THOUGHTS TO START YOUR DAY!

Beginning long before Thanksgiving Day- and frequently even before Halloween-- stores and media start reminding us how many days are left until Christmas. Perhaps it’s an attempt to get us into the stores to make our purchases or to urge card senders to complete their social obligations to all who sent us cards last season or to help us make plans for getting our sugary foods and pastries ready for the festivities. Whatever the reason those reminders are bombarding us daily n

What are you thankful for? This is the week we celebrate Thanksgiving, so I'm sure you've heard this question a lot lately, but stop for a minute and think about it. What are you truly thankful for? Family? Friends? Good food? A roof over your head and material possessions around you? Perhaps you are thankful for a good job to earn income for your family. Recently, I asked a group of children this question and I got various answers from favorite toys, to pets, to "the whole w

I have often heard it said that when Jesus came in human form, he “emptied himself” by voluntarily laying aside some of his privileges as God during the time he inhabited time and space on this earth. If I would be like Jesus in emptying myself then I must understand what that means as Jesus practiced it. If it means laying aside innate powers of God, then I cannot participate in this Christlike act. If, however, Jesus’ act of ‘self-emptying’ was ‘self-sacrifice’ or ‘self-giv

Out of the blue, the conversation began. It didn’t seem to have a catalyst, the speaker just blurted it out. I could hear the pain and resentment in her voice as she spoke, “I grew up in a Catholic church. My parents were very strict. Every Sunday morning, they got me and my siblings up, got us dressed, and took us to church and dropped us off for the 8:00 a.m. mass. They would never come in themselves, but worse than that they would not come to get us after mass was over, wh

I'm doing a whole lot of worrying for my children right now. I'm worrying about a child who is being targeted by a peer, a child who is not motivated to fulfill his God-given purpose and potential, a child who doesn't see the harm in little white lies, a child who gets angry too easily, and a child who is having horrible dreams and sleepless mights. I won't keep going because I know you have enough worries of your own, but goodness, do I worry. I worry mostly because it hurts

What role in your life defines you? When you meet someone for the first time and they ask you to tell something about yourself, what do you say first? Are you a mother or a father? Do you start off by telling your occupation? Maybe you're a construction worker or a bank manager. Perhaps a bus driver or maybe a waitress. Do you talk about your marital status? Which of your "hats" do you cling to the most? What is your single-most defining characteristic? What title do you allo