Family
Finding Our Way to Heaven
We’ve been listening to Mike and Alicia Hernon’s podcast called Messy Families. One of their recurring messages for parents is: stop worrying about getting your kids to heaven – parenting is about helping you get there! When we first heard them say this it stopped us in our tracks. Mike and Alicia go on to…
Read MoreNatural Fertility – Hey What?
Couples in the world are adopting Fertility Awareness Methods (FAMs – what used to be called Natural Family Planning) with new vigour as they access them via smartphone apps. And it’s not only conservative Catholics and alternative lifestyle naturalists doing so – ordinary couples who just want a reliable, chemical free alternative are the keenest…
Read MoreOn Trend with Unbusy
Busyness has become a bit of a status symbol in our culture. Yet extreme busyness is not only detrimental to our inner life, it is also toxic to relationships. Some years ago, we enjoyed a week in New Zealand – about five days with some of our children and then two blessed days on our…
Read MoreLove in the Waiting
Advent is the season of waiting; we wait in anticipation of the coming of Christ. But are we the only ones doing the waiting? I (Francine) was hurrying to get out the door for 7am Mass. I looked at the time on the car clock and sighed in defeat: 6:58. There was no way…
Read MoreGratitude: Plant Now, Reap Later
As we look forward to the new year, lots of us are making resolutions, setting goals, planning for the coming months. Most of our colleagues in the marriage education field are posting articles about setting relationship goals – an excellent idea, but we’d like to propose something different. It has been well established that gratitude…
Read MoreTIME – The Currency of Relationships
There’s an old adage in the world of parenting advice: Kids spell LOVE as T.I.M.E. Kids don’t need things nearly much as they need a parent’s attention and availability. It’s a classic mistake we make all too often; we give them stuff we’ve bought instead of the thing they most need from us – our…
Read MoreEmbracing a Pro-Life Heart
As we celebrate Grandparents Day on July 27, we’re reminded of the profound role we play in nurturing a culture of life within our families. For us, being pro-life isn’t just about supporting the movement through donations and attending rallies – though those efforts matter. It’s about how we live every day, especially in our…
Read MoreThe Maybe Baby Conversation
How do couples decide when and how many children to have? The Maybe Baby Conversation can Help. During our engagement, we took lessons in a Fertility Awareness Method (FAM), then known as Natural Family Planning. Wanting to live a Catholic marriage, we accepted the Church’s wisdom and rejected contraception to follow her moral teaching.…
Read MoreTeaching love to university students
Later this year, population experts and pronatalists will meet in Texas to explore practical solutions to declining worldwide fertility. It’s one of several signs that attitudes to fertility rates are shifting. Fertility rates have been in decline for decades, and not just in developed countries like North America, Europe and Australia. China and India have…
Read MoreSpare the Left-Overs
It’s that time of year again – the season of joy and gluttony. By the time Christmas day is over, our refrigerator will be filled with yummy, delectable left-overs. Unfortunately, not all left-overs are so delicious. Too often in a marriage, instead of our best selves, we serve up the less than appetising left-overs. We…
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