Send us a text The most wonderful time of the year is often also remarkably difficult for several reasons. John and Sofia discuss how we can face these challenges, making them part of the gift of this unique holy season. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text What both men and women do in the home is often very hidden. This can be strikingly beautiful and at times quite painful. John and Sofia reflect—with the help of a spiritual masterpiece—on what we can learn about this regular feature of homelife from the remarkable hidden life of Joseph of Nazareth. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Giving gifts is integral to how most of us celebrate Christmas, but discerning how to do it is challenging. John and Sofia discuss how a principled approach can help us avoid common pitfalls and make our gift-giving a truly life-giving part of our Christmas celebration. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text One of the most urgent of parental duties often does not get the attention it demands. Our children need our serious, principled, and courageous direction in the area of romantic attraction and dating. John and Sofia discuss how parents can grow close to their children in providing the wisdom and perspective today's young people so need. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text All humor aside, a man has a daunting task in doing for his wife what the marriage relationship calls for. John and Sofia read excerpts from a remarkable text by St. John Chrysostom and discuss its practical implications for every day life. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text We all notice it but often feel stumped at how to address it. The loss of responsibility is not random. Knowing its causes can go a long way in improving our own life and giving direction for forming our youth for true success. John and Sofia dig into the reality of responsibility and how to cultivate a sense of it. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Eating well should be a major focus in the home; but it’s often hard to know where to start. John and Sofia share how Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions changed how they eat, and how it can do the same for you, one simple step at a time. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Beginnings and endings are always important, and nowhere more than in daily life in the home. Simple routines can make all the difference. John and Sofia discuss principles and concrete practices for starting and ending our days well. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Experience shows that really listening to one another is at the heart of marriage. But it is so hard to achieve. John and Sofia frankly share the ups and downs of their own spousal communication, shedding light on how such difficulties can be a gift, part of an ever-surprising plan for marriage https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Good philosophy makes clear: the power called ‘imagination’ has a dramatic while often unnoticed influence in our life. It is central in forming our thoughts and desires. Recognizing this truth gives practical direction for rethinking daily practices for ourselves, our children, and all our loved ones, starting in our home. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text John’s lecture from LifeCraft Day at the Barn is a hard-hitting presentation of why music and dance matter, of the problems we face in this area today, and of what we can do to harness their power for good in our homes and communities. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Hospitality is much more than just a nice way to spend time with people; in the loss of real hospitality households have suffered a serious wound. Join John and Sofia in discussing the fuller nature of hospitality and why and how to rediscover it for the sake of fulfilling the deepest calling of the household. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text What to do for our children’s ‘education’ is one of the most important and difficult issues. This immediately demands some clear thinking about the overall goal in raising children. Join John and Sofia in a wide-ranging discussion that addresses how to think about academic formation in light of the deeper issue of personal formation through every-day life in the home. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Are dishes, laundry, and cleaning more of a woman’s work? Is it important for men to do such work in the home? If so, why? Join John and Sofia in considering an important and challenging aspect of making a household today. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text The pervasive decline in manners leaves many wondering what can be done and what difference it makes. Join John and Sofia in considering age-old principles that both show how crucial good manners are and point to how we can work to restore them, starting in our own homes. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text Vacations have a significant role in making a household. With an intentional approach, grounded in a couple of key distinctions and principles, we can make our vacations restful and fun even as we build relationships and deepen our family culture. Join Sofia and John in thinking about this unconsidered aspect of family life. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text An Interview with Chris Vander Woude The heroic death of Tom Vander Woude highlights the extraordinary beauty of his ‘ordinary’ life. You will be deeply moved by this account of a man’s death and life as told by his son. Here is an inspiring yet down-to-earth example of a true man of the household for our times, whose potential cause for canonization is being considered. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text We know that how we raise our children will make them different from many of their peers, but often we don’t recognize just what this really means for them. John and Sofia discuss how the challenge of being different calls both for a careful examination of what we ask of our children as well as a readiness to understand and enter their suffering. These principles apply also to anyone striving for a truly human life today. https://life-craft.org/

Send us a text You want to bring the power of great music to your home but don’t know where to begin. It can be daunting. Here are five concrete steps that anyone can take. Join Sofia and me in addressing how to act on the principles discussed in The Hidden Power of Music episode. We name many of our favorite pieces, artists, and musical groups of various genres. Chapters The Power of Music in the Home 08:01 Changing Our Musical Choices 14:15 Establishing Music Rules in the Home 31:40 Assig...

Send us a text Easter is the feast of all feasts. It undergirds all true festivity and leisure. Yet we often struggle to celebrate it well. John and Sofia offer a practical approach to how our Easter celebration—including before and after Easter Sunday—can transform and elevate our homelife and provide a focal point and pattern for the whole year https://life-craft.org/