Secrets of the Vine for Women

Yet again, God has seen fit to have me pick out and read a book at the perfect time.  This week, the Gospel readings for Mass include sections from John 15 about how the Lord is the vinedresser, Christ is the vine, and we are the branches.  I consider it a God-incident that I picked up Secrets of the Vine for Women which is about Divine Pruning and finished it during this week, not knowing until yesterday morning that the Scripture readings and the topic of this book overlapped.

     
I read The Prayer of Jabez by Bruce Wilkinson, Darlene Marie Wilkinson’s husband, when back in college and have fond memories of it, since it’s such an amazing book, was inspiring to me, and the first spiritual book my then boyfriend, now husband read upon my recommendation.  Upon my spouse’s suggestion, we began praying The Prayer of Jabez daily, over the phone when we were dating and miles apart, and now together as we say goodnight just after turning out our bedroom light.

     
It’s been a number of years since I read Bruce Wilkinson’s Secrets of the Vine, which also resonated with me.  His wife’s insights into how the Lord cares and prunes us in order that we produce an abundance of fruit for His Kingdom are straightforward and easy to follow.  The pocket-sized book is a quick read complete with study guide questions ideal for personal reflection or small group sharing. 

      
I would definitely recommend Secrets of the Vine for Women.  To order your copy, click here.  

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

When There's Not Just Junk in the Trunk

     Last night I read my husband one of the French Sesame Street books I have from the days I was nannying my two little guys.  I read each paragraph or page first in French, then translated it into English.  Though Kevin learned how to tell me he loves me from the bottom of his heart and ask me to marry him in French many years ago, his general knowledge of the language is still pretty limited.    

     The book I read to him is called Le Cas de Canard Disparu or The Case of the Missing Duck.  In the book, Ernie loses his rubber ducky and calls in a detective to help him find it.  The book’s quite amusing as the detective Loquet Toquet is an airhead, along the lines of a childhood version of the Pink Panther only much less dangerous, who causes more trouble and confusion than resolution. 
     Kevin was as amused by the story as he was my own anecdote of how I found the book, which had actually been missing for months.

  I read Le Cas de Canard Disparu to the kids in my French Club a while back and for several months had no idea where it ended up afterwards.       As luck and humor would have it, it was buried deep in the trunk of my car, with various other sundry items.  Amidst the junk in my trunk were some items of value.  Apparently, this tendency to deposit things in the trunk at random runs in my family.  For proof, read this.  I laughed out loud when cleaning out my car a few weeks ago and came across it.  The irony of it all, finding a book that had been missing about a rubber duck that was missing when I knew where my own rubber duck was, in my activity bag for clubs, but not where I’d placed the book. 
     Even after the book disappeared, we’d still play cache-cache (hide-and-seek) with my canard de caoutchouc (rubber ducky) from home which has never actually been in a bathtub, just in the pool at Hollins for the annual Duck Pluck.  I’d let the kids each take a turn hiding the canard de caoutchouc, then have the person who hid the duck tell those looking for it if they were getting chaud (hot) or froid (cold) as they looked around the classroom. 
     The Sesame Street books are fun to read because they remind me of when I was little and used to watch Sesame Street.  Yes, I can still remember and sing the song “Rubber Ducky.”  To be honest, my mom and I both have a hard time counting to ten in Spanish without making it sound like the rap they used to sing on Sesame Street when I was little.  Be careful what you’re kids listen to, it just might stick with you both forever.    

Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home

I absolutely love the wide variety of circumstances, ministries, and people involved in helping each of the lapsed Catholics  in Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home back to the Church of their youth.  I’ve always been interested in the stories of reverts and converts because of my husband’s return to the faith after many years of being away from the Sacraments and any form of organized religion.  One clear similarity connects the conversion stories of each of these individuals with those throughout the Bible and history: the power of the Lord through the inspiration and promptings of the Holy Spirit to draw us back to Him, no matter how far or how often we stray from Him.

     
These eighteen well-known people have vastly different life experiences, educational backgrounds, career pursuits, and even childhood upbringings in the faith, yet each one of them was led by the Holy Spirit back to the Roman Catholic Church.  Some made their way back slowly when those around them inspired them to take another look at Scripture, grow closer to Christ, and/or revisit the practice of prayer and spending time with the Lord.  Others’ conversion experiences seemed to happen at a very specific time, place, and were significant enough to make them turn their lives completely around.
     
Another identifiable strand throughout these stories is a growing hunger in each of these people for the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist.  Each found that as they became more open to the Holy Spirit working in and through them that their desire to receive and spend time in front of the Eucharist grew ever stronger.  With some, a relationship with Mary, the Mother of God, and praying the Rosary were instrumental in bringing them back to the Church.

     
The call to become involved in the pro-life ministry as part of their return to the Catholic faith is another strong tie among many of these individuals.  I enjoyed reading more about the makers of Bella, a fantastic pro-life film that came together truly by the grace of God.  I was also interested in learning more about Janet Morana, executive director of Priests for Life and cofounder of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, because I have been involved in the pro-life movement for a number of years, have been really impressed with the work of Priests for Life and this spring was deeply moved by two women who came to our Spring 40 Days for Life campaign from Silent No More in order to share their testimonies.  I ended up e-mailing Janet Morana after the experience and thanking her for beginning such a powerful ministry to help women and men heal from the after-effects of abortion and guide others to choose life.    

     
I found this book very well-written, easy-to-follow, and a great tool for those who have fallen away from the Church and all who minister to them.  Numerous sidebars with explanations of some fundamentals of the faith, various ministries available to help people coming back into the church, and some main Church teachings are scattered throughout the book.  There’s a quick reference of these sidebars in the back, and at the end of each chapter, there are website links to check out about the person who experienced the conversion and the ministries in which they’re ahead of and/or involved in. 

     
I highly recommend this book and a great deal of prayer for all who are hoping to bring family, friends, and loved ones back to the Catholic faith.

     
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

Precious in God's Sight

Most of the time it is very easy for me to see how others are truly Precious in God’s Sight.  Quite frequently, there are moments when I am given a glimpse of the overwhelming love God has for the people who cross my path…the elderly man who is bent over his cane, and comes in with a slow shuffle to the first pew at daily Mass, the gentle compassionate woman who accompanies him, a mother staring with awe into the eyes of her newborn child, the unbridled excitement of a student who has mastered a difficult task, a priest whose profound reverence for the True Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist edifies all who are at Mass… 

     

At such times, I am certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that God loves these people so very much, that they are indeed precious and beloved children of His.  I sense the tenderness, compassion, and love that I know must fill the Lord at the mere thought of one of His children.   

     
The much more difficult aspect of this truth that we are all Precious in God’s Sight is believing that I, too, am included among His beloved children.  Though He knows every sin I’ve ever committed, every time and instance when I’ve turned away, I am still Precious in God’s Sight.
     
I have trouble wrapping my mind around this notion.  I can see how and why Christ suffered and died to reconcile other people to the Lord, but I still am baffled at times as to why He would endure such torture for me. 
     
You and I belong to the Lord and are infinitely Precious in God’s Sight, because He created us in His image.  There is nothing we can do to earn the Lord’s love or to make Him stop loving us.  There are a multitude of things we can do to experience and accept God’s love on a deeper level.  There are a myriad of things we can do to refuse God’s love and reject His grace, but not even those actions will cause the Lord to stop loving us.  It’s virtually inconceivable for an action-oriented, results-driven person like me to accept that my mere existence glorifies God.  I can think of a number of people in my life who I am sure glorify and bring delight to the Lord just by their existence, but I often feel it’s hardest to accept that’s true of me, too. 
    
Dear Lord, please bless all of us on our spiritual journeys.  Help us open up our hearts so that the Holy Spirit is able to move freely in and through us to bring others closer to You.  Sanctify our minds, bodies, and spirits, so we are strong, holy vessels for Your word, love, and Truth.  Give us peace that passes all understanding, a sense of deep, unquenchable joy, and a profound trust in You.  Guide us to choose Your will in all areas of our lives.  Show us how precious we are to You, and grant us the ability to see ourselves and others through Your loving eyes.  Amen. 

Note to Reader: This reflection was written in honor of the participants of the Women's Cursillo Weekend taking place May 19-22, 2011 at the Abbey and first appeared in the May 2011 Edition of the Rooster Review.  Please keep all of them in your prayers.

The House You're Building

 

     I’ve been playing and singing along with The House You’re Building by Audrey Assad practically non-stop when I've been in the car since our favorite brother in Christ introduced me to the album and artist a couple weeks ago.  For a number of years, I’ve found that I’m deeply moved by music that is well-written, contains a Christian message, and is beautifully performed.  Assad’s first album which debuted last summer fits all three of those qualities which describe most of my favorite music. 

    This singer/songwriter combines contemplative lyrics with magnificent melodies to produce songs that will make you think, sing aloud, and thereby pray twice to the Lord.  Assad’s Pop/Contemporary style and voice are appealing to me because both seem to carry with them a depth reminiscent of

Dogmatics in Outline

    The academic title and the no frills cover disguise what has to be one of the most beautiful explanations of the Apostles’ Creed I’ve ever read.  Through this series of lectures delivered by German professor and theologian Karl Barth in the summer of 1946, the reader is taken into the mysteries discussed in the Apostles’ Creed, or the “Christian Confession,” as Barth refers to it.  

      So often we place limits on God, based on our own limitations and prejudices, on the narrowness of our own minds, and then we get stuck spiritually, unable to break free from the jail cell we’ve created.   Dogmatics in Outline often made me feel as if my mind and soul were expanding as I read it.  The bars of the jail cell I’ve constructed over the years were being bent back or even broken in half.

  Another time I was acutely aware of this sort of epiphany-like occurrence while reading was when I took a Philosophy of Religion course many years ago.

     Though I know God is much bigger than humans can ever explain or fathom, Barth’s explication of the Creed helps to emphasize the magnitude of the Lord, that has been and always will be well beyond our grasp.   Through a close examination of the words of the Creed and how they are developed through Scripture, the reader is given an opportunity to comprehend on more ethereal and visceral levels a prayer and confession of faith that sums up the most significant aspects of Christianity.   

     My mom raved about Karl Barth's Dogmatics in Outline, one of the books that she was assigned to read for one of her Master’s courses.  She liked it so much that she gave both my sister and me copies of the book this past Christmas.  For a number of reasons, God’s seen fit to inspire me to read certain books at the right time, so that’s why I didn’t pick up this one until May. 

     I highly recommend this book to Christians everywhere.  I feel quite certain the lyrical quality of the language and the vastness of God’s Power and Presence will draw you in, make you think, and lead you to a deeper life of prayer, preaching, and living out the Gospel.

     For more information or to order a copy of this masterpiece, click here.

 

The Legacy of John David Niermeyer

I’m still deeply saddened by the news.  When other loved ones have passed away, including my uncle Bob, my dad, Aunt Florence, and Kathy Jordan, the surprise and sorrow have hit me in waves.  Sharing stories and memories about them with other family and friends has helped.  Taking the time to write a thoughtful tribute to them to put on my blog has also become part of the grieving process.

     
It has been two months and ten days since the most recent death in our family.  Though I began writing this tribute during the week he died, I haven’t been able to finish it until now.  Each day since I heard the news, I have prayed for the repose of my cousin’s soul and for his deeply grieved family members, who love him so dearly.  I cannot imagine the depth of anguish they’ve been experiencing, but I have and will continue to pray hard and long that they will find strength and comfort in the Lord.  His daughter, parents, siblings, and close family and friends have been heavy on my heart and therefore frequently in my prayers.
     
I’ve tried to come up with what to say or write to his family, but there don’t seem to be words adequate to describe the empathy, the heartache that I feel for them going through this tremendous loss.  Often only prayers have seemed appropriate.       
     
My cousin John David Niermeyer, age 41, died suddenly and unexpectedly Tuesday, March 1, 2011, at his home in Cypress, Texas.  We last saw John when he came for my dad’s funeral in August 2009.  His older brothers Tim and Tom provided some much-needed comic relief at my dad’s funeral Mass when they shared some stories about dad from when they were younger. 
  
Most of my memories of John are from when I was young.  When our family lived in Dallas, Texas, we would often go to Uncle Rich and Aunt Linda’s house in Houston for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  My sister Mary and I always looked up to our older cousins Tim, Tom, John, and Amy.  Some of our most cherished holiday traditions were formed during those years.  Little did Rich and Linda know when they had us help make and decorate Christmas cookies that it would become part of our yearly holiday preparation and family celebration.
     
We used to get into our pajamas, then get in the car and go see the Christmas lights.  In one neighborhood, each block would have lights and yard decorations with the same theme.  One street might do all Charlie Brown, another one, the Smurfs, or Disney characters.      
     
I can still remember what Rich and Linda’s house looked like, how excited their dog Checkers would get when people came over…
    
John, you brought a great deal of love, joy, and laughter to family and friends.  The love for you and from you will continue in the lives of the many people you have touched.  The work the 
Lord doing in and through you will be completed in time and eternity. 
     
Lord, please bless all who are suffering in mind, body, and/or spirit with an unmistakable sense of Your love, mercy, forgiveness and peace, which passes all understanding.  Help each of us to be open vessels for the healing You know that people need most at this time.  Guide us by the Light of Your Truth and the hope of the Holy Spirit to do Your Will.  Amen.          

Nature Fun for Kids: Create the Box, then Think Outside It

Last week at Nature Club, I taught the kids the how to fold a square piece of paper into a little box. We counted the number of triangles, squares, quadrilaterals, rectangles, and trapezoids each time we did another step of the process. Before we opened up our origami boxes, I had them color the edges, pointing out the ones that would show once we completed all of the proper folds.
    
I was about 11 or 12 when I first learned how to fold this origami box, and it’s the one thing I remember how to fold without looking at instructions. I knew the exercise would be a hit since the boys in Nature Club had often begun folding any leftover pieces of paper to make airplanes, some which were much more aerodynamically sound than others.

After we opened up and did the final folds on our 3” X 3” boxes, I asked them to imagine what sort of things from nature could fit into the box they’d made. They named a number of different insects, arachnids, and such, then I asked them what they might find on our school campus from nature, that wasn’t still living, that would fit into their boxes. They came up with a number of things before we set out on our nature walk to see what we could find to put in our boxes.
    
All of us had fun selecting fallen flower petals, leaves, the tops of acorns, mini red berries, little sticks, nibbled on pine cones, pieces of bark, rocks, half-eaten tree nuts, and such to put in our little boxes. When we returned, we dumped our things out and examined what each person had found, then I had them draw and color some of the sundry treasures they’d found. It was so enjoyable, that I decided to do the same thing with my French Club on Thursday, only we talked about the colors, items, shapes and names of things in nature in French.
    
Lord, thank you for the gift of children, who so often help us to slow down and recognize the beauty, delicate details, and wonder in the world around us. Please increase our ability to see Your handprints on everything and in everyone. Amen.

Because of You

     Today has been one of those days when I’ve been filled with an incredible sense of God’s Presence. Though it’s been a long, pretty tiring week, I decided after my mom and our dear brother in Christ, John, both said they were going to Saturday Mass and to pray at the clinic that I would get up early this morning, though, it was terribly tempting to sleep in.            
     Before heading to work, my husband asked me if we could help someone he knows who is going through a difficult time. I agreed to his plan of action, but it wasn’t until I was at Mass at St. Benedict’s while Kevin was working his Saturday shift that I was overcome with an even deeper sense of love and gratitude for my husband, who has often been extremely good about living out the Gospel through being compassionate, caring, and taking action when he sees someone in need. We often have different approaches to prayer, faith, and spirituality, but I was given the grace to see how beautiful it is when we unite our gifts in order to glorify the Lord and bring others closer to Him.

The Blessings of Divine Mercy

Divine Mercy Sunday, which is celebrated the second Sunday of Easter, this year on May 1, has an even richer significance as today also marks the beatification of Pope John Paul II. St. Maria Faustina Kowalska of Poland was canonized by Pope John Paul II, who established the Sunday after Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday.
   
St. Faustina received from Jesus the message of Divine Mercy which He asked her to share with the world. In addition to the prayers of The Chaplet of Divine Mercy, St. Faustina was shown an image that she was instructed to have painted of the Blood and Water flowing out from Christ’s side and the words, “Jesus, I trust in You” underneath. The many messages she received from the Lord about His Divine Mercy, His love for us, and desire that sinners turn back to Him are included in The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in my Soul.
    
The Chaplet of Divine Mercy is a very powerful prayer said on ordinary Rosary beads. The first and second times I ever heard this prayer sung were incredibly moving prayer sessions you can read about here.
    
Back in October of 2008 when I served on my first Cursillo team, I explained The Divine Mercy message and we sang the prayer on the weekend. In August of last year, I served on a Christ Renews His Parish Women’s retreat team and again had the privilege of introducing to the team and candidates The Divine Mercy Chaplet through song.
    
One time when I met with a friend from VCU and her roommate to pray at the 40 Days for Life vigil this Spring, I suggested that we sing The Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Only one of the women had ever heard it sung before, but they both agreed to try it if I’d lead. Standing on the corner singing the Chaplet with two strong women of faith was a very powerful experience. Interestingly enough, this friend has a well-worn copy of The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in my Soul which she refers to daily.
    
Last year, our dear brother in Christ’s birthday happened to fall on Divine Mercy Sunday. In order to celebrate his birthday and the feast, he had a Divine Mercy party. Family and friends were invited to meet at his parents’ house to pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy together. It was a very special occasion and a great way to promote this devotion among loved ones.
    
To observe Divine Mercy Sunday today, I met up our brother John and one of the high school students he’s sponsoring for Confirmation, and we sang the Chaplet of Divine Mercy in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at our parish, then we prayed the Stations of the Cross together.
    
I am grateful for the Lord's Divine Mercy, for the many women and men in my life who have shown me the love and mercy of God. Thank you for being vessels for the Lord!