Welcome to In.spired Living!

I thought it quite befitting that Lent began with Ash Wednesday colliding with Valentine's Day this year. Is that not actually the true purpose of Lent? To grow in real intimacy with Jesus? To fall madly and deeply in love with The One who loves our souls most perfectly? A dear friend and I were praying together on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and one of our intentions during that rosary was to "Fall more deeply in love with Jesus this Lent." Those words struck a place deep within my heart that I have been thinking about ever since. This year, I want to do Lent differently. We all can- if we come to see Lent from the perspective of growing in true intimacy with Jesus. 

When I was a little girl, up until my father passed away from brain cancer a few years ago, I would always rest my head on his chest and hear his heartbeat. There was a special divot there where my head fit perfectly, seemingly all my life, as if it had been formed just for me, or molded by my own head over the years.

Certain spiritual books have had such an impact on the traditions of the Christian faith that they are rightfully known as classics. They have shaped the landscape and shed immense light on the workings of God in our world or how we can and should interact with Him and with each other with the end goal of heaven in mind. This achievement in penmanship is not by their own human nature, but by the unmistakable imprint of the Divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit working through them to produce these beautiful treasures. Read on to learn about our new collection of spiritual classics! 

Once Advent comes to a close and the gifts from St. Nick have all been opened and put-away, most people think the Christmas season is over, but for Christians, especially more traditional Catholics and Orthodox Christians, the Christmas season, also known as Christmastide, has actually only just begun!  This is a great opportunity to keep the splendor and joy of the season alive and there are no shortage of feast days and celebrations to envelope the kids into! Here are a few ideas with which we celebrate in my home!  

If your family grew up with the same traditions as mine, you didn't know anything about St. Nicholas Day as a day independant of Christmas. It wasn't until my oldest started attending the local Catholic school that I started to learn about specific feast days associated with Saints, and of course, St. Nicholas being a fan favorite! Here are some great ideas for how to have a simple, but traditional and cute, St. Nicholas Day Feast with your family! 

“ The mystery and the beauty overwhelmed me and I couldn’t drink in enough of it. I decided it was time to start trying to do a better job of truly living liturgically. I started showcasing the vast beauty more proudly throughout my home, for my family and visiting friends to absorb, both subtly and in not so subtle ways. Don’t let my words fool you- there has been plenty of grumbling about it, and I'm sure there will be more, but in the end, it has been so worth it! My family has all grown in faith because of it.” Click to read on...