David Ancell / Friday, May 16, 2014 / Comments(0)
I have heard, and I believe, that there is a “God-shaped hole” in each of us. If we don’t give our lived to God, we are going to give our lives to something to try to fill that hole. That something will never satisfy us because we were made for God. However, I wonder how it is perceived by people who do not believe. I have to think that God would make it possible to know what it is that is missing as he is madly searching for us. He loves us. I wonder if many atheists have such anger against believers because deep inside, they know they are wrong.
Earlier this week, I finished reading Jennifer Fulwiler’s Something Other Than God, and I want to join the release party. Fulwiler is a very witty and gifted writer. A couple of good examples can be found here and here.
She was not a notorious sinner, but she was an atheist. Faced with the feeling of the logical conclusion that she would one day cease to exist, she tried to drown out that feeling with exciting life experiences and a career. Then came motherhood. Her experience drove her to explore the questions by starting a blog and getting people to discuss his with her. She tries going to Mass and even living the moral teaching of the Church, even though it really affected her life through a serious medical condition. In the end, she became Catholic. At the same time, her husband was exploring as well and came into the Church with her.
Too bad I have to sleep and go to work. It was hard to put this book down. The book is both funny and fascinating, and I’d especially recommend it to anyone who struggles with not only belief in God but also trust in him.
Category: Books
David Ancell / Thursday, May 15, 2014 / Comments(0)
After having done several Lunch Break shows (and having a new full episode in the works), I’ve started to realize that keeping separate pages and feeds for the shows was probably not the best idea. So, I’ve combined both Lunch Break and the regular show into one site, and I’ve even updated the existing links on this blog to point to the new site. The address is:
http://podcast.davidancell.com/
I’ve even added the few surviving episodes from The David Ancell Podcast that I used to record around 2006 – 2007. Most episodes were lost in a hard drive crash, but if I can ever find them, I’ll try to get them posted. Better yet, my recorded talks from Incarnation RCIA are up there also. I figured it would make it easier both for people to find and for me to maintain if I used one area of my site for all of my recorded talks. Please be sure to update your subscriptions in iTunes to the new feed because the only thing I plan to add to them in the future is a message that everything has been moved. I’m planning some more revisions to my whole site in the coming months, so please keep watching.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Monday, May 12, 2014 / Comments(0)
My next Lunch Break episode is now post:
In this podcast, I talk about how all created things point to God who created them, and we can use this fact to be mindful of the presence of God. It’s not a substitute for going to Mass, but, rather, it’s a way of keeping God’s presence in mind after we leave Mass.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Monday, May 05, 2014 / Comments(0)
I’ve posted another Lunch Break episode to the site this morning.
I’ve never liked to be in long discussions where everything begins with “this nation” or something like that. Sure, we do live in an era where society pretty much tries to run itself as though God doesn’t exist. However, we can do our part to bring a whole nation back to Our Lord, but we’ll need to do it wherever we are with whomever we can reach.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Tuesday, April 29, 2014 / Comments(0)
I haven’t liked the template I was using for this blog for some time. In fact, I don’t think I have ever liked it. Finally, I picked another one. It may change again given that my main site due for a redesign. However, I expect it to be a long time before I get that done.
I had one important goal in mind. Have you noticed those sites that look very nice on your smartphone without your ever having to zoom in? That is what I want. Geeks like me call it responsive web design. If you are on a modern smartphone, you will see that this site has similar design to what you get on a computer (unlike those ugly mobile designs), but the elements are immediately positioned so that you can read them. I still wish all my links would appear, but this will work for now.
I probably read many more blogs on my phone or iPad than I could ever read on a computer. So, making the blog render well on a mobile platform is very important to me. Now, I just need to learn how to make the rest of the site work like this. I am looking for resources now.
Category: News on My Life, Technology
David Ancell / Saturday, April 26, 2014 / Comments(0)
I’m posting the fourth episode of my Lunch Break edition early so that it will be up in time for Divine Mercy.
Here I talk about the mercy of God and how a right understanding of it is necessary to have the right attitude towards sin. Otherwise, we run the risk of falling into either presumption or despair.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Monday, April 21, 2014 / Comments(0)
I’ve posted my third Lunch Break episode entitled “Exercise and Virtue.” I was a bit out of breath on this one, and you can tell by listening. I was talking a walk and talking into my iPhone. Someday soon I hope to get a real field recorder, but this will have to do for now.
Have a Happy Easter! Alleluia! He is risen!
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Monday, April 14, 2014 / Comments(0)
I have just published the second episode of my Lunch Break edition of the podcast.
This basically is a podcast version of a post I did earlier on the blog. So far, it has been fun getting these episodes together. I’ve already got one more recorded, and hopefully you’ll see it next week.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Thursday, April 10, 2014 / Comments(0)
My new Lunch Break edition of It Really Does Matter Podcast is now here! I’ve put it on it’s own page and feed, and you can get it at the link below:
This page will allow you to listen and subscribe as well as download the episode. If you want to just download it, click here.
Category: Podcasts
David Ancell / Wednesday, April 09, 2014 / Comments(0)
After a two-year hiatus, I am pleased to bring you another podcast episode.
I decided that I’d take on giving my view of the Affordable Care Act, trying to be as objective as I could for the first segment. I go over some good aspects as well as some actual and potential problems that may result. After that, I talk about the serious problem that is the mandate that all insurance plans provide free contraception.
While I hope to produce some more shows like this in the near future, I’m going to be trying something new in an effort to get more podcast content out. I am starting a new show that I will call the “Lunchbreak edition” of the podcast. It will be shorter (one segment only), less scripted, and less edited than my main show, but hopefully you’ll see it more often. I’ve already started recording, so look for the first one soon on this blog. It will be in a separate feed from the main show, so if you wish to subscribe, you’ll need to subscribe separately.
Category: Podcasts