Christ is born! Glorify Him! Social Media Maven and Monastic, Fr. Peter Preble (Shepherd of Souls) talks with me about the vocation of monasticism in 21st century America. I also snuck in another story by my son, Nicholas. In this one, Kira is engaged in some serious spiritual warfare. Enjoy the show! Check out this […]
Guest writer: “Come When Called” by Nicholas Perkins
January 1, 2014 By
Skeletons danced in silver mist, and Kira wondered whether he was dreaming. He pinched his arm and gasped. Nope; definitely still awake. There really were dancing skeletons, and the cavern floor really was covered in a swirling layer of silver mist. His breath was hot and stifled behind his mask, and his robes were starting to stick to his […]
Day Forty – Christmas is for Church
December 24, 2013 By
Even if Professor William Tighe is correct and the Church was re-appropriating the date from the pagans (possible, but there were competing claims), the broader evangelical point made below remains valid. It even gains additional urgency: the Church needs to redefine the significance of December 25th away from its commercial and secular drift! – […]
Day Thirty-seven – Candy Canes
December 21, 2013 By
I don’t know if I’ve ever eaten a candy cane. I tried one once, and it was way too sweet. We have about a dozen of them in the house. We use them for tree ornaments. They are like family heirlooms; I’m pretty sure I got them from my mom. She probably got them from […]
Day Thirty-two – Blogger’s Choice (Homily on Ephesians 4:1-6)
December 15, 2013 By
Homily on Ephesians 4:1-6 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just […]
Day Thirty – S’Mores
December 13, 2013 By
S’Mores are so over the top sweet that no one in my family can eat more than a bite before we get too yucked out to eat any more. Despite that, when we mention a campfire to our kids, they can’t think of anything else! They start dancing around and singing in a celebration that […]
An Introduction to Vocations I: Every soldier is a rifleman…
December 13, 2013 By
An Introduction to Vocations, Part One; Every soldier is a rifleman; every clergyman is a Christian I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who […]
Day Twenty-nine – Saint Herman of Alaska
December 12, 2013 By
God is glorified in His saints! Along with a prayer book, one of the immediate blessings becoming an Orthodox catechumen brought me was bringing the saints into my life, mainly in the form of a used copy of The Prologue from Ochrid. I love that book. The new version is even better than the last; not […]
Day Twenty-Eight – Monastics
December 12, 2013 By
Monastics are the institutional and spiritual heart of Orthodoxy. I had a wonderful interview with Priest-monk Peter Preble yesterday. One of the things we agreed on was that we need to do a better job making monasticism real to our parishioners. This would provide a net benefit to everyone involved; monks, laity, calibates, parishes, and […]
Day Twenty-five – The Snowflake
December 9, 2013 By
We woke up to first covering of snow this morning. It’s funny how different the reactions in our house were: Our middle children: yippee there’s snow! (this would have been followed by the words; “do we have school today?!”, except that we homeschool) Our toddler: ” ‘now, Daddy! ‘now! See ‘now, Daddy? ‘now!” (I reckon […]
