It’s been nearly a month since my last post. Things have been quite busy over at Nonprofit Productive and I confess that the tangible feedback I receive from that community makes it easier for me to invest in. If you feel I should still write here via this blog, drop me a line. It’s been quiet of late. Still, I have observations relate...

Every once in a while, you have to mix things up. This applies to meal planning at home, workouts at the gym and yes, morning prayer. I enjoy sitting by the glow of the Christmas tree in December and January. There’s just something about it. Still, by February, things had gotten stale. The tree was long gone. The visual stimuli of a la...

Longtime readers know that I’m a BIG fan of spiritual direction as an aid to the spiritual life. I’ve had bad directors, so-so directors and excellent directors over the years. My worst director, which only lasted a few months, was a fan of handouts. Mid-sentence, he would reach back and find a handout to address whatever we were discu...

It’s been said that Mother Teresa of Calcutta experienced years of spiritual dryness. Ditto for St. Teresa of Avila and countless other saints. Dryness is when your prayer life feels stale. You haven’t sensed God’s presence, physically or emotionally in a while. You feel like you’re going through the motions. Dryness happens- don’t be ...

You might think that the scandal of our time is that of clerical sexual abuse and it would be hard to argue against that. Still, I’m mindful of another Achilles heal in our church and it’s that of poor preaching. I once told a bishop and friend that I didn’t think that a man should be ordained unless he demonstrated a B or above abilit...

Not everyone can afford to go on a fancy retreat or purchase a monthly subscription to a prayer app. Thankfully, there's something that's free over at NPP that people have been loving: the Ideal Week Template. While I had originally designed this for people to organize their week, it's actually perfect for scheduling your prayer. See w...

The dam finally broke. After two years of being safe, prudent and healthy, one of our boys came down with covid. Then two relatives. Then our other son. Omicron is unpredictable and swift. From what I can tell, there’s only so much you can do about it. With someone in the house in isolation, evening prayers have turned into everyone st...

As the New Year approaches, we are often invited to reflect on the “top ten stories” of the past year and imagine the “trends that will define us in 2022”, etc. I actually love these quick reads (or watches if you’re a YouTube fan). One in particular which was fascinating was The Economist’s trends for 2022. I had no flipping idea what...

Good morning, here’s hoping that your Christmas was blessed. There are two times of the year that I absolutely love: -Thanksgiving weekend -The week after Christmas The former because it’s void of the pressures of gifting and consumerism. The latter because it’s a bit of an exhale…Christmas is over and we can look to the new year. To t...

I recently hosted an online event called the Nonprofit Productivity Summit and it was, without a doubt, one of the highlights of 2021. That and coaching my son’s soccer team but that’s another blog post for another day. In the lead up to the Summit, I decided to donate 10% of the profits to a local ministry called New Bethany Ministrie...

This time of year is stressful. Often, we’re not even aware of the stress and its affects on our bodies. Then, when you least expect it, you snap at someone or just plain feel tired. Here’s something I’ve been trying lately: breathing as a starter for prayer. It goes like this: 1. Take a deep breath in, closing your eyes to the count o...

When was the last time you changed it up with your morning prayer routine? I used to go to the gym with my friend Allan. He told me that he would do the same exercises for about a month and then mix things up. His body (and his head) would tell him when it was time to try out different machines and alternate movements. How about you wh...

Hi friends, quick note regarding the weekend after Thanksgiving. Don’t lose your inner peace by “having to go” to the store for a great deal. Ignore the emails flooding your inbox right now, urging you to spend, worry and rush. You really can save 100% by simply not buying stuff. Or, you can choose to wait and then buy things later, on...

Have you ever come across a person who is never satisfied with anything? It’s as if, no matter how hard others try, it’s never good enough. After a while, you begin to avoid that person. When it comes to The Quiet Life, the same principle applies. When you come across a negative source of media, best to steer clear. Recently, the US Bi...

We used to call them diaries but at some point, that word went out of style. Today, the chic term is “journal” and Barnes and Noble has a whole section dedicated to them. Turns out, writing is still pretty important. When it comes to your morning quiet time, a journal can be quite the asset. I’ve used DayOne for many years, logging tho...

What are you waiting for? A friend of mine is waiting for a situation with his son to improve. A relative waits for test results from the doctor. A neighbor waits for her daughter’s behavior to level out. We all wait for things. The question is, how well do you wait? I’d give myself a waiting grade of a C on a good day. As a New Englan...

The older I get, the more I say no to invitations to give workshops and talks. It’s just not an effective way to scale your business. Still, there are times when you get invited to something and just have to say yes. In this case, the old Catholic guilt kicked in and I agreed to give a 7am talk to a bunch of guys an hour away. The reas...

There is a disconnect I see for many who work for the Church. Their work is oriented towards serving those in need (good) but their desks are a mess (bad). We’ve come to believe that it’s ok to have an overflowing inbox as long as we are visiting the sick and praying every day. I don’t buy it. In workshops and seminars, a line that I l...

How’s your morning routine? This question has been on my mind lately as what used to be a quiet morning routine (in the Summer months) has become a busy, kids-bustling-around time of the day. Lunches are being packed, permission slips are being signed, clothes are being found, etc. For whatever reason, this morning was different. My ol...

Each of us knows what it means to feel bothered. We don’t think about it that often but you know it when you see it (or feel it). I coach my 10 year old’s soccer team along with another dad. It’s one of the highlights of the week. While we put in the effort to plan practices and execute a brilliant game plan, the kids on the team are s...

Today, October 1 is the memorial of The Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux. While I still contend that St. Francis de Sales is the “patron saint of The Quiet Life” due to his insistence on the avoidance of rushing, Therese may also be a member of the TQL team. This diminutive Carmelite nun changed the world through her “little way”,...

What is it that you bring to the Lord each morning during your time of prayer? Answering this question is a healthy exercise. Too often, we just launch into things when we pray. I need this, I want that, etc. Instead, pause to take a quick inventory: how are you feeling? What’s bothering you? What’s on your mind? The answer to these qu...

Look around- how much used furniture do you have in your home? For the past twenty years, our family has become virtual experts when it comes to used furniture. A desk here, a hutch there and before you know it, you’ve furnished your home with semi-decent stuff. After all, new furniture can be very, very expensive. Don’t get me wrong, ...

“I just don’t get it, when people talk about spiritual dryness…” the priest said. He scoffed at the idea that an individual would have a sense that God had withdrawn Himself from the relationship. The priest’s response struck me as out of touch with laypeople, who often say that their prayer lives are like sandpaper on hot day. Poll pr...

I had the pleasure of speaking to 500+ Catholic educators within the Diocese of Wilmington, DE last week about prayer. We spoke of the power of prayer, the importance of a daily routine and how to go about carving out time for prayer. In other words- be intentional. A prayerful life doesn’t just happen. It takes some effort on the part...

Today is the memorial of St. Augustine of Hippo, widely regarded as one of the Catholic Mount Rushmore saints in Christian history. He's a big deal. And, today's first reading from Mass is from 1 Thessalonians 4:9-11: Nevertheless we urge you, brothers and sisters, to progress even more, and to aspire to live a tranquil life, to mind y...

I noticed something unusual over the past year. Each time I would post something about the covid vaccines on Facebook, no likes, shares, comments or the like would show up. The first time, I thought it was unusual. After the third time, I started to think there might be something to it. In full disclosure, I’ve never posted anything in...

Happy Friday! As I mentioned a week ago, I’ve launched Nonprofit Productive in order to synthesize what I’ve learned from 25 years of working in nonprofit ministry. From schools to churches to national organizations- you pick up a few things. And, with 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., there’s a huge need for leaders who bring their ...

Today’s Gospel (Matthew 20:1-16) features the laborers and a landowner who pays everyone the same wage. Whether you worked an hour or a full shift, you got the full amount. When a worker protests, the owner tells him, with a big “I’m the Boss” sign, “I can do whatever I want.” I imagine the workers walked away. Half were delighted, the...

Before you say, “Mike’s losing his mind”, hear me out. Yes, I’m rereading a book that captured my attention earlier in the summer (Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Philippe) and yes it has nearly every page folded over for later perusing. With all of the books out there, choosing to re-read one that I just finished a ...