Welcome

I am a Catholic Christian who is truly grateful for God, His Son Jesus Christ and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

These insights did not come overnight.

There were many seasons in my life where I went through difficult challenges where I just didn’t have answers.

And there will be more of them to come.

You may be in a difficult season right now.

One of the techniques that helped me through a difficult season was reading the Bible with a reading plan.

I highly recommend
my.bible.com/reading-plans

There are thousands of topics to look through, and great devotionals that help you through your difficult season.

May you find His Peace, Wisdom, Understanding, and Love in your journey.

January used to be a very difficult time for me.

For years I would go through the holiday season starting with Halloween through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s. It’s always a very busy time of the year in my industry.

It is a time that can be filled with joy, gratefulness and reflection. But for several years I would get through the season and be very depressed.

Part of it was realizing that I hadn’t accomplished the things that I wanted to do in the previous year. Part of it was feeling overwhelmed and being in the middle of winter and not having the inspiration to move forward. It was quite daunting. More

When our family went to Kilmainham Gaol (“gaol” means”jail” in Gaelic) in Dublin, Ireland this spring we learned about the Easter Monday Rebellion in 1919 which eventually lead to Ireland’s independence.

We also learned about techniques that were implemented in the jail to “help” prisoners.

Complete isolation in the form of solitary confinement was common practice.

Jailers believed that if prisoners were left alone with their thoughts in isolation, it would lead to rehabilitation.

Over time, they learned quite the opposite.

They discovered that isolation leads to the complete mental and physical health breakdown in prisoners.

To correct this, the administrators created windows in the jail to allow prisoners to see daylight and interact with other prisoners.

It might not lead to a turn around with prisoner’s behavior, but it did improve their health.

Here’s a takeaway, I want to share with you that I learned from Kilmainham Jail. We have to learn not to isolate. even when we’re in pain. There is a tendency to retreat and to lick our wounds.

We have to fellowship with God and others because isolation doesn’t heal

The healing comes when we admit and share our hurt.

One of the ways that we can let God in is by turning to our friends. We can share our pain, and our friends can help us as we go through some rough patches.

It’s how it’s supposed to work. We were not created to be alone. We were created to be in relationship with one another.

I find this so helpful when I’m going through the rough patches. Reaching out and talking, sharing, trying to get through it… It’s what it’s supposed to be.

If you’re hurting today, reach out to someone who knows you dearly. They will help you through this, and God will help you as well.

Maybe you are at that point where you are done.

You’ve been stuck in a cycle, a pattern. You can’t seem to get a break.

It probably feels like everywhere you go, or whatever situation you find yourself in next, you get punched in the gut.

I remember having those moments in my life where I thought “Enough is enough, I don’t like the answers I’m getting.”

I didn’t like that a school system kept saying, “We can’t offer more services” for my son Duncan to help with his autism.

I didn’t like kids calling me fat when I was 12 going through an incredibly stressful year emotionally and psychologically. A year where I kept eating to stop the pain.

I didn’t like people telling me that I had to get a job that I hated and dreaded in order to stay alive.

Maybe you’re going through one of those life changes now.

That moment where “Enough is enough!”
That moment where you’d rather take the leap and the chance, instead of being stuck in the same cycle of frustration and pain.

There’s pruning that has to happen in life in order to make room for new growth.

It’s going to hurt, but it is so, so worth it.

“…and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” John 5:12

Greg McKeown’s “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” should be mandatory reading for creative workers. 

It’s a book that challenges you to say “no” to those things in your life that do not utilize your best skills and talents.

I’ve written before about the power of saying “no.”  “Essentialism”, which I first heard about from Michael Hyatt’s blog, truly goes deeper into the idea of say “yes” to the right things in life.

Here are three major concepts from the book I’d like to share…

Make sure that you commit your time to something that is worth it.

What are you investing your time in? 

McKewon shares a personal story that changed his way of thinking. He and his wife were expecting the birth of his son. They knew the child would be born through the Cesarian procedure, so a date for the delivery had been set.   More

“We would like you to be a part of Fantasy Fair.”

These were words I was not expecting to hear. I had been hired to go into a new musical comedy show that was starting at Disneyland.

I had gone through the audition process and had done all right, but there was a concern.

I can sing, but dancing is not in my wheelhouse.

The director took a chance and offered me the job.

I accepted and I was scared.  Sure I could perform comedy with some ease, I’d been doing that for nearly two decades.

But dancing? Oh boy…

It took a lot of work.

Here’s what helped me get through the process:

• Persistence and perseverance

I’d record the choreographers dancing on my phone. Then I’d transfer the video to my laptop and watch the video playback in slow motion.

I would literally force my body to imitate the moves I saw the choreographers and other performers do.

My family would catch me rehearsing the steps in the middle of our living room on my days off from work.

I would show up each morning 45 minutes early for rehearsal and practice the dance steps in the parking lot.

Even during our breaks I would slowly review and go over the steps again and again and again.

• Partnering

My friend, Mark McConville was my partner in arms during the process.  It was a challenge for him too but we bonded during rehearsal as we tried to master the steps.  More