He Doesn’t Need Us
I think praying is so hard.
Oftentimes my scattered brain can’t focus long enough to connect one mental sentence with the next and any visit to the chapel usually turns into a staring contest with the leaves on the trees outside. My greatest challenge is to fill my mind with quiet.
That’s why I write.
Mama’s Boy
I’ve never been good at planning surprises for people. However, my mom was in for quite the surprise on Christmas Day in the year 2000. She excitedly opened up the box I had my dad help me wrap for her the night before. I was pretty thrilled to give her this gift. I was only seven-years-old, but we had a “Secret Santa” shop at school where we could buy gifts for our loved ones.
Mom opened the box and there it was. I had given my Lutheran mother a beautiful little image of Mary.
She was perplexed, thankful, and happy. Neither of us knew that this was the beginning of a journey that would lead to both of us converting to the Church and falling deeply in love with the Blessed Virgin Mary.
self love, and all the extras
It is challenging to scroll through Instagram or flip through a magazine in 2020 without continually hearing the phrase self-love. Not saying anything with "loving yourself" is wrong, but in a "Me" based society that puts the sense of self before "we," is it really conducive to promote a world that encourages to love yourself even more?
Loving yourself can mean different things to different people. Some reserve their Sundays for quiet time and meditation, while for others, this “self-love" mentality is used as motivation to buy themselves that extra handbag or indulging on the second scoop of ice cream.
But if we really took a step back and paused, we would ask ourselves, where does "self-love" really come from?
Sit with me
I know they judge me.
I know you think they judge you too.
This one is for those who feel like they don’t belong. This is to the people who feel unseen, unworthy, and unloved. This is for those of you who feel as though you are not enough to be a part of the Church because you don’t “look the part” or “fit the mold.”
When You’ve Already Had a Conversion, and you make mistakes
When I was a freshman in college, I was realizing how close God actually was to me, and that He actually wanted to move in my life. I had come off of a summer working on mission at a summer camp, and I was READY for revival.
And, it got kind of unhealthy.
If not me, then who?
I want to be one of the men who runs into the chaos. I want to be a man of valor.
I want to be a hero.
A Mental Health Journey
Almost exactly four years ago, I was sitting on my bedroom floor sobbing.
I was in an extraordinarily emotionally draining, entry level job just a few months after college graduation. After only a few weeks on the job, I felt like I was about to either implode or explode.
Who’s your hero?
Who is your hero?
Growing up, I heard this question every now and again at school assemblies, from coaches, my church group, my own parents. When asked, “Who is your hero?” my younger self never quite knew how to respond.
“Who is my hero? There’s got to be someone, Lucas.”
Mic’d Up, Part 2
Last week, I shared a story about talking out loud to myself, and realizing I was still wearing a clip-on microphone. I reflected on our inclination, as Christians and as people, to hide our internal dialogue and remain anonymous.