Of Sound Mind and Spirit

How do you keep the green eyed monster in check?  I (Lisa) visited another church's VBS yesterday morning and felt pangs of jealousy over their space, the plethora of adult volunteers and the sheer number of children they were able to admit into VBS.  My parish VBS starts in less than two weeks which makes me a little nervous about how all of our plans will be received by the participants.  I'm sure it will be an amazing experience for our kids, teens and adults, just different than this other neighborhood church.  It can be hard sometimes not to get caught up wishing your something could be a bit more like someone else's thing. "The grass is always greener..." Isn't that the saying? For me that phrase is most true when perusing the pages of my Facebook friends.  So many of us, even unintentionally use Facebook to brag about our life.  It might not be actual bragging or on purpose, but most of us tend to post the good things, things we are excited a

So many of us, myself included, spend time working to be physically healthy and in good shape. I read blogs, pin workout routines, head to the gym and watch what I eat.  The physical health of my family is also a top priority by paying attention to what I feed my family, teaching them healthy habits and encouraging my children to get daily physical exercise.   Yet, I must ask myself, I work hard to get into good physical shape, but what hard work do I do to get into good spiritual shape?    Do I work as hard at my faith life as I do working out at the gym?   Is the spiritual health of my family as high a priority as the type of food they put into their bodies?    If I am truthful, I admit that I've been guilty of placing more attention on their physical health on a regular basis than I do on their spiritual health.  This is a bit lopsided, after all one of my main jobs as a parent is to help my children get to know Jesus and get to Heaven.  How do I work to achiev

My (Lisa) tween daughter spent a week of summer at our parish Middle School day camp with her cousins and friends.   Their week was filled with service hours at the Houston Food Bank, playing on a slip 'n slide with some really messy food items, playing broom ball on ice, going to laser tag, attending Mass, watching a movie on Blessed John Paul, discussing Saints, and experiencing Adoration.  Out of the entire week of crazy, fun and faith filled activities at the parish, Adoration was the one thing my daughter came home talking about. The next week, she asked if we could go to Adoration again.  My response?  YES!  Of course.   Regrettably I don't take my kids to Adoration that often, so I'm always a little nervous of how they will sit quietly and not disturb the other people there praying before Jesus. I packed a small bag of a few religious books for each of my kids in case they got antsy while we were there and headed out praying for the best.  My daughter, not

Almighty and eternal God, you have revealed your glory to all nations. To us you have entrusted the care of this great land. Bless our nation. Help us live and work together in a spirit of cooperation, tranquility, and respect for one another. Strengthen us to be good stewards of the gifts you have given us. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from arrogance and greed, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought from all the corners of the earth. Bestow the spirit of wisdom on those to whom we grant the authority of government, that they may show respect for the common good and promote liberty and freedom, justice and peace for all. Through obedience to your law, may we show forth your glory, And serve as beacons of your light among the nations of the world. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, strengthen our trust in you; All this we

Today we welcome my husband, Brian, as a guest blogger here at Of Sound Mind and Spirit.  This is his second time writing for us.  Thank you Brian for allowing us to share your words. ************************* This morning, I woke up and started going about my usual routine. Step one, jump in the shower, step two, brush my teeth, iron my shirt, assemble my breakfast and lastly kiss my wife and children on my way out of the house. Today started out as a day not unlike any other. Sometime during the twenty minute drive between my home and my office I started to think about some of the more recent current events occurring in this country. There is a murder trial underway in Florida that has been twisted by the media from a one-on-one confrontation into a proxy show of racial division, there was a bill defeated in the Texas Legislature due to protestors in the gallery interfering with elected government process, and lastly an immigration bill passed the United States Senate that a