Tag: extended family
-
Courtship is not the Answer
I absolutely love the courtship approach to dating for my children, but it isn’t enough. Courtship is the idea that young people should only enter into an exclusive relationship when they are ready to get married. I have discussed in a previous blog post exactly what Dating with Purpose looks like, so go check it…
-
Wow, that is a long time!
This past New Year’s Eve, my wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided to make it a big deal and so we let our adult children throw us a party to celebrate the joyous event. They rented a nice hall, brought in our favorite live band, had the event catered, bought a…
-
Joyfully Visiting the Sick
Our Time on This Earth is Short There can be joy in the dying process. I remember my reaction when my father was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. It was significantly different from the other times I had experienced the loss of a loved one. In the past, I felt somewhat devastated and every fiber…
-
Learning To Love During Death
It’s Hard to Grow Closer to Someone you Know is Going to Die I grew up in a loving family, we were very service oriented — giving of our time, talent, and treasure to help those in need. My parents constantly set an example, to show love in everything you do; give of yourself to…
-
The Gift of Grandparents
Today would have been my maternal Grandmother’s 107th birthday. We affectionately called her “Maw Maw”, but we spelled it Mama. When I give talks on my personal walk of faith, Mama is always talked about. I attribute the reason why I am a committed Catholic to her personal witness of faith and fervent and constant prayers…
-
Being the Servant of Others
“To maintain a joyful family requires much from both the parents and the children. Each member of the family has to become, in a special way, the servant of the others.” St. John Paul II Homily October 7, 1979 On Holy Thursday, the Gospel recalls the washing of the feet of the Apostles by Jesus. He…
-
Are you Afraid of Dying?
Family Funerals Funerals, everybody loves attending them, right? If you are like me, you don’t look forward to attending a funeral. Depending on who died, it may be a very somber event. In my forty five years on this earth I have attended funerals for the young, old and everyone in between. Funerals are a…
-
Family Matters
My wife and I are the only members of our family to have moved away from our hometown, the rest of our siblings chose to make their home fairly close to our parents, but we moved a mere three hours west to a smaller city. So for the last 27 years we have raised our…