by Barbara | Jul 22, 2020
It’s summertime again. Memories flood back to a time not so long ago, when all 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...
by Barbara | Jul 22, 2020
August 2016 If you have never visited the southwest you might not think anything grows here that doesn’t have a thorn. Our yard, like most in the desert, is a mixture of stone, grass, succulents and tropical plants. Now it goes without saying that water is a rare and...
by Barbara | Jul 22, 2020
May 2010 After the generous spring rains here in Phoenix, we have been blessed with an array of beautiful wildflowers and a rare green hue covering the mountainsides. We also have been overwrought with an abundance of weeds. One must take the good with the bad as they...
by Barbara | Jul 16, 2020
Healthy, fun, mutually supportive, respectful, and loving marriages are possible. These are not just the realities of your great grandparents’ generation and a few rare couples. No, it is a possibility for all married couples. In fact, it is within reach of even the...
by Barbara | Jul 11, 2020
Each day in our life is a new thread, and a tiny piece of the great tapestry of human history. On some level we understand this theoretically. We know we can begin anew each day. God allows start-overs and U-turns. Oftentimes however we get caught up in what feels...
by Barbara | Jul 2, 2020
We are but a few days away from another Independence Day holiday. I dare say this one will be different than the previous sixty I have been alive to celebrate. This year has been something of a disaster and an opportunity for all of us worldwide. We have had...
by Barbara | Jun 18, 2020
These infamous words uttered by God in the Garden of Eden are as relevant today as then. It was not as if God did not know where the newlyweds were hiding after their encounter with the serpent. Nor, that the temptation to eat from the forbidden fruit was too...
by Barbara | Jun 10, 2020
My children were convinced that I did not have a sense of fun or humor when they were growing up. I must admit that I took my job of mother a little too seriously. This is not to say that I anxiously hovered about them fraught with worry. No. It was more like I did...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
Previously, in my One Mom to Another post I shared a few thoughts on motherhood. I’d like to expand more on this notion of not comparing ourselves to anyone. No woman compares to another. You are the only one of you. There will never ever be another you. Yet, we can...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
My mother has been giving me this wise advice for decades. For many years I would smile and nod. You know the nod that respects the person giving the advice, but also concedes that they cannot fully understand the complexities of the situation. How could she? She...
by Barbara | Jun 8, 2020
“This is my Body given up for you.” These are familiar words we hear during the consecration at every Mass. Jesus so desired to redeem us, that He allowed Himself to be immolated on our behalf. He held nothing back. In looking at the Crucifix we should have no doubt...
by Barbara | Jun 3, 2020
These famous words are the final words recorded in Scripture coming from the Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember the story in John 2:1-11, the Wedding Feast at Cana? Mary let her Son Jesus know that they had run out of wine. It was a big deal then and a big deal even today....
by Barbara | May 27, 2020
"Why do you have to bring God into every conversation?” This seemingly simple question was posed to me by one of my daughters some years ago. I took the occasion to ponder the question. I believe contemplating our relationship with God is just as relevant today for...
by Barbara | May 21, 2020
Mark and I had the chance to go out to dinner now that the restaurants are starting to open inside. My sweet husband asked our waiter if it “felt good to be back?” To which he responded, “I just needed to get away from the kids.” In one sense, we got it. This has been...
by Barbara | May 15, 2020
There are the plans we make; and then there are God’s plans. Sometimes, they line up. Take for instance last week. I thought I had it all figured out. Easy trip to the airport with one small caveat, the necessary requirement of bringing the old family dog into the...
by Barbara | May 13, 2020
I sometimes feel like shag carpeting with lots of life left and great stories to tell- but not as vibrant and exciting as the new Berbers. Yet, I believe with all my heart, that God called me to ministry at St. Andrew the Apostle. God’s timing is perfect. Never in my...
by Barbara | May 7, 2020
Being a mom for thirty-six years has had an effect in every aspect of my life. I feel a real need at times, to mother the rest of humanity. Everywhere I look, I see ways to mother people. I cannot seem to help myself. The words just bubble up and I act without even...
by Barbara | Apr 29, 2020
We all eagerly await the time when we can return to Mass and receive the Eucharist. It has been a long Springtime away from the “Bread of Life.” The closer we get to something that we want, the harder it is to contain our excitement. So, it is with the Co-Vid 19...
by Barbara | Apr 25, 2020
Sitting here in the glory of this spring morning, a quiet breeze touches my cheek and tickles the leaves as it passes by. It’s intoxicating fragrance dances in my nostrils. Amazingly I am at peace, sucking in every possible ounce of this moment. I am usually running...
by Barbara | Apr 23, 2020
I would like to think that it all started with a “Y- cord.” Years ago, at one of my very first marriage prep classes, I got sucked into using more technology at St. Andrew’s when teaching. It has been a love/hate relationship ever since. Sometimes no matter how...
by Barbara | Apr 14, 2020
In the uncharted waters of this pandemic in our lives, the media seems to hyper-focus on all the pain, sadness, doom and gloom, they can possibly suck out of this current situation. Lots of armchair quarterbacks and back seat drivers point fingers on what should have,...