Tag Archives: Fr. Mike Schmitz’

2023: WE HERE

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In November, Sidney and I had the opportunity to go to Pullman to watch the Washington State University football team host Coach Prime and the University of Colorado. When we walked on campus, we couldn’t help but notice the Colorado equipment truck parked near the fieldhouse. The back of the vehicle featured an image of Deion Sanders with his arms crossed in his signature shades with the phrase “WE COMING” written boldly across it.

The Cougars pummeled the Buffaloes that night. WSU was confident, prepared, and protective of their home turf. As we passed the truck on the way out of the stadium, Sidney and I couldn’t help but say “WE HERE.”

Ironically enough, even though we quipped that phrase on behalf of Cougar Nation, there might not be two better words that explain the Resers in 2023.

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The year 2023 will be remembered as the period in which we embraced our community, made a big commitment, and laid down roots. Surprisingly enough, for such a big year, things started out pretty quiet.

What a year it was for our family in 2023.

After such a tumultuous beginning to 2022, it was a smooth (and kind of boring) start to 2023. We threw my dad a retirement party in early January and then coasted through those first couple months. Probably the most exciting thing we did was upgrade from a queen bed to a king bed 😂. When spring arrived, the tempo started to pick up, beyond just my Bloomsday PR. We had our hearts set on a purchase even bigger than a new mattress. For the first time, we were seriously looking to buy a new house. So in between watching Sloan play t-ball and testing out the latest TikTok hacks, we were looking at homes. Thankfully we found something we liked.

My dad stands with the trophy that his employees presented to him at his retirement party.

Summer arrived and things heated up both figuratively and literally. While winter was laid back, summer was insanely busy. We attended multiple weddings, hosted Sidney’s parents, went on vacation, didn’t have a free weekend, and—oh yeah—closed on and moved into a new house. Autumn was also slammed. Both our children started at the same school, we traveled to Missoula for a Griz football weekend, Sloan played soccer, work was chaotic with the implosion of the PAC-12, I presented in Chicago at the AMAs, and we visited Myrtle Beach to spend Thanksgiving with Sidney’s family.

We had a ton of fun on our family vacation to Seabrook.

Of course there was much more to the year than that two paragraph rundown but I think that at least gives you an idea of the past 12 months, right?

When I truly reflect on 2023, I think of two unique themes. The first one is satisfaction. I know the popular adage is to never be satisfied, but I think we allowed ourselves in the second half of the year to be just that. With a home of our own, jobs we are fortunate to have, and both kids attending the same outstanding school, we permitted ourselves to be content. We have more goals and much to improve upon, but we took time to just be thankful.

We bought a house in 2023. During the second half of the year, we tried to be satisfied.

The second theme for us is unity. Sidney and I touch on this a lot with the engaged couples we mentor, but we specifically heeded it ourselves in 2023. The decision to purchase a home was part of other future plans that required Sid and I to be committed and united. We also had the blessing to take on some projects as a couple that required steadfast unity and teamwork. We are a force and so happy to be on the same team!

Unity was key for Sid and I in 2023.

In addition to those two unique themes of 2023, the same three values I highlight every year continued to be key for the Resers…

I start with family where it all begins with our Reser quartet. The four of us had a great collective year as we played, read, prayed, worshipped, ate, watched, and traveled together. A highlight was going on a vacation that necessitated we spend a lot of time in the car together. Driving to the other side of Washington and back gave us a lot of time to bond while the actual vacation on the beach was filled with memories. Speaking of driving, we made a road trip to Oregon for my cousin’s wedding that essentially doubled as an extended Reser family reunion. Before and after the nuptials, we stayed in a hotel where we shared a wing of rooms with my parents, my sister’s family, and my brother and his wife. When we weren’t spending time together in a random out-of-state hotel, you could usually find us all at my mom and dad’s house enjoying cookouts, celebrating holidays, and watching games. Hosting Sid’s parents in June was so nice and then flying to Myrtle Beach to spend time with Sid’s sisters and their families sure was a treat, especially after two years. Whether nuclear or extended family, we valued every moment we had together.

I thank my family for another great year.

Our journey to one day reach our heavenly home was hopefully bolstered by this past year. What a big role our faith played in 2023! Sidney and I mentored three engaged couples and continued our work with Engaged Encounter. Sidney organized a retreat for our Young Adult Catholic Group and I retained my involvement with the Knights of Columbus and our Catholic Men’s Group. We became godparents and explored a year-long theme of evangelization. I attended our diocese’s Eucharistic Revival event with Sloan and represented St. Mary at Hoopfest as our team of parishioners reached the championship game of our bracket. We had a blast at many family faith nights and enriched our prayer lives at home. I listened to the entirety of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Catechism In A Year podcast. Through it all, St. Mary Catholic Church and School continue to be our epicenter for growing closer to God. We extend our gratitude to Fr. Jeff Lewis for his dispensing of the holy sacraments and his unwavering commitment to the St. Mary community.

Sloan and Beau stand outside St. Mary Catholic School on their first day of school on Sept. 5, 2023.

When it comes to career, Sidney definitely deserves to be mentioned first in 2023! She thrived in her first full year with Traveler’s Insurance as she continues to impress her bosses and receive high marks from her customers. She is used by the company as an example of “what to do” when it comes to training new employees. I had a very busy and somewhat tumultuous year. Our small but mighty marketing and communications team dealt with some major issues including the Idaho murder suspect, the implosion of the Pac-12, and college ranking messaging. But when I wasn’t arrow-focused on our comms efforts and was in my element doing marketing, it was another exhilarating 12 months. I ran point on our paid social media strategy for all nine installments of our #GoCougsMeans brand marketing campaign, oversaw an initiative that recognized WSU’s top senior grads, collaborated with the video team on some really cool projects, traveled to Chicago to present at a major higher ed conference, and managed to win our department’s personal trivia challenge at our holiday party this month 😂.

I presented at the American Marketing Association Symposium for the Marketing of Higher Ed in Chicago in Nov. 2023.

But as I said last year, my job is so great because I am allowed to be a father, husband, and child of God before I am a WSU employee. I love being a Coug, but there is a reason why the career portion of this blog post always comes after the family and faith portions. I am extremely thankful to my boss for always making sure that this is the case.

I feel lucky that family and faith come before work (photo courtesy of Ocean Simpson).

Time to send 2023 out with a bang as we savor these last couple days. As I wrap up this blog post, I feel extremely blessed that everyone within our extended families are healthy and that everyone who started 2023 with us will join us in 2024 as well. From just about every vantage point—whether it be from a physical, mental, faith, or foundational standpoint—I feel it is appropriate to exclaim WE HERE!! Thanks be to God for the past 365 days. Don’t Blink.

How To Make 2022 Special

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Do you want to do something really special this year? Do you want to do something that will undoubtedly distinguish 2022 from all other years? If so, do this: Read the entire bible.

That can seem like a daunting task but there is something (and someone) that can make it much more manageable. Friends, while it is still early in January, consider doing the Bible In A Year Podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz.

The Bible in a Year podcast with Fr. Mike Schmitz is incredible.

After some nudging from a friend in mid-January last year, I started the journey. I crammed multiple episodes per day for a week and by about Jan. 20 I was all caught up. From that point on, I listened to a single podcast episode per day for the remainder of 2021 and on December 31 I had made it through the entire bible from Genesis through Revelation. It was awesome.

Don’t get too hung up on the fact that Fr. Schmitz is a Catholic priest. No matter if you are a different denomination, non-denominational, or even an atheist you will appreciate the way that he navigates through the bible and drives home key points. He is extremely inclusive, respectful, positive, and engaging. You will love him from the first episode.

Speaking of episodes, each one averages about 20 minutes. Fr. Schmitz breaks it up by reading a couple different books simultaneously in addition to a couple verses from Psalms or Proverbs. He reads the content first, offers a prayer, and then delivers a mini homily on that day’s readings. The format works perfectly and offers solid structure to an incredibly important endeavor.

If you choose to commit to the Bible In A Year Podcast, just make sure to carve out time on a daily basis to actually listen to it. I would always begin it on my morning drive to the gym and usually finish on my living room couch when I returned home. Honestly, I couldn’t think of a better way to start my day. But timing might be different for you. Your ideal time to listen might be at night before you go to bed or possibly during your lunch hour. My point is that you can choose whatever time is convenient for you but just remember to do your best to listen to that daily episode.

Personally, the experience was very rewarding for me. I learned a lot about how the New Testament is a fulfillment of the Old Testament and how God wants us to worship. That’s not to say it was entirely smooth sailing. At times I was disturbed, alarmed, and confused. But Fr. Schmitz had a way of explaining a lot of the “brokenness” described in the bible.

There is just so much good stuff in the bible. When it came to the Old Testament, I especially liked the Maccabees books, Ecclesiastes, and Isaiah. For the New Testament, besides the gospels, I enjoyed journeying through Acts and thought that James was beautiful. Speaking of the gospels, Fr. Schmitz does something that makes a lot of sense. Over the course of the year he introduces “Messianic checkpoints” where he will take a week to read through one of the gospels. Because the Old Testament is much longer than the New Testament, he didn’t want us to have to wait until November before we started to hear about Jesus. Thus, the gospels are sprinkled in throughout the 12 months.

Fr. Schmitz introduced his Bible In A Year Podcast last year. It quickly ascended to the No. 1 podcast in the United States. He recorded the show in a fashion that makes it timeless. You can start the podcast whenever you want and it will never seem out of date. Surprise, surprise….the podcast is once again No. 1 in the country as we begin 2022.

Take a chance and journey with Fr. Mike Schmitz by listening to the Bible In A Year Podcast. If you ever want to chat, please let me know. Whether you listen to the podcast in 2022 or not, may God bless you this year. Don’t Blink.

A Nice 2021

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As I sit here and reflect on 2021, I am thankful that it was a year to adjust. After an insane 2020 that included the birth of Beau, a move across the country, and the beginning of a new job all while a global pandemic shook our world, things slowed down a little bit in 2021. It was our first full year in Spokane and with the easing of COVID restrictions, we took the last 12 months to become familiar with our new home.

Fr. Jeff Lewis blessed our home in 2021 as we took the year to take it easy after an insane 2020.

We have no complaints. This year wasn’t about us. Instead, we had the opportunity to celebrate others. Like Sid’s sister who gave birth to a handsome little boy, Jack. Or my brother and sister-in-law who wed on July 4. Or my parents who marked their 40th anniversary in August.

I was the best man at Glen and Carrie’s wedding.

With our loved ones thriving in the spotlight, we stayed backstage and really started making Washington our home. We solidified relationships, found a couple trusty coffee shops, played at a few favorite parks, became regulars at our local library, purchased season passes at Chuck E. Cheese, joined local swimming lessons, exercised hard with our gym community, stumbled upon a couple neighborhood watering holes, and so much more.

We spent a lot of time at Spokane parks in 2021.

Like I said, we spent most of the year on Spokane soil. That’s not to say we were stationary. We spent a May weekend in Walla Walla and had a blast. We visited Sid’s family in Myrtle Beach in June and are lucky to finish 2021 right here in South Carolina as well. We went camping in the middle of nowhere with my sister’s family. We ventured to Missoula. Sid and I took our first real vacation together in five years when we flew to Las Vegas for several days in July. We found our way back to Walla Walla in August where my parents rented a VRBO for a relative’s wedding weekend. I made numerous drives back and forth to Pullman for work but also spent a Saturday there with my dad and brother for a Cougar football game.

In August, we spent a family weekend in Walla Walla as my cousin got married.

As you can tell, a lot of our travels centered around family. But most of our everyday living did as well. We had numerous Sunday dinners with my parents, siblings, and their families. Although the setting changed from my dad’s backyard deck to the dining room of our childhood home depending on the season, the good times never ceased. Nor did they stop when we celebrated holidays, marked birthdays, or attended sporting events/shows. Although we didn’t have the quantity of time with Sidney’s family that we had with mine, we definitely matched it with quality. Just a couple weeks ago, we had a Myrtle Beach “staycation.” Sid’s parents rented a condo on the beach for us and the families of her two sisters. It was a really nice five days that preceded the Christmas holiday we also got to spend with them.

We got to celebrate lots of birthdays this year!

The other “F” value that flourished this year was our family’s faith. Our first full year as parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church was blessed. We got to know our parish priest better and made friends with other church families. The relationships we started developing with our young adult Catholic group at the end of 2020 flourished in 2021. Beyond our regular meetings, we now all hang out together regularly at our homes. Sloan’s love for Jesus continued to grow as a student at St. Mary Catholic School. I committed to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible in a Year Podcast and went through the entire book from Genesis through Revelation.

Photo we took of Sloan prior to her first day of school as a Pre-K 4 student at St. Mary Catholic School in Spokane Valley.

Professionally, 2021 was a solid year. The social media team became its own unit within University Marketing and Communications at Washington State University and I joined the department’s leadership team. My responsibilities increased and I had the privilege of taking on tasks for the first time in my career. I work for a terrific boss and collaborate with a talented and supportive team.

In March 2021, I celebrated my 1-year anniversary at WSU. So thankful to work for the Cougs!

Thanks be to God, it was a fortunate year for us. Despite a couple trips to the emergency room for our accident-prone Beau, everyone stayed healthy. We didn’t experience loss in our extended families. With a pandemic still very much impacting the world, the virus and its variants stayed away from us. Could we ask for much more?

This year was a blessing for our family.

As we close the book on 2021, I am thankful for what this year provided our family and our loved ones. I would be more than happy with another stable year in 2022 but I do know that even-numbered years usually bring our family more change and unpredictability than odd-numbered ones. We shall see. At the very least, let’s hope 2022 finally brings us some light at the end of the tunnel to the coronavirus. Amen to that, right? Don’t Blink.

Dying Twice

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More than three months ago I mentioned that I am doing Fr. Mike Schmitz’s Bible In A Year Podcast. What a blessing it has been! Yesterday was Day #285 as we navigate through Sirach. A couple verses from Tuesday’s reading inspired Fr. Schmitz to address a certain theme.

The verses were…

“How can he who is dust and ashes be proud” (Sirach 10:9)

“He has removed some of them and destroyed them, and has extinguished the memory of them from the earth” (Sirach 10:17)

These verses obviously address pride and make us think twice about developing a heightened sense of self. Fr. Schmitz is a famous priest who has a large global audience due to his ability to leverage his digital presence. Despite that, one of his spiritual mentors told him not too long ago, “No one will remember you after you die.”

A raging ego does not reside inside of Fr. Schmitz. Even with his crazy popularity and the souls he is saving each day, this humble priest agreed with the opinion of his spiritual mentor.

Fr. Schmitz then made it hit home. He asked: How many of you know the first name of your great great grandfather? What about your great great uncle? Just a few generations removed and I personally couldn’t identify the names of my great great grandparents. We really do have short memories, huh?

It gets even more sobering. Fr. Schmitz then said that we all die twice on earth. The first death is when we take our last breath before physically dying. The second time we “die” is when our name is uttered for the very last time. This could come 10 years, 50 years, or 100 years after our physical death. But let that sink in. There will be a time when our names will be completely extinct from this world.

With all that said, it is not wise to walk around like a big deal nor to make it our mission to build a legacy while on this planet. Eventually it will all be for naught. Rather, build for eternity. Don’t Blink.