I’ve just celebrated a milestone birthday—my 50th. As I survey the landscape, it’s looking like pretty fertile ground for gratitude. There are some hard-won interior victories that have allowed me to see progress in areas of my life where old…

Last month I managed to do something right. On most days in December, I was able to balance the business of Christmas shopping, decorating, cooking and celebrating with a peaceful mindset focused on His coming. I’ll admit I sometimes didn’t…

Are you worried about how everyone is going to get along this Christmas? Is there a pit in your stomach because you are dreading the interpersonal dynamics that are about to engulf your family? Does it seem like your family…

Thanksgiving can be the best of times or the worst of times. As was said on the iconic 90’s sitcom, Friends, “It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without a little emotional scarring.” Hopefully that won’t be your experience, but when you throw…

She scrolled through the list on her phone — at least fifty names — one name after the other, along with a description of how far she had gone with each. Most of them she’d slept with on the first…

As a Catholic newbie, I think the biggest mistake I make is trying to figure out God. I sometimes can’t help asking myself (and Him) why things happen the way they do. To be fair to myself, it is human…

“I used to believe that prayer changes things. But now I know that prayer changes us, and we change things.” – St. Teresa of Calcutta Raised in a faith-filled home that affirmed the power of prayer, I also grew up…

“How can you all have so much joy when you are going through something so painful?” That’s the question the new face at my support group asked last night. Followed by, “I want what you all have!” As I have…

“For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God.” Genesis 33:10 While the digital age connects us like never before, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. No email or Facebook message can ever compete…

“Beauty will save the world.” Fyodor Dostoevsky What do you think of when you hear the word beauty? My mind first goes to breathtaking sunsets, softly falling snow, a blue sky reflected on a still lake. When I move beyond…

A group of around thirty high school girls are currently rocking my world. Each week I load up my car with baked goods, kantha quilts made out of recycled saris from India, twinkle lights, pillows and blankets and head over…

I have tremendous hope for tomorrow. My hope lies in the power and faithfulness of God, the indestructibility of truth, and the youth I witnessed at SEEK 2019. A year ago, Walking with Purpose hosted a booth at the FOCUS…

I received the call halfway through my drive from Florida to Maine. With the dog in the backseat and the car full of Christmas presents, my world stopped for a moment with the news that Amy, our oldest, was in…

As our hearts reel from an acute awareness of the sin in our beloved Church, the call for each one of us to become a saint rings loud and true. I don’t know about you, but when I think of…

The Walking with Purpose Blogging Team is excited to mix things up this week! We introduce to you the fabulous Maria Koshute, a blogger we discovered over at The Young Catholic Woman (TYCW). We immediately fell in love with her…

I know that some of you may be tired of talking about all of this, but I for one need to sit in this pain a little bit longer. Feel free to join me. I read in a recent Fox…

Are you tired of your list of good intentions that never translate to action? How many times have you made a resolution (and really meant it) only to fail within a few short weeks? We’ve all been there. It isn’t…

My heart has been so heavy. What started as a normal day was sideswiped by news that was not new, but nevertheless dredged up feelings of deep sadness. When the latest New York Times article broke chronicling sexual abuse in…

At the end of my first year of BLAZE, I turned to my darling group of middle school girls and asked them what they had learned. One girl responded and said, “In BLAZE I learned that God loves us no…

In her book Yes Please, author Amy Poehler wrote something that really stuck with me. She said that early on, she determined that her currency was not going to be her looks- it would be her sense of humor. What…

I am heading to the White House to celebrate the 4th of July. For real. Our son, Jonny, is performing there and is bringing me along-my flight and hotel included in the deal. A confession-when we first got the news…

Five years ago I had breakfast with a fallen away Catholic, a lukewarm Catholic, and an evangelical Protestant.  (Sounds like the beginning of a joke, doesn’t it?) I was the cradle Catholic who had just met Jesus Christ personally, and…

Young people are leaving the church in droves. According to a 2014 Pew Research Center study, “Between 2007 and 2014, the Christian share [of the U.S. population] fell from 78.4% to 70.6%, driven mainly by declines among mainline Protestants and…

Isn’t it strange that we need to be reminded to be grateful- we who live in the most privileged of circumstances? Most of us are wealthy by the world’s standards. Do you make $35,000 a year? Then you are in…

Hello, my friend. Full disclosure here- I can’t call myself a “hurricane survivor” because my little tribe and I escaped to the great north instead of remaining in Florida during Hurricane Irma. But my beloved town, St. Augustine, most definitely…

Today is the second day of school. We crushed day one. Knocked it out of the ball park. I only forgot to make one lunch. Only one kid forgot her water bottle. I only had to make one school run…

Dear friend, Are you feeling the hassle of the hustle while you long for a little rest? Even though it’s summertime, do you still feel busyness and pressure? I get it, and blogged about something we can do to QUIT…

“For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh.” Ephesians 2:14 God has answered a prayer I have been pestering Him about for the past three years. At…

“Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord?” 1 Samuel 15:19 If we can’t wait to tell our girlfriends about our new favorite Netflix series, you can be sure that when we taste the difference that Jesus…

To the mamas out there in the trenches… To those who are spending this Advent waiting for a miracle… This is for you. We all dread the phone call that comes unexpectedly and causes life to feel like one big…

“There are those that speak a stabbing sword, but the tongue of the wise heals.” Proverbs 12:18 There’s a space between words being spoken by one mouth, and those same words being received by another heart. En-route, those words often…

What profound truth is found in St. Irenaeus’ words: “The glory of God is man fully alive.” This statement is pregnant with hope. Isn’t it incredible to think that as we come fully alive, it gives God glory? He so…

“In your anger, do not sin.” Ephesians 4:26 Scrolling through Facebook and other social media sites, it is clear that we are increasingly feeling free to express our rage, disgust and disappointment however we choose. Regardless of the issue and…

“Mercy is the force that reawakens us to new life and instills in us the courage to look to the future with hope.” -Pope Francis The Year of Mercy has begun, and oh, how we need it. As we journey…

As we walk into a new year, I pray that you feel as free as a fresh, unmarked calendar page. I pray that your relationships are healthy, authentic and satisfying. I pray that your connection to God is strong and…

Can I just say what a relief it is to be sending my kids back to school for their second year instead of their first in a new town? The feeling of walking into a group where everyone knows each…

Something pretty remarkable is going on around dinner tables, in car trips to soccer practices, and beside little one’s beds. A generation of children is being raised to make their mark on the world-to make a difference in their place…

Pretty much all of my life I have wanted other people’s approval to a degree that hasn’t always led to the best decisions. Wearing acid-washed jeans and curling my bangs sky high in high school come to mind as examples….

It’s a rare privilege to see heroic openness to God’s will up close. I received that blessing in the month of May. What I witnessed has made a deep mark on my heart and I haven’t known how to describe…

“For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God.” Genesis 33:10 While the digital age connects us like never before, there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction. No email or Facebook message can ever compete…

Dear friends, In my writing and speaking, I often quote other authors in order to more succinctly illustrate a point I am making. After receiving feedback from the July Positively Purposeful message, I feel it’s important to say that the…

As I stood in the checkout line at the grocery store today, I noticed the woman behind me showing her daughter the delicious deli-prepared meals in their cart. I looked back at my two bulging shopping carts and thought ahead…