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Faith, Philosophy, Family Life, Health, Marriage, Fatherhood, Church & Culture, Career
July 2025
: Doubt St. Thomas, along with his brother Apostles, spent three full years in ministry with Jesus. He …
: Vocation In God’s plan of salvation, we each play a role. Whether quietly ministering to our corner of the …
: Delay It’s easy, when we are young, to assume that we have time. Life is a long journey whose minutes are …
: Gaze The disciples in yesterday’s Gospel were sent out in pairs to proclaim the good news and returned …
June 2025
: Deafness Like characters in the Bible, there are many stories in the lives of the saints that we can identify …
: Fiat God’s perfect plan is predicated on the participation of man. This principle, though it confounds …
: Verso L’alto St. Irenaeus wrote in the second century that the glory of God is man fully alive. How can we aspire …
: Let the Fire Fall It’s easy to see fire as purely destructive. There’s nothing quite as jarring as seeing a …
: Common Language Two months ago, we had a power outage after strong spring storms swept through the area. It was …
May 2025
: This Way of Life Memorial Day finds its roots in the post-Civil War era. A nation healing from a brutal conflict …
: Ready, Set Many times throughout the year, whether it be in January or our birthday, we get an internal urge to …
: Domestic Things The Mass readings in the Easter season feature vignettes of the Risen Christ reintroducing Himself …
: System of Logic The world is awash in bad ideas, and far too many people are willing to accept them at face value. …
April 2025
: In the Quiet Hours I love the romance of the early morning. Now that the children are growing, and oftentimes I still …
: Mercy The Church is many things, but one of its best attributes is that it is a place for thinkers. …
: Jesus is King Who is this Jesus, the one to whom the crowd flocks, then condemns? Who is this Jesus, who claims to …
: Witness I’ve always had great respect for evangelical Christians and LDS. When we lived in the Deep South, …
March 2025
: Theology of Marriage Until recently, marriage was a unifying thread of the human experience, seen across cultures, …
: Extreme Comfort There’s little doubt that we are living the most comfortable lives any human has ever experienced. …
: Watching the Pitch My alarm is set for 5:00am. I have a plan, an excellent plan, one on which I’ve executed regularly …
: Shout There’s a famous quote of St. Augustine in which he objectively observes God’s pursuit of him during …
: Seek My young daughter was thumbing through her children’s Catechism last week, when she excitedly shared …
February 2025
: Slush February is rapidly coming to a close, and the first signs of spring are starting to appear across …
: Shuffling Our new house has a full basement, about a third of which is unfinished storage space. In the past, …
: Tomorrow Never Comes I spent a lot of time thinking about the future. My brain is wired for efficiency, so no matter the …
: Blending We’re back from our annual family ski vacation, and had another successful year. Though more skiing …
January 2025
: Flipping Switches I remember exactly how I felt. It was the fall of 2018 and two years into our new life out west, I …
: A Full Day When I think about my ideal day, every minute is scheduled out. I have books I want to read, news …
: Some Better Thing We’re two weeks into the new year, and the grand designs that many of us made are at risk of …
: Jubilee It’s been 25 years since the Catholic Church last celebrated the Jubilee. I was in middle school in …
December 2024
: Swept to Safety In the entirely of salvation history, there are stories, major and minor, that all play their part. …
: The Great I Am Born on Christmas Day is the King of Kings. He arrived in a damp, cold, dark place, in some cave in …
: Rethinking Everything The new year is just around the corner. In just over two weeks, 2024 will be in the books and a …
: Nothing to Do Last weekend, I drove solo with my two oldest children across the country. There was plenty of …
: Arrival With Thanksgiving behind us, we’ve entered into what feels like the busiest time of the year. In …
November 2024
: Gratitude And just like that, the end of 2024 is upon us. We celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday, and many of …
: Written for Me Though I haven’t committed to routine self-improvement in the past two years, there was a recent …
: Thank You I have written many posts over the years marking Veterans Day. This is a day for us to pause to not …
: One Second On Saturday, I made a scheduled site visit for work. It’s a bit of a hike to the office, just over …
October 2024
: Overflowing A good way to think about our lives, especially our spiritual lives, is as a cup. We can choose what …
: One Thousand To understand life is to understand impermanence. As we grow, experience, and learn new information, …
: Things of Heaven For the many hours that I’m awake during the day, there are many things on my mind. I have what I …
: Starting Over In the 5th grade, my teacher, Mr. Gleeves, would start most days by announcing, “Today is the first …
September 2024
: Forgetting to Shift Life, and parenting, is full of shifts. From infants to teenagers, our children progress at a rapid …
: Small Moments When we aspire to greater things, we tend to fall into the trap of making big plans. I’ve never run …
: Dig Deeper It’s easy to wait for whatever’s next. Let this moment pass by, it’s nothing compared to what’s …
: The Plans For I know well the plans I have in mind for you —oracle of the LORD— plans for your welfare and not …
: Cloak In the Bible and Sacred Tradition, there are certain items to which we ascribe special meaning. God …
August 2024
: Hints of Fall The dog days of summer are in the rearview mirror as pumpkin spice season is just around the corner. …
: Drift Winding down the mind at night is seldom easy. Our racing minds make lists, rehash events of the …
: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence My favorite Church song is a bit haunting. Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence, like much of our …
: Contagious Late last week, my neighbor across the street was out attempting to finish mowing his lawn. It was …
July 2024
: Magnet Summer continues, and my children still blissfully spend their days with ended self-directed …
: Sacred Silence Without doubt, there’s real renewal happening in the Catholic Church. The new guard is stepping into …
: Summer Break Summer, like all seasons, is racing past. When it seems like just yesterday school’s shut their …
: What’s Next Mindfulness gained a foothold in the imaginations of workers and corporations in the last few years, …
: Liberty Celebrating America’s independence is on the calendar this week, which means for most it’ll be a …
June 2024
: Pausing to Advance I have a recurring to-do that pops up every Thursday that reminds me to complete a weekly review. …
: Play-Based Childhood My first phone was the Motorola Razor. I vaguely remember getting it as I was entering my sophomore …
: Priorities Much thought is given to priorities, especially around the beginning of a new year. Whether we set …
: Heavenly Delights On Saturday, my daughter, Felicity, received her First Holy Communion. It was a day that she’d …
May 2024
: A Blast of Trumpets The design of our parish draws heavy inspiration from the great Italian basilicas. A large dome …
: Breathing Room Impulse shopping is really, really fun. There’s the enticement of an email, the excitement of a …
: IOUs One of the false hopes that our psychology causes us to believe is that if we only had more, we’d be …
: Do it Well Nearly 15 years out of college, I could’ve never predicted the arc of my career. I walked across the …
April 2024
: Custom Parenting Last year, when we got a dog, I thought that life would be simple. Dogs, unlike cats, are thought to …
: Pray, Now Many times, this blog has noted the depth and breadth of devotions within the Catholic Church. The …
: Above All Things Starting in our earliest years of formation, we learn that we were made to love God “above all …
: Mercy, Not Justice Yesterday was the Feast of Divine Mercy, a holy day that Jesus Himself requested in His apparitions …
: Sequence Christians, to the Paschal Victim Offer your thankful praises! A Lamb the sheep redeems; Christ, who …
March 2024
: At Your Altar Parenting is a regimented and structured adventure, with known milestones sprinkled throughout the …
: Renew, Refresh About this time, every year, Alison and I are bitten by the spring projects bug. There’s something …
: Frozen In vitro fertilization is back in the news. The Alabama Supreme Court in recent weeks issued a …
: Talent Every priest has a unique gift that he offers the Church. Young men who go straight from high school …
February 2024
: More Important Things Friday was a good day. Although it started straightforward enough, my plans were busier than usual. …
: 6,750 Parenting young children is exhausting, and although I know my aunt is being truthful when she …
: Contend The nature of the human condition is that we each bear an overriding character flaw. This is …
: Start Now Tomorrow is the perfect time to start anything. With the whole day ahead of us, no interruptions, …
January 2024
: Platitudes A frequent criticism of Christians is that, in times of great sorrow or difficulty, we fall back on …
: Daily Burn Each time a pilot prepares to fly an aircraft, he does a fuel calculation. Based on the current …
: Chasm There are an infinite number of ways that COVID changed the way in which we live our lives. Though …
: Unraveled For the entire existence of humanity, there has been a singular experience that unites us. No matter …
: Trailhead Three hundred and sixty-five days later, we find ourselves at another trailhead. The new year holds …
December 2023
: Stillness The Jewish people anticipate a great messianic return. Elijah tore off to Heaven on a chariot of …
: Counterfeit Sacrament It’s been quite the comedown from the moral clarity of Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict. John …
: Some Greater Glory Hopelessness is poison for the soul. With nothing to look forward to in the future, man starts to …
: Just War As advanced as we all like to think we are, even in this post-modern era, still struggle with the …
November 2023
: Aslan’s Roar The Chronicles of Narnia are legendary in their own right, a series of books worthy of sparking the …
: Moment of Conversion Life is a series of checkpoints, moments along the path that lead us to our final destination. In …
: Breaking Faith It’s challenging to remember the feelings we experienced at the election of Pope Francis. A total …
: Love the Path In life, we often have to walk difficult paths to achieve our desired outcomes. Whether at home, at …
October 2023
: Foretaste Although easily forgotten in the midst of this week’s kickoff of the end-of-year holidays, the …
: A Job Well Done There are plenty of ways to measure our work. Volume, quality, quantity, we’re never short on …
: Fresh Start With the house unpacked, and the children returned, today is our family’s fresh start. We are the …
: Every Single Thing We moved last week. Although I had the benefit of a whole crew to box up our home and relocate it, …
: Natural Conclusions There’s something about waypoints in our lives that lead us to become pensive. We reflect, look …
September 2023
: Bend, Don’t Break There’s only so much work that I can do in a week. Every Monday, I enter into the new week with a …
: Scriptural Confession I went to confession last weekend for the first time in many months. I try to go every other week, …
: Five Minutes Spirituality is a major component of what it means to be human. We have a connection with our …
: Potential Energy The most enduring success that any of us can enjoy is often the result of extensive efforts over …
August 2023
: The Genius of Mass Most Catholics ignore their obligation to go to Sunday Mass. Their reasons are myriad, but it’s a …
: Inconvenience The kids went on vacation earlier this summer without Alison and I. Grandparents Camp is a nice …
: Bottomless Tasks I start every Monday with a fresh set of hours to work, and a full task list. As the week …
: Disrupt Wall Street is obsessed with disruptors; those companies that take a stale industry and deploy an …
July 2023
: Limitless There are certain things in life that we pick up and just can’t seem to put down. Rules, guidelines, …
: Fifty-Four I recently finished reading Atomic Habits, the pop culture phenom beloved by productivity hackers in …
: Restart From time to time, we get derailed by life and need a reset. Although we may daydream about …
: Trust In the most difficult and stressful times of our lives, it’s easy to lose control of our thoughts. …
: Free It’s hard to not be grateful when we realize the blessing of being born into this country. For all …
June 2023
: More Our sense of timing is incredible. Consider the level of comfort that we experience daily, with …
: Fatherless A decade ago, at the height of the third-party mobile app ecosystem, I was trying tons of shiny new …
: Symbiosis Nature is a constant teacher. So many of the natural things that occur in our lives and in our …
: Empty Halfway through my kids’ summer vacation, and I’ve hammered through my to-do list. Projects, tasks, …
May 2023
: Quiet Summer vacation is finally here, and the kids are off with their grandparents for two weeks. Alison …
: New Beginnings Growing up in a military family, moving was always a fact of life. Now with a family of my own, …
: Garage Doors In my ideal world, our house would be clean all the time. Things pulled out for play would be put …
: Checkpoints The cold days of winter are behind us as the days grow warmer and spring fills all of us with a …
: Fruits of Labor The feast of St. Joseph the Worker is an important reminder in our modern era of the holiness of …
April 2023
: The Idea Jesus is most commonly thought of as a religious figure, but in reality, his core message a …
: Transform It can be hard, intellectually, to grasp the transformative power of Jesus. We all know the personal …
: Summits Many years ago, shortly after turning 18 , I went on a church field trip with our young, and very …
: Homeostasis It’s in our nature to seek to control those things around us. We want to control our time, our …
March 2023
: The Simple Path to Holiness When I wrote my first book, I didn’t take a month off work and rent a cabin in the woods. That may …
: Ten Ten years ago, I launched this blog. With a plan, and a few months worth of work, I wrote and …
: Calm For nearly fourteen hours each day, my life is filled with abundant sound and light. Some of it is …
: Start with Listening For the first time in many years, our parish is holding a weekly Bible study. Although the children …
February 2023
: Preparation It’s been just over sixty days since the joy of Christmas morning, and here we are back in a time of …
: All on the Field I have 60–90 minutes each evening between when the children are finally in bed and when it’s time …
: Ski Trip After a very, very long drive, today begins our family’s annual ski trip. It’s a much anticipated …
: Obedient to Prayer If I were to sketch out a schedule for my ideal day, there would be several opportunities for prayer …
January 2023
: Work from Home Dad Over the past few weeks, I’ve spent more time working at the kitchen counter than I have working at …
: Permission to Push It’s easy to be overwhelmed with work. There are busy seasons, bad weeks, and times when illness or …
: Work or Workout I’ve thought a lot about scheduling over the past few months. Some of it was the normal end of year …
: Create Beauty There’s so much darkness and ugliness in the world. The links that get clicked and shows that get …
: Bible in a Year It took me far too long to set aside the time necessary to read the Bible. I went to Catholic school …
December 2022
: Silent Night With last week’s brutal winter weather came all sorts of inconveniences. Plans changed, businesses …
: The Year It’s Been The final two weeks of the year always feel the same to me, and it’s a feeling that I love. Calm, …
: The Prodigal Son The story of the prodigal son is a famous one because of its relatability. We’ve all acted …
: Time to Care It’s easy, when time is tight, to cut the things that benefit us. Exercise, meal prep, prayer, these …
November 2022
: True Gratitude Thanksgiving is a remarkably calm period in my life. Not only does it signal the final few weeks of …
: Simple Truths A common assumption is that children, because their minds are still developing, can’t process …
: Enjoy Today Living life day-to-day is not easy, nor is it simple. In many ways, it’s boring and mundane. I never …
: Torrents of Mercy We have a sanitized view of Jesus’ crucifixion. Although we have visuals of it everywhere, the sheer …
: Constant Renewal The great spiritual lesson of St. Francis was that the key to a healthy spiritual life is to have a …
October 2022
: Overrun Temptation is a very personal thing. Each of us struggle with our blend of habitual sin. It’s not …
: The Emperor Has No Clothes Hypocrisy is part of what it means to be human. We’re deeply flawed. To have the expectation that we …
: Share Your Best Work Sharing your work is a frightening thought. As I write many of these posts, thoughts creep up in my …
: The Sexualization of Everything I have to imagine that there was a time in human history when every human relationship wasn’t …
: Balance I left the workforce in the fall of 2014 to stay home and take care of Benedict. Alison was just …
September 2022
: Plese Destroy I took my son to Confession this weekend. He’s still pretty new to the Sacrament, so each time he …
: A Single Spark There’s a funny thing about inertia. It stands in our way and holds us back until the moment that it …
: Freedom Squandered No other nation, in the history of civilization, has endured so long without the benefit of kings or …
: Homeschooling Last Monday, just after breakfast this morning, my children gathered in our schoolroom at the sound …
August 2022
: Behold, Your Mother Catholics catch a lot of shade from other Christians over the idea that we don’t live the Bible. A …
: Come Let Us Adore Although I’m a cradle Catholic, I’ve never really read the entire Bible. I learned about parts of it …
: Comfort Last night, when my work for the day was done, I laid down in my very comfortable bed. I recently …
: Letting Go of Efficiency It’s a Friday morning and time to run errands in the big city. Before we leave the house, I cycle …
: Diligence On Friday night, at 8:30pm to be exact, a very motivated local landscaping supply business owner …
July 2022
: Spring Water Growing up, I’d drink nothing but milk. Now, for lunch that can’t possibly be true, but I have a …
: Slow Progress We awake to find ourselves suddenly in a Post-Roe world. The question of abortion is thrown back …
: Pause I’m back from summer vacation, a whole week experiencing Northern Michigan. It was a great reprieve …
: Worth Celebrating At every point in our Nation’s life, all 246 years, there have been voices predicting its imminent …
June 2022
: The Work Begins For 49 years, our voice on the fundamental issue for society was silenced. A contrived legal theory, …
: Fathers for Good God’s plan of salvation for the World contains essential truths and profound beauty. He chose man to …
: Universal Church To prepare Benedict for receiving his First Communion and Confirmation, Alison and I thought he …
: Friday Night Adoration This week, Benedict will complete his initiation into the Catholic faith when he receives the …
May 2022
: Sacred Treasure Benedict is about to receive his First Communion, and he’s very excited about it. We’ve prepared for …
: A Time for Play Work expands to the time that you give it. Work is a good thing, giving structure and purpose to our …
: Parental Love Our long holiday from democratic debate over one of the most contentious issues of our time appears …
: Turn on Your Brain The culture of rage is here, a general acceptance of rule breaking in the furtherance of political …
: A Fresh Look For over a year now, we’ve lived in our new house. I think that it takes time to get used to your …
April 2022
: The Paradox of Time There’s a quirk in human psychology when it comes to time. We have lists of things that we’d like to …
: Victory Easter is here and the tomb is empty. The timing of Easter this year was prescient. In my listening …
: The Human Person It’s a great paradox that in the Information Age, when every book every written and every fact known …
: Increments Lent is quickly winding down, and perhaps the success of your Lenten rituals is a bit checkered. …
March 2022
: Examination of Conscience Last month, my son received his first confession. As he was preparing to receive the Sacrament again …
: A Sense of the Sacred A few years ago, I watched a documentary about the detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay. They …
: Desensitized Evil’s greatest objective is to desensitize us to its reality. If we fail to perceive evil for the …
: Never Wasted Starting or growing a habit of prayer can seem like a big lift. We first have to restructure our day …
February 2022
: 13 Cents Lent is upon us, this year’s opportunity for us to take a fresh look at our spiritual life. As our …
: Icy Slopes I went skiing for the first time in my life last week. We started discussing a trip in July and …
: Detailing Our vacation plan for this year included a trip to the Great White North to enjoy a week of snow, …
: Keto Recycle Over the past three years, I’ve experimented with the keto diet. It’s fashionable right now, a fact …
January 2022
: Noticing Progress It’s hard to notice progress in our personal growth. We’re so intimately familiar with ourselves …
: Applied Bioethics One of the best outcomes from majoring in Philosophy is how it nurtured my sense of curiosity. The …
: Preparations I love to drive. Each year, our family takes two or three major road trips. These are highlights of …
: Image and Likeness 2021 was supposed to be the year of civility and normalcy. Well, we didn’t get it. Instead, we got …
: All Things New What a lousy two years we’ve had. Disruption, distortion, and distrust maligned what was supposed to …
December 2021
: Love So Deep The bright Christmas lights that lit homes in my neighborhood since Thanksgiving have gone dark. For …
: Now In some ways, I think that we like the busyness of life. Sure, everyone complains and uses it as an …
: Creating Evil I rarely go to the movies. In fact, I think the last new movie that I saw in theaters was Mission …
: Make Straight Paths Advent is like happy Lent. Both seasons are penitential, and both invite us to prepare our hearts …
November 2021
: Pivot We’re in a season of disruption. Three major holidays in a row, travel plans, end of year tasks, and …
: Scripture Before Phone I just finished reading The Common Rule by Justin Earley. A former missionary and currently an …
: Dads on Duty There’s a great human interest story making its rounds about a high school in Louisiana. They’ve …
: Acceptance Most of the Christian life is about acceptance. Acceptance is the humble admission that the great …
October 2021
: Unglued I was reading my favorite personal finance blog earlier, when I came across a guest post. To my …
: Stony Hearts Certain things stand out to me when I read the news. Lately, it’s been the callous words that …
: Perfect Heroes Hero is a common word these days. Healthcare workers are heroes for putting themselves and their …
: Month of the Rosary It’s hard to believe that October is already here. The dog days of summer are over, kids are back in …
September 2021
: Do Nothing My day has a way of getting away from me. For the first 90 minutes that I’m up, I’m in complete …
: Nine Earlier this month, Alison and I marked our ninth wedding anniversary. In years past, I’d take the …
: When A Child Prays Franciscan University of Steubenville has a great culture of prayer. After each Mass, everyone …
: Incremental Progress Five months ago, Alison and I woke up on a Saturday morning and headed into our front yard. Over the …
August 2021
: Building Momentum Just after my birthday this Spring, I started walking again each morning. My most successful streaks …
: The Monk and the Merchant The pictures coming out of Afghanistan are heartbreaking. We will forever remember the image of the …
: Humble Fatherhood This November is the two-year anniversary of the release of my book Humble Service, a book about the …
: Environment I caught the back to school bug last week. The malaise of summer broke, and I worked through my …
: Second New Year August is here and back to school is right around the corner. We limped over the finish line in …
July 2021
: Spiritual Wokeism I’m old enough to remember when being woke was enough to get you made fun of on SNL. What started as …
: Lazy Summer Days With deep regret, my vacation is over. A few days at home with just one kid to watch, followed by a …
: To The Lake July at home is a hot, muggy affair. Humidity rarely disappears, meaning even my early morning …
: A Quiet House On Saturday morning, I woke up at 5:00am and went for a walk. I came home, sat down, and read the …
June 2021
: Regret Jolting moments happen in a man’s life that inevitably lead to a health kick. An engagement and the …
: A Father’s Love What is the measure of a good father? Is it the serenity in his house, the manicured lawn, or …
: Sprinting Alison and I will celebrate our nine-year anniversary this fall. It’s been a very full and busy nine …
: Faith Enrichment The Catholic faith offers many wonderful experiences and expressions. Pilgrimages, devotionals, even …
May 2021
: Team I’ve been out of school for more than a decade. Alison and I have four kids, own our home, and …
: Kill the Golden Calf Everyone hates the polarized culture, but no one wants to give an inch. We blame the other side as …
: Invest Today My knowledge as a parent goes only as far as my oldest child. I know how to deal with young kids, …
: In the Backyard This is our first house with a fence. A simple wooden structure that encloses our backyard doesn’t …
: Weakness “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Cor 12:9 As a part of my …
April 2021
: Two Weeks I was on a roll back in late January. I refocused on my physical health sooner in the calendar year …
: Bribe There’s a truth that is never clear in the mind of a child: everything a parent does is for a …
: Mercy Divine Mercy Sunday was yesterday. This annual jubilee is a reset available for anyone who wants it. …
: He is Not Here What a Lent! After a year of pandemic and lockdowns, this Spring is starting to feel quite …
March 2021
: Lent. Oops. If you can recall, I started Lent with a lot of confidence. Well, I planned for it with a lot of …
: The Family Home Alison and I bought our first home last year. Leading up to the purchase, I failed to anticipate how …
: Milestones This week will mark the eighth anniversary of this blog. We live in a hurried and distracted …
: A Day of Play This weekend was pretty special. My father-in-law is in town for the week. He came for a visit and …
: I Know What to Do I know what I need to do. I know what habits and activities leave me feeling rejuvenated, and which …
February 2021
: A Week of Warmth It was a week of snow and ice, sleet and freezing rain. It was a week of downed power lines, rolling …
: Lent IRL We’re two days away from the start of Lent. Over the past decade, my views on the Lenten season have …
: Building Your Domestic Church What’s the difference between a priest and a husband? In a word: scale. What the priest does for his …
: Scripture Under the Stars Many times on this blog, I’ve shared my love of walking. It’s the exercise that I most enjoy, and …
January 2021
: Off the Wagon After years of practice and observation, I know the keep components that I need to build up physical …
: These Days Over the weekend, I finished reading a book. The last time I accomplished that feat was in August. …
: Uncertainty Something remarkable happens when you engage in a daily habit of prayer. I’ve written before about …
: Taste Our senses guide us as we move through the world and animate our path as we go. We see colors, …
December 2020
: Time Lost The last week of the year is traditionally a pensive time for me. In an ordinary year, I would wrap …
: Waiting The Fourth Week of Advent is here, and our time of preparation is coming to a close. We’ve spent …
: Carrying Too Much As I sit to write this post, I’m at the kitchen counter in our new house. We’re in the midst of a …
: A Prepared Heart Advent is here, that most joyous of seasons. In my neighborhood, everyone put up their Christmas …
November 2020
: Thankful for What It’s been a year. 2020 ushered in a new decade and along with it so much hope. As we’ve slugged out …
: Praying As A Parent For nearly three years, I’ve done most of my shopping via pickup. From time to time, though, I need …
: What Did We Learn? America’s political class went into Election Day with a very specific idea of how things were going …
: Live Today Jesus told us to not worry about tomorrow, that it would take care of itself. I wrote a few weeks …
: Off the Reservation This blog has defended Pope Francis. He told us to go out into the Church and the world to make a …
: Election Eve Election day is finally here. What a cycle it’s been! In many respects, this election cycle has been …
October 2020
: Time to Go Life in March was paralyzing. The incessant flow of negative news stories crashed over us like a …
: Life with Four I bring a lot of structure and process to my life. During the day, when I’m alone with my children, …
: Pandemic Confession I’ve made no secret that I’m a frequent recipient of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Once or twice …
September 2020
: Reading Together Filling up every minute of the day with activity for my kids is a real struggle. My kids are always …
: The New Evangelization Stumbles Getting to Mass on a weekday is hard for me, and that was before the pandemic. The difficulty is not …
: Troops I came up in the Boy Scouts program, rising from the 1st Grade Tigers program to the rank of Eagle …
: Default to Yes A new school year is upon us. For many parents, September is like a second January, a natural point …
August 2020
: Eight It’s been a very fast eight years since Alison and I met at the altar and committed ourselves to one …
: Answered Prayers In the months leading up to my daughter’s birth, I was anxious. Both of her sisters took nearly two …
: Together It’s amazing what spouses can do when they work together. Alison and I are fast approaching our …
: Start I have a subscription to Magnificat that I’ve had for over a year now. It’s a wonderful prayer …
: Four Certainly children are a gift from the LORD, the fruit of the womb, a reward. Psalm 127:5
July 2020
: Focus The opportunity to gain clarity in your life is rare. The busyness of the world and daily …
: A Few Extra Minutes Taking care of children is no easy task. Apart from the heavy lifting of moral and character …
: Our Responsibility Once or twice a month, I’ll take an hour or so on a Saturday afternoon to go to Confession. …
: Daily Preventative Medicine Virtue is the antidote to sin. It’s not enough to avoid sin, whether by white-knuckling it or …
June 2020
: Opening the Domestic Church The center of the daily life of the Church is the Eucharist, but it’s not the whole life. Most of us …
: Beyond Routine For a few weeks now, I’ve felt like I was adrift. While considering my daily routine and struggling …
: Safety and Stability We live comfortably, but that’s rarely the experience of Catholics. Many, if not most Catholics …
: First Communion I made my First Communion more than two decades ago. In that time, I’ve rarely been more than seven …
: Contemplating Life Change is on the horizon for my family. Later this summer, we’ll be welcoming our fourth child home. …
May 2020
: Some Gave All Memorial Day marks the official start of summer. While the holiday weekend is typically filled with …
: The Lessons Learned Back in January, I had high hopes and expectations for 2020. The future was bright as a new decade …
: Resisting Structure Sticking to a routine and a list of daily habits is much easier to do when I have momentum. Building …
: Dive Into Something What a difference three months can make! Back in January, I felt completely overwhelmed with all of …
April 2020
: Do What Works Last year, I had the most incredible breakthrough in my life. I achieved health and fitness goals …
: Family Walks When I was in high school, we had neighbors who went for a family walk almost every evening. The …
: Out of the Tomb After an epic Lent, Easter has finally come. The earth is teeming with the new life of Spring and we …
: Mind Your Diet We become what we consume. The uncertainty that we all experience now is only intensified when we …
March 2020
: In the Desert What a Lent this has been. We’re familiar with the story of Jesus going out into the desert for 40 …
: Renewal Last week kicked off Spring. Not many of us are feeling the usual cheerfulness and refreshment that …
: St. Joseph While I normally post once per week, I wanted to write today because it’s a special day. While the …
: Connecting While Isolated Difficult times for Catholics are here. From the founding of our Church, community has been a …
: Specter of Pandemic In late December and early January, the Wuhan virus was a distant trouble. It was an outbreak …
: Kids and Lent I’m always caught off guard by my kids gaining new abilities. They rarely tell me that they’re ready …
February 2020
: Let Us Go to God’s House I spent a few hours on Saturday morning at a men’s retreat. The theme of this year’s retreat was …
: Teaching Kids Why Our society is suffering from an intellectual sickness. We lack curiosity. Ideas are no longer …
: Preparing for Lent Ash Wednesday is a little more than two weeks away. The joy of the Christmas season is fading as we …
: Consistency About the time that dinner ends each evening, I crash. My energy runs out, and I want nothing more …
January 2020
: Normalcy It’s the last week of January, which means just about everyone’s New Years resolutions are …
: Cherish Your Children After several months of vacation, I’ve gotten back into my routine of walking each morning before …
: Seeking Rest As the stay-at-home parent in my family, I struggle with the tension of rest. There are some days …
: Twenty Twenty Focus The constant rushing of life can feel crushing. Like the overwhelming power of a waterfall, events …
December 2019
: A Remarkable Year As I wrote in January about my grand plans for 2019, I laid out a vision for a totally new me. I …
: The Joy of the Season In the blink of an eye, the end of 2019 is just over a week away and we’re at the threshold of the …
: Not from Scratch I woke up at my normal time on Saturday morning, went for my walk, came home, and got ready for the …
: Everybody Helps At the beginning of 2019, I sat down to think about annual themes for my family. I wanted to have a …
November 2019
: Humble Service Life as a stay-at-home dad was nothing like I expected. For the first two years, with only a toddler …
: Poverty I had a dream a few months ago that my family and I were refugees. My dream was vivid. We arrived in …
: On Retreat I made my first private retreat in twelve years last weekend. I left all of my electronics at home, …
: Servant Leadership Many people want the title, pomp, and circumstance that comes with leadership. They crave the …
October 2019
: Spiritual Health Spirituality is an integral part of what it means to be a human person. Ignore your physical health, …
: Reaching A Goal I still remember it vividly. I stepped on to the scale one winter morning to see a three digit …
: The Importance of Self-Care When I was first preparing to transition to my new life as a stay-at-home dad, there was a movement …
: Read A Book When you think about your overall health, or even your performance as a stay-at-home dad, I want you …
September 2019
: Self-Awareness The gift of self-awareness is one that few bother to develop. In the midst of our busyness, we …
: Transformation There’s something natural about self-criticism. We see ourselves in pictures, and we instantly focus …
: Little Kids Praying Praying with little kids is often a difficult experience. While I try to set a good example, my kids …
: Mindfulness My experience with mindfulness is a bit checkered. I’ve used a few of the popular apps out there to …
: Seven Seven years ago, Alison and I started our life together. Captured so perfectly in the photograph in …
August 2019
: Dinner Table Just before moving two years ago, Alison and I went furniture shopping. We had gotten by for four …
: Spiritual Bankruptcy I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on the mass shootings gripping our society. Young men, …
July 2019
: All-Time Fatherhood Expectations of fathers change over time. There was a period of time where the only requirement of …
: Soft Power In the world of international diplomacy, there are two main forms of exerting pressure on another …
: Like an Abbot St. Benedict is a well known figure within Catholicism, but his impact had a direct role on the …
: Drift All things being equal, I’d like to keep a regular schedule. I’d like to have my day divided into …
June 2019
: The Scandal Many Catholics in the United States felt in the opening years of the millennium that we had stared …
: Headspace Cal Newport, the university professor and researcher who famously has never joined any social media …
: Taking Kids to Mass It’s been a number of years since I’ve been to Mass on a regular basis without my kids. When Alison …
May 2019
: On Rest I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of rest lately. As a parent to three young kids, my days are …
: Goodbye, PBS Kids Parenting in every era has its unique challenges. It’s never been easy and the challenges are always …
April 2019
: Tiny Saints A few months ago, I was given a “Tiny Saint” for a gift. Tiny Saints is a relatively new business …
: Lent Lost We’ve moved beyond the season of Lent and into the joy of Easter. About this time each year, I …
: Themes This is a big year for me. My son is starting school in the fall, my middle child is coming into her …
March 2019
: Praying as a Family When we pray in a group, we’re vulnerable. Even if it’s just our family surrounding us, it’s easy to …
February 2019
: The Gift of Faith A few weeks ago, I attended a men’s prayer breakfast at my parish. The speaker gave a short talk on …
January 2019
: Twenty Nineteen In years past, I would take this opportunity to recap my year prior and lay out my plan for the new …
December 2018
: Becoming Technoskeptic When the iOS App Store first opened its doors, I was one of the first customers. For years, …
: Making Breakfast It’s the little things that make the biggest difference. Most mornings, I invest a few minutes in my …
: Thinking Forward Typically at the end of the year, I’ll write a post about my goals, both looking back and planning …
: On Tumblr Tumblr recently faced an internal crisis. The niche mass-blogging platform had become widely …
: Where Emotion and Perception Rule My degree is in classical philosophy, with a heavy emphasis in Ancient Greek thought. Of all of the …
November 2018
: Shepherd Your Flock Parenting takes courage. I’m the parent of three small children. I stay home with them during the …
: Thankful Thanksgiving is a great American holiday. The virtue of gratitude is baked into our national DNA. …
: Media Anxiety The midterm elections are concluded. With over 700 days before the 2020 presidential election, the …
: Guard Your Joy There are many reasons to be optimistic in life, especially as an American. We live in comfort and …
October 2018
: Jehovah’s Witness There are many things that I’m getting used to now that I live in a house in a neighborhood. Living …
: The Gluttony of Surfing I remember a time two decades ago when the Internet was a fun place to be. It was new, exciting, and …
: Taking Care of Yourself Over the past nine months or so, I’ve really let my personal care slide. I’m normally really good …
: Zero Screens I have an ambitious goal. In many ways, it may appear opposed to who I am as a person. I consider …
July 2018
: Economics of Staying Home There’s nothing wrong about a family in which both parents work outside of the home. Each family’s …
June 2018
: Integrity in Productivity My days are pretty full; that’s by design. I have my primary job, which is taking care of the kids. …
: Comprehensive Sexual Education Parents have to do many uncomfortable things, not least of which is provide their children with a …
: Dear Father I’m the youngest of three kids. Before I had my first child, I didn’t know anything about kids. I …
May 2018
: Why Boredom Happens I was at our Credit Union last week conducting some business when one of the employees remarked that …
: Commit Yourself to A Program What a privilege it is to live in the Modern era. No matter what goal I set for myself, someone has …
: Build Your Parish Community A few years ago, my parents’ parish redesigned their website. I have an interest in these sorts of …
: Set the Bar Low I’m not one to advocate for low bars. I’ve been told that I am particularly hard on people, which, …
: Quitting Social Media I remember a time, a decade ago, when the Internet was fun. It was an open, collaborative place …
April 2018
: Gardener We’re lucky in the summer to have several large oak trees around our house. They give us glorious …
: Controlling Kids in Church Taking kids to Church is hard. There’s getting everyone fed, cleaned, dressed, and out the door on …
March 2018
: Momentum A 10-day stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) will drain you. Lucy’s stay was a bit …
: Data Driven I’m a guy who likes data. I like to see numbers, charts, and graphs. I can understand them and make …
: A Successful Day Defining success is elusive. In fact, it’s one of the more personal determinations that we make. …
February 2018
: 21 Years I just celebrated the 21st anniversary of my First Reconciliation. Confession is the gym of Catholic …
: Resilience As a parent, I have a ton of things that I want to teach my children. I want to give them the skills …
: I Choose Superhero Our cities and neighborhoods produce the finest political thinkers, artists, innovators, and …
: August Ames Until late last year, I didn’t know August Ames. One day in early December, I was checking in on the …
January 2018
: Living in A Fantasy I love reading the paper. I’ve written about that fact several times on this blog. Perhaps my …
: In Memoriam My niece, Maddux Rose, passed away yesterday. She was born in December with a genetic disorder. I …
: Integrating the Bible in Your Life I want to share something with you that made an outsized impact on my life last year. For me, 2017 …
November 2017
: A Father’s Gratitude The life of a stay-at-home dad isn’t easy. It’s much more difficult than I imagined it would be. My …
: Big Finishes Don’t Require Big Starts I used to think that the running story line in Forrest Gump was absurd. One day Forrest starts …
October 2017
: The Impact of a Great Confession Each time I move to a new place, there are two people that I need to find. The first is a great …
January 2017
: On Hiatus Four years ago, I started this project. My transition out of the workforce was on the horizon, and I …
December 2016
: Make 2017 A Change Year I love this last week of the year. There’s a feeling of hope and anticipation for the New Year. …
: Redacting In-Law Marriage is full of misunderstanding. While in our circle of friends and in media we bemoan the lack …
: The American Family Then and Now I’ve always been interested in American history, in particular American military history. As a son …
: Offense & Defense Watch any sporting event, and you’ll quickly learn that having a strong offense or defense is seldom …
: Perfect is the Enemy of Good As 2016 comes to a close, we’re on the cusp of the New Year Resolutions bonanza. Each year I share …
: The List With just a few weeks until Christmas, I’m sure that your shopping is in full swing. For many of us, …
November 2016
: Count Your Blessings Greetings from the Jersey Shore! My family has gathered once again this week from five different …
: Returning to Divine Freedom The faith of the martyrs has always been an inspiration to me. Throughout history, men and women of …
: Understanding God the Father I underestimated how impactful parenting would be on my spiritual life. I’ve found that nothing has …
: Mending Election Fences Our culture is sick. How far we have fallen from the America that De Tocqueville documented in his …
: Thoughts on Friendship in the Digital Age One of my favorite activities is to pick an area of life where I need improvement and to work hard …
: The First Step to Being A Better Spouse Everyone wants a happy marriage, but not everyone is willing to work for it. We’ve become too …
: The Necessity of Rest (and Why You Need More of It) I spent four years in the workforce after college. The environment was challenging, but it was a …
October 2016
: Take Permission to Pray I’m a recovering productivity addict. I used to love optimizing everything. I’d find the best apps, …
: Giving Up on Giving Up Slowly One of my favorite Relient K songs opens with the verse, “I’m giving up on giving up slowly.” It’s a …
September 2016
: Seeking Simplicity Life has a way of coming full circle. Just five years ago, when I was young, free, and single, I was …
: Pam, Porn, & Paul There’s no renewal without conversion. There’s no mercy without justice. There’s no resurrection …
: Pro-Life with Credibility The modern pro-life movement has focused on the issue of abortion. It would seem that is an …
: The Duplicity of Moral Superiority There’s a tendency in human thought to desire superiority over others. We must show those we resent …
: The Three Stages of Every New Marriage As the ultimate Throwback Thursday, Alison and I are celebrating our four year wedding anniversary. …
August 2016
: Making Time for Prayer Over the past year, I’ve felt an increasing desire to incorporate more prayer time into my day. …
: Impeach Francis I seldom take the time to read editorials. While the premise is good, the execution scarcely follows …
: Making the Invisible, Visible Faith is a gift, and one that parents try to transmit to their children. Those who have a strong …
: The Fatal Flaw of Feminism Americans have a great tradition of rugged individualism. We have a heritage of self-reliance …
: The Joy of Two Children When Felicity arrived this Spring, I had just gotten a handle on how to deal with Benedict. Now a …
July 2016
: Being Whom I Want to Be We all have within us the power and ability to shape who we are. From the media that we consume, the …
: The Genius of the Family Experiential knowledge is the most valuable of all. When Alison and I went to the hospital to …
: Keeping Things Civil Every four years, we have a tremendous, Constitutionally guaranteed, opportunity to remind ourselves …
: Manage Your Care Having married a physician, most of my daily conversations revolve around the topic of medicine. …
: The Rightful Place for Sex We love sex. We love it so much that sex has found itself in just about every quarter of our lives. …
: Respect People The Catholic Church’s position on life is unimpeachable. Every human person has inherent dignity and …
: I hate Facebook. So I did something about it. I recently received an email from Facebook congratulating me on my 10 year anniversary on the …
June 2016
: Sick of Reality TV Television programming has the unique ability to bring people together. Pursuing Twitter after an …
: Education Happens Everywhere One of the great tragedies of the American educational system is that it compartmentalizes learning. …
: Inadequacies There are certain experiences that are universal to all parents. Children, regardless of culture and …
: God, Hell, and Timeouts One of the areas of parenting that I didn’t anticipate being uncomfortable with is timeouts. I …
: Sin Drags You Down I’m never more keenly aware of the physical effects of sin in my life than right after confession. I …
May 2016
: Overwhelmed with Gratitude Life is full of grand adventure. Our emotions, and the circumstances around us, can cast us into …
: The Dinner Opportunity We tend to overlook the dinner opportunity. Thanks to the rise in popularity of cooking shows, I …
: If It’s Broken, Fix It If you take a careful look at the mass produced products on the market today, you’ll note just how …
: Dad Life Lately I’ve developed a bit of an addiction to car care. I want our cars to last, so I try to wash …
: We’re Too Comfortable When it comes to fallen away Catholics, especially those who had a negative experience of the Church …
: Mastering Patience IKEA is not a store that I associate the virtue of patience with. Assembling the furniture is a task …
: Personal Pride My neighbors love to sit outside and talk to one another. The other day, I was chatting with one of …
: Failure to Communicate I often feel that our ability to communicate is falling into the trap of diminishing returns. New …
: Gift Giving There are many ways to express your love to your wife. Using the words, doing some chores, caring …
April 2016
: Enough Breaks Already It’s really easy to cut yourself too much slack. You laud praises on yourself for a good week’s …
: St. Joseph: Human Placing yourself in Bible stories is one of the most widely recommended spiritual exercises when it …
: Learning Happens Everywhere Learning is a life-long pursuit and chances are, at one point or another, you’re going to sign up …
: Eliminate the Possibility A great struggle in the single life is the lack of permanence. When casually dating, playing the …
: Vote Your Conscience When Virginia held its primary election on Super Tuesday this year, I found myself in a position …
: Hopeful Anticipation I’m experiencing a noticeable difference between Alison’s first pregnancy and her second: I’m a lot …
: Be Silly Benedict’s favorite part of the work week happens on Thursday mornings at our library. He absolutely …
: Etiquette in Marriage I recently wrote about my thoughts on reading “Emily Post’s Essential Manners for Men: Second …
: The Danger of Despair There are many obstacles to living a holy life. We must overcome our environment, our past choices, …
: Keeping Priorities Straight If you feel guilty spending time with your family instead of working, you need to adjust your …
March 2016
: Being A True Servant Leader Servant leadership is a term that’s quite popular in management circles. It attempts to form leaders …
: Painful Reminders We’re all a bit detached from reality. We see ourselves in a certain light that tends to be a bit …
: Family Time Activities I love Spring. Nature reminds us of the joy and hope of new life and new growth and the season also …
: Be You We all wear masks. We instinctively alter our behavior when we believe we’re being watched in order …
: How Am I Doing As A Parent? I enjoy systems and stability. I like to learn how to do something, experiment to find the most …
: Divorcing Faith and Work Over the past several decades, the pressure to divorce one’s faith from one’s work has become …
: Discounting the Eucharist In my previous reflection on the intimacy of the Eucharist, I started to write about the insidious …
: The Poor Box Every moment is a teachable moment in a child’s life. What your children don’t realize is that as a …
: The Insidious Nature of Stress One of my greatest relational weaknesses is a knee-jerk reaction to place blame. It’s a quick …
: Give Locally Until recently, Alison and I didn’t really have a giving strategy. Each month, we’d go over the …
: Where Are Your Manners? I follow the work of Shawn Blanc pretty closely. Shawn is a writer based in Kansas City who does a …
: The E Word One of men’s greatest flaws is our inability to express, process, or deal with emotions. We know two …
: Eucharistic Intimacy Your faith life has the potential to be the most intimate relationship in your life. It’s a …
February 2016
: How Will You Use Your Fresh Start? I love this time of year when I and every other writer on the Internet write about goals, …
: Pursing A Daughter’s Heart I wanted a girl. When the ultrasound confirmed it, I was elated. Her name is Felicity and she’s …
: Antonin Scalia: America’s Thomas More “In every interaction you have with people, you can either give them life or take some away.” -Toby …
: A Balanced Social Life The interview season is in full swing for Alison. We’re about 18 months from graduation and her …
: What Great Things Will You Do in 2016 I’ve asked you how you will use the fresh start that the New Year gives you, but today I want to ask …
: Stay the Course If there’s one thing that we can count on, it’s change. Perfectly laid plans are disrupted by …
: The Entitled, Envious Millennials I read an interesting opinion article in the Wall Street Journal that took on the issue of a …
: Cutting Corners is Weak Personal integrity is a key component to success. In fact, America’s millionaires rated integrity as …
: Random Acts of Service Last Fall, Alison was on call one night at the hospital here in town. The proximity to our house to …
: A Rich Spiritual Life What does it mean to have a rich spiritual life? What would your day need to look like in order to …
: The New Year Slump It’s about that time of year when people hit their New Year slump. The grand plans, resolutions, and …
: Life In Sync I once read that we ought to make a major decision once and then manage it daily. That’s decent …
: Persistence Wins If you work long enough at something, you’ll see results and win. Persistence is the most helpful …
: Grading Your Performance It’s a good idea to think about your performance as a man and husband in terms of a grading scale. …
: Honor Your Mother During the years when my dad was in the Air Force, he seemed to find himself frequently in jobs that …
: Why I’m Optimistic Inviting God into every aspect of your life is clearly an excellent idea. Having His help and …
January 2016
: Parenting is Innate This blog post was originally intended to be a reflection on how the beauty of shared parenting …
: Long Term Thinking Life in the Collins household has been in full motion as of late. Just after Thanksgiving we bought …
: The Sky Rarely Falls People have been predicting the end of the United States and the collapse of the dollar since the …
: Why Marriages Fail One of the main roles in the household for husbands is to take care of all of the little details …
: Try New Things in Your Career The New Year presents many interesting possibilities. You have a blank canvas of twelve months to go …
: Be Social After Mass One of my favorite memories growing up was being social after Mass. This likely had more to do with …
: Inconvenient Times of Need If there’s one thing about marriage that’s true, it’s that your spouse often needs you when it’s …
: Broken Promises I’ve been struggling lately to defend my beliefs amid our culture shifts. It’s not that I think that …
: Discipline Trickles Down Alison’s schedule around Holy Days is always a little tricky. Our parish generally offers sufficient …
: Minivans Earlier this year, Alison and I started discussing acquiring a minivan. We’ve been a one car family …
: When to Quit Around this time of year, I’m always excited by the potential of the new year. I have a long list of …
: Plus Two We’re nearing the half-way mark of Alison’s pregnancy. This has been a very quick ride (for me, at …
: Keep in Touch I think that we have a tendency to discount work friendships. Work is not primarily a place to go to …
: Parenting Requires Daily Adjustments A few months ago, I was one confused dad. As a first time parent, all of the development stages in …
: Take A Break The biggest downside to being self-employed is that there’s no paid vacation. When I don’t work, I …
: 2016 Goals 2016 is officially here! As is my tradition, I wanted to share with you my goals for the upcoming …
December 2015
: Pray for Those Who Persecute You But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. - Matthew 5:44 Jesus’ …
: My Father’s Son My younger self would be very disappointed in me if he knew the truth. I like jazz. When I was in …
: Take Care of Your Things In our disposable culture, there are very few things left that are well made. Quality construction …
: A New Baby I’m happy to announce today that Alison and I are expecting our second child. After two amazing …
: Preserve Your Energy Negativity is the biggest drain on our energy. Every day we encounter plenty of rabbit holes to go …
: The Daily Struggle for Goodness When you’re trying to live a better life, a holier life, don’t expect evil to just roll over and …
: Setting Your Goals for 2016 I think that the most interesting aspect of goal setting is looking at them in hindsight. As I sit …
: A Christmas List Although Christmas is just a few days away, I wanted to share an idea with you that might make next …
: 2015: The Year of the Gazelle I absolutely love this time of year. The anticipation of Advent, the joy of sharing Christmas …
: Turning Your Thoughts Back to God We have a lot of mentally idle time. Folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen, running errands, and …
: Food Diaries Are A Pain The tactic in weight management that I’ve found to be the most effective and also the most …
: Hell Isn’t For Me While I was in Drivers Ed, I learned a valuable lesson. Where your eyes go, the car goes. We’re …
: Raising Wholesome Kids My goal in raising Benedict is that he grow into a wholesome, mature man worthy of a great woman. …
: Drive Safely This Season As the cool fall air moved into the region, I made a concerted effort to get Benedict outside more. …
: Everyone Craves Respect The Golden Rule should be the gold standard in human relationships, but my experience tells me it …
: My Own Biggest Obstacle When your thirst for change exceeds the threshold of your objections, things start to happen. We all …
: Ask God for the Big Things Understanding God with the human mind is impossible. In order to help us bridge that gap into the …
: Lean on God It’s human nature to want to be independent. We want to be free to make our own decisions and have …
: Change Requires Pain There’s something very real and raw about wanting to make changes in our lives. We all want to be …
: Evil is Real How many times have we witnessed the great falls of those whom claim to be holy and religious? How …
November 2015
: A Family of Saints During this year’s Synod on the Family, Pope Francis canonized Louis and Marie-Azelie Martin, the …
: Gratitude is at the Heart of the Christian Life Today, we celebrate the amazing Thanksgiving. Although this humble holiday tends to get trampled on …
: In Heaven Together One of the best theological explanations of the Mass that I’ve ever heard is that when you’re at …
: Your Sacred Ring In the Catholic Church, we have aids that help to remind ourselves of God’s loving presence in our …
: Starting Fresh We all love a fresh start. New beginnings are always full of hope, excitement, and promise. We feel …
: Disengage This Holiday Season I have a challenge for you this Thanksgiving and Christmas: disengage. I can see it now. You’re …
: Never Rush Decisions It’s only when I rush into something that I get burned. Alison and I have recently been car …
: Giving Everything for Your Kids Love is a concept that’s been distorted and misunderstood. We all yearn to hear the words “I love …
: We’re Not Guaranteed Any Time In the course of our human existence, we’re faced with tragedies, none more sorrowful than the …
: Change Starts At Home I want to live in a world that doesn’t have me in the center. I want to live in a world where men …
: Vapid Music I’m fairly certain in every generation, as art pushes the boundaries of cultural norms and …
: A Powerful Confession Strategy I try to go to Confession once a month, but sometimes my schedule conspires against me. In early …
: I Hate Car Dealers Alison and I are in the market for a new car. Well, we thought we wanted a car, but now we’ve …
: Getting Back on the Horse We underestimate the power of momentum. Momentum, as it builds, evolves into an unstoppable force. …
: The Radical Early Christians For perhaps the first time in my life, I’m reading the Acts of the Apostles. Alison gave me the …
: Dating in the Married Life The ordinary needs to be challenged. In the days of dating your wife, there was much newness in the …
: Take Advantage of Financial Booms There’s nothing better than a family financial boom. Flush with cash, you and your spouse breathe a …
: Why Mass Matters I don’t bother to read the surveys that pollsters do of Catholics. It turns into an exercise in, …
: Confession-phobia The fear of Confession is deadly. It’s healthy to have some amount of fear of the Sacrament. That …
: Take Pride in Your Car Alison and I’s Prius is 10 years old this year. Well, technically, I guess it’s 11. We’ll soon cross …
October 2015
: Daily Grooming How we present ourselves to the world is an important aspect of live, and so making time for daily …
: Rethinking Together Time Is residency over yet? With just under 18 months to go, I’m so done with all of this. Alison’s …
: Diligent Budgeting Diligent budgeting requires three distinct toolsets: allocating, tracking, and accounting. Although …
: Priests Are Superheroes If I were a priest, the standing weekly appointment that I’d most look forward to, and at the same …
: Christian Animosity Towards Catholics During Pope Francis' recent visit to the United States, I was inundated with news articles, Tweets, …
: Prayer and Flowers This summer, Alison and I really got into gardening. We had an herb garden on our back porch along …
: Every Election is Important We’re getting deep into the 2016 election, even though it’s more than a year away. The fields for …
: Things Will Never Make You Happy When there’s something that I want to buy, I tend to develop a laser-like focus on achieving that …
: Never Quit Quitters quit. In perhaps the most obvious statement ever made on this blog, I’ll state it again. …
: Parenting: Exhilarating and Exhausting Now that more of my friends are getting married and having kids, my Facebook timeline, or whatever …
: A Refuge in the World I don’t spend nearly enough time in Adoration. When I was in middle school, my mom and I were …
: The Art of Compromise We live in a large society, and so the idea that we can have things exactly the way we want them is …
: Be Your Child’s Rock A father’s role in his children’s lives is unique. I’ve written before about how fathers are …
: A Society That Doesn’t Read We live in a society that doesn’t read. In 2013 a quarter of Americans didn’t read a single book. …
: The Church Isn’t A Democracy The reporting and commenting on the Church these days is insufferable. I skip over most articles, …
: The Worst Time to Discern The absolute worst time to make a discernment is when you’re mired in sin. Yet, we do it all the …
: 3 Reasons to Pray the Rosary Daily The Rosary is an amazing prayer. While it may be easy to discount it as rote, there’s a real beauty …
: The Gift of A Child’s Life Recently I’ve been looking back at old videos of Benedict. Man that kid was fat. What also strikes …
September 2015
: The Lynchpin of Education Throughout the course of my education, I have had hundreds of teachers. I can say that, to the best …
: The Surprises of Being A Stay-At-Home Parent Now that I’ve been a full-time caregiver to Benedict (read “stay-at-home parent”) for just over a …
: Enough About Sex Already I have zero interest in your sexual preferences. Frankly, it’s none of my business. Yet, we’ve …
: Go Read the Documents If you have a question about what the Church teaches, just go read the documents. Start with the …
: Incredible Martyrs I’m encouraged by the stories of martyrs. Their fortitude in the face of unimaginable pain and …
: Finding Wholesome Programming Lately I’ve been really into movies, books, and TV shows based on real life Cold War era spies. …
: Fear of Prison I wasn’t planning on revealing my biggest fear in life before an international radio audience, but I …
: Where Do You Send Your Thoughts? In a widely circulated Matthew Kelley talk, Matthew made the point that where you send your …
: Be Courageous When we think about courage, we often think about people overcoming all odds to accomplish something …
: Break Your Phone Addiction Alison and I are both up for phone upgrades this month. It was with great glee that I watched the …
: The Sign of the Cross “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Several times a day, we open …
: The Forgiving and Perfecting Eucharist It’s easy to fatigue on Catholic cliches. We use them ad nauseam until something beautiful and …
: The Gift of Private Confession I’m thankful for private confession. If I had to confess my sins publicly, in front of my own …
: The Value of Sharing The world is an incredibly noisy place, even more so now that the Internet gives a bullhorn to …
: Keep the Fires Burning As Catholics, there are many things that we too easily take for granted. Our regular encounters with …
: The Speed of A Year The speed of time never ceases to amaze me. It seems like every time I blink a day, week, month, …
: Believe in Yourself There’s a direct correlation between how successful you are and how diligently you work. The hardest …
: Cherish Your Father Benedict has started behaving like a two year old just a few months early. He’s usually loads of …
August 2015
: A Culture that Respects Life We find ourselves, yet again, as Americans doing some serious soul-searching after last week’s …
: Do the Essentials Daily schedules fluctuate a lot. Between work, appointments, shopping, and after-school activities, …
: Listen to Your Body I hate to admit it, but I’m losing ground to my migraines. Since they started in 2006, we’ve had an …
: The Two Most Important Times of Day There are two critical times of interaction with your wife each day. They are the times are when you …
: Cutting Your Schedule It’s said that the worst boss that you’ll ever work for is yourself. At one time or another, you may …
: Coping with Loss It’s said that we tend to experience God in times of tribulation more than in our daily life. People …
: Behind Every Great Warrior is A Great Family We owe a great debt to our current military members and to all veterans who’ve honorably served. …
: Vacations Without Your Kids Our children’s dependance on us is both proper and something that needs to be managed. It’s a …
: How to Read the News Online news is both a blessing and a curse. You can get up-to-the minute updates, but oftentimes the …
: Persistance vs. Overwork As I sit down to write this post, I’m surrounded my mountains of stuff. My office is a complete …
: Regroup Weekly I clean our house every Saturday, both inside and out. The laundry is done, the floor is vacuumed, …
: Resolve Conflicts Far too many of us carry around burdens that we don’t have to endure. Mistakes from the past haunt …
: Fighting Financial Fatigue Perhaps the most difficult struggle that any of us face in reaching our financial goals is the …
: Know Your Story In the not too distant past, I didn’t care much about my family’s genealogy. I knew about my parents …
: Walking for Health Earlier this year, as the temperatures began to rise and Spring poked its head out, Benedict and I …
: How to Move Past the Worst Mistakes Perhaps the most painful mistakes you or I will ever make will involve money. Bad buying decisions, …
: How to Help Your Wife Live Her Dreams Alison has been accepted into a medical Natural Family Planning course later this year. I’m not sure …
: Stop Sin in its Tracks In aviation, all mishaps, crashes, and fatalities are the result of a chain reaction of decisions. …
: Work Needs A Finish Line The line between on the clock and off the clock has been blurred beyond recognition. Today’s …
: Don’t Let Vice Kill You You’re likely a pretty good person. You go about your life doing the right thing every day. You have …
July 2015
: The Beauty Around You This week will mark the eighth anniversary of this blog. We live in a hurried and distracted …
: Are You Taking A Pay Cut? Spring is my favorite season. It’s used to be fall because I absolutely love cold, grey, steely …
: How to Spend More Time with Your Wife Earlier this year, during one of Alison’s many rotations, she was assigned to a hospital about 45 …
: Reinforce Family Values One of the most difficult challenges that parenting presents is passing on family values. If you …
: The Secret to Winning Your Morning The past six months have been a time of great change in my daily routine. With Benedict now walking …
: One Trick to Love Your House More To say that our house has a yard would be a stretch. We have a patch of land next to our house that …
: If You Don’t Understand, Do Nothing I’m very involved in the healthcare decisions of my family. I always ask lots of clarifying …
: Traveling Parents Today I want to put out a challenge to travelers everywhere: be kind to parents with young children. …
: Try A Different Mass We all have personal preferences. Our personality usually shows forth when we choose to act on those …
: Reset Occasionally I keep rigorous track of my goals throughout the year. I’ve mentioned before that I use the …
: Open Wide the Doors Over the Memorial Day Weekend, Alison and I didn’t have much going on. She had to work on Saturday …
: Kids Are Not A Burden Benedict has been sleeping less lately, meaning that he requires more entertainment during the day. …
: Plan A Sunday Adventure While Alison and I moved to Virginia a little over a year ago, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that …
: A Place for Everything I love living in a clean house. There’s something freeing about having wide open spaces with …
: Small Blessings Lead You God’s plan for your life is multidimensional. Thousands of small events, shifts, and changes of …
: Cousin Time Earlier this Spring, I took Benedict to my aunt’s house for a play date. My aunt lives about 90 …
: Is Your Wife Your Only Friend? Admittedly, this is going to be a bit of an awkward post for me. While I wish I was living out the …
: Fighting Weight Confession: I’ve let myself go. Since the beginning of the year, I’ve gained 15 lbs. Now, that’s not …
: Do the Right Thing I once had a boss who told me that it’s never too late to do the right thing. Oftentimes when we …
: Be A Brave Parent Most days, I’m surprised that I’m a father. Certainly Benedict has been in my life for nearly two …
: Dress Up for Mass Growing up, my family always dressed up for Mass. Though I recognize how expensive it must’ve been …
: Pride and Money Mistakes Money just might be the most personal thing in the world. Almost no other topic causes people to …
: The Joy of Giving Earlier this year, while at the March for Life, Alison and I were approached by a man selling …
June 2015
: Let Go of Past Hurts I’m a grudge-holder. I don’t do it for all things, but when a particular relational infraction …
: Celebrate Life One of the great tragedies of our modern era is our misunderstanding of the value of children. For a …
: Be Neighborly I have a terrible track record of being neighborly. In the five years since moving out on my own, …
: Endure Misery Life is full of a range of emotions. There are days when we’re over the moon and others when we’re …
: The Best Thing About Permanence Marriage is designed to last. While that’s a simple statement, the implausibility of the construct …
: Fighting Impatience Several times a week, I fail to reach the high Catholic Husband standard. Being the husband that I …
: Embrace Confession In what I suspect is a universal experience among Catholics, I always get nervous in the Confession …
: Nocturnal Adoration When I was in Middle School, my Mom and I signed up for the local chapter of the Nocturnal Adoration …
: Quality Time Takes Time The difference between men and women becomes abundantly clear when it comes to quality time. For …
: Staying On Budget Going over budget is never a good thing. Not only does it mean that you have to find the money …
: How to Deal with Traffic Our National Driver’s Education curriculum needs to be overhauled. At least half of the teaching …
: Give to the Beggar Earlier this summer, Alison’s family was in town and we made the trek into DC. While there, I was …
: Blazing Your Own Path I wish I had started my web design business back in college. The free enterprise system and the …
: Be Emotionally Present Growing up, one of the staples of my day happened just before bed. As I lay in bed, my dad would …
: Deck Life Our townhouse has a small and very cheap deck built onto the back. It doesn’t sit very high off the …
: Drink More Water Growing up, my Dad drank a lot of water. So much so, that he had a Brita filter in the refrigerator …
: Rest vs. Idleness Idle hands are the Devil’s tools, yet God rested on the 7th day. Rest and idleness are very close …
: Dad the Driver Family road trips are the stuff of legend. Earlier this year, Alison, Benedict, and I rented a van …
: Refuse to Fall There comes a point in our lives when we have to stand up to sin. Sin, both great and small, has the …
: Know Your Mother I find it easier to understand God’s surpassing mercy now that I am a parent. The love that I feel …
: Relentless Positive Action While I was living in Michigan, I was particularly impressed with the Governor’s mantra, “Relentless …
: Take Care of Your Home I’ve gotten into a bad habit lately, where I ignore most of my daily to-dos for the sake of getting …
May 2015
: Struggling with Focus The reality of the finite nature of time is never more apparent than when you’re doing something …
: Take Advantage of Living Close Thankfully, for the nearly three years of our marriage, Alison and I have always lived close to …
: Respect Your Limits We all have limiting factors in our lives. It may be a health issue, fear, past hurts, or even bad …
: Humble Yourself Humility may be the most unpopular virtue. We all love interacting with humble people and we enjoy …
: Be Okay Being Alone It used to be that I’d take my regular walks alone. Before Benedict arrived, and even in his first …
: Never Miss An Opportunity Throughout any given day, we have plenty of opportunities to do the right thing. Several months ago, …
: Spiritual Springs Growing up, my grandparents’ house was our vacation destination of choice. My Dad was often …
: Get Your Wife to Heaven If you want to be a really good husband, direct all of your actions towards getting your wife into …
: Sin Isn’t A Foregone Conclusion There are many myths surrounding sin. These myths are lies that we’ve either told ourselves or have …
: Thank A Vet Five words are all it takes to make the difference in a service member’s life. We see men and women …
: Be Great, No Matter What Last Fall, I wrote about To Kill A Mockingbird and the great scene where Atticus explains to his …
: With Your Help I’m not God. I didn’t rise from the dead of my own volition. I didn’t save countless souls from …
: It’s Okay to Rest Go, go, go, go. The frantic pace of our lives has gotten really out of control. We run all day at …
: Marriage and Patience A few weeks ago, Alison and I went to a live radio show. That sentence felt weird to type, but it’s …
: Am I Doing Enough? It’s been a year since I started caring for Benedict full time. It’s almost hard to believe not just …
: Finding Time to Pray My daily prayer time is often a moving target. Depending on what the day has in store for me, I …
: Look to St. Joseph One of the traditions in my line of Collins men is that each of us share the same middle name, …
: Relational Fresh Air If on your Wedding Day you expected your marriage to be full of positive emotions and the warm …
: One Step Closer to Holiness The battle for self-control is one that’s waged daily. We’re constantly being pulled in two …
: Do Something Amazing this Summer Believe it or not, the summer months are upon us! Schools will soon be shuttering their doors for …
: How to Allocate Charitable Dollars I love the hum of the mail truck. Although we live on a busy street, there’s a particular sound that …
April 2015
: Sunday Afternoons I love Sunday afternoons. Many people don’t really like them since they start to feel the Monday …
: You’re Irreplaceable One June evening in 1996, I was almost left without a father. My dad was deployed in Saudi Arabia …
: Book Review: Marriage Last December, during one of our regular visits to my parent’s house, my dad handed me a book of his …
: Editing Friendships College is the gilded age of friendships. At no other point in your life are you more fully immersed …
: Confront Fear One of the more popular topics in the blogosphere lately is fear. More and more, people who’ve …
: 3 Ways to Pamper Your Wife this Weekend Weekends are a great time for some TLC. After a long week, often spent apart, the weekends afford us …
: At Home in Church I try to make it to Confession at least once a month and typically end up making it about twice per …
: Managing Notifications A few weeks ago, I noticed a drop in my productivity. I took a few days to consider the root cause …
: Valentine’s Day Isn’t Over I made a huge mistake last year. In honor of Alison’s birthday, I coordinated among our family to …
: Be Aware of Your Example One of the books that I’ve read this year was Eat Mor Chikin: Inspire More People by Truett Cathy. …
: The Burden of Freedom Freedom is a wonderful thing. Since you’re reading this, you’re one of the lucky ones who has the …
: For Granted In life, it becomes incredibly easy to take things for granted. Small joys and simple pleasures tend …
: Peace Starts at Home When we were younger, my brother and I fought. A lot. This was to the benefit of my sister, since …
: Humility in Marriage Marriage is unlike anything else in our world. It’s a relationship that cannot be fully comprehended …
: Prepare for Adventure I don’t know where I’ll be living in two years. In fact, I can only think of one other time in my …
: Praying for Kids Vocations A few weeks ago, Alison called me on her way home from the hospital. She was listening to Catholic …
: Giving All of You Earlier this year, Mark Hart from Life Teen was on Lino Rulli’s The Catholic Guy Show right after …
: Integrate with Your In-Laws One of the biggest changes for any newly married couple is feeling out the relationship with your …
: Complex Sexual Histories Recently, I’ve been considering the role of men in the family life. It’s a complex issue, and one …
: Stop Joking About Marriage A few weeks ago, I was getting my hair cut. The barber asked what I did, and I told him that I’m a …
: Nip Problems in the Bud We all have a bit of a flair for the dramatic. While we may despise personal conflict, we’re a bit …
: Even Jesus was Tempted I hate temptation. It’s always so exciting and alluring, especially if I give it any attention at …
March 2015
: Respect Women Sex sells, even when it’s irrelevant. Watching commercials during the Super Bowl underscores this …
: Invest in Your Kids Although Benedict is recently beginning to prefer walking to crawling, I’ve already begun to plan …
: Staring Down Medical Problems In life, there may be nothing more disruptive than a major medical problem. Whether it’s one that …
: Adult Report Cards When I was in high school, in my Junior and Senior year, I was introduced to something truly …
: The Joy of Serving In the not too distant past, I engineered my weekly routine to involve cleaning a single room of the …
: Intent Matters in Sex One of the best books on the argument for marriage the way that we understand it is What is …
: Turn Off the News Since late last summer, I’ve had a subscription to the Wall Street Journal. It’s my first newspaper …
: Two Years of Service Today is an amazing day! Two years ago today, I pressed the big green button and Catholic Husband …
: Read to Your Children A routine is perhaps the greatest tool in the toolbox of parenting. Kids do wonderfully with …
: The Rise of Divorce I’ve recently started working on a family genealogy project. In the past, I hadn’t much cared about …
: When is it Enough? The lives of the saints are a great mystery to us. How is it that ordinary men and women, both lay …
: Read God’s Book Last Fall, Alison, Benedict, and I traveled to my cousin’s wedding. While there, I saw one of those …
: Drop Everything for Her When Benedict is in the family room playing, anytime he hears the locks on the front door turning, …
: Missing Alison Alison’s work schedule is, at times, a real challenge for me. On her month of nights, she’d be at …
: Idle Hands I recently watched an interview with a Benedictine monk done by a local TV station out West. They …
: Fight the Creeping Bulge Winter is hard on me. During the spring, summer, and fall, I’m a regular exerciser. Benedict and I …
: Be Full of Surprises A few days before Valentine’s Day, my sister texted me asking what my plans were. “Are you going to …
: Make Time to Read There are limitless ways for us to use our free time during the day, but most activities leave us …
: Play with Your Kids As I look back on the pictures of Benedict from his first year of life, I’m suddenly very aware of …
: The World Needs Fathers We’re living in a very confusing time. For whatever reason, we’ve stopped seeing people as uniquely …
: An Undivided Heart When I was in college, I loved dating. I went on dates with many women, was in a relationship with a …
February 2015
: Daily Prayer List We all have many things in our lives that we like to pray for. A list of intentions floats around in …
: Don’t Press Snooze I have three layers of alarms each morning. My Fitbit has 3 silent alarms scheduled each morning for …
: Forget About Being Right There are many commonly held beliefs about marriage that I refuse to subscribe to. Over the past two …
: Three Ways to Improve Date Night Now that Alison’s internship is starting to wind down and she’s finished with her examinations and …
: Your Role As Husband The role of husband is perhaps the most challenging role that any man faces. As a single man, the …
: Support Our Priests Growing up, priests were a constant presence in my house. My parents were very diligent in …
: Sublime Forgivness The struggle with the Sacrament of Confession is a lifelong one for Catholics. Our struggle is a …
: How to Grow this Lent Unbelievably, today is Ash Wednesday. In just a few hours, the hunger pangs will start to set in as …
: Our Political Role Today we observe President’s Day and I think it’s an excellent time for us to consider our political …
: Our Diocese’s Best Kept Secret When you have a new baby, everything in the world is wonderful. A long 10 months of hopeful …
: Falling Forward in Lent With Lent just around the corner, another opportunity for us to refocus our energies and prayer life …
: The Secret of Service When you reach a certain level in a company, one of the perks that you may be given is an …
: Do Valentine’s Day Right —PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT— WARNING! Valentine’s Day is in 4 days. WARNING! As a man, you might be …
: Honor the Dead Today is the 12th anniversary of my maternal Grandfather’s death. It’s a special day for me because …
: Have Clear Motivations There are a lot of things that I’d like to do. Almost every day, I get a new idea for some project …
: Avoid Whatever Leads You to Sin I’m usually not very forgetful, but there’s one time that I am. During Confession, after the priest …
: The Benefit of Catholic Schools Last week, we celebrated Catholic Schools Week. While this post would’ve been much more appropriate …
January 2015
: End Month One If you can believe it, we’ve already reached January 30th. Yes, just 30 short days ago we all …
: Room to Breathe We all need a little wiggle room. In the course of a week, most of your time is spoken for. Living …
: There Will Be Stress In marriage you share everything, including stress. You won’t find that little jewel printed on any …
: The Importance of Stable Sleep The best indicator of how well your day is going to go is how well you slept last night. Sleep is …
: Make this Lent Matter It’s hard to believe, but in a little over three weeks, we’ll begin our annual journey called Lent. …
: Love Letters from the Past Recently, I went through all of my Facebook messages and deleted old conversations. I’ve never been …
: Why We March Today marks both a sobering anniversary and a special anniversary. Today is the anniversary of the …
: Showing Tenderness I love Benedict. I love the way he laughs uncontrollably as I hold his arms above his head and …
: Hospital for Sinners It’s no secret that I love the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I don’t love the feelings of anxiety …
: Motivate Yourself 2015-01-16 The New Year is always a popular time for fitness goals. Setting a fitness goal for …
: Be A Thought Leader There are two types of leaders in your company: the named leaders and the thought leaders. The named …
: Beat the Devil Out of You No one likes being a failure. We all have that one sin that we’re dying to beat. I bet yours came …
: Kids are Raised by the Community Mass has become a bit of a struggle. For whatever reason, I didn’t anticipate that Benedict would …
: Why You Should Do Your Job Well There seems to be a natural tension between employee and employer. At the company I was at before, …
: Tell Your Kids Their Story These days, things are changing rapidly in the world of Benedict. He’s getting pretty good a …
: Small Changes Yield Big Results So many things in our lives are fully within our control. We control our emotions, reactions, and …
: Family Traditions Growing up, I lacked, in a certain sense, roots. Most children get to experience what I like to call …
: The Constancy of God We’ve all experienced a time of great betrayal in our lives. An instance when we were comfortable …
: My 2015 Goals The New Year is here! 2014 is over and gone and 2015 has officially arrived. I love the newness and …
December 2014
: Reclaiming Peace Our lives are filled with boundless triumphs and difficult trials. If you look back at the past 10, …
: Why Resolutions Fail We’re very rapidly approaching 2015 and with it, the onslaught of New Year’s Resolutions. Year after …
: Better Understand Your Budget We love to hate budgets. It can be annoying to do them, we always forget to add things, and they’re …
: How to Schedule Family Time As families grow and mature, they all face the same essential problem: with all of the different …
: Christmas Reflection Merry Christmas! The days of preparation of Advent are over and we’re now finally celebrating the …
: Eat for Success As a husband, your health takes on a new importance. As a single man, it didn’t matter much whether …
: Time Management for Kids Kids today are operating under very tight time constraints. While the number of potential activities …
: Take Vacation I want to begin this post by noting that I’m on vacation all this week. There will, of course, be …
: Clean House, Happy Wife I love a clean house and a fresh start in the morning. I get up and work for about two hours until …
: Live A Saintly Life When it comes to fitness, it’s easy to tell when you’re out of bounds. That fateful day when you hop …
: Sex Isn’t Just for the Bedroom It’s quite easy to see that we’ve really got a complete misunderstanding of the meaning of sex. On …
: Caring for A Sick Child There are many powerful acts of love and service. These acts force us into uncomfortable and …
: Surround Your Marriage with Friends The life of a young single person is filled with friendships of all degrees. Think back to your …
: Outsmart Temptation Temptation is a fork in the road. We either freely choose to avoid sin, or we freely choose to …
: Planning for A Better Marriage in 2015 A lifetime together is a journey of 1,000 miles. Each day, you take small steps forward and, some …
: How Our Budget Committee Works Alison and I have been married for 26 months. That means that our Budget Committee has assembled 26 …
: Men Do Manly Things It seems that there’s a natural hesitation among men to engage in any activity that’s determined to …
: Out of Sight Should Be Kept Out of Mind A few weeks ago, Alison, Benedict and I attended my sister’s wedding in Pittsburgh. Maree’s wedding …
: Why Big Tech is Wrong I saw an article a few weeks ago that both Apple and Facebook were expanding their employee benefits …
: Make Her Bedtime Better The way in which we prepare for bed directly affects how much time we spend tossing and turning. …
: Don’t Bury Your Talent I used to work for a non-profit. My job was to go into communities and start youth programs. The …
November 2014
: The Divine Office: What is it? The Divine Office is the universal prayer of the Church. It’s also know as the Liturgy of the Hours …
: 3 Steps to Help You Reach Your Financial Goals Setting goals is hard. Reaching financial ones is even more difficult. Money flows in and you …
: What to Do When Your Want to Add Something New Time is finite. Each day, we have just 24 hours to spend on our pursuits. Between 6 and 8 of those …
: Priorities Matter Our lives are full of priorities. Some things are simply more important than others. Making the …
: Grow in Patience Patience is a virtue that I’m not very good at. Patience is a great virtue to have. It allows you to …
: Maximizing Your Time How you spend your day is important. Each day there are gaps of time that could be put to better …
: Your Ideal Day “Begin with the end in mind” is excellent advice. If you’re able to visualize a project at its …
: Primary Devotion The Church is a wide and open road. While there are essential components of the spiritual life, such …
: Disbelief with Faith As a part of the Catholic Church, we are members of an extraordinary community. We routinely have …
: Why Do You Go to Mass? Why do you go to Mass? In our lives, the intent behind an action is sometimes more important than …
: Grace Grace is a gift. It’s given freely to us by God, available to us the moment we choose to accept it. …
: Block Out “You” Time We all need margin in our lives. Finding that margin can be difficult, but it needs to be a …
: IKEA Builds More than Furniture IKEA just might be the greatest store in the world. The entire showroom is a playground for adults …
: Family Time on a Weeknight Family life is central to the Catholic experience. While we gather as a community to celebrate the …
October 2014
: The Best Way to Make it Up to Her There are many times in our relationships that we make mistakes. There are times when we don’t love …
: Cherish Your Family The life of a family is one of seasons. There’s the season before a couple has children. There’s the …
: No Shortcuts A few weeks ago, we heard at Mass the Gospel in which Peter tried to get Jesus to skip the Passion. …
: Spend One-on-One Time with Your Kids Growing up in a military family, my dad was constantly deployed. He’d be gone for 3-6 months at a …
: Making Time for Playtime Kids grow up too fast. As parents, we have the privilege of experiencing their daily growth. As a …
: Handmade Gifts Come from the Heart The tradition of giving gifts to friends and loved ones at Christmas is a centuries old tradition. …
: Make A Pilgrimage There’s an ancient practice in Christianity that’s lost some of its spice. That’s the practice of …
: The Power of Discipline In the moment, discipline is never pleasant. Once the occasion has passed, we all love its benefits. …
: Quiet Time Together There’s a belief that whenever spouses have “together time,” they should be actively chatting or …
: Bedroom As Sacred Space We have many rooms in our homes, but perhaps the most curious is the bedroom. We have an entire …
: Going the Extra Mile for Her You can’t be a minimalist husband. Marriage demands something more. Marriage demands all that you …
: Family Walks One of the best things that your family can do together is take an evening walk. Not only is a walk …
: Use the Church Life can be a challenging journey. While we have amazing highs, we also have deeply dark lows. Part …
: Mass Journal What would it be like if at every Mass you attended, you had a breakthrough moment? What would it be …
: How to Ease into Daily Prayer Any time you try to establish a new habit, the best implementation is gradual. If you start too …
: What if We Lived the Way We Ought? When did being pious start being perceived as pretentious? Benedict has recently gotten onto a very …
: Kids at Mass There’s an ongoing debate in the Catholic Church about what should be done with children who make …
: My Favorite Part of Fatherhood I love my son. He’s 11 months now and really knows how to get around. During the day, we have a few …
: How to Fight with Your Wife Fights in your marriage will happen. They will range in severity, but, from time to time, you will …
September 2014
: Get Off the Broken Road Our spiritual walk is a marathon, not a sprint. That means that there are going to be a lot of times …
: Faith of the Martyrs I have a difficult time imagining a physical persecution of happening in the United States. I have …
: Be Merciful We all love mercy when we’re the recipient. When we’re the giver, however, it’s much more difficult. …
: Be A Saint, Now I think that we have a pretty unhealthy view of Heaven. I’d venture to guess that most Catholics, …
: Fun in Your Community One of the tragedies of our technological world is that we’ve stopped using our local resources. To …
: Pray and Don’t Worry Prayer and worry are incompatible. If you pray and then worry, your prayer is cancelled out. Prayer …
: Be Transparently Catholic In the 8th grade, I read the great American Classic, To Kill A Mockingbird. One of the scenes in the …
: Why You Should Wake Up at 5am 5am is early. As I write this, it’s 5:19am and I’ve been up for 25 minutes. It seems crazy. There …
: 2 Years In Two weeks ago, Alison and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary. I’d like to share with you …
: Dear Benedict, Live Purely Dear Benedict, I wanted to write you this letter because it’s my responsibility to help you grow …
: Why You Should Meditate I think one of the most devastating things in our modern era is that we’ve stopped being a …
: How to Avoid Wasting Afternoons Wasting time is a waste of time. I hate afternoons or evenings where I just sit around watching TV …
: You’re A Chef There are times in the married life when we need to take risks. As men, we don’t like failing. If we …
August 2014
: 101 Ways to Love We all want to be someone great. But do we have the courage to be more than average? When I turned …
: Make Her A Hero Words have power. Words have the ability to build someone up or strike someone down. They have the …
: Lead Your Children by Example The responsibility of parenthood lies not so much in the direct instruction of children, but more so …
: In Marriage, Time Doesn’t Equal Success In your lifetime, you’ll try many new things. You’ll be an amateur at a lot of hobbies. More …
: Meet A Saint We’re card carrying members of the Communion of Saints. While we spend quite a bit of time rubbing …
: Schedule A Fast Day We fast twice per year, both days during Lent. Out of the 365 days of the year, 363 are essentially …
: Take Control of Your Health There are some things in the world that we have absolute control over. Your health is one of them. …
: How to Start Your End of Day Conversations Questions are powerful. Through the power of questioning, you can open up a whole new world. You …
: Keeping Family Prayers Fresh Family prayers, just like personal prayers, can get a little stale. The problem with stale family …
: Managing Your Daily Prayer Time Do you ever go entire days without talking to your wife? Of course, not! Yet, we often find …
: Candlelit Dinners There’s something really special about candlelit dinners. I’m not sure which committee in history …
: Loving On A Budget Romance doesn’t have to be expensive. Alison and I have a series of financial goals for ourselves. …
: Plan Your Dreams When you dream, dream big. Alison and I have many dreams. One of them is for us to go on our …
: Waking Up Together As I write this, it’s 5:18am on a Wednesday morning. I’ve been up for 38 minutes. So far, I’ve …
: Examine Your Conscience Nightly The other weekend at Mass, the priest gave a fabulous homily. It was one of those homilies that you …
: You’re Worth More Than A Paycheck At some point in our lives, we each ask ourselves the question, “What is my worth?" Towards the end …
July 2014
: Marriage Rules, Secularism Drools Many people, perhaps a good segment of your friends and peers, have a negative view of marriage. …
: Stealing Little Moments Your day is a series of blocks of time. Every 15 or 30 minutes, you have your time parsed out to one …
: Attend to Her Needs A major theme of this blog is personal service. I believe that the most fun you’ll have is in …
: Choose Joy Being joyful about our lives can be a challenge, despite all of the good things we have. It’s all …
: I Feel Like A Bum “I felt like a bum.” Alison spoke those words to me two weeks ago. She was describing a team …
: The Key to No-Work Sundays Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest in our lives. I’ve written recently about my Lenten journey …
: Building Our Own Prisons Temptation is difficult to endure. You’re actually not doing anything wrong by being tempted. It’s …
: Scheduling Together The most powerful tool in your marriage is your calendar. Your calendar will always show you what …
: Technology Bowl Technology in our lives has really advanced at an amazing rate over the past 20 years. We’ve gone …
: Golden Hour Playing with kids all day is fun. As adults, however, we need time for ourselves. We need time to …
: Game Night Families today are busy. Parents are working multiple jobs, kids are going to school during the day …
: Change One Fault Per Month Two weeks ago, I wrote about conversion in our lives. In the post, I talked about how conversion …
: Open to Life In our society, especially recently, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about ways to avoid …
: Sync Status Relationships have seasons. Sometimes they’re going really well and other times, well, they’re not. …
: Deferring Your Wants We live in a microwave culture. We want everything, now. A major burden for new doctors is the size …
: Dedicate Yourself to Wellness We have just one chance to take care of our bodies. Are you maximizing your physical wellbeing? …
: Cash is King, but Not God Money makes the world go around. Currency allows us to buy things, both needs and wants. Cash is …
: Holy Baby Steps When we’re ready to change our lives, we want it to happen fast. We want to lose the weight, today. …
: My First Eucharistic Procession Sharing our faith boldly with those around us can be challenging. You can’t just be chillin by the …
June 2014
: Working in Your Strengths Lifelong marriage can at times be a challenging relationship. In fact, your marriage will be the …
: Stop Treating Mass like A Drive-Thru Our lives are busy. We have work, family obligations, and personal goals that we’re trying to …
: Care for the Sick As a part of your wedding vows, you promised to care for your wife “in sickness and in health." …
: The Blame Game Perhaps the most crippling and meaningless activity in American workplaces is the blame game. Every …
: Sunday Hero Here’s the easiest way to be a Sunday Hero: take the first shower. She gets a few more minutes of …
: Last Thoughts of the Day A few weeks ago, I wrote about your last words of the day. In that article, I talked about how you …
: Where Are You Going? We weren’t made for life on Earth. We were made to know, love, and serve God in this life and be …
: A Line in the Sand Our lives are an experiment. We have one chance to live, and as a part of that experience, we have …
: What A Nice Compliment As a society that strives for absolute equality, we’ve really missed the boat on something key. In …
: Better Than A Purity Ring Some people believe that in Christian Marriage chastity is no longer a struggle. False. I’ve really …
: Be Prepared to Give Being married means living selflessly in a selfish culture. I’m constantly evaluating my life. I …
: Love Letters Marriage is all about daily rediscovery. Being that marriage is a relationship that spans several …
May 2014
: Doing the Right Thing It’s never too late to do the right thing. When I started working on Catholic Husband early last …
: Fatigue is the Worst Fatigue is the worst, especially when you have a family depending on you. One of the many changes …
: How to Handle Decisions One of the biggest jumps to make between the single life and the married life is the transition to …
: Leave it Better “He always leaves the toilet seat up." This common complaint from spouses shines a light on a major …
: You’re the Servant of All The Pope has many titles. Perhaps most intriguing is “Servant of the Servants of God." This Papal …
: The Fastest Way to Grow in Patience You can’t control the things your spouse does. But you can control your response. When it comes to …
: Mutual Wellness One of the best things you can do for your wife is to take care of your own health. Once you lose …
: The Best Way to Unite Your Family As the head of your household, you’ve got a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. You’re tasked …
: Why People Delay Marriage The average age of newlyweds is climbing in the United States. More and more young couples are …
: 10 Date Night Ideas There’s a growing body of research that’s demonstrating that regular date nights with your spouse …
: The Scariest Part of Being A Stay-at-Home Dad I’m about to embark on a new adventure and I’m both scared and excited at the same time. At the end …
: Withhold Nothing We’re called to be selfless in this culture of selfishness. Last Fall, as Alison and I were …
: A Fresh Start, Daily If you’re like me, you’re really good at making mistakes. Oftentimes, you’ll reach expert level in …
: Your Example at Mass It happens twice a year. Every Christmas and every Easter, without fail, our parishes are full of …
: Avoiding Awkward Sex Talks Does teaching your child about the mystery and gift of their human sexuality really have to be an …
: Sleeping with A Friend A few months ago, I wrote about how I’ve been trying to watch what types of media I consume. The …
: Families Can’t Get No Respect Having kids makes life a little bit more challenging. It’s not without joy, but things just take a …
April 2014
: Daily Family Prayer Now that then Lenten season is over, it’s important for us to remember that while the season is …
: 4 Myths About Parenting It’s truly sad how little we value children today. Modern couples are pressured and even praised for …
: How to Be An Awesome Husband Step 1: Do something that will make your wife’s life easier. Step 2: Repeat.
: Trust the Lord Life is definitely not always easy. In the human experience we each have times of extreme joy and of …
: Last Words Yesterday we talked about giving each day to God at the moment you wake up. But what about at the …
: First Words There’s a curious phenomena in driving that involves your eyes. When you look in a direction other …
: Subject Matter Authority Last month I achieved a major milestone for both myself personally and for Catholic Husband. I …
: Why I Don’t Buy Generic Oreos You can often tell how good something is simple by considering whether or not you would buy a …
: Rest on the Sabbath Every year, it seems to go the exact same way. Just a few days before Ash Wednesday and I still …
: Inside Jokes We all love to be a part of inside jokes. These jokes come about when we have a shared experience …
: Keeping it Clean Secrecy is the enemy of love. Secrecy drives us to lie, obscure facts, and not be true to ourselves. …
: Be Persistent Persistence is a virtue that is lost among many today. We see something we want, we try to get it, …
: Be Generous We tend to think of generosity as costing us something. Generosity fills us more deeply than …
March 2014
: Be Adventurous Marriage isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. Marriage isn’t “turning in the keys.” It’s putting the …
: Witnessing for Marriage Every day, everywhere that we go, we have the opportunity to show those around us what it means to …
: What this Ring Means Your wedding ring is a constant reminder of your wife’s love and fidelity. It’s a circle, without …
: Prayer Corner We all have a way of giving physical spaces certain designations. The gym is the place where we work …
: Having Serious Talks Daily married life is often light and playful. There are jokes, stories, and general bonding. There …
: Retreats In the Catholic Church, we spend a considerable amount of time educating our youth about the Faith. …
: The Transition Today is an amazing day. Today is March 19th, the Feast of St. Joseph. One year ago today, Catholic …
: Why I Love Lent For many years growing up, I hated Lent. I hate the color purple and everything liturgical was so …
: Your Marriage Your marriage was meant for good. Your marriage was meant for permanence. Your marriage was meant …
: Finding Time to Pray Together Prayer in common is a tradition in Catholicism that goes back to our beginnings. Catholics, though …
: How She Communicates Communication. We all want lots of high quality communication, but it can be difficult to find. In a …
: Budget Committee Finances are central to our lives. Money is how we buy the things we need, and do the things we …
: Be Responsible The era of immaturity is dead. As men, we get to enjoy the benefits of manhood. We can drink, buy …
: When God Says “No” There is an experience that is common among all of us. There is something that you really want and …
: Live Like You’re Dating Think for a moment about the early days of dating. A new relationship is fresh, vibrant, and …
: Planning Margin Time Think of the most successful people that you know. Consider what they do, their characteristics and …
: Celebrate Achievements Life is a scoreboard. We set goals and then measure our progress against them. While this …
February 2014
: Supporting Your Wife’s Goals In the past, I’ve written about personal goal setting. What about helping your wife when she’s got a …
: Why You Don’t Pray with Her You don’t make the time. It isn’t a priority. You’ve never asked. You’ve never done it before. No …
: Ponder Your Mistakes Pride is one of the seven deadly sins. It’s a fatal character flaw that is regularly found in men. …
: Reclaiming Wasted Time Time is our most precious commodity. Like our health, once it’s gone, it’s not coming back. Yet, …
: Why You Always Lose Conflict in your marriage is a certainty. You and your wife are working towards the same goals, but …
: The Benefits of Regular Confession Every 3 months or 3,000 miles, you’re supposed to take your car in for routine maintenance. It’s a …
: The Importance of Growing Intellectually When we’re learning to drive, our instructors teach us how to pass the test, not how to drive well. …
: Fight with Your Wife We live in a culture that despises conflict, but loves drama. We think that conflict means that …
: Evening Routines The end of today tees up the beginning of tomorrow. The things that you do in the evening can have a …
: Destroying Bad Habits Over the course of our lives, we develop many habits. Some of these habits will take us further than …
: Better Each Day My favorite boss had a saying that has stuck with me. “It’s never too late to do the right thing.” …
: Trusting God You really can’t go wrong placing your trust in God. Still, it’s one of the hardest things we can do …
: Blessings at Mass Sunday Mass is a beautiful thing. It neatly wraps up one week and begins the next, all in one giant …
: Grocery Shopping Our appetite for adventure in life is constantly growing. Once we achieve a new height, we look for …
: Dinner at the Table Managing family life is a challenge. With family members running in all different directions, …
: Little Surprises Love can be a difficult thing to show. Since it’s an abstract concept, bringing it into the physical …
January 2014
: Men vs. Bros I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. We live in a world full of boys. Actually, let me …
: When Your Wife Supports Your Dream Dreaming is a wonderful thing. In dreams, you can release the physical limitations of the current …
: Overcoming Natural Barriers In our daily lives, there are natural barriers that often interfere with our goals. They are things …
: Recognize Her Value The other day I was looking at my iPhone. As I looked at the many apps that have earned a spot on my …
: Chastity in Marriage The most common misconception of Catholic teaching on sexuality is that once you’re married, you’re …
: Finding Contentment Contentment. It’s a rare beast in our world. Contentment represents something that we all want, but …
: The Richness of Shared Experiences Shared experiences are a powerful force in our world. There are defining events across regions and …
: Keeping Things Spicy The institution of marriage is mind-blowing. Two people with two completely different personalities, …
: Pushing for A Joint Goal Working in unison with your wife can be a powerful tool. In fact, when you both set your minds to a …
: Maintaining A Household The days of being a slob are over. You’re no longer a bachelor, you’re married. Well, unless your …
: Lightening Her Load All vocations are a calling to serve others. The single person is called the Church and community. …
: Avoiding Neglect We’re men. We’re hard charging. We’re all about getting stuff done. But how do you do that while not …
: Keeping God’s Hands Full 2014-01-09 Our personal relationship with God can be difficult to manage. While God is always …
: Dealing with Life’s Major Decisions We’ve all come to a crossroads. Two paths that certainly have their benefits, but we can only choose …
: Keeping Yourself in Balance Each stage of our lives has unique benefits. The single life brings freedom, but a lack of …
: Acts of Thankless Service As humans, we long to be recognized for our accomplishments. From a very young age, we seek praise …
: Why Hotels are Temples of Temptation Hotels. As a kid, you were probably excited to stay in them. A new place to sleep, an adventure! As …
: Dealing with Different Spiritualities Being Catholic is spicy. It’s spicy because there isn’t only one way to be Catholic. In fact, there …
December 2013
: Laying Down Your Life for Her Marriage was designed to be a reflection of Christ’s love for the Church. Being part of such a union …
: Your Vows Aren’t Stagnant Your wedding is a day, marriage is a lifetime. Those words are so true, but we can easily forget the …
: Managing Family Time We are living in a new era of working families. With many families having both parents working, it’s …
: The Holy Family Reflection Merry Christmas! As we celebrate and reflect on the birth of our Lord, I had a unique thought. I’d …
: Couple Friends The relationship between a husband and wife is both exclusive and complete. By its design, it can …
: Saying Sorry Masculine pride will tell you that apologies are weakness. It will tell you that the person who …
: Family Prayer Time Prayer is the bond that keeps the family together. If you think about some of the strongest families …
: The Genius of Marriage The place of marriage in society is something that is being fiercely questioned in our world today. …
: Why Culture Isn’t Prepared for Us Culture only wants boys. Culture tears down men. Culture celebrates immaturity and selfishness. …
: Understanding Christ’s Wounds Living in Western Society today, we can easily have a sterilized view of Christ suffering and dying …
: Children are Truly the Fruit My son is rapidly approaching the one month mark and the experience for me, as a father, has been …
: Faith is A Gift The term “Cradle Catholic” is a phrase that is tossed around quite a bit. It refers to those …
November 2013
: Heroic Virtue Sainthood is our goal. But, sometimes we start to believe it is impossible. In those times, we fall …
: Safe in Her Arms Many of us have some major trust issues. We’ve all been hurt deeply by someone we love. Those …
: Praying for Her As husbands, we are called to support our wives. That support comes in many different forms. It may …
: How Nature Can Enhance Your Marriage One of the biggest struggles that married couples face is the monotony of the normal. Married life, …
October 2013
: Men of Sacrifice Growing up, my Dad always gave up the best portion to us. I could never figure out why he didn’t …
: Invite Her to Your Element A great thing about being married is that your spouse is not you. You have been raised in a …
: Holding Hands During the Our Father When I was going to Mass as a single man, I’d go to the 7:00am Mass on Sunday mornings. It was the …
: Transitioning from Single Life to Married Life It’s not hard to make the argument that the transition from the single life to the married life is …
: The Most Commonly Missed Opportunity Regret is a terrible thing. It only happens when we look back and realized we had a missed …
: Sleep Hygiene Sleep. We all need it and many of us don’t get enough of it. It affects every area of our daily life …
: Nature is a Love Letter We’re busy, I get that. We’re men. All day we charge, we fight, we win. We’re always on the move, …
: Leaving A Legacy One of the strangest experiences I’ve ever had was seeing pictures of my parents when they were …
: Shared Goals The power of unity in your marriage can’t be underestimated. When you and your wife move together …
: When Prayer Becomes Alive Your prayer life is a relationship. It is a conversation between Creator and created. Like any …
: When Your Love Languages Don’t Translate There may come a point in your marriage when you realize something. You and your wife may …
: Risk Management There is a term in insurance called “risk management.” Risk management essentially acknowledges that …
: Work is Holy “I work so that I can live.” That is the mantra for my generation. We’ve moved to a point where we …
: To Avoid Whatever Leads Me to Sin There are many things that society has decided are weak in men. Forgiveness, losing a fight, being …
: Support We humans yearn to be connected. We connect in person, on the phone, via text, or on the internet. …
: Plateaus Over the past year or so, I’ve been on a mission to lose weight. To date, I’m down about 26 lbs with …
: 4 Reasons Your Pet is Not A Kid If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I have a cat. I adopted her three years ago and they …
September 2013
: Community of Prayer One evening I was traveling home from work. It was a nice summer evening, the sun had set and the …
: Bonding Bonding. We all have our favorite “bonding” activities to do with our spouse. Maybe it is curling up …
: Carry On There’s only one thing you can do when you fail: carry on. There are going to be tough days. There …
: The Art of Negotiation One of the most critical skills you can develop in your marriage is the art of negotiation. Marriage …
: Marriage without Love The first few months of your marriage are wonderful. You learn that your new wife has some habits …
: There Will be Problems There is one thing that you can count on in marriage: there will be problems. If both of you are the …
: Let’s Fail at Sin We spend too much time trying to fix our spouse. When we have marriage problems, we’re the first to …
: Time is Your Most Precious Commodity Of all of the resources that you have at your command, time is the most precious. Time, once spent, …
: Do You Do you love your wife? Do you love your wife more than your favorite hobby? Do you love your wife …
: Managing Routines One of the most difficult things that I’ve encountered in the married life is how to balance …
: Go Ahead and Fail GK Chesterton once said, “Anything worth doing is worth failing at.” He wasn’t suggesting that we …
: Keeping Romance Alive Having just celebrated our one year anniversary, I admit that I’m not an expert on the topic of …
: You Are What You Eat The old saying goes, “You are what you eat.” It’s true. But I’m not just talking about food. The …
: Contentment Of all the virtues in the human race, today, contentment seems the furtherest off. We are consumers …
: A Rhythm of Prayer We have a lot on our plates. We balance work, family life, and leisure activities. It sounds simple …
: The Joy of Weddings Now that I have been married for almost a year, I have had the pleasure of experiencing several …
August 2013
: You’re Not A Punk You’re not a punk. Believe me, we’ve both met a lot of punks out there. A punk is a guy who cares …
: Make Evenings Count My job frequently results in me working evenings. It isn’t particularly fun, it is just a fact of …
: Live the Life You Want to Model We are a culture of complainers. We complain about work. We complain about family. We complain about …
: Children Are A Reward Each year, the Church celebrates Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week. We should all take …
: Reflecting Christ’s Love to the World When you get married, you take on two responsibilities. First, you take responsibility for the care …
: Marriage is Not Committed Friendship Marriage is a lot of things. It is painful, it is difficult, it is challenging. It is joyful, it is …
: Confessing to Christ I have made no secret that I believe that the Sacrament of Confession is critical to your success as …
: Participating in Each Other’s Work Work is a key piece of our lives. Through work we do two things: we provide for our family and we …
: Results May Vary Don’t wait to get married to have sex, do it now! If you get pregnant, it’s not a baby until it is …
: Single Life to Community Life When my wife and I got married, I had been living in the apartment that we would live in for about …
: Compartmentalization Kills If you are living a fragmented life, you’re cheating yourself. In the 8th grade, I watched the …
: Uncrossing Your Signals It has been my experience in former relationships that when communication breaks down, the end is …
: Dad Smart One of the most interesting experiences for me in being a new dad is how I am starting to recall …
: Communication is Critical Communication is key. But what if you don’t have the keys to your communication? By now, you realize …
: Working Professionals One of the major challenges for any newly married couple is how to balance two very full schedules. …
: 7 Things I Wish I Had Known About Pregnancy Becoming a parent for the first time is an amazing experience. I should warn you, though. You have …
: Love Contracts I recently came across an article about a new trend in marriages. It is called a “love contract.” …
July 2013
: You Marry the Family My grandfather once told my mother that, when you marry someone, you marry their family. In our …
: In Sickness On your Wedding Day, you promise to take care of your wife, in sickness and in health. That’s kinda …
: Husband as Protector As a husband (and father, too!) we have a very important role to fill. It is one that we simply …
: Speak Well of Her How you speak about your wife when she is not around says a lot about the kind of man that you are. …
: She’ll Drive You Nuts It is getting pretty hard to find a guarantee anymore. But I’m all about adding value, so I’ll give …
: Nothing Sexier Than an AIDS Test Let’s get real. There is nothing sexier than getting an AIDS test with your fiancee. (Not even a …
: It’s A Race to the Top! “Marriage is an adventure, like going to war." - GK Chesterton When my wife first showed me that …
: Coming Home Coming home can be the best part of your day! Your work is over, and you get to now focus on the …
: When You’re In A Drought, Turn on the Sprinkler There will be dry days. Not just outside, but inside. There will be days, perhaps even weeks or …
: Avoid the Dangers of the Internet The internet is awesome. With the internet, you are able to connect with people in ways never before …
: Happiness: Width vs. Depth So, you’re considering getting married? You are all excited about your potential future with this …
: Going to Mass Together Going to Mass as a family is important. As a married couple, together you form a domestic Church. …
: Marriage: The Ultimate Team Sport Being married is like being on a game show. You have chosen a partner with whom you will compete …
: You Must Decrease Men usually don’t like to be humble. We can see humility as a weakness. That is foolish of us. The …
: Family Merging When you get married, you become something totally new. Two worlds, two families, two long lines of …
: You Define Your Success Success is the currency that we all chase. No matter what we do, we seek success. The tricky thing …
: Use Your Work to Evangelize The other day I was in a one-on-one meeting with a local business owner. I met him through my wife. …
June 2013
: She’s Perfect Your wife is perfect for you. She is exactly what you need. From the beginning of time and space, …
: Spring Cleaning Some people don’t like spring cleaning. The thought of spending your entire weekend working is not …
: Toilet Paper The other night, as I was getting ready for bed, I noticed that we were almost out of toilet paper …
: If She’s Not With You, Don’t Do It Having a good wife is a great blessing. Not all men have good wives. Some women only care about …
: Choosing Your Pain In your marriage, there will be pain. This is inevitable. There are three types of pain. Some of the …
: Bringing Roadtrips Home I love taking road trips with my wife. The reason? It provides hours of quality communication. It is …
: Exercise Together Now that the long winter is over, and summer is upon us, I’ve been spending a lot of time outside. …
: Pray Together The old saying goes, “The family that prays together, stays together.” Sadly, today many families …
: Loyalty vs. Fidelity In this past Christmas Season, I had been reading some of the writings of Archbishop Chaput. In one …
: What’s the Least I Can Do? American Catholicism is having a rough go. The funny part about it is, none of it has anything to do …
: You’re Not that Important I don’t really mean that. You’re important to someone. Hopefully a lot of someones. You’re just not …
: The Church Sustains Us The election of Pope Francis earlier this year was exciting. I was sad to see Pope Benedict retire, …
: Here’s An Idea When you get home early this week, before your wife, get ready for her. Pick up your mess, draw her …
May 2013
: Keep Holy the Sabbath We all hate Mondays. I get it. But, do we really have to? For many years, I ignored God’s …
: If You’re Keeping Score, You Lose If you’re keeping score, you lose. We are naturally competitive. It is natural for us to try to be …
: Teaching Healthy Marriage Growing up, I received most of my education from Catholic schools, thanks to the sacrifice of my …
: When to Go to Confession Going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) is hard. It’s not that it’s inconvenient, it’s …
: If You Wait If you wait until you think you’re ready to get married, you’ll never get married.
: Ring Control Device I drive a lot for work. Last year, I put 35,000 miles on my car. As a Christmas gift, my parents …
: Why is it so Hard to Pray Together? Why is it so hard to pray with your wife? Intellectually, we’re there. We understand the benefit. We …
: I Slept with A Woman Last Night This morning, I woke up and there was a woman in bed with me. It was my wife. It is a story that …
: It’s Time to be Men There is a growing chorus among young ladies today. They are recognizing a trend in our society. We …
: If You Both Give 50%, You’ll Fail Just over a month after my wedding, my wife and I attended my brother’s wedding. It was a beautiful …
: Temptation Lent is a great season. I used to hate it. It was dark and boring. A few years ago, I finally …
: It’s Not Just About You Anymore A few months before I got married, I joined a gym. Everyone asked the question, “Are you trying to …
: Financial Dreams Money is something that people don’t like to talk about. The only thing we like to do with money is …
April 2013
: I Had A Win My desk, at the end of the day, is always completely clear. I am a generally clean person. I try to …
: The Club We emerged from the Christmas Season a few months ago. This Christmas was my wife and I’s first …
: I Owe it to Myself We cut ourselves a lot of slack. Many times, too much. We work hard and then use that as an excuse …
: Stop Sabotaging Your Marriage The summer before my wife and I got married, I received a transfer for work to the city where she …
: Division of Labor In my 9th Grade World History Class, one of the key areas of investigation for any particular …
: The Apartment Phase Our lives have phases. There are good phases and there are not so good phases. There is one …
: Mr. Fix-It As men, we like to fix things. See a problem, fix a problem. We enjoy the challenge. We believe that …
: Love Languages When I was studying at Franciscan University in Ohio, one of the big relational topics that people …
: Phone Home Daily We live busy, hectic lives. When you first get married, you both might be young professionals. Both …
: Cherish the Good Times Marriage is hard. Like anything in life, it has its own seasons. Some days are more amazing than the …
: Traveling Mass I travel a fair amount for work. Perhaps you are like me. One of my favorite unofficial games is …
: A New Identity In our life, we experience many transformations. We change from a child into an adolescent. We …
: How to Not Accidentally Cheat We live in a modern era. The way that we work is very much different than in days gone by. People …
: Cohabitation: Not A Test Drive When my wife and I got engaged, we were living in two different cities. She was studying in Detroit …
: Lessons from Downton Abbey My wife and I don’t have cable. We are currently on the Dave Ramsey plan and, well, we don’t really …
: Not for the Comfortable Catholics tend to each have their own flare for practicing their faith. Thankfully, my wife and I …
: Try Serving Growing up, every day, my parents used to require that each of the kids read a book for 30 minutes …
: Rejoice The day of my wedding will live forever in my memory. It was a magnificent day. I can so vividly …
March 2013
: The Ultimate Sacrifice Today is Good Friday. My thought for today is very simple. Christ died because of what I have done. …
: Trust Your Wife What’s the secret to a successful marriage? Trust your wife. Trust your wife when the storms brew …
: Organic Child Planning is Sexy Contraception is a lie. The pitch is simple. You’re a young, hip, independent woman. You have the …
: Can She Really Always Be Right I am not a prideful man. Whenever I must observe myself or a behavior, if the answer is that I am in …
: The Secret to Getting Up After You Fall We all have a very deadly disease. It is a disease whose effects are felt throughout society. The …
: Two Areas of Your Life You Cannot Afford to Neglect Time is our most precious commodity. For so many things in life, we can change the circumstances and …
: Welcome to the Beginning Welcome, friend! Well, there I am on my wedding day. A spry young man. As a friend would say, “Just …