputation, being exposed without knowing how others will receive me, being "naked"... It means no longer holding the upper hand, no longer having control... If that's vulnerability, why would I ever want to be vulnerable? Because vulnerability is directly related to love.  You cannot love without vulnerability and you cannot be loved without vulnerability. Just look at the cross!  There is our Lord Jesus Chris...

Confession: I am a huge Anne of Green Gables fan.  Period.  I love the books.  I love the movies.  I have dreams of going to Prince Edward Island.  I hope that one day I will meet my Gilbert Blythe.  I am a huge fan! I don't know who of you out there is an Anne of Green Gables fan, but whether you profess a love for Anne or not, I am certain you at least have a desire for friendship.  (Or at least an appreciation for it). I am blessed with some amazing friends, and have had some great friends throughout my twenty-five plus years of existence.  Nevertheless, I still learn new things about friendship all the time.  Just today I learned about friendship from my life-long fictional friend Anne Shirley Blythe.  (Sorry, that was a spoiler.  Anne and Gilbert do eventually get married). A little back story for whomever may not be as familiar with the Anne of Green Gables  series.  Anne Shirley, an orphan girl, is inadvertent...

I think I have left you all in suspense long enough.  It is time to answer those questions: How do I get out of this funk?  How do I break free of the chains of a life that is monotonous and tedious?  How do I find mission and zeal in the midst of a routine? At first, when I found myself beginning to flounder in this "tediousness," I began to brandish a crucifix as my weapon, and at the start of the day with a victorious yelp claim the day for Jesus!  (In my mind, not aloud, definitely not out loud).  I would valiantly suffer through each task in the name of Jesus! I will make these phone calls for Jesus!  I will book these rooms for Jesus! I will deposit these checks for Jesus! I will do this task for Jesus! Though seemingly the stuff that movies are made of, this tactic soon became lackluster.  There seemed to be nothing truly heroic in the measly daily tasks I was accomplishing and the circles I seemed to be going in.  Where was my St....