The Making Disciples Today Blog has reflections to help you grow in your journey of missionary discipleship, reviews on recommended Catholic evangelization resources, and practical insight on how to evangelize in your daily life.
- Details
- Written by: Kristin Bird
I need you to know this: I am philosophically opposed to making the bed.
It feels pointless. I’m going to mess it up again tonight. I’ve even sent my husband articles claiming it’s healthier to let the bed “air out.”
But here’s the thing.
My husband loves a neatly made bed. He honestly believes the world would be a better place if everyone pulled up the covers each morning. Decorative pillows? Don’t get him started.
So why do I sometimes make the bed, even when every fiber of my being resists?
Not because I’ve been convinced.
Not because he argued me into it.
I do it for one reason.
Because I love him.
- Details
- Written by: Kristin Bird
An Advent reflection on memory, longing, and the quiet ways God gets our attention
The smell hit me before the cold air even settled behind me. Hickory smoke. Spice. A smell I hadn’t bumped into in years. It landed in my chest before I had time to think about it, and suddenly I wasn’t standing in a little country grocery store. I was eight years old again, listening for the garage door and trying to guess how close Dad was to walking inside.
Growing up, my dad worked at Johnsonville Sausage, and most evenings he brought a bit of the plant home with him. The house carried that faint smoky scent by the time he stepped through the door. It wasn’t strong and it wasn’t unpleasant. It was just Dad. It meant he was home.
- Details
- Written by: Kristin Bird
Christmas can feel like a tug-of-war for parents. You want your kids to experience the wonder of the season, but you also want them to know that Christmas is about more than gifts and magic. It’s about a God who loves so freely that He gave us His Son.
I believe that the story of Santa doesn’t have to compete with Jesus. If we use the story well, Santa can actually help kids understand the true gift of Christmas.
- Details
- Written by: Kristin Bird
During Advent, we often hear the Gospel stories of John the Baptist, the one preparing people to meet Jesus. In Luke’s Gospel, when the crowds showed up in the wilderness to hear him, they asked a question that lies at the heart of this season:
“What should we do?” (Luke 3:10)
They wanted to be ready. They wanted to respond. And John did not give them a complicated plan.
“Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. Whoever has food should do likewise.”
Before Jesus ever preached a parable or healed a blind man, John was already teaching people how to live with open hands and open hearts. Advent still asks for the same posture.
Not frantic activity. Not spiritual performance.
A steady, generous readiness.
