Through stories of faith, spirituality, and mystery, we can explore the journeys that help us see life differently.
Hello, friend. I'm glad you found your way here.
Most of us know what it feels like to walk a long road with a heavy heart. Two travelers once did that, on the road out of Jerusalem to a little town called Emmaus. They were sad. They were confused. And a stranger fell into step beside them. They didn't know it yet, but it was Jesus.
That's what my books are about. God walks with us, even when we can't see Him. Even when we have questions. Even when we've wandered far. I hope something you read here gives you a little rest for the journey.
— Kenneth
Four books, one hope: that you'd know how loved you are.
S. KENNETH SMITH
Walk to Emmaus
Tim is a teenager in a small Southern town. He goes to church, but he has lots of doubts. Ophelia, the family's housekeeper, walks close with God, and Tim wants what she has. When a stranger named Tuskegee comes to town to learn the truth about an old massacre of the Lower Creek people, Tim joins the search. What he finds changes his life forever.
S. KENNETH SMITH
The Return
After twenty-seven years away from the Catholic Church, Richard McAllister begins an unexpected journey back to the faith he left behind. The Return follows both walks—the one that carried him away and the one that slowly draws him home—as ordinary moments, remembered prayers, unexpected encounters, and gentle spiritual guidance begin pointing him toward a purpose he never expected. Along the way, Richard discovers that some prayers are never forgotten—and some callings never fade.
S. KENNETH SMITH
One Hour to Inner Peace
Life gets loud. Worry piles up. This short book invites you to set aside one hour, breathe, and let God quiet your heart. It's simple, gentle, and made for anyone who feels tired inside.
S. KENNETH SMITH
Why I'm Catholic
Each of us needs to find our place in God's kingdom. Oftentimes, that journey takes us down several paths before we finally reach “home.”
Why I’m Catholic is the story of my own journey—where I began, the paths my faith took me down, and the questions and experiences that eventually led me to the Catholic Church. It is not an argument that everyone must follow the same path. It is simply the story of how, after a lifetime of seeking and believing, I found the place where I knew I belonged.
Life has a way of keeping us busy.
There are responsibilities to fulfill, people who depend on us, things that need fixing, and countless little tasks that seem to demand our attention. We move from one obligation to the next, sometimes feeling quite accomplished at the end of the day.
But somewhere in all that busyness, we may overlook something important: ourselves.
We are more than the work we do or the responsibilities we carry. Each of us is a whole person—mind, body, and spirit. And each part of who we are deserves attention.
We care for our bodies through rest, nourishment, and movement. We care for our minds by learning, thinking, reading, and sometimes simply allowing ourselves a moment of peace. And we care for our spirits through prayer, reflection, gratitude, or quiet moments when we consider the deeper meaning of our lives.
Yet how often do we give one of these our attention while neglecting the others?
In the Gospel of Luke, Martha becomes occupied with the responsibilities of hospitality while Mary sits and listens to Jesus. Martha’s work is important, but Jesus gently reminds her that there is something equally important she has overlooked.
Perhaps there is a lesson for us in that familiar story.
Being busy is not necessarily the same as living fully. And taking time to care for ourselves is not selfish. It is part of appreciating the life we have been given.
One way of making room for ourselves is through meditation. In my book One Hour to Inner Peace, I suggest an approach that divides an hour into smaller sections, each intended to help us slow down, reflect, and give attention to our spiritual lives and our relationship with God.
But an hour is not a requirement, nor is the method a formula everyone must follow. Meditation, like so many worthwhile things, takes practice. For someone just beginning, even five, ten, or fifteen minutes may be enough. As we become more comfortable with quiet reflection, we can gradually extend that time.
After all, five meaningful minutes are better than an hour we never begin.
Maybe we don’t need to add another task to tomorrow’s schedule. Maybe we simply need to make a little room in it.
Room to rest. Room to think. Room to pray. Room to be.
After all, in taking care of everything and everyone else, shouldn’t we remember to take care of ourselves, too?
The older I get, the more I realize that there are essentials and nonessentials within Christianity.
We may worship differently. We may have different traditions, different practices, and even different understandings of our faith. Those differences matter, and they are worth exploring. But I have come to believe they are not the most important thing.
The essential is whom we worship.
For Christians, that is Christ.
Perhaps we would understand one another a little better if we remembered that more often. We don’t have to agree on every nonessential to recognize what—or rather, Whom—we share.
And maybe that’s a good place to begin.
I’ve spent most of my life around words—first as an educator and now as a writer. Even in retirement, I still find myself in the classroom, because apparently after all those years I haven’t quite figured out how to stay away.
My own journey has included a lifelong interest in faith, spirituality, and the questions that arise when we wonder about things we cannot always explain. Over the years, that journey has taken me through several Christian traditions and, eventually, home to the Catholic Church. Those experiences find their way into much of what I write—stories about faith, doubt, loss, grace, mystery, and the possibility that there may be more to our lives than what we can readily see or understand.
I write both fiction and personal reflections, but my hope for each is much the same: that something in these pages might encourage someone else along the way. And if a good conversation happens over a cup of coffee, all the better.
New to Christianity? Curious about the Catholic Church? You don't need to have it all figured out. Here's a simple place to begin.
“For God so loved the world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.” — John 3:16
“Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church.” — Matthew 16:18
Did something you read here—or in one of my books—stay with you?
I'd like to hear from you. Whether you'd like to share a thought, ask a question, or simply say hello, feel free to send a message.