You Can’t Make Me Be Catholic: When Faith is Forced on You

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I’m kind of a quitter, guys… I think, in my childhood, I tried almost everything once, and then quit almost everything. There was soccer, in 2nd and 3rd grade. I was the goalie because I hate running… Turns out, even the goalie has to run at practice. That was about […]

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What Makes You Awesome

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I’m not good enough. I’m not strong enough. I’m not cool enough. Nobody loves me. These little voices use to mull around in my brain on a daily basis. Am I enough? I remember hanging out with my friends and watching how their awesomeness shined through them. This was a […]

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The God of Sticky Notes

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Two weeks ago, I woke up to no less than nine sticky notes posted in the bathroom. Each of them, brightly colored, framed the mirror above my sink. It took me a moment to realize they were even there (I am not a morning person) and another couple of minutes […]

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Jesus Ruined My Senior Year

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It was a Saturday night and I was completely alone. I had cash in my pocket and gas in my truck but I had no friends anymore. The phone was not ringing. The silence was a deafening reminder to how ‘sad’ my social life had become in a very short amount of time. This had never happened to me in my previous three years of high school. My senior year was supposed to be epic! Instead it was growing increasingly lonely and there was only one person to blame: Jesus.

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I’m Sorry I Walked By: An Open Letter to Peter

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I don’t know how many thousands of people walked by you, never looking at you, even turning their eyes away from you. I don’t know how many people insulted you to your face and behind your back. I don’t know your past, where you had been, or what brought you to that corner on that day.

All I know is that I was one of those thousands of people who just walked by.

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You’re Kind of a Big Deal

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Think about the coolest thing you've ever made and how excited you were to show it to your friends and family. You didn't find your best creation to be boring, stupid, and ugly. If you had designed the iphone 5, you'd be pretty stoked to show the whole world your handiwork.

Now imagine you had the power to create a person who could think and feel . . . and possibly love you back. I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty obsessed with my person.

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This Is My Body: One Girl’s Journey From Doubt to Belief

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Joanna and I became friends in college, when I was a junior and she was a freshman. Her family had converted to Catholicism when she was a teenager and she struggled to embrace their new beliefs. I was a theology major who loved my Catholic faith and a good discussion. Joanna would often knock on my door, offer me a pudding snack, and spend hours grilling me about the Church.

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