When you go hiking up a mountain with your fit husband and fit daughter and find that between the altitude and the steep grade you can rsquo t keep up with them even though it rsquo s a hike you rsquo ve done before you eat a little humble pie Then when your boot slips on some rocks on the way
Valerie Schultz
Valerie Schultz is a freelance writer, a columnist for The Bakersfield Californian and the author of Till the Moon Be No More: The Grit and Grace of Growing Older. She lives on the Oregon Coast.
Posted inIn All Things
Love, even tough love, does not condone any kind of violence.
Viral video shows a mother attacking her teenage son
Posted inIn All Things
The ‘Mysterious Fruitfulness’ of Parenting the Prodigal
Pope Francis in his two years as pontiff has often urged people of faith to be better people of faith To walk the talk To get with the program To do as Jesus would do His example inspires us just as his writings enlighten us The pope reminds us that God calls us to love no matter what He e
Posted inIn All Things
The Charity of Christmas
During the holiday season, there is a spirit of giving in the air that transcends belief.
Posted inIn All Things
The Boyhood of Jesus
Each Advent Christians reminisce about the humble yet earth-shaking birth of Christ.
Posted inIn All Things
Thanksgiving in Five Acts
Through life’s many stages, a day to overflow with gratitude for the many blessings from the hand of a loving God.
Posted inSynod on the Family
Family Portraits: Discussion starters for the upcoming synod
Editor’s Note. “Families,” Pope Francis noted in a homily on Sept. 14, “are the first place in which we are formed as persons and, at the same time, the ‘bricks’ for the building up of society.” In preparation for the launch of the Synod of Bishops on the Fa
Posted inFaith in Focus
Prison Possibilities: Hearing victims’ voices in a moment of silence
I was seated at the back of the room as 60 or so inmates gathered for the weekly Tuesday night meeting of Criminals and Gangmembers Anonymous. Most of the members are serving life sentences, many with the distant possibility of parole, although a few are LWOPs, which stands for lifers without that p
Posted inIn All Things
‘Be Green Also’: Life and Death and Life
My dad was right: life blazes on and holds us in thrall with its bounty and blessings.
Posted inIn All Things
How To Scare a Missionary
Let me set the scene It rsquo s a weekend morning and for once I actually have no commitments I open the front door to let in the fresh morning air and I am ready to ride five miles on the exercise bike in my office spare room I am trying to beat my best time But my dog is in the back yard ba