If you have ever driven a road trip with your co-pilot asleep, you understand how hard that can be. The men are the spiritual leaders of the family- right? What is a mother to do for the spiritual direction of her family when the husband is asleep in his faith?

I’ve been religious all my life. To say you weren’t religious was to say you did not follow Jesus. In the past few years, I have been hearing religion as a bad thing.  Aren’t these people Christians? To clarify, the word religion means “the belief in and worship of a superhuman power or powers, especially a God.” By this definition, all Christians are religious.  So what do they really mean, and how can we as religious believers respond? Let’s take a look at some of the common words and phrases I have encountered and unpack them. 

The spiritual journey is an uphill battle. We're all on Calvary hill carrying our crosses, and at the top, what do we find? Death. We find death. But as Christians, we know that's not the end. Death to ourselves brings us new life with Jesus. 

If you are a new Christian and you’re experiencing your first backslide, ask yourself: Did you think the enemy was going to give you up that easily? 

Is it depression? Or is it spiritual warfare? Sometimes its both. The enemy will strike when you are weak. Recognizing the enemy’s voice will change everything. Learn how to do this and what to do about it in order to lean on God through seasons of depression.

Fr. Mark-Mary gave us an analogy during one of his rosary in a year reflections. He said that while no analogy will ever be able to reflect the fullness of God, this one he felt was particularly weak. But I found it to be a perfect, simple, fit. In fact, I relate to it so much I've built on it.

We have been given a toxic way to love our bodies. It is a love that allows our bodies to become weak and unhealthy. This new year let's rediscover how to love our bodies the way God intended.

Massages and facials are very vulnerable experiences when you really think about it. You're laying in a robe while a stranger touches you. I've quite frequently wished I could somehow be standing over my own body to work on the muscles myself. In otherwords, I want the control. I leave feeling a bit of regret for not allowing myself to be in the moment. It somehow has never occurred to me that this is what surrender is all about.

What would happen if you cut the cord to your TV? What happens when an electrical line falls near your house? The light, the power, is all gone. Our cell phones light the way for a time but eventually, all will be dead, and dark. The same happens when you cut yourself off from Jesus.

A prayer for those who feel themselves slipping

Three lessons came through to me one night as I put my boys to bed. One lesson uniquely tied into parenting each of them.