Brandon Kraft

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Kindles, iPods and Lent

February 22, 2012 in Family Life, Lenten, Technology with 2 Comments

I bought a Kindle last October and loved it instantly. I’ve read a number of books, including the few reviews on this site since then. In fact, all of the books I’ve read since October have been on the Kindle.

Until now.

photocredit: flickr/tompagenet

I love books. I love having a bookshelf full of books. I admitted to myself when buying the Kindle that I would still buy the physical book if it was something that anticipate wanting to add to the physical library. In this case, I purchased The Emerging Diaconate by Deacon William Ditewig, PhD. My interest for the diaconate and my thoughts on this book are for another post, but I thought that I’d want to keep this one in physical form. Continue Reading…

The Need To Retreat

February 20, 2012 in Family Life with 2 Comments

We took a retreat this weekend. The whole family. All four of us.

I like the idea of taking a retreat annually, but have fallen out of the habit. In 2007, I took my last silent retreat at the Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House north of Dallas, TX. I attended a Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP or “chirp”) Retreat in 2010. This year, presented by the ACE Advocates of Austin and Dallas, the retreat focused on the topic of servant leadership.

The need to retreat is essential, whether or not you are religious. A retreat is a great time to step away from the typical grind and reset or recenter yourself. Like a vacation with purpose, the retreat allows you to slow down, enjoy life and remember what direction you want to follow.

photocredit: flickr/haveclipperswilltravel

In religious life, retreats are required. Canon law requires the bishop to ensure candidates for ordination have taken a recent retreat, bounds the religious to take an annual retreat, and dictates that the parish priest’s retreat is not to be taken from their “vacation time”. Continue Reading…

Heart or Wallet?

February 14, 2012 in Family Life with 2 Comments

I’m typically horrible about Valentine’s Day. Vanessa and I agreed early into dating that we weren’t going to do anything for the holiday. For her, that meant nothing big, but acknowledge it somehow. For me, that meant nothing, period.

photocredit: flickr/catbeurnier

This year, I decided to do a little. I still maintain that the holiday is primarily an attempt by the greeting card, chocolate, cheap stuffed animal and restaurant industries to get some positive sales numbers early into the year so the Christmas buying season has some padding. However, trying to do just a little something more to show your wife you love her is not a bad idea.

I executed a two-tier plan. Which approach would be more appreciated? Continue Reading…

Flaming Drumsticks

January 27, 2012 in Family Life with 2 Comments

Sometimes I’m a stereotypical guy. Of the many great and illustrious things I’ve done in life (no hyperbole there, no no), one of the activities I had the most fun was marching band in high school. Over the decade since high school, I’ve told my wife some of the many fun times had during those years.

photocredit: flickr/mike_miley

But, I, um, on occasion, would exaggerate. Brady and I doing a trick with our hats on the field during the last game our senior year would turn into:

You should have seen it, honey. Our senior year. Last game of the season. The entire drumline was in on this awesome gig. We soaked the ends of our mallets and sticks in kerosene the night before the game. During the last song, we lit the sticks and had this awesome flaming stick routine. We were throwing sticks between each other during rests, spinning them. It was incredible. I don’t know if Andrew’s eyebrow ever grew back.

The Sun Is Lazy (The Morning Routine)

January 12, 2012 in Family Life with 2 Comments

I went from posting about once a month to working on five-to-six a week so far in 2012. There is one single change in my life that made this possible.

The Morning Routine.

photocredit: flckr/atomdocs

Previously, we let the girls serve as our alarm clocks. They’d wake up before we’d want to get up, we could throw some clothes on them, stuff some food in us, get out the door to work in plenty of time. What more does someone need to do in the morning? As we evaluated how to improve our home life—get more personal time while not staying up as late—we realized something: our mornings must be more efficient.

Our morning routine: Continue Reading…