God Wants to Change the World through your Marriage…

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
happy married

Rebecca Hamilton posted the full text of Pope Francis' homily from this past Sunday.  It is a terrific homily.  Very accessible and worth the read. The key theme of his message is the sentence, "Let us all remember this: one cannot proclaim the Gospel of Jesus without the tangible witness of one’s life." I'd like to unpack what this means for Catholic couples and families.  As Catholics, we recognize that marriage and family life is an important ministry of Church.  Most of us don't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marriage Leave a Comment

Men Can’t Read Women’s Minds

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
mindreader

From NBC News: To see whether men really did  have trouble reading women's emotions, Boris Schiffer, a researcher at the  LWL-University Hospital in Bochum, Germany and his colleagues put 22 men between  the ages of 21 and 52, with an average age of 36, in a functional magnetic  resonance imaging scanner, which uses blood flow as a measure of  to measure  their brain activity. They then asked the men to look at images of 36  pairs of eyes, half from men and half from women, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conflict Resolution, Gender, Marriage Tagged With: Leave a Comment

Coming Monday on More2Life Radio: You Just Don’t Get Me!

April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Coming Monday on M2L:  You Just Don't Get Me! -- A new study shows that men really can't read women's minds.  (I know, really?!?  But there's more to the study we'll share on the air.)    On today's program we'll look at the challenges of communicating our needs to our spouse. Call in with your questions about marital communication from Noon-1pm E (11am-Noon Central) at 877-573-7825. Don't forget our M2L FB Q's of the D:  1. What do you think makes it hard for couples to communicate … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conflict Resolution, Marriage, More2Life Radio, Popcak, Relationship Leave a Comment

How Big SHOULD Your Family Be?

April 12, 2013 By 3 Comments
babies

How do you know how big your family should be?  How do you know what Godwants?  Discerning family size is one of the most common concerns expressed by both listeners to my radio program and clients in my counseling practice. A lot of people use the phrase “responsible parenthood” but few understand the practical implications of the concept. It’s a phrase that’s found in the catechism as well as most of the Church’s documents on marriage and family life from Humanae Vitae to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Marriage, Popcak, Relationship, Sexuality Tagged With: , , 3 Comments

“Love is a climb, not a fall. I want to keep climbing with you.”

April 11, 2013 By 1 Comment

A powerful and beautiful post about what real love looks like between two people cooperating with God's grace to heal their simple human brokenness.  She writes... With swollen eyes, I woke up early the next morning to write an email. "Moses, I’ve made promises to be a committed and loyal girlfriend and I haven’t kept it. I have not given my best to you; I’ve only given you the leftovers. I’m sorry." As I hit SEND, I realized that an email from Moses was already waiting in my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Conflict Resolution, Marriage, Relationship 1 Comment

How do you make a man disappear?

April 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
ossy

Put him on trial for capital murder. The way reporters are handling the case of Kermit Gosnell (by not handling it at all)  is a travesty even considering the travesty that constitutes journalism today.  I'm used to the Liberal Ministers of Truthiness(TM) downplaying the March for Life or other Pro-life stories.  I've even largely come to accept that is just the way it is. But THIS?  This is an unconscionable conspiracy of silence.  We're talking about a man who was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: , , Leave a Comment

What Does It Take to Create a CATHOLIC Home?

April 11, 2013 By 4 Comments
catholichome

What does it mean to create a Catholic home?  To some, it primarily has to do with the customs and traditions a family celebrates.  To others, it has to do with the art and sacramentals (e.g., crosses, statues, holy pictures, etc) that adorn the house and remind the family of Christ's presence in their everyday lives.  Still others might point to the charitable works their family is involved in.   And, of course, it has everything to do with celebrating the sacraments--especially the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church, Parenting, Popcak, Relationship, Spirituality Tagged With: 4 Comments

The Eff-ingCC– Federal Communication Commission to Allow F-Word/Nudity on Network TV

April 10, 2013 By 2 Comments
f word

Please take a moment of your time to let the FCC know that you expect them to maintain what few decency standards remain in place. The Federal CommunicationsCommission wants to loosen on nudity and expletives, including the "F-word." This would include hours when children may be watching. In the years since the pop start Janet Jackson's Superbowl "wardrobe malfunction," the FCC has faced a large number of obscenity complaints. But then the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2012 that the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting Tagged With: 2 Comments

Feel Insecure in Relationships? Healing the Roots of the Problem.

April 10, 2013 By 2 Comments
insecure

Last week we had a vigorous discussion (here and here, in particular) about the pseudo-scientific claims of the "cry-it-out" method of sleep training.  Specifically, I challenged the junk science that claims that letting a baby cry-it-out works  because it teaches a baby to "self-soothe."  We discussed the absolute absence of any evidence whatsoever from developmental psychology and neurology that an infant or toddler has any ability--or even potential ability--to self-soothe (a skill … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Anxiety, Parenting, Popcak, Relationship Tagged With: , 2 Comments

It is Not Good for Man to be Alone

April 10, 2013 By Leave a Comment
change

Genisis 2:18 tells us, "It is not good for man to be alone."  The theology of the body builds on this idea to assert the donative meaning of our body and science has ample examples of why people are social by nature.  Add this one to the list. According to new research, if you're struggling with self control, the best way to achieve it is to surround yourself with strong-willed friends. We all desire self-control -- the resolve to skip happy hour and go to the gym instead, to finish a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Counseling, Health, Mindfulness, Personal Wellness, self-help Tagged With: Leave a Comment