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…

Many years ago, I agreed to attend a healing Mass with a friend. To be honest, I was afraid. I wasn’t sure I belonged there, or had the right to ask to be prayed over because I wasn’t physically sick….

Writing the last post of 2019 feels like an enormous responsibility. There are so many directions to take this. Do I talk about our resolutions? Share my word of the year? Maybe focus on the Solemnity of Mary that’s just…

Hello Sisters in Christ! The below is one of my early blog posts, published in 2012. I enjoyed re-reading it and I pray it resonates with you this Advent. – Lisa ALL GOOD GIVING AND EVERY PERFECT GIFT IS FROM…

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…

I might have signed myself up for something really stupid or totally life changing. I won’t know for sure until it is over. I, Laura Phelps, a gifted rambler, lover of my own personal space, and unwavering in my belief…

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…

“Terrible” was her response to the question, “How was your afternoon?”  “Oh, no, what happened?” I asked my friend, expecting to learn of an argument with her teenager or a run in with a crazy neighbor. But it wasn’t either…

As I navigate a long suffering as a result of loving a wayward child, it is not uncommon for well-meaning friends to assure me that, “This too shall pass.” But I have to wonder… will it? I think we say…

What does it mean to live the good life? How can I be happy? What choices will get me there? How we answer these questions has everything to do with the voices we choose to listen to. A life is…

Why is it we can have total confidence and trust in God’s plans with everyone else’s life, but not our own? It is easy for me to recognize God’s hand in your life… in your misery… in your tragic circumstance,…

“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…

“Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.” James 1:17 The landscape of our mind will determine the quality of our day. If our mindset is one of gratitude, contentment will…

This post is for all the people out there who are not eating popsicles or frolicking on the beach this summer. To narrow it further… It’s for you, my friend, you who are in the middle of a storm of…

My workday begins at 9 AM, so at 8:59, I commute up the stairs to my home office, formerly known as the guest bedroom. At Walking with Purpose, employees work remotely, which is a blessing and hugely convenient for working…

I doubt that many of us would be willing to wear the clothes seen on the fashion runway in exactly the way they are displayed, with all the accessories and interesting makeup. I look at the pictures and think it…

For someone who likes words and lots of them, editing a book can be hard work. After pouring over each sentence and getting to the point where you love them all, no author wants to hear that she has to…

A risk we all run when we love others lavishly is neglecting to take care of ourselves. What begins as a passion of the heart-a pure desire to help-can actually place us in a dangerous position where we find it…

I always knew I would have a traditional Catholic wedding. It was what we did. My parents got married in the Catholic Church. My sisters got married in the Catholic Church. I, a cradle Catholic, would obviously get married in,…

For a special February treat, read these words from St. Therese of Lisieux… I ASSURE YOU THAT THE GOOD LORD IS MUCH KINDER THAN YOU CAN IMAGINE. HE IS SATISFIED WITH A GLANCE, WITH A SIGH OF LOVE…IN REGARD TO…

At my core, I am a New Yorker. While some find Manhattan an assault to their senses, it is there, in the midst of the chaos and noise, and the Naked Cowboy in Times Square (yes, he is a thing)…

Dear Friend — I just had to share this post with you, written this time last year, as it is one of my all-time favorites. — Love, Lisa It’s such an interesting message the world sends us this time of…

I remember my first official day of working for Walking with Purpose vividly. I hit the ground running in Chicago, surrounded by more than 8,000 college students at SLS 2018, a young adult conference hosted by FOCUS, the Fellowship of…

It was 11 PM and pitch dark as I crept up Signal Mountain for the first time. My best friend had warned me that the path to her new Tennessee home was lined with hairpin turns. Although I heeded this…

The holidays are coming and the influx of catalogs in my mailbox confirms it. I can’t seem to throw them away because their contents might offer me the perfect Christmas gift for my husband, the ideal accessory for my house,…

My favorite/least favorite question I have ever been asked is, “If heaven didn’t exist, would you still obey God?” Don’t worry, I’m squirming in my seat too. My first thought was, “Yes, of course I would still follow the rules….

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…

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…

As I walked to my favorite coffee shop in downtown St. Augustine to write this post, I nestled into a fitting mental posture by reciting the word, “warrior,” over and over again. As I did, all sorts of quintessential, warrior-esque…

Summer invites me to slow down- to settle in to the here and now- to eat the ice cream cone slowly enough that it melts down my hand. So, I usually order ice cream in a dish and eat it…

I am the type of person that gets hangry. I mean seriously hangry. Ask my Mom, I am not a nice person when I need food. I am also the type of person who loves designated alone time, but hates feeling…

It’s been said that worry is a misuse of the imagination. This resonates with me, probably because of my award-worthy ability to come up with worse-case scenarios and potential catastrophes. The Wrestling, the second part of Fearless and Free, is…

Before beginning this post, I said a prayer, paused for a moment and ate a Dove chocolate. The little note on the inside of the wrapper read, “Things have to fall apart in order for them to fall together.” Sure,…

I had stopped feeling joy. That was the first sign for me that something needed to change- that something was wrong and that I didn’t know how to fix it.  Things were happening in my life that should have been…

The best gift I have ever received is a pair of noise cancelling headphones. At the same time, I love my family with every fiber in my being, and am anxious to know all the details of their lives-what they…

I spend most of my time with middle schoolers, high schoolers, and college-aged girls. And, I spend most of this time listening to girls (and boys) of all ages express their doubts and frustrations about faith and the Catholic Church….

Today is my favorite day of the year. It’s my birthday, and there hasn’t been a season when I haven’t looked forward to it coming, certain that something delightful was bound to happen. People have always asked me if I…

Hello, my friend! Today I’m welcoming back one of my favorite people to the WWP blog: Laura Phelps. One of my favorite things about Laura is the way she makes me laugh. She also shares my love for Jesus and…

I thought I was going to throw up on my way to the first WWP board meeting. Reading Robert’s Rules for Dummies had helped me to some degree, but a boatload of self-doubt remained. The only part of forming a…

I was feeling pretty good about life, until I scrolled through my Instagram account and saw it. The pie. This perfectly, baked cherry pie. And not only was it a beautiful and delicious looking pie, but taken out of it was…

Dear friend, We live in a world where information, expectations and needs come at us like a tennis ball machine set on turbo speed. Women tend to be expert multi-taskers, and we can keep a lot of balls going at…

“A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.” Isaiah 42:3 I sat down to write an inspirational reflection on resolutions for the new year. But within five minutes, my seven-year-old’s head got…

There’s a lot to be said for playing it safe. It’s predictable, comfortable, and doesn’t cause ripple effects. It gives us the impression that we aren’t hurting anyone. We’re neither hot, nor cold-we’re coasting in neutral. But playing it safe…

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23) Life has kicked into gear around here. No more sipping iced tea on the porch. Summer is over and September calls for organization and productivity….

As I carried the overflowing laundry basket up the stairs, it occurred to me that its weight felt nothing like the heaviness that was sitting on my heart. I had been reading about world news this morning, and article after…

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….

As we move through Advent and prepare to celebrate the arrival of our Savior, I wonder what is pulling at your heart. Is there a longing? Is there something you are wishing for? Is the biggest thing on your Christmas…

As long as I can remember, I’ve journaled my prayers. This is how I start my time with God each day. Some people consider journaling a form of naval-gazing. I’ve looked at it differently; it’s the way I bring my…

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…

A risk we all run when we love others lavishly is neglecting to take care of ourselves. What begins as a passion of the heart-a pure desire to help-can actually place us in a dangerous position where we find it…

For a special February treat, read these words from St. Therese of Lisieux… I assure you that the good Lord is much kinder than you can imagine. He is satisfied with a glance, with a sigh of love…In regard to…

I can respond to the higher number on my scale in a few different ways. One is to joyfully say, “There’s just more of me to love!” Another is to puddle in a heap on the floor, cursing the woman at the coffee shop who introduced me to Eggnog Chai Lattes. I can look back and regret every time I celebrated the holidays with a tasty morsel. Or I can look forward, lace up my shoes, and get going with some better habits starting now.

I thought I was going to throw up on my way to the first WWP board meeting. Reading Robert’s Rules for Dummies had helped me to some degree, but a boatload of self-doubt remained. The only part of forming a…