Chet Collins's Blog: Catholic Husband, page 5

Blending

We’re back from our annual family ski vacation, and had another successful year. Though more skiing is in our future, a unique aspect of our experience this week was that almost all of us had a ski lesson. In pairs of two, we set off for a few hours with an instructor to work on our skill.

I am still new to the sport, but what struck me was how everyone, no matter how long they’d been cutting across mountains, walked away from their lesson with something new. For me, as I begin to transition to ...

Blending

We’re back from our annual family ski vacation, and had another successful year. Though more skiing is in our future, a unique aspect of our experience this week was that almost all of us had a ski lesson. In pairs of two, we set off for a few hours with an instructor to work on our skill.

I am still new to the sport, but what struck me was how everyone, no matter how long they’d been cutting across mountains, walked away from their lesson with something new. For me, as I begin to transition to m...

Flipping Switches

I remember exactly how I felt. It was the fall of 2018 and two years into our new life out west, I was at my (then) highest weight ever. Alison and I decided to make a change, and as the calendar flipped to 2019, we eased into an entirely new lifestyle.

It wasn’t just that we wanted better guidelines for what to eat and how to fuel ourselves, as two exhausted young parents of three little kids, it was that we needed to take control. My headaches were derailing our life, and it was time to make t...

Flipping Switches

I remember exactly how I felt. It was the fall of 2018 and two years into our new life out west, I was at my (then) highest weight ever. Alison and I decided to make a change, and as the calendar flipped to 2019, we eased into an entirely new lifestyle.

It wasn’t just that we wanted better guidelines for what to eat and how to fuel ourselves, as two exhausted young parents of three little kids, it was that we needed to take control. My headaches were derailing our life, and it was time to make ...

A Full Day

When I think about my ideal day, every minute is scheduled out. I have books I want to read, news articles to follow, workouts to complete, prayers to pray, meditations to reflect upon, chores to check off, tasks to do, and maybe somewhere in there some rest? This type of zero-based time planning is extremely brittle, especially given how much life can throw at us.

The idea, though, is not a bad one. I’ve written many times over the years about schedules and time management, but if I were to be ...

A Full Day

When I think about my ideal day, every minute is scheduled out. I have books I want to read, news articles to follow, workouts to complete, prayers to pray, meditations to reflect upon, chores to check off, tasks to do, and maybe somewhere in there some rest? This type of zero-based time planning is extremely brittle, especially given how much life can throw at us.

The idea, though, is not a bad one. I’ve written many times over the years about schedules and time management, but if I were to be s...

Some Better Thing

We’re two weeks into the new year, and the grand designs that many of us made are at risk of faltering. One of the best ways that we can spend our time each day is in prayer. This tremendously important activity not only contributes to bringing God’s kingdom to earth, but it fortifies us for the struggles that we encounter in the ordinary life of our vocation.

There is no rule or formula that dictates how much we need to pray or ought to pray. It’s particular to our lives. Cloistered religious p...

Some Better Thing

We’re two weeks into the new year, and the grand designs that many of us made are at risk of faltering. One of the best ways that we can spend our time each day is in prayer. This tremendously important activity not only contributes to bringing God’s kingdom to earth, but it fortifies us for the struggles that we encounter in the ordinary life of our vocation.

There is no rule or formula that dictates how much we need to pray or ought to pray. It’s particular to our lives. Cloistered religious pr...

Jubilee

It’s been 25 years since the Catholic Church last celebrated the Jubilee. I was in middle school in 2000, but I still remember the special events that occurred. Throughout the year, there will be many special opportunities to enrich our faith and draw from the treasury of graces.

In the Bible, the Jubilee was more than just a special year, spiritually. Debts would be forgiven, property rights restored, and slaves freed. It’s not difficult to imagine the joy that came with such liberation.

In the...

Jubilee

It’s been 25 years since the Catholic Church last celebrated the Jubilee. I was in middle school in 2000, but I still remember the special events that occurred. Throughout the year, there will be many special opportunities to enrich our faith and draw from the treasury of graces.

In the Bible, the Jubilee was more than just a special year, spiritually. Debts would be forgiven, property rights restored, and slaves freed. It’s not difficult to imagine the joy that came with such liberation.

In the C...