Sweet Talk

THIS IS MY MOST REQUESTED DESSERT – Eat half and freeze the other half! Cake: 1 cup chopped pecans 1 18 ½ oz yellow cake mix 1 3 ¾ oz INSTANT vanilla pudding mix (small box) 4 eggs ½ cup cold water ½ cup Wesson oil ½ cup DARK rum  (makes a difference) Dash salt (one[...]

  Someone you love or care about has invited you to their wedding and you know there is something wrong. Is what they are considering doing really a good thing? Is there something troubling your spirit? You’re just not sure you should attend and are considering saying NO. Still, you don’t know why, exactly, or[...]

What do you do when unbearable grief comes crashing onto you? The Italian theologian, Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274), is still celebrated today even by the non-religious as one of the most brilliant minds in Western thought, especially in natural theology and philosophy. He knew that man was NOT just a spirit trapped in a[...]

The problem for most people is not setting healthy boundaries—but having the courage and confidence to ENFORCE them. You told your kids they could not go out and play until they cleaned their rooms. But then it was just too much, you didn’t want them to be unhappy or hear them whine, so you let[...]

DANISH PASTRY –  Modified from a recipe found on Epicurious 2016 I can still smell and taste those fresh, cardamom-scented Danish the mothers served in the 1950’s on Frist Friday after Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption elementary school.  On a cold rainy day, we would process through the drizzle from Mass to our[...]

In my coaching practice, every client asks what God’s will is for them. That’s good! It means people sincerely want to please him. Remember that even though God KNOWS what will happen in your life, that does not mean he PLANNED it. You and those around you have a wonderful, powerful, and terrible gift called[...]

No, it’s not some creepy Catholic thing about sex.  What IS “Theology of the Body?” It’s a treasure map. It’s a marriage manual. It’s the key to every heart’s desires. It’s a beautiful bible study, rich in spousal imagery. It’s the answer to the very meaning of life! It was the seventies and I was[...]

Separation sounds like a bad word when it comes to an ailing marriage, but it may be just what the doctor ordered. But first, let’s separate it into two areas: Separation within a marriage Separation from a spouse Some separation can be loving In marriage, the two are meant to become one[1], but that doesn’t[...]

“We respect your belief, Mom and Dad, but we’ve decided to live together.” “I don’t need to go to Mass. I have my own way of praying.” “I’m not even sure I believe in God anymore, Dad.” ACK! What’s a Catholic parent (or grandparent) to do when the lack of a mature faith in their[...]

The Reluctant Bride – Auguste Toulmouche 1866 I was in my forties when I realized that all my life I had only been “dating” God when he had been waiting for my full “marital” surrender. I thought I was intimate with God; I prayed regularly, went to Mass, and received the Sacraments. I could still[...]