The Road You're On

Need some fresh air?

Gayle Trotter — Wed, 15 May 2013 00:44:57 +0000

"Jesus said, 'If you love me, you will do what I command.' Some people live on the 'Do what I command' side of that comma, but we need to get back to the 'If you love me' side of that comma. When you are in love, the relationship becomes this fresh air internal motivation." Gayle Trotter: I’m speaking with Pastor Chris Hodges, author of Fresh Air: Trading Stale...

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The Thorny Places with Shayne Wheeler

Gayle Trotter — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:11:44 +0000

"The only way we can go in and experience the transformative presence of Christ is to go in these difficult places assuming that we’re not coming back." Gayle Trotter: I’m speaking with Shayne Wheeler, author of Read the full post here »

Exceptional Gratitude

Gayle Trotter — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 16:55:32 +0000
"The way that you demonstrate exceptional gratitude is you give freely, from your heart, to those who are in need." Tommy Newberry spoke with me about his new book, 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life. With Christmas fast approaching, I wanted to share with you his thoughts on exceptional gratitude. Gayle Trotter: What does exceptional gratitude mean to you? Tommy Newberry: Exceptional gratitude is...
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Can Music Set You Free?

Gayle Trotter — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 19:03:36 +0000
Thanksgiving inspires us to pause and count our blessings of family and friends. Defiant Requiem, a new film showing Jewish life in the Nazi concentration camp Terezin, filled me with similar thoughts of gratitude and admiration. Many of the inmates of Terezin were musicians and artists. Despite living in wretched conditions of hunger, disease, and forced labor, the inmates relied on their art to give them hope and foster community. They staged plays, composed operas, and created...
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The Catholic Church has AIDS

Gayle Trotter — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 01:32:18 +0000
Offending seemingly everyone and everything is not easy. Still, the creators of “South Park” managed that feat in their 2004 movie “Team America: World Police.” The movie includes a scene depicting a Broadway production, “Lease,” a parody of the critically acclaimed, award-winning musical “Rent.” The parody riffs on life under the shadow of AIDS — Well I’m gonna march on Washington Lead the fight and charge the brigades There’s a hero...
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Beauty and Prayer

Gayle Trotter — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:24:29 +0000
“You possess a rare beauty, my love, in here,” Snow White’s mother tells her as she touches Snow White’s heart. “Never lose it.” The new film Snow White and the Huntsman captivates the audience with a dramatic retelling of the old fairy tale. The key themes are beauty, power, and the desire to avoid growing old. The film relies on beautiful scenery and costumes to transport the viewer to a time of medieval knights and French...
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A Fine on Faith?

Gayle Trotter — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 00:51:57 +0000
Tomorrow at noon, in cities all across the U.S., people will be gathering in support of religious freedom. These Stand Up for Religious Freedom Rallies follow the successful March rallies held in 145 cities across the nation, drawing 63,000 people. The rallies respond to the Health and Human Services federal mandate that requires almost all employers to provide through their health plans controversial medical procedures and...
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Ten Commandments: You decide

Gayle Trotter — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:42:09 +0000
Watching the HBO Sopranos series recently, I was captivated by the story of a mobster, Tony Soprano, who does horrible things to make a living and yet has to deal with the typical problems every father, son, husband, and brother have to face. The three episodes I have watched could be entitled “The Commandments We Do Not Keep: A Guide to Living an Immoral Life.” Some of the mobsters do not seem to have any pangs of guilt about their transgressions, but Tony Soprano’s visits to a...
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For Spiritual Power, Eat Lion Meat

Gayle Trotter — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:45:57 +0000
“I was introduced to dog meat,” President Obama recalls in his memoir, Dreams from My Father, recounting his experiences as a young child in Indonesia under the tutelage of his Islamic stepfather, whose “knowledge of the world seemed inexhaustible.” Obama’s stepfather fed the boy dog meat and other delicacies (snake, grasshopper) and promised to “bring home a piece of tiger meat for us to share,”...
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Professing the Faith

Gayle Trotter — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:01:23 +0000
At the Easter Vigil this year, the Catholic Church received me into full communion. Along the road to this night, Monsignor Peter Vaghi, pastor of the Church of the Little Flower, met with me over many months to teach me the Catholic faith. As a resource, we read four books he wrote about the pillars of the Catholic Faith. We began our discussion with The Faith We Profess: A Catholic Guide to the Apostles’...
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