Welcome to the site where I’ll be blogging my journey into (and within) the Catholic Church. More than a decade has passed now since I was received into Holy Mother Church and I won’t say it’s always been easy. But I will say that it has been powerful, intense, joyful and life-changing. The best thing I ever did was say Yes when I heard that still small voice calling me. I’m still learning to say yes. Things always work out better when I do. Listening, that’s important to learn, too. Of course, I’m still learning about that. Sometimes I don’t listen very well at all. (Everyone around me knows this. I was the last to know.) But enough about me. Let’s talk about the blog. And what I’ll be talking about on the blog.

• I’ll be talking about the books I’ve been reading by some of my favorite authors (Scott Hahn, Pope Benedict XVI, Fr. Frank Pavone, and the late Pope John Paul II, for example).
• Some conversations I’ve had with friends, family and other strangers over the years (and especially this past year) have led me to ponder the plight of the pro-life movement and I’ll be offering some thoughts here about pro-life and other issues those conversations brought to my mind.
• I’ve been reading the Bible again. I read it from cover to cover when I was young Methodist (either in the eighth grade or maybe early high school, I can’t remember which). And I’ve participated in various Bible studies these past few years as a Catholic. But my study is deeper this time. I’m using materials by Scott Hahn, Tim Gray, Fr. Mitch Pacwa and others, and praying before studying and after it too. How different Bible study is when you add prayer to it! So I’ll be offering here some of my own thoughts and meditations on what I’ve read and learned.
• I re-read JPII’s The Gospel of Life recently and I’m currently studying it along with Fr. Pavone’s book, Ending Abortion, Not Just Fighting It; so I’ll be writing about that too.
• My devotion to the Rosary and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy grows ever deeper, so I plan to write about that.
• I also have some other projects in the works, some involving music and other audio. I can’t say much more about those yet; it’s still too early.

Well, that should give you an idea about some of the things you’ll find here as I blog away in my new favorite hangouts. I recently discovered a library a few miles from home offers free wifi, and so do some of my favorite coffee shops. This was welcome news after I canceled my home internet access account to save some money. Gets me out of the house and there’s a nice park right down the road from the library. I’ve already gone from 140 pounds to under 115 (closer now to 110), so that’s a definite plus.

My new favorite coffee shop has excellent regular coffee with free refills and really good soup and sandwich combinations. But it’s not right down the road, so I won’t be going there as much as I’ll be going to the library. Or I’d be gaining all that weight back really fast!