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Are you going to NCYC or NCCC? Let’s meet.

I’m pumped to fly Thursday morning to Indianapolis for the National Catholic Youth Conference (where I’ll sign books) and the National Catholic Collegiate Conference (where I’ll sign books and speak).

Will you be there? Let’s meet. Here’s where you’ll find me:

  • I’ll have a #ChastityIsForLovers table, where at break times Thursday and Friday (and maybe Saturday morning?), I’ll sell and sign books and shirts (and probably take a lot of selfies, let’s face it) in the gathering area outside the Marriott Ballroom on the second floor of the Indianapolis Marriott Downtown.
  • I’ll sign copies of Chastity Is For Lovers at the Ave Maria Press booth at NCYC from 1 to 1:30 p.m. Friday.
  • I’ll speak about practicing chastity in a culture that calls it crazy in an NCCC breakout session at 2 p.m. Friday in Ballroom 1.

I’d be grateful for the opportunity to meet ya (or to see ya again if we’ve already met!). Stay tuned to Twitter and Facebook for updates.

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8 important love quotes you need to read.

A book called Let Yourself Be Loved: Transforming Fear Into Hope has gone down in history as the book I was reading when a red pen exploded in my hand on a flight from Tampa to Atlanta.

But whatever I underlined when the pen exploded was worth the trouble because this book — which is short and easy to read — rocked my world. It is written by Phillip Bennett, a clinical psychologist and Episcopal priest who dissects the fears that get in love’s way and reminds us: perfect love casts out fear.

Here are eight of my favorite quotes you need to read from the book (which, let’s face it, you also need to read): Continue reading “8 important love quotes you need to read.”

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Yes, I am single.

[callout]This is a guest post by Rachel (Clare) Teague, who graciously agreed to let me share this with you.[/callout]

rachel clare
Rachel (Clare) Teague

Dear All Concerned with My Future: Yes, I am single.

That doesn’t mean I’m going to be single for the rest of my life. It doesn’t mean I can’t “get a man.” It doesn’t mean I’m depressed and terribly lonely.

What it means is:

God, my almighty Father, wants to take me on a walk, just the two of us, for a while. He wants to shower me with the beauties of life, even those that hurt and scare me like hell itself.

He wants me to be His little girl, until I am ready to grow into someone’s wife, support, soulmate, best friend, lover, debate partner, dance partner, and all around third-biggest fan. (God and Mama Mary are numbers 1 and 2, respectively.) Continue reading “Yes, I am single.”

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Where are all the good men?

As somebody who has written a lot about dating, I have gotten a lot of feedback from single adults — ladies and gentlemen who haven’t tied the knot and want to, who routinely ask an honest question.

“Where are all the good men?” or, “Where are all the good women?” The question is probably rooted in each person’s not so satisfactory experiences — the guys she meets aren’t into her, the girls he’s into aren’t into him. Some can’t get dates and others don’t enjoy the dates they get. Continue reading “Where are all the good men?”

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Why do I avoid God?

This CS Lewis quote has stuck with me since I saw it the other day:

“We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”

I am suddenly aware that lots of my decisions to pick TV or a snack or a book over prayer probably are not rooted in laziness, or in malice, or in anxiety over whether I will hear from Christ when I sit with him, but in anxiety over what he’s going to tell me when I do.

What project or vocation or choice or change will he invite me toward? What wherewithal will it require that I don’t think I have? How painful is the transition to it going to be, whatever it is?

I wonder if a lot of people who avoid God avoid him not because they are busy or lazy or unbelieving but because they are comfortable — not because they don’t think he is real but because deep down they know he is. Continue reading “Why do I avoid God?”