Author Archives: Taylor Family

Tis a Gift to be Simple…

By | November 13, 2012

This has been a very American kind of week. What do I mean by that? Hmm…yeah. In one of my previous incarnations, the one as a suburban soccer mom, rushing was a way of life, and the family calendar in multiple formats was indispensable. Trying to keep up with school meetings, husband’s night meetings, at least two soccer teams, my own work schedule, church stuff, and yet trying to maintain a strong family life was totally and absolutely crazy!! The next incarnation, as a Lifeteen missionary

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Remain in Me

By | May 14, 2012

John 15: 1-8 Remain in me. This comes from Jesus talking to His disciples. In the Gospel of John, especially, it is extremely straight forward. My wonderful son pulled this one out as the “Word of the Day” – to live by for the day. It got me thinking. For me, on this particular day, in this particular situation, there is almost a double meaning. I can take “remain” to mean something like “remain in this situation, remain as a missionary in this foreign country, remain in learning how to live

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Does Ketchup Make an Elephant Taste Better?

By | April 24, 2012

By: Chuck Taylor Okay, we’ve heard this before, right? “How do you eat an elephant?” “One bite at a time” is the age-old answer. It is this rather worn out illustration, though, that has been my view of Life Teen Mission –Germany. This coming Wednesday will mark only our first month in Germany, yet I find myself already looking for some fruit to come from our efforts so far. Is it too early to look for results? Maybe, if I am looking for the German people to repent like the biblical Ninevites

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God’s Schedule, Not Ours

By | February 28, 2012

There are two things that have been running through my mind lately during holy hour. Usually when things keep re-popping up in my little mind, it’s a sign that God is trying (and re-trying) to tell me something. One of the things is, “Girl, would you please work on your German?!” That one is fairly self-explanatory since we are heading to Germany, and my German is a little rusty. The other thing, however, keeps unfolding. In Matthew 26:39, Jesus says, “Not what I want, but what You want,” in

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The Giant Present From God

By | December 26, 2011

By: Chuck Taylor During Jesus’s life here on earth, the center of the Jewish faith was the temple in Jerusalem. The temple was on a hill in the center of the city. In the middle of the temple was an even more special place, the Holy of Holies: the place where God lived. The Holy of Holies was separated from the rest of the temple by a heavy curtain. Only the Chief Priest could enter this area, and he could only do that one day a year, during Passover. God was veiled from those who came to worship

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A Rewarding Balancing Act

By | November 8, 2011

Being at Covecrest has really brought us closer as a family, and also makes us examine constantly what it means to be a family in the Catholic Church. All of us, from Chuck down to Chelsea, are having to figure out how our calling as missionaries meshes with our roles in the family. We’re used to balancing professional lives or school lives with home life, but if you’re a missionary, it’s a 24/7 thing. And so is being a family. How do those two fit together? We are all committed to this mission,

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Family and Prayer

By | October 18, 2011

By: Chuck Taylor We, the Taylor Family, recently moved to Covecrest to become full-time missionaries.  Our daily lives at Covecrest are filled with work, classroom instruction, daily community prayers (morning and evening), our individual prayers, and almost daily mass.   So I guess the first question that would arise is: what is the impact of this new routine on our family?  It certainly takes some getting used to, and we are all still working on that. There are, however, some very rewarding

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