Jake Frost is the author of Catholic Dad, (Mostly) Funny Stories of Faith, Family and Fatherhood to Encourage and Inspire, a $0.99 e-book on Amazon. He is a lawyer in hiatus, having temporarily traded diapers for depositions and kitchens for court rooms to care for his pre-school aged children. He comes from a large family in a small town of the Midwest, and lives near the Mississippi River with his wife and kids.
My wife and I sat on the couch, the room dark except for a strand of colored lights wound around the Christmas tree and the flickering candles in the Advent wreath. We’d just finished reading our Advent reflection and saying the Rosary. Now we sat together and watched snow swirl outside the window. This time […]
Our three year old daughter Liz was in the backseat of the car while my wife was driving. Mom made a wrong turn. “Grrr,” my wife grumbled, “wrong turn!” From the backseat Liz’s voice chimed: “Recalculating!” That made my wife crack-up. But while Mom was laughing out loud, Liz didn’t see the humor. “That’s what […]
Over the years of my childhood, I experienced a transformation of Halloween. When I was young, we donned costumes and wandered the neighborhood with Dad trick-or-treating, and always had a good time. Mom’s seamstress skills and ninja-mad crafting capabilities helped create some fantastic Halloween-night ensembles. She sewed Dracula capes and fuzzy Daniel Boone coon-skink caps. […]
Joseph journeyed all the way To Bethlehem and Christmas Day Beginning, as good things often do In prayer to He Who makes things new Zechariah turned to God in prayer To ask that God show him where To find the man who should be Wed to the Queen of Galilee Wonder! An angel in answer […]
When I was a kid my Mom used to embroider old sayings and decorate them with stitched designs and images. When they were finished she’d frame them and hang them on the walls, so that walking through our house was a little tour through the patrimony of wisdom from the ages, all arrayed in a […]
I was talking to my Dad one Sunday evening while I stood in the backyard flipping burgers on the grill. “How was your weekend?” Dad asked. “Fine,” I said. “We didn’t do much; the lake yesterday in the morning then cooked out some steaks in the evening. Today it was church in the morning, then […]
My five year old daughter told me: “Dad, I know what you call stars that draw a picture: consternations.” I chuckled, but thought: No dear, a consternation is when you refuse to eat your dinner for no good reason. I also overheard her explaining to her four year old sister: “The word asteroid has two […]
My five year old daughter and I were playing a guitar duet together. On just one guitar: I fingered the chords, she strummed the strings. While she strummed, she made-up her own lyrics. This is a regular activity for us, and even without guitar accompaniment she loves to “write her own songs.” On the day […]
Catholic Family Fun by Sarah Reinhard is a great book—a great book. Two thoughts kept coming to me as I read it, the first was: Wow! My kids would love this! The second was: Hey! I could totally do this! And having field tested a bunch of things from the book, I’m glad to report […]
Valentine’s Day is a big deal around our house. Our first child was born on Valentine’s, and she loves all things pink, pretty, and frilly. And chocolate. She loves her princess shoes, sparkles, fancy hair doo-dads (she’s also asking me for hair rollers, and she’s only five), hearts, ribbons, make-up, purses, clothes (the more sequins […]
As she approached the hall where the wedding celebration was to be held, Mary was attentive to the individual people within the groups swirling around the festivities. She was aware, although not particularly conscious, of a certain deference that was accorded her and her son as they quietly made their way to their places. She […]
Lisa Hendey—Mrs. Catholic Mom herself—wants to be on Survivor. And ride a Harley. And after reading this book, darned if I don’t think she’ll do both. The Grace of Yes is a wonderful mix of stardust and Crisco—a blending of the mystical with getting dinner on the table. For example, Hendey notes: “I’m continually challenged […]
Life is more about getting up than it is about not falling. So my father commented once, long ago, when (of all things) we were watching figure skating. It wasn’t just any figure skating, though, it was the return of Scott Hamilton after his battle with cancer. For those too young to remember, Scott Hamilton […]
I was sitting in the easy chair at home when my five year old daughter Liz said, “Dad, I want to whisper something to you,” and put her lips to my ear. When her four year old sister Stephanie saw Liz whispering in my ear, she hurried over to the other side of the chair […]
We were having oatmeal for breakfast, and the one-year-old handed me his spoon and said: “Feed!” He likes it when I feed him sometimes (as in: as often as I’ll agree to). The morning in question he was just too cute to turn down, so I took the offered spoon and started feeding him. He […]
I just finished Dr. Paul Niskanen’s wonderful Catholic Courses class, The God of the Old Testament. It’s delightful. Full of “ah-hah” moments on a range of topics from historical oddities (I had no idea where the name “Jehovah” came from) to deep theological revelations, it packs some serious scholarly punch—all delivered in an engaging and […]
On a hot summer day the kids and I were headed to the grocery store. Our house doesn’t have air conditioning and it gets hot—the thermometer in the living room read 85 yesterday—at 9 PM!—so when we’re in the car we try to make up for it. We had the air conditioner cranked up as […]
From Dust To Stars God said to Abraham, “Look and see The dust upon the earth, For so shall your descendants be In you shall nations have their birth.” But later God said, “Look now and see The stars up in the sky For no more as dust shall your descendants be But as the […]
Tomorrow The morning comes swift and bright And sleep is fleeting as a bird in flight So take your rest while you can While the silver moon sails silent over land Worry not over what you should have done Over what lies unfinished or unbegun The day once passed shall not return And worry will […]
My poor Dad. He made a ton of money his whole life. But he never had any. Instead, he had kids. Lots of them. Of course, when I was younger I never considered things from the perspective of my parents. The good things they gave us, as far as I could tell, were like the […]
The Ones Who Went Before Past vales deep and mountains steep Where wild rivers run Where secrets keep and dragons sleep Hidden from the sun There tall stones stand upon the land Raised in days of yore A lasting brand and mark for man From the ones who went before The ones who made the […]
I have a bone to pick with Jennifer Fulwiler: she kept me up late for about week reading her book, Something Other Than God. And we’ve got four kids aged five and under, so sleep is at a high premium around here. I wasn’t planning on reading Something Other Than God at all right now. […]
What’s the most widely read literature of the 20th century? According to an informal, non-scientific poll (consisting of me and Mom, who happened to be talking about this on the phone), it’s not Pride and Prejudice, or The Lord of the Rings—it’s the cereal box. Now, obviously that’s not because packaging prose is particularly powerful. […]
A Mother’s Golden Heart Even before the start Of life’s first dawning day I had a golden heart To guide me on my way Shining bright before me Golden as the sun Constant as the certainty Of the new day yet to come Gentle as the morning dew Upon the petals of the rose Patiently […]
