Of Sound Mind and Spirit

Pat Gohn, Shelly & Lisa at CNMC12 One of the beautiful things about the New Evangelization is the connections you make with other Catholics about faith online.  Shelly and I have had the pleasure of meeting a few of these amazing digital disciples in person over the years, one of whom is the marvelous Pat Gohn .  For the last three years Pat has led a women's ministry through her Among Women Podcast  celebrating the beauty and grace that women experience in their Catholic faith and life. Shelly and I were delighted to share a conversation with Pat recently for her Among Women podcast.  We discussed our blogging adventure, individual faith journeys, and shared passion for the new evangelization.  And of course, we did talk a little about Once Upon a Time and the Secrets of Once Upon a Time Podcast which are both returning next week with the premiere of Season 2.   Among Women Podcast Head over to Among Women to listen to Episode 145: Opening the Door of Fa

While sitting at a local eatery using their free Wi-Fi to work on a book review for Of Sound Mind and Spirit, three nice ladies approached me to ask questions about the Wi-Fi. One of them noticed my book sitting on the table, The Handbook for Catholic Moms , and made a comment confirming I was Catholic . Then the lady directly in front of me, I’ll call her “Lady A” said, “We’re Jehovah's Witnesses.” My immediate thought was, “Oh no, I’m trapped.” They had surrounded me where I sat at my little table against the wall. Lady A said she used to be Episcopal and how it was just like being Catholic. I admit, I was on edge and a little defensive. Quickly, I said, “No, not quite the same thing. “ After a few moments, Lady B brought up how terrible it was that the Pope was involved in molesting children and covering it up. Now I felt relieved, because I can very confidently and competently discuss and explain the latest alleged scandals in the Church. In a polite, but

More than two weeks after the Catholic New Media Conference and Lisa and I still haven’t posted anything. The more time goes by, the more pressure I feel to write something…yet not just something, but something good. Sarah Reinhard emailed me last week and asked if I was settling back into “real life” post- CNMC and I wrote her back. “If by "re-entering the Real World better than I am" means that I still haven't put up an original post since the CNMC because I’ve spent all my "should-be-writing-time" looking at other peoples photos and Facebook conversations, and blogs summarizing their experiences at the conference, etc.   Then yes, I’m doing great.” Once again, the CNMC proved to be an amazing experience filled with fellowship, laughter, prayer, and testimony. Everyone you met told their story about why they were attending. Some were regular attendees, others were new.   All felt called to attend. We were excited, perhaps a little tentativ

It is amazing how the human mind can remember specific events frozen in time by the impact of a moment. I remember... On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was driving to work in north Austin listening to the radio when I learned a small plane had accidentally crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. The report of the small plane changed to some kind of rocket and then quickly to a jumbo jetliner. I remember thinking how strange that a jetliner could accidentally fly into the tallest structure in New York City, as if the pilot forgot it was there. Of course, we soon learned it was no accident, but the opening salvo of a coordinated attack on American financial, military and political symbols designed by Osama Bin Laden and his cohorts to strike a fearful and deadly blow to their arch enemy, US! In this context, “US” represents both the United States, and collectively its citizens. I remember calling my wife to ask her about the television reports, then scrambling t