About Me
I am the author of Souls at Rest: An Exploration of the Eucharistic Sabbath, Souls at Work: An Invitation to Freedom, and Souls at Play: Reflections on Creativity and Culture. Catholics Communicate Christ (self-help for the Church), A Harmony of Healing (faithful Catholic considers alternative healing), Sabbath Simplified (A seven-week retreat that will change your life!), my Freedom Trilogy (elegant lessons in freedom), Upschooling (twelve of my most popular homeschool conference keynotes) and A Destiny to Burn (a collection of my poetry with companion essays) are all available through Amazon. I speak for conferences and retreats, and contribute poetry, book reviews and feature articles to Catholic journals and blogs, and enjoy podcast coversations.
My desire is to offer what St. Pope John Paul II called for as a response to our times: recapitulation of the human person. I designed the workshops Playing with Words, and The Place of Poetry in Catholic Formation for parent educators and for teacher in-service training at Catholic schools. I serve fellow Catholics as a spiritual mentor (or freedom coach), using the three workbooks in my ‘freedom trilogy’ as the basis for a practice of Christian freedom rooted in everyday challenges and opportunities.
I am the director of the Joy Foundation, a founding board member for Kansas City’s Chesterton Academy and for the Catholic Academy of Sacred Music, and editor for the school’s blog Wonder & Joy. I host adult enrichment seminars, offering a pithy digest of great books then leading lively discussions with people who don’t have time to read.
I have long been interested in building Catholic community, developing integral Catholic networks, investing in Catholic cultural initiatives, stimulating great conversations, and reweaving the ‘missing middle’ in people and institutions. I am currently working on the publication of a family read-aloud picture book, Dance of the Scarecrows.
I am ‘Living Poet’ on Substack. Please join me for the fun I’m having in the adventure of growing up in all things unto Christ!
Russ is the founder of my feast, the basket for my hot air balloon, the banks of my river, the oyster for my pearls. He and I have eight children, and thirteen grandchildren. We live just north of Lawrence, KS with our cocker spaniel, Dooley. We worship at the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, as Russ is a professor at the University of KS.
Dooley in my office…