Currently my wife and I are going through our own storm.  In the midst of this storm, there are several stories that I've encountered that have been really helpful.  These are stories of how great faith can overcome any storm and result in a goodness that only God knew of.  There are no points or lessons in this episode.

I hope that you will find these stories helpful.  Sometimes stories can point out in our own lives the ways that we could be doing things better.  Sometimes stories can bring us to tears (that happened to me for one of them.)  Whatever your current state of life, I hope one of these stories is helpful to you.

Hopefully in the last episode I motivated you to think about and realize the importance you have in your childrens' lives.  In this episode, I want to give you 4 practical tips to better your participation and engagement to their development.

Fatherhood is difficult (well, so is all of parenthood.)  We cannot be good fathers (or mothers) without first having a good relationship with Jesus, and through Jesus, to the Father who is ultimately the one we must point back to.  Hopefully with this episode, you will find a few practical ways to up your game, and become the father you were meant to be.

Society in today loves to emphasize the role of mothers.  In honor of father's day, I'd like to offer you a discussion about why fathers are important.  It's so easy as a father to think that our role is less important.  Please note that I'm not trying at all to diminish the role of mothers, but instead to emphasize that fathers also do matter a great deal!

As a father you can have very powerful and important impacts on your childrens' lives in ways you may not even be aware of.  Specifically in topics like faith, your presence and actions are critical!  Hopefully this episode will help to reinforce this importance and motivate you to stay engaged!

Choosing the right thing to do has never been more difficult.  In today's modern world, we are bombarded by all sorts of bad messages that seek to lead us astray.  To survive this attack, we must be deliberate.

In this episode I discuss 6 steps to help determine what the right thing to do is.  It requires humility and honesty.  It requires assessing what it is that we want out of a situation.  While it is not easy, it always pays off in the long run.

Today many of us feel like we are stuck as a cog in a machine.  It's not easy to see why what we do actually matters. Without meaning, our lives start to feel like they don't really matter.  This is not how God intended us to live.

In this episode, I discuss 6 steps to recapturing meaning in your life.  You can find a purpose, but only through loving and serving God and others.  We need to all be willing to risk: risk our hearts, risk our comfort, even risk our happiness in order to find that love and purpose.

This content is condensed from a series of podcasts released by "Catholic Stuff You should Know."  It was a really great set of podcasts that I believed deserved a repackaging into a single space.  If you enjoy this podcast, I really suggest you go check out the originals as well!

Most people struggle with a shortcoming in one of the three theological virtues.  It has some interesting effects on your life.  In this episode, I discuss each virtue, the vice that comes from a shortcoming, and practical steps to help you overcome that vice.  As always, the first step is simply to become aware of what challenges you face, and bring them in prayer to the Lord.

There are two types of people in the world when it comes to communication styles.  Those who need to Talk in order to Think, and those who need to Think in order to Talk.  Whichever you are, you will have some challenges in communicating.  Most of the time, we tend to marry our opposites.

In this episode, I give each type of person 5 tips that will help you communicate more effectively.  Most importantly of all is to realize what type of person you are, and what type of person you are addressing.  As with all character aspects, there is no "right" or "wrong," there is only room to move towards compromise.

Suffering is inevitable.  The question is not if we will suffer, but instead what we will do with it.  Unfortunately, our society has a particularly low view on the value of suffering.  Jeff's book offers a different view.

Today I talk about the 7 big take-away points I got from reading this book.  By no means is this a replacement for actually reading it.  If you currently are in the midst of suffering, this book is a must-read.  It not only covers the theology and meaning of suffering, but the last chapter has 10 practical tips for what to do when you are in the midst of suffering.

If you did not catch the previous episode, make sure you go and listen!  Jeff was generous enough to allow me to call him and ask him several questions about suffering.  You will enjoy his answers!

Today is a special treat!  I was originally going to air this episode on Monday, but in honor of memorial day, decided to delay to Tuesday.  After all, very few people should be making their commute today!  I think, however, it is worth the wait.

Jeff Cavins is the author of the Bible Timeline series, a fantastic journey through the narrative books of the Bible that really connects it all together. His newest book, "When you suffer, Biblical keys for hope and understanding" is fantastic.  He talks about what all Christians can do when the inevitable suffering comes.

Today he was generous enough to give me the time to ask a series of questions.  He unpacks a lot of difficult and challenging topics on suffering.  The topics ranged from theology to practical steps in your own life.

Thank you so much Jeff for this great opportunity!

If learning to pray oneself is hard, teaching and leading your kids may seem nearly impossible.  Yet, if you don't do it (and let's be honest, it is primarily your job!) then who else will?  This is a super critical element of parenthood - teaching and communicating the faith.  Teaching children can be slow, painful, and frustrating.

In this episode I try to break it down a little bit into 7 practical steps that I have found useful to help my own children learn to pray.  You can start to build these basic habits and practices when they are very young.  It isn't easy, but it will carry great weight forward.  One surprising side benefit is that it helps to keep me more honest in my prayer life!