Category: Life
-
On being faithful in the small things
It’s amazing how people (and fictional characters) show you who they really are. It’s human nature to assume that we can let little things slide and not hold ourselves to account for them–to tell ourselves that they don’t matter. We all do this, at least from time to time. The truth is, as I’ve heard…
-
Thankful Thursday: Thankful for Cajun and Creole food
Jambalaya. Chicken and Andouille Gumbo. Fried Shrimp Poboy. Crawfish Etouféé Red beans and Rice. I grew up around New Orleans, and while I’ve moved away and returned more than once, I returned most recently in 2020 and have been living around that area since. Besides my family, the best thing about living here is the…
-
Will, Intellect, and Empathy/Emotion
I read in a book by Peter Kreeft that there are three dimensions to the human heart considered in the deepest, fullest, most inclusive sense: the human power of the will, the intellect, and our emotions. All can guide us. All clamor for attention. I was FASCINATED when he mentioned various literary trios who tend…
-
Sunday Reflection: When you have a problem with someone
In this week’s Gospel passage at Mass, Jesus tells us what to do when we have a problem with someone. Now, this passage (from Matthew 18:15-20) is often used by Catholics to show that Jesus intended to create an institutional Church, and I don’t disagree with that. (I AM Catholic precisely because I understand this…
-
Thankful Thursday: Let’s talk about coffee
My sister works in forensics/pathology, and she has confirmed that my family has a gene that means we process caffeine a lot faster than other people. I’m not sure whether I have that particular gene or not. I do drink coffee (usually two cups a day, one in the morning with prayer and one in…
-
What I miss about academia
I was doing well in my doctoral program in Spanish literature before I withdrew in 2013. (I was lucky to be on fellowship. They had been paying me to teach undergrads and covered my tuition, so I didn’t have any loans). I had finished my coursework but still had to take oral exams and write…
-
I’M BACK!!! My first real royalties in ten years just paid out
YEARS after taking down my trilogy to completely re-edit (professionally) and re-release in comprehensive second edition installments, my first royalties on the second edition of “The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope” just paid out. This comes a day after someone commented on Facebook that my book had them “enthralled,” and it will “live rent-free…
-
On work
We celebrate Labor Day today in the US. I’m working half a day for time and a hal.f (I’m in the healthcare industry re: day job and we needed a skeleton crew today). This feels like a great day to reflect on work. Work can be a drudgery and a frustration, but it truly is…
-
Sunday Reflection: Take up your cross
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” It’s hard…
-
Thoughts on the comfort zone
I went on a Catholic women’s retreat this weekend that took me way out of my comfort zone. I am glad I went. I am still not entirely sure why God wanted me there. I certainly gained something in the way of community, and had some things reinforced about what my spiritual gifts are. So…
Creative Writing with the Crimson League 