The notion of a non-religious Christmas is ridiculous. But so is the insistence on the part of Christians that politicians and retailers carry out their pro-Christmas crusade.
Instead of getting swept up in a whirlwind of banal 'holiday' parties, useless gift exchanges and harried shopping, my family tries hard to use the weeks of Advent to prepare our hearts and home in meaningful ways for the Prince of Peace.
During the weeks before Christmas, though it's not always possible, we make an effort to keep the kids away from shopping malls and stores. We also deliberately choose cards and decorations that have religious significance.
My poor kids have accepted that being dropped off late to birthday parties, practices, and yes, school, is just part of the large family package.
Like Christmas, Easter has lost much of its religious meaning in popular culture. Ask your average kid what the holiday is about and they will tell you all about the Easter Bunny, eggs hunts and baskets full of candy.
For practicing Christians, Easter Sunday and the Holy week that precedes it are the apex of our faith. Without the resurrection of Christ there is no Christianity.
My kids love old Hollywood movies and look forward to watching the Charlton Heston classic, 'The Ten Commandments,' every year. The retro special effects and over-acting are fun to watch and the story is a great reminder of our Jewish roots in the Passover meal.
Pursue your dreams, but don't be afraid to slow down or jump off the train when your heart calls you to tend to things that last - love, marriage, babies, and happy kids. You can always jump back on the train. It's your journey.
You don't have to choose between June Cleaver or Barbara Walters. There are miles of space between them.
All kids love to color - even the older ones, and it can be a very relaxing activity for everyone.
I make no apologies for not being very outdoorsy and for not really enjoying the cold.
Immigrants and refugees who have escaped the corrupt, dysfunctional, crime-ridden, socialist and communist regimes of Latin America are precisely the kind of hard-working and grateful people we should be welcoming to the U.S.
How many times have you wanted to make a chocolate cake from scratch or prove you can make a flakey crust as good as your grandmother's....but you just don't have the time! A snow day is the perfect day to enlist the kids with no time pressure, or worse, dinner guests to impress.
What women really want is opportunity and the freedom to love and accept all aspects of womanhood - the intellectual, spiritual, professional, biological and relational dimensions of who we are.
Whether they 'lean into' career, family, or both, let's not underestimate the wisdom of women to define happiness and success for themselves.
When candidate Donald Trump ran for the highest office in the land, he promised to fight for forgotten Americans. In the presidential election of 2016, the forgotten Americans of the Upper Midwest and the coal country of Kentucky and West Virginia, many of them life-long Democrats, delivered a decisive win for this first-time Republican candidate.
Well, if you are planning a Caribbean vacation, you can start by booking it to this warm and friendly island paradise as soon as it is ready to receive tourists. As a U.S. territory, your trip to Puerto Rico doesn't require a passport or currency exchange.
The Trumps were elected because of or in spite of their wealth - depending on how you feel about the First Family. They never misrepresented themselves. They have always been honest about who they are.
