by Barbara | Jul 4, 2011
Today is not supposed to be only about picnics and fireworks. Today we really need to look back and ponder the immense sacrifice that others gave so that we CAN have picnics and fireworks and FREEDOM. I know a young man who is in the Marine bootcamp right now, he was...
by Barbara | Jul 1, 2011
“What can I do to help?” These words echoed again and again as news of my surgery rang through our Church, neighborhood, friends and family. It is awkward being on this end of needing. I like being the giver. I am a Martha, and we like to be the do-ers. What I wanted...
by Barbara | Jun 13, 2011
Successful brain surgery, praise God and the abundance of prayers that flooded heaven. I am adjusting to life without hearing on my left side...it will take some getting used to. As I lay on my right side to sleep.... I won't even hear the angel's approaching to kiss...
by Barbara | May 23, 2011
"[Jesus] consented to empty Himself and become the hardest thing in the universe...a mortal human being...to enter our daily lives. God walks among us, is so simple we refuse to believe it; it fulfills our deepest yearning and binds us to what has actually been...
by Barbara | May 7, 2011
"Mother" a word that strikes all kinds of emotion in a soul. Tenderness, affection, fear, patience, laughter...and unconditional love. Moms come in all shapes and sizes and don't always have to have children of their own. All women are called to motherhood and I want...
by Barbara | May 7, 2011
May 6th, 2011 by Barbara Lishko It’s a boy!! Five long years of infertility had come to an end. It took a miracle at Lourdes, a lot of prayers, and a hope that never died. I think because I desired to be a mother for such a long time, I find such humor and joy in...
by Barbara | Apr 21, 2011
Today marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the Church's holiest 3 days. Tonight, Pope Benedict reminds us, that "God doesn't want to trample on us, but kneels down before us to exalt us. The mystery of the greatness of God is seen precisely in the fact that he...
by Barbara | Apr 9, 2011
All of us, I dare say, played in the sand at one point or another in our childhood. In fact we still head towards the sand as adults; it is just usually with a swim suit on and umbrella drink in hand. As children there was much to learn in the sandbox. They were a...
by Barbara | Mar 27, 2011
Twenty six years of kids will leave you with a lot of accumulated junk. Lost and forgotten treasures lurk within every box, stuffed in long forgotten tubs and drawers, all for the unsuspecting mommy to go through when the brood flies the coop. They seem to only take...
by Barbara | Mar 20, 2011
Pope Benedict says that when the disciples through the Transfiguration "experienced ahead of time something that will constitute the happiness of paradise" These "brief experiences that God grants on occasions, especially in anticipation of harsh trials." God knows...
by Barbara | Mar 16, 2011
So I am praying about this new challenge in my life to hear or not to hear that is the question. Surgery or radiation on my ear to reduce or remove a tumor growing at the base of my brain where my ear and brain meet. Good news...no cancer, bad news no hearing with...
by Barbara | Mar 12, 2011
“Give me a J, give me an E, give me a S-U-S, what’s that spell? Go-oooo Jesus!” That’s me at times, a real cheerleader for the Lord. As a mother and youth minister I have opportunities galore to get out the pom poms and give the rally cry for Christ. No, I don’t...
by Barbara | Feb 2, 2011
“You just don’t understand.” she told me in exasperation. “No”, I sighed. “I guess I don’t.” We had just finished this amazing day and a small inconsequential occurrence, that any other time would have been easily dismissed, caused her to rethink everything as the day...
by Barbara | Dec 12, 2010
As a fellow human being on the road to hopeful salvation, I can at times let myself be overcome with the load of my own cross. Like anything else in my life the more I make of my burdens the heavier they can become from the bothersome weight of pity that I needlessly...
by Barbara | Nov 30, 2010
While at work the other day I got a text from one of my sons, “where is the video camera?” After spending five minutes making sure I had each word spelled correctly and had properly punctuated, I texted him back. Ten seconds later his response indicated that he had...
by Barbara | Jul 7, 2010
The implements of discipline have changed over time. Back in the old days, some pretty harsh punishment was used to keep one’s offspring under control. I can remember my father talking about the barber’s strap being the preferred “rod of discipline” utilized most by...
by Barbara | Dec 24, 2009
This tale of a Christmas long, long ago is what makes me appreciate the more uninteresting holidays of the past few years. Let me take you back to a time when daddy was gone far too much, and the children and I were stranded up in the cold north, far away from family....
by Barbara | Oct 3, 2009
By: Barbara Lishko On a busy Sunday evening just before Mass began, a woman approached me in the narthex and asked if I was Barb. I responded that I was, and she got teary eyed and whispered that her daughter was deeply into drugs. She could no longer hold back her...
by Barbara | Oct 1, 2009
”Group Project” is a dirty word in our house. Yet the teachers in our schools feel the need to mandate these types of projects in the classrooms. I am sure that their intentions are good and their desire is for the students to learn to work together towards a common...
by Barbara | Aug 5, 2009
There was a time back in the day when the kids were little and I would desperately search for ways to get out and do normal mommy things. This usually entailed dragging along the youngins‘ and risking public humiliation. For whatever reason, the mall seemed like the...
by Barbara | Jul 15, 2009
Ahh, it’s summertime again. Memories flood back to a time not so long ago, when all of our children played ball. We were living in Illinois and baseball is what you did with your children in the summer. If they could lift a bat…they could play organized ball. For...