Our Story

Prologue: Our Story is His Story

If you want to read more about us, the first thing you should know is that we are God’s servants. Our entire reason for choosing to write at all is to let the light of God shine forth for all to see. Our story is merely a part of His story, but He asks us to tell His story through our own. So, if you would like to hear about the wonderful adventure God has given us, then read on!

Joshua was born in rural Wisconsin to devout Catholic parents, the third of five children. The things he remembers most about his upbringing are that his family always worked together, had a huge garden, and came up with unusual and ambitious ideas that often were pulled off to a spectacular effect. Thinking outside the box was the norm, and creativity was carefully nourished.

From an early age, Joshua has had a keen interest in music and language. He has been playing piano ever since he could touch the keys. He started reading when he was four years old. When he first learned to write, he hated it (because it took forever and looked terrible), but over time, his love of story telling overcame the challenges. He loves to express himself in poetry and song, often humming a tune or repeating a phrase over and over to himself so that he won’t forget it before he has a chance to write it down.

Joshua felt a desire to become a priest as a young boy, and that desire guided him through much of his growing years. As a young man, he wished to enter into discernment with a religious order, but they did not have an undergraduate formation program, so the next step was to go to college. And there Joshua discovered that the Lord had other plans…

Therese is the third of four sisters and grew up in one of the quieter corners of Cleveland, Ohio. Some of her favorite family memories include playing with her sisters, canoeing, visiting with their many cousins, and camping at Catholic Family Land. Her friends will attest that since her earliest years she has had “an old head on young shoulders.” She is a lover of common sense and practical action.

Music has always been a large part of Therese’s life. She became the music director of a parish at 17 and has been an organist at many churches. Her parents even acquired an organ and kept it in their living room at home so that she could practice regularly.

When Therese finished her high school education, she decided she wanted to attend a college where she could continue her studies in a solidly Catholic setting. She also felt drawn to religious life and figured an undergraduate degree in Theology was a good direction to take. Eventually, this path led her to Front Royal, Virginia, where she met a man who would change her life forever…

Christendom College will always hold a special place in our hearts for many reasons, but the greatest is certainly the simple fact that we met each other there. Joshua was entering his junior year when Therese came as a freshman. We first met through a mutual friend and then became further acquainted when Joshua offered to mentor Therese in some of her tougher classes.

It quickly became clear that we shared a lot in common, from being home schooled to discerning religious life and many things in between. We decided that we would like to get to know each other better, and our friendship blossomed over the course of the next year.

During fall break of Joshua’s senior year, however, things began to get complicated. At roughly the same time, each of us realized that we had a romantic interest in the other—and we didn’t want it! We were trying to be good friends and encourage each other in the pursuit of a religious vocation, and it seemed like these feelings were just getting in the way. We attempted unsuccessfully to ignore them, and when things did not improve, we sought the advice of the college chaplain. Eventually, through prayer and careful discernment, Therese realized that the desire of her heart really was to marry Joshua. Joshua took longer to figure himself out. It wasn’t until after he graduated that he was able to discern, in the silence of a Trappist monastery, that marrying Therese was the true path God was calling him to follow.

In the summer of 2019, we entered into courtship together. A lot of our communication was long-distance, as Joshua was working in Wisconsin and Therese was still a student in Virginia, but our relationship deepened quickly. In January of 2020 we became engaged, and on August 17th of that year, in the midst of COVID-19 chaos, we became one flesh, looking forward with anticipation to the even greater adventure ahead of us.

We started out our marriage living in a tiny apartment in Virginia while Therese finished her senior year of college. This was a fun and sometimes stressful time. Joshua worked at Seton Home Study School, Therese researched her thesis; Joshua battled insect infestations, Therese wrote her thesis; Joshua tried to figure out how to file income taxes from three different states, Therese edited her thesis. We enjoyed spending lots of time together and also went through some of the usual growing pains of early marriage.

Almost exactly a year after our wedding, we had our firstborn son: Joseph. We had hoped for a home birth, but because of numerous complications, we went from Plan A to Plan Z and delivered via c-section at the nearest hospital. It was a sorely trying experience, but God’s merciful presence was with us throughout the whole thing and our child was born in good health. Then came the next great challenge: parenthood.

Joshua invented a proverb that first week: If you think you are patient, spend a night with a newborn. It turns out that virtue is a lot harder to practice when you’re tired! We soon realized the truth of what our midwife had warned us: sleep deprivation is used as torture in some countries. This and many other lessons were learned as our baby grew. We have since become convinced that having children is a marriage’s greatest test—and its greatest blessing.

In October of 2021 we moved up to Joshua’s home country in Wisconsin. This allowed us to settle down in a community of like-minded individuals where our family could put down roots, grow, and thrive. We live in an old farmhouse with plenty of opportunities for renovation. In April of 2023, our second son, Gregory, was born at home: an indescribably beautiful experience! So there are four of us now, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, and always growing!

Why Outlines of the Heart?

The last few years have been a continual learning curve. As we discover more and more for ourselves, we are realizing just how much the world has forgotten itself. It abuses the land, destroys families, mocks truth, and rejects faith. This is the world we have been raised in, and the effect has been so detrimental that we do not even remember how to perform basic activities of life anymore. How many of us know how to make cheese, mend clothing, or prune trees?

As we grow, we are starting to discern what we call the Outlines of the Heart. There is a double meaning in this phrase. It refers, on one level, to God’s own Heart, the Sacred Heart of His Divine Son, which is pierced and emptied for the sake of His infinite love for us. God seeks to reveal this Heart to us at every moment, drawing us deeper and deeper into the love that creates, redeems, and enlivens us.

On another level, this phrase refers to something both new and old, something we’ve lost, yet waiting to be recovered: life itself. We need to reclaim what it means to live. We must choose to live in a way that respects the natural order, even at the cost of many modern conveniences. Authentic living touches every part of who we are, from the most mundane to the most sublime. It is spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and relational. The human heart is an ancient symbol of the whole human person: the core of life. So, it is our own hearts we are trying to recover.

Enter the Blog

The clearer all of this becomes, the more we realize that we need to share this message with everyone around us! It is time to wake up, to take responsibility for our lives and actions and to choose to live differently. After a lot of prayer and conversation, we finally decided to start a blog dedicated to this message.

We strive to recover the important connections our culture has lost with God, with each other, and with the land. It is our goal to rediscover the traditions handed down through the centuries. As others share, we seek to learn. As we learn, we seek to share. Let’s grow as families together!

Epilogue: Fun Facts!

Fun Facts About Joshua

• I played the part of King Alfred in a film production of The Ballad of the White Horse. You can purchase it here!
• I have been to Ireland once as a teen and would love to go again.
• I have been a climber almost since birth. Trees, rocks, walls, you name it.
• I love writing poetry. And I take commissions!
• I also love to compose music. Some of my songs are available for sale as well.
• Word puzzles and riddles are some of my favorite things to create and to solve. I used to make treasure hunts for my family!
• I own real swords. Burglars beware!

Fun Facts About Therese

• I play organ, piano, and guitar. I have composed a couple of musical pieces as well!
• I love arts and crafts, especially painting. You can find my work on Etsy.
• We watched a lot of old movies when I was a kid, especially old westerns. Some of my favorites are El Dorado, Come to the Stable, and the old Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone.
• If you want to make me happy, feed me ice cream! Or a hamburger.
• I studied abroad in Rome, Siena, and Assisi, but got sent home after 3 weeks because of COVID. 🙁
• I really enjoy baking, especially with my sourdough starter.
• My friends say that I am dangerous to play cards with. For some reason, the more tired I am, the better I play.