Learning how to love and be loved is like archery lessons that teach us how to cast out fear: aim for the bulls-eye, where the love of God rests and there is peace. Hopefully we are all learning how to become better versions of ourselves, holding one accountable with a mercy and a heart full of hope and faith that the grace of God carries us forward closer to Him when we seek His face.

I have come to truly appreciate the trust God has placed in humanity, that he would grant us the capacity to procreate – to bear children and be responsible for their upbringing and care. Through my motherhood journey, I have learned that we are all imperfect parents with imperfect children, and we have the power to make home a safe place to learn how to become better versions of ourselves. To become trustworthy citizens at …

My faith informs me that to become holy is to care about what God cares about first and foremost and then to not allow the priorities of the world influence my desires because then I can easily deceive myself that what I want is what God wants. God wants every human being to be a part of His Holy Family, which is the Kingdom of heaven forged by a spirit of adoption through faith. In …

So by my faith I know that the purpose and power of women in marriages, families and communities, as mothers, daughters, sisters and wives, is to pray for our men so as to fully communicate the love of God expressed in Romans 8:38-39, and by faith equip their hearts and minds with abundant grace, as fathers, husbands, sons and brothers. This can only be accomplished when I ask for divine guidance in responding to the …

My faith teaches me that the only way to gain understanding is to experience life with a heart full of gratitude to God for my own intellect and free will. This is my capacity to learn how to love and be loved fearlessly, as God does. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My faith tells me that the gift of intelligent life and free will requires me to carefully examine my thoughts, because that is where pride starts: in a lofty thought which may be subtle and reinforced by society. Being successful in the culture of man, does not begin with seeking and doing the will of God. So in this cyber-powered society, I pray for wisdom in all things, so that my path is in alignment …

... it is important to consider how humans are capable of making their own “hell” on earth (i.e., feelings of isolation, powerlessness and worthlessness) by believing things that are not true, acting on them (thus disturbing the peace) and focusing on things that don’t really matter. This is the danger as the cyber realm becomes a single point of reference for life. Bullies, pedophiles and sex traffickers are counting on it...

This generation of teens is the incredibly lonely – a great irony considering the ubiquitous role cyber technology plays in the life of modern teens with ongoing conversations in large networks populated by group photos, shared selfies and “likes” 24 hours a day.

A recent New York Times article featured a recent survey led by the University of Washington that indicated youth do not appreciate parents posting photos and sharing about their life events. According to the report, the children were more concerned about what the parents were posting about them than the parents. The survey results indicated that three times more children than parents agreed there should be rules for parents posting stuff about their children on-line. This problem of living with a paparazzi-type lifestyle made possible with social media exposes youth to ...

When my youngest (who is 25 years old today) was 12 years old, he called me into the garage. He had been sorting the recycling. That was one of his incomes in addition to a paper route and walking dogs in the neighborhood. “Oh maaaa-ther!,” he called, in a very whimsical tone. He opened the garage door from the hall in our home, to reveal all of the recycling sorted, and in the very center were all of the empty wine bottles… and there were a lot of them. It is important to note here that I am the consumer of wine in our home. I usually have a glass at dinner and while preparing dinner. He smiled and suggested, “Let’s count them, shall we?”