My 2013 Impacts. Happy New Year Everyone!

1. Theology of the Body 1: Head and Heart Immersion Course. As for my spiritual development and becoming a better person; this was the highlight of the year! This course was taught by Christopher West and was everything I had imagined. It taught me how to pray the prayer of agony, and go to confession and adoration. I could feel the holy spirit working through each one of us through the week. I highly recommend it. Here is a link to their website.  http://www.tobinstitute.org

2.  Teaching Theology of the Body at our local Parish: I was so excited after my TOB retreat that I couldn't wait to spread the word. I would like to do more courses in the future but realized how hard it was to squeeze a program into an already active parish.

3. My Kids Activities.  My two oldest boys are playing high school baseball and I get tremendous joy on watching them compete and watching their games in the Spring and Summer. Watching their skill sets improve on a year to year basis and hoping 2014 will earn a trip to the State  tournament. Go Josh and Matt!  Watching my youngest daughter dance around the house which translates in the annual dance performance at a local High School.

4. September floods in Colorado.  Maybe not a "best" event but certainly had the most impact on my job and our lives along the Front Range of Colorado. As a meteorologist we had never seen anything like the amount of water which dumped during several days during September. Over 10 inches of rain in one week at my house is unheard of. As of one our forecasters was quoted describing this event as "Biblical!"

5. Best Movies I've seen (not necessarily from 2013 but what I watched).

• Gravity 
• 42 
• 12 Years A Slave
• I Am (from 2010)   
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi

 6. Best Books:

• Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion
• Fill These Hearts by Christopher West
• Seven Levels of Intimacy by Matthew Kelly
• Entering the Castle by Caroline Myss
• Reread of Dark Tower 7, by Stephen King

7. Best and most Influential Music  (not necessarily from 2013):

•  Head and the Heart: "Shake"
• Army of Me: new album: "Searching for You"
• Cold Play: "Fix You" and the "The Scientist"
• MGMT: "Time to Pretend"
• Music from Natasha Paremski

8.   Road Trip to the desert Southwest of Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. The Grand National Park tour. Great time with the family in seeing some of the great beauty of the desert.

9.  Coffee dates with my wife: We try to allow ourselves some mini dates together breaking  up the busy schedules of the day. Even if its 30 minutes, a chance to catch up and breath.

10.  Studying the mystics of St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila. There is great vision here that I have yet to unpack.