I am
Deacon Gene.
WELCOME to the “life in focus” website.
It is with great pleasure that I share this work of many years of prayer and refinement.
This site, and the little book which you see pictured, are part of my attempt to give back some of what I have received from our Merciful Lord over my eighty-three plus years.
It is meant to be a source to be visited frequently to enrich a person's faith and to help them to realize that God has a plan for everyone.
The site is also meant to provide an encounter with resources that are here to enrich your faith, and to help you to realize that if you believe that God loves you, are willing to TRUST Him with everything, and do your best; you can be sure that God will do the rest, because God has a plan for each of us.
It is with tremendous gratitude to the Lord that this upgraded site is being relaunched in 2023.
The story behind this site, and my book, began over thirty-two years ago.
From 1981 to 1993, I survived four brain tumor operations and the effects of a severe back injury. While recuperating from my third brain tumor operation, in December of 1991, and since then, using a little fold-over card, I have shared with anyone who would listen, the phrase,
“focus
on the moment
and TRUST
in GOD's LOVE."
Over the last thirty-two years, I have shared that card with thousands of people. As I present each card, I try to give, the person who receives it, a short explanation of how living with that thought in mind will make a difference in their life.
In addition to being blessed with a wonderful wife, who shared my life for over fifty-eight and a half years, three great sons, four beautiful grandchildren, wonderful parents and my Catholic Faith, the discovery of that phrase and the true meaning behind it has made the biggest difference in MY life.
This site, and my book, are part of my attempt to share this message with more people than I could ever hope to meet on a one-to-one basis. The site which has been online since 2003, underwent an upgrade in 2016, brought about by something that happened one morning, in the spring of 2016. As I was praying in the chapel after Mass at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Altoona, PA, I looked up at the Crucifix behind the altar which had a picture of the Blessed Mother on one side and a picture of Jesus blessing His people on the other. That image became the basis of what you now see as the center portion of the opening page of our site.
As you heard in the Yellow Rose trailer, NOW, with the encouragement of my spiritual directors and a number of friends who wanted to know how that little phrase came about and what it really means, I have completed the book, the picture of which, you just clicked on, and which should bring it all into "focus".
The growth of the story, and the latest revisions of this sight, were spurred on by the fact that I received so many encouraging responses from those who accepted my little card or read my book.
Additional confirming responses came from seven people whom I deeply respect.
They included Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR., founder of the Community of Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, Fr. Silvan Rouse, CP., who was my Spiritual Director from 1995 until about a year before his death, on October 25, 2014, and three others who served as my spiritual director for a short time.
Comparable responses also came from Deacon Michael Russo, Obl. S.B., M.A., Director of the Office of the Permanent Diaconate for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA, and Mother John of the Cross, O.C.D., Prioress of the Discalced Carmelite Nuns at the convent of Carmel of Saint Therese of Lisieux, Loretto, PA.
They all agreed that,
“focus
on the moment
and TRUST
in GOD's LOVE."
To learn more about what it took for me to get here, click
My Personal Journey
The book is now available on KINDLE through Amazon, the NOOK through Barnes and Noble and the IPad through Apple books. It is also available in print through Amazon, Barnes & Noble and all other online bookstores. For a special price on that little book go to The Ewings Publishing.
I hope you will look forward to reading the rest of the story.
© 2004- 2025 Gene P. Neral