11.4.2024 Tonight I attended an Evening of Prayer for our Country at St. Raphael’s parish in Glendale. It was a beautiful night of taize music, quiet reflection, and the opportunity to just sit, breathe, pray, sing, and be still. There was no preaching, no campaigning, no talk of candidates. Just an evening of prayer. As I sat in the dimly lit church, surrounded by candles and calmness, I was struck by how steadily and deeply I was breathing. It’s probably the slowest my brea

11.5.2023 There’s this moment that I experience every once in a while with music. For me, it usually happens when I’m singing a tight harmony line alongside a strong melody. It’s this point when I hear the dancing of notes that fit together like a perfectly balanced mathematical equation. I know that’s a weird analogy, but I truly don’t know a better way to explain it. In this moment the experience becomes effortless and the lyrics, even though they’re not mine, feel like a n

11.2.2020 Tonight I attended a very touching memorial Mass in remembrance of those who have died this past year. It was lovely. One of these candles is for my Aunt Irene. She passed away at the very beginning of the pandemic and unfortunately we weren’t able to have a funeral to properly honor her. It felt nice to honor her tonight. I’m quite certain that she’s up in heaven right now discussing politics with my Grampy. I know that I’ve been abundantly blessed to have such ama

11.30.19 Day 30. I made it. 30 stories. 30 days of sitting down to write. 30 days of finding a blessing in each day. 30 days of sharing. I’m thankful for the perseverance to complete this self-proclaimed challenge. I’m thankful for the daily accountability to look for a blessing in each day. I mean, I don’t suppose any of you would’ve publicly berated me or cut me out of your lives if I’d stopped after a few days, but sharing my daily dose of gratitude with y'all did provide

11.26.19 My church has a 24 hour adoration chapel. You will find someone praying in the chapel at all times. All are welcome at any time, but there is someone scheduled to be there at all hours of day and night, every day of the week. When I started my job at my current school, I signed up for an hour – every week, early on Tuesday mornings. I was all about starting new healthy habits along with the new job, so I was eager to volunteer. I love my adoration hour and each week

11.3.19 When I was little, the story of Zacchaeus was one of my favorite Bible stories. For those who may not be familiar with it, Zacchaeus was a tax collector from the town of Jericho back in the time of Jesus. Tax collectors in that era were known for their dishonesty and were therefore not real popular in most circles. Well, Zacchaeus got curious when he heard that Jesus was coming to town to preach and he followed the crowd of Hebrews to go meet this Jesus guy. Zacchaeus