I was in 6th grade and about to take a big science test. But this test was not with just any teacher. It was with Sister Bernadette – the holy terror of my Catholic Elementary School. There was just something about her that gave me the creeps. I was a fairly average student back then, holding my own in all of my class subjects. But when it came to science, it just didn’t make sense to me. I couldn’t tell you the difference between a proton, a neutron, or a Klingon. I was terrified of this test! My Mom and Dad were always proud of my efforts to get good grades and I didn’t want to let them down. So just before the test, I wrote several of the answers on the top of my desk in barely legible pencil. I sat nervously as Sister started to hand out the tests. I didn’t want to get caught, but I didn’t want to fail either. Read More
On the Inside; On the Outside
A few years ago, my wife Stephanie and I took a group of our parish teens on a summer mission trip to Cincinnati, Ohio. We were blessed to spend the week working with an organization called Little Brothers: Friends of the Elderly. This is a group that works with elderly people who have lost ties with family, have no family at all, and face the reality of simply being alone. Read More
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quite reflection will come even more effective action.” ~Peter Drucker
Some people lead. Other people follow. Are you a follower? John Angotti wrote these words of a song, quoting Jesus:
He said to me, “Come and follow me.” He said to me, “Come and follow me.
There you’ll find peace of mind if you just come and follow me.”
And this is what I now ask of you. Come and follow me. Due to my busy schedule, my blog posts do not appear as often as I would like. So the best way to keep up with me is to follow me on social media. There you’ll find peace of mind with my Daily Thoughts, Noonish Nuggets, PM Ponders, meditational questions, quotes that make you think, and a little bit of Deacon Allen humor.
Here is where you’ll find me:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeaconAllenT
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeaconAllenT/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deaconallent/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deacon-allen-tatara-965b1388
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DeaconAllenT
Google +: https://plus.google.com/b/113867639260645299889/+Deaconallen
In the words of Francis Chan, “We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.” I would be honored if you would come and follow me. Thank you.
Deacon Allen
Over the years, I’ve met several people who have decided to temporarily leave their everyday lives in order to travel. They would travel to Europe, moving from town to town with no plans, no set destinations, no reservations and no particular schedule. They often needed to rely on the kindness of strangers for food and shelter. Read More
On Wednesday, I whipped up a batch of homemade Sweet Corn and Crab Soup for dinner. There’s nothing like a good pot of soup on a cold, winter evening. So I went grocery shopping last weekend to make sure that I had all of the needed ingredients to prepare the feast. I’m always amazed at the number of ingredients needed to make a pot of homemade soup. And it can be anything from meat, fish, various vegetables, and usually several spices. Then you have to do all of the necessary chopping and mixing. So the question to ask: is it soup yet? Well, not quite. You need to have the soup simmer for a period of time. Once these steps have been completed, you can finally partake in your creation (and hopefully it turned out well). Read More
I was doing some research this week on the Internet, when I stumbled across something that I had never seen before… Read More
Birthdays are strange. I mean, think about it. It’s the one day of the year where depending on your age and your situation in life, the personal acceptance will be completely different. Read More
Maybe it’s just me, but I’m getting really tired of those prescription drug commercials on TV. Now I don’t watch a lot of TV, but it seems like when I do, there are more and more of these drug companies advertising their particular drug. And it’s not that I’m bothered by the dancing elderly people, or the guy playing with his grand-daughter and her dog, or the frisky couple sitting in two separate bath tubs overlooking a lake; what gets me is the never-ending warning labels within those commercials. Here is an example of one I recently saw: Read More
While in deacon formation, one of our final steps before ordination was to meet with the diaconate board for final approval. The board was made up of both clergy and lay people and their primary responsibility was to make sure that we were prepared for ordained service to God’s people. I guess you could compare this to a final job interview – that lasted for more than four years.
The pressure was on, and I was feeling it. As I had mentioned before, I am a worrier, so this was an extremely stressful event in my life. We had a specified time to be there, so while I was waiting with my classmates, I felt pretty good about it all. One of my classmates emerged from his interview and stated that it was not so bad. But then another came out and said that it was a brutal experience. (They had two different groups interviewing us.) My stress level shot through the roof! I was feeling sick to my stomach, and apparently I was looking quite pale. Read More
With yesterday being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary. Every year, I’m blown away by Mary’s faith when she said “yes” to God. Especially as a young teenager, I can only imagine what her faith was like. Read More
