Faith & Life
What Disneyland Gave Me for the Second Half
On clarity, flywheels, and the formation house I didn't know I was building For months, I've been praying for clarity and courage.
Deacon Michael Halbrook
Faith, family, work, and life — all intertwined
I'm a husband, father of four boys, Catholic deacon, and 30-year veteran of media, marketing, and tech consulting and leadership roles, including 18 years at Adobe. I write about the intersection of faith and every day life — because they were never meant to be separate.
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2 Minute Homilies
The Beatitudes Are a Mirror, Not a Checklist
We read the Beatitudes like a spiritual to-do list. Be meek. Check. Be merciful. Check. Be a peacemaker. Check. But that misses the point entirely.
Sunday Homilies
Stop Waiting
"At once they left their nets and followed him." "Immediately they left their boat and their father." Not "let me think about it." Not "after I finish this project." Not "once my life is in order." At once. Immediately.
Faith & Life
Offering the Miles
Somewhere around mile eight, I hit the Presentation again. I run with a finger rosary. It's the only way I've found to pray consistently through a half marathon - my mind wanders, my legs burn, but my thumb keeps moving bead to bead.
Faith & Life
The Name Before the Work
It was the summer of 1994 when I kept my vigil in the Order of the Arrow. The OA is Scouting's honor society - you don't apply; your peers select you.
Faith & Life
Walking Main Street with Purpose
There's a moment at Disneyland that gets me every time. You walk through the tunnel beneath the train station, the sounds of the outside world fading behind you. And then you emerge onto Main Street, U.S.A., and the world opens. The castle rises in the distance.
Faith & Life
The Pivot to the Real
I send at least one handwritten note every week. It's slow. It's inefficient. It can't be scaled. And it lands differently than anything digital ever will
Faith & Life
The Seeds That Form Us
I've been thinking a lot lately about the little moments that shape who we become. It started with a conversation in the car. My son asked me something from his Civics class about speeding tickets
Ask Deacon Michael
What's the Difference Between Mortal and Venial Sin?
What's the difference between a mortal sin and a venial sin?" It's one of the most common questions Catholics ask, especially when preparing for confession.
Faith & Life
Drop Your Nets: The Invitations We Almost Miss
In this Sunday's Gospel, Jesus walks along the Sea of Galilee and calls out to Simon and Andrew: "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." And then this line that stops me every time: At once they left their nets and followed him.
2 Minute Homilies
Jesus's First Message Wasn't About Shame
We hear "repent" and think guilt and shame. But Jesus meant something completely different. #2MinuteHomily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Gospel: Matthew 4:12-23
Faith & Life
Mid-Race Reflections
Eighteen months ago, I couldn't run a mile. Not “couldn’t” in the sense of some physical limitation - I just couldn't in the truest sense of the word. I was 46, mildly sedentary, and had never been a runner. When my son Andrew looked at me one day and asked if I'd start running with him to improve both of our health, I had a choice to make.