Valerie Schultz

nbsp nbsp nbsp When we were newlyweds my husband and I played a silly game that we called Life is a Musical We d make up dramatic arias and ballads and rhymes about the most mundane parts of our daily lives Then we d sing to each other about doing the dishes or sweeping the porch or slicin

A balance of solitude and community makes for a good spiritual place to be I live in a closely-knit family which I treasure but I know that I am not centered if I never spend any time alone with God Conversely I know people who believe that one-on-one time is enough that a thoughtful walk in t

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp From a recent ad in my local newspaper HAVING KIDS IS GREAT WHAT IT DOES TO YOUR BODY ISN T The ad goes on ostensib

It s not what you re thinking The reason an IUD was inserted into my uterus earlier today is medical It is one more attempt in a two-year succession of attempts to tame my monstrous perimenopausal menstrual cycle that has plunged me into insecurity and anemia And I m not sure which is wor

nbsp nbsp nbsp My husband and I look forward every year to attending the Religious Education Congress Organized by the Los Angeles Archdiocese the Congress takes place in Anaheim which I suppose makes it the religious equivalent of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim baseball team nbsp nbsp

nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Today s blog is brought to you by the letter R nbsp nbsp nbsp The state department I work for the CDC or California Department of Corrections in 2005 had the letter R added to its acronym making it the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation It

In the beginning was the Word the Gospel of John tells us a Word without flesh A word wields power to heal to hurt to change to condemn to affirm A word separates us from the animal kingdom A word can civilize and uplift us In the beginning It is the beginning of 2009 We have a lot of

I spent my Saturday with twelve men in cages It s hard to imagine that in the United States we put inmates in cages but in the Secured Housing Unit of the prison where I volunteer we do In the SHU inmates who are privileged to attend Catholic services are escorted from their housing to ind

My husband and I are movie freaks Our earliest dates were to on-campus movies in college We ll see all kinds of movies romance sci-fi adventure documentary foreign independent animated whatever Since we live in a small town with limited cinematic offerings our favorite way to spend a s

David Shields an author and English professor at the University of Washington has written a sort of memoir combined with a science report called The Thing About Life Is That One Day You ll Be Dead My daughters were a little alarmed to see me engrossed in such a morbidly-titled book I think t