Share, Be Satisfied

     God provides all that we need and then some.  God provides us with an unquenchable hunger for Him that keeps us focused.  He gives us the gift of faith.  He showers love, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion upon us, so that we may go and share these gifts with others, thereby bringing us all closer to Him.  He provides for some of what we need for ourselves and gives us extra that’s meant to be shared. 

     Oftentimes, God works through other people to meet our most basic physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.  We each have different gifts, talents, and abilities, possess different types of wealth, but we’re each called to share all that we have been given. 

     Some of us may believe we haven’t got much that’s worth sharing.  We fear we can’t make a significant enough contribution to others.  We believe we don’t have enough money, resources, education, support, faith, and/or wisdom to share with others. 

     Sharing makes us vulnerable.  It means giving not only what we have, but also who we are, and that can be frightening at times.  Sharing our food and/or our money can be far easier than

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 9)

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You ain’t never had a friend like me! A number of years ago when we were still dating, Kevin mentioned something to me that sounded like “our genie.”  I thought he was being sarcastic about having his very own genie from a lamp, something along the lines of the masterful, musical genie from Disney’s Aladdin.  Turns out, Kevin was perfectly serious…about the name of the local power company: Rochester Gas & Electric (a.k.a. RG&E).  To this day I’m amused whenever people in the area talk about the power company, because they always say RG&E (often pronounced “our genie”) so quickly that it really sounds like they’re talking very seriously about their personal genie. 

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Boys and their toys.  This past Tuesday our two youngest nephews from Kevin’s side of the family came to the cottage with their girlfriends and their jet skis.  They were out in the water when we got back home.  It hit Kevin that his influence of being a gearhead, who looks to speed for thrills, had greatly influenced the interests and spending habits of his nephews.  He apologized for this, only half-kidding, that he had some responsibility for their passion/obsession.  I informed the ladies that the penchant for motor vehicles and being a gearhead does not subside as the guys get older.  One of them said something to the effect of, so “we should get out while we still can?”  Kevin suggested starting a women’s support group instead, for those who love gearheads.      

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How full is your water glass?  For my mom’s birthday last Sunday, she, her youngest brother, his wife, their two children, my husband Kevin, and I went to a delicious restaurant on the canal called Aladdin’s.  My mom had called ahead and made reservations, but when we arrived, we weren’t on their list.  They made room for our party of seven downstairs, but not outside, where my mom would have preferred to be.  The food was delectable and the desserts quite decadent which helped distract us a bit from the fact that the waitress helping our waiter was not all there, to put it nicely.  Refilling our water, bringing us napkins, and forks when it was time for dessert was apparently a greater challenge than one would think.  She provided the perfect foil for the waitress we had at lunchtime at The Cheesecake Factory the next day, who not only was on top of what we asked for, but who also had the foresight to anticipate what we’d like next and bring it before we even asked. 

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I’m a little intimidated. After having such a good experience with the on-the-ball waitress at The Cheesecake Factory, the seven of us went up to the hostess station and requested to speak with the manager.  He came out in a minute or two, and upon seeing my uncle Rob, who has a solid build and claims he’s 6’9” (but whose head brushes against standard height doorframes), he admitted, “I’m a little intimidated.”  My uncle assured him there was no need to be, that we just wanted to let him know that our waitress had done a magnificent job and was to be commended.  My uncle’s also a laidback kind of guy, so he isn’t someone you’d need to fear anyway, even though he is super tall.  You could see the manager’s relief.   

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No, I don’t.  Do you play miniature golf?  When we were growing up, people would always ask my uncle Rob if he played basketball because he’s so tall.  He’d shoot hoops from time to time, but that wasn’t his favorite sport to play, so really the answer was no.  I can’t remember if we saw his answer to this often-asked question on a T-shirt, but we thought it would be perfect to get him.  My sisters and I get our height from our mom’s side of the family.  My mom’s older brother is 6’5” and he prefers golf over basketball, too.   

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Give us this day, our daily bread...  As a juvenile diabetic, my husband wouldn’t get too far without sustenance.  For many years, he’s been in the habit of carrying some type of food or candy with him in case his sugar gets low.  The first summer, I lived with my grandmother in Rochester, so I could be closer to Kevin, I often went to daily Mass during the week.  I went during the day while Kevin was at work, but even then I thought and prayed that God would change Kevin’s heart and mind about the Catholic Church.  I longed for him to return to the faith, take part in the Sacraments, and seek to center his life on the Lord.

I can’t help but marvel each day when Kevin and I are holding hands together at daily Mass, both wanting to be there, fully participating in the Mass, and aware of the Lord’s Presence in the Liturgy of the Word and the Eucharist.  I never dreamed that someday, even while we were on vacation, that my husband would join me for daily Mass, make it a priority, and look forward to it as much as I do.  God is truly amazing!!    

-7-

If you like piña coladas…then you’d be in vacation heaven with me this week.  My beverage of choice is a piña colada smoothie at Sips.  Earlier this week, I got to indulge in a most delicious slice of piña colada cake cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.  I spread the indulgence over a few days.  Kevin has had a penchant for mango, especially on vacation.  First, he was ordering a mango fruit freeze, now he’s moved on to a Mango Tango smoothie at Sips.       

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     Check out Jennifer Fulwiler’s 7 Quick Takes Friday series and her high-traffic for good reason blog Conversion Diary.

Dion The Wanderer Talks Truth

     Dion -- The Wanderer Talks Truth is a great read I heard about through a God-incident.  When we took our best friend/brother John to the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart a couple weeks ago, he got some books at the gift shop.  He picked up a copy of this one for his sister, who is really into music and loves Dion.  None of us had realized Dion is Catholic. 

     I selected Dion -- The Wanderer Talks Truth to review so I could talk about it with John’s sister, who also loves to read, and because it’s sort of off-the-beaten-path from what I usually select.    

     Dion’s amazing journey to stardom includes the blues, those in his own life and those that inspired his music.  He got caught up for a number of years in the pop music artists’ traditional mélange of: alcohol, drugs, and Rock and Roll.  Throughout his life, Dion had some very strong influences on his music, many people who stood up and out with him from his Bronx neighborhood

Wegmans Concerts By the Shore

       For the past twenty-seven years, they’ve held Wednesday evening Wegmans Concerts By the Shore at Charlotte (pronounced without the “r” because they have some strange ways of saying things up here) Beach.  A while back when Kevin and I were dating, we rode bikes down there on a Wednesday night to hear the free concert.  I remember we slow-danced to “Unforgettable.”

Here’s Your Hint

     As my husband can attest, I’m not someone who goes gaga over cars, motorcycles, trains, planes, and other vehicles like he does.  My main interest is in that they work properly when I want to use them and are fixed properly when they don’t, preferably without completely draining our bank account.  My willingness to indulge in Kevin’s careful car maintenance rituals the second year we came up and stayed for two weeks at the cottage on Lake Ontario was another not-so-subtle hint I was already interested in Kevin thirteen some years go...      

     One afternoon Kevin said he needed to wash his car.  I wasn’t quite sure why, but I volunteered to help.  Mary and Theresa also pitched in.  First, we sat down in front of his ’95 black two door Monte Carlo and attempted to scrub the entire bug community of Lake Ontario off of the car.  Later, he and his friend figured the only way to get the embedded bugs off was to

A Bug’s Life

     It would be really funny to take a close-up picture or two of the front of my car, where there is now a large community of smashed bugs, and see how many insect splats the kids in my next Nature Camp are able to identify.  Don’t worry, I’m not actually going to have this be one of the works they do, but I do appreciate the irony of carrying out such an idea at a Montessori school where we catch insects we find inside to release them back outdoors.

     Not too long ago, I read about a company that’s doing studies on how the insect population is at risk due to the number of bugs killed by moving vehicles.  They’ve gone so far as to enlist people to

My Dad's Birthday and the Feast of St. James

     Today is the feast day of St. James and my dad James Lester Niermeyer’s birthday.  He would have turned 56 today.  Two years ago I got to spend an enjoyable day with him which I describe in My Dad’s Final Birthday post.        The rest of our immediate family was up in Rochester, NY, my parents’ hometown, on his birthday, so Kevin and I got to spend it with him.  It was a memorable day and became even more special to us when we looked back knowing it was his last.  I still have the message saved on our answering machine that he left that evening.  

     Yesterday, while in the car, Kevin and I listened to the “Stroll Down Memory Lane” CD mix I put together for my family members a few years ago.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 8)

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It’s a jungle out there! This Monday a parent whose child was in my Nature Camp last week told me that her daughter’s friend, also in my camp, had informed his parents he’d gone on the school bus to a jungle with my class. Of course, the mother was a bit disconcerted to hear this, since nothing had ever been mentioned about an off-campus field trip anywhere, certainly not to a jungle.

     I laughed and said he had quite an imagination. I assured her we didn’t go on a spur-of-the-moment, no-permission-slips-needed trip to the jungle...

Disclaimer: Your child will, at no time while under our supervision, be leaving the school campus, the state of Virginia, or the United States of America without your expressed written permission, required stuffed animals, and a current passport.

     To read the full post, click here.

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Catholic artists combine creativity and faith to glorify God.  These three Catholics have answered the pope’s call to continue the tradition of creating beautiful, sacred works of art that honor and promote the Faith...To read full article By Jim Graves – Our Sunday Visitor Newsweekly, 7/31/2011, click here. 

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We didn’t have a lot of fun in the desert.  My husband and I have a confession to make: we’ve had some very catchy Veggie Tales songs running through our heads this week thanks to the readings from Exodus about Moses leading the Children of Israel out of Egypt.  If you have not yet had the pleasure and amusement of listening to this song, I highly recommend you click here then select “Going to the Promised Land” to see the video.  Listen and repeat.

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Fully Relying on God (F.R.O.G.) is a phrase Kevin and I first heard of from a Cursillo friend of ours.  Last night we went to Sweet Frog for some frozen yogurt.  The shop in Carytown is brightly decorated, has air conditioning (which is mandatory for me in such oppressive heat), a cool self-serve set-up, and a moral message.  Their frog stands for the same thing we are each called to do.  These shops only play Christian music and they serve as a smooth reminder what this life is supposed to be all about.

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Separation anxiety/sadness.  It breaks my heart how sad my grandmother becomes when she doesn’t get to see my mom every day.  If my mom has to go out of town or is sick and needs to stay in bed for a few days, my grandma has sometimes worried that she’ll never see my mom again.  It’s hard for her to remember most days what she’s been told, so she asks the same questions over and over, usually about how each person in the family is doing, how work is going, etc.  Any time my mom can’t come see her, she asks if I’ve heard from my mom and wants to know what she said, where she is, and when she’ll be back.  I always call my mom and, if I can get ahold of her, will let Grandma talk with her for a while. 

     A woman came in yesterday to ask my grandma eight questions about what activities and such are important to her.  I knew her answers before she said them: reading the newspaper, books, and magazines, listening to classical music, taking part in religious services, getting time out in the fresh air when the weather’s nice, and being up on the news are all things she said are very important to her. 

    Yesterday she thanked me a number of times for coming to see her.  I left feeling that it’s pitiful that I don’t visit her very often when she lives so close and it means so much to her.    

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My Snap-Happy Hubby goes to Washington.  Last Saturday Kevin, our best friend/brother John, and I went up to the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. for a day-trip pilgrimage.  It was the first time Kevin and I had ever been there.  We made it in time for the second half of the daily Mass in the Crypt Church, then we spent the rest of the praying there and looking around before going to 5:15pm Mass in the main sanctuary of the Basilica.   I had to laugh that Kevin was the one who had the camera out and was snapping pictures left and right.  I didn’t feel the need to take lots of photos that day.  After we’d toured the Crypt Church, Kevin asked what I wanted to do next; he didn’t realize that we still had the actual basilica itself, the main church, to go through.  He’s pretty cute.  I’m going to keep him ;) Kevin’s only been on one other “pilgrimage.”  We made an hour or two stop at the National Shrine Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, which is the oldest known replica of the famous French shrine, on our way home from my aunt Florence’s funeral last fall.  We knew about the place because John had gone there and brought us back some Holy Water a while ago in a most unusual-for-that-purpose container. 

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Are You Willing to Ask the Lord for His Truth about That? Since this past January, I have been learning about an amazing ministry that has helped people all over the world find tremendous healing and release.  Theophostic Prayer Ministry, developed by Christian preacher, counselor, husband, father, author, and speaker Ed Smith, deals with identifying the lie-based beliefs we have and being open to the Holy Spirit replacing those lies with Truth. 

I’ve learned quite a bit about the ministry over the past seven months.  Of course, I still have a good bit to go over and practice.  Some of the most exciting benefits of this ministry for me so far is that it’s something that Kevin has become increasingly interested in.  He’s been reading the introductory book Healing Life’s Hurts, watching the training DVDs with me, and coming up with some really funny examples of how not to do the ministry.  I’m not sure where all of this will lead us, but it’s brought us closer to learn about this ministry and the basic principles of lie-based beliefs being the driving factors behind our negative emotions and pain.  To read about this ministry, see a demonstration of it, etc., check out www.theophostic.com.     

     Check out Jennifer Fulwiler’s 7 Quick Takes Friday series and her high-traffic for good reason blog Conversion Diary.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

     Today’s reading from Exodus 16: 1-5, 9-15 about the Lord providing manna from heaven for the Israelites to eat in the desert when they were fleeing the Egyptians got me thinking about a great children’s book, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett and Ron Barrett.       

     When Fr. Kauffman was giving his homily at Mass this evening, he mentioned that when he was around five or six years old and heard this story from the Old Testament he pictured huge chunks of bread falling out of the sky.

     I wonder if the Bible story was part of the inspiration for the classic children’s book in which the people get all of their food and drink from the sky.  It is a very interesting concept to think that the Lord would shower down food.

Who Laces Up Whose New Shoes Now?

     After waiting much longer than someone who is so extremely hard on shoes should, I finally went and got a new pair of walking/stair climbing/chasing kids outside sneaker-type shoes today.  Apparently, I was more tired than I thought, because after giving the salesman the shoe I wanted to try on and watching him go in back and return with the size I needed, I proceeded to put one of my insoles into the shoe next to me, finish lacing it up, and attempt to try it on.       

     The salesman asked me about whether or not the shoe was the right size.  I said I wouldn’t know until I got the insole in it and then tried it on. 

     At that point I looked up and saw that he was lacing up a shoe for my right foot.  The one I’d just put one of my insoles into was the right foot of the display pair.  Duh!  No wonder he was confused and asking me before I even got the shoe on if it was the right size.

It’s a Jungle Out There!

     Today a parent whose child was in my Nature Camp last week told me this morning that her daughter’s friend, also in my camp, had informed his parents he’d gone on the school bus to a jungle with my class.  Of course, the mother was a bit disconcerted to hear this, since nothing had ever been mentioned about an off-campus field trip anywhere, certainly not to a jungle. 

     I laughed and said he had quite an imagination.  I assured her we didn’t go on a spur-of-the-moment, no-permission-slips-needed trip to the jungle.  We did, however, talk about different animals who live in the jungle, because some of the children’s foam visors to color with markers had a jungle theme. 

     We explored nature around campus and in the classroom, but we didn’t exactly go on safari.  What’s even funnier is

Kevin’s Birthday Flashbacks: 1997 & 1998

Surprise!!

     My mom, Mary, Theresa, and I first rented the other side of the cottage on Lake Ontario for one week beginning July 12, 1997.  That’s where Kevin and I first met.  That week, we found out that Kevin’s birthday is July 17, so we went out and bought provisions to decorate his door.  My mom is famous for her fondness of decorating for special occasions with colorful streamers, signs, and balloons.  We had fun putting everything up while he was at work. 

     He was shocked when he came home and knew immediately that we were the ones behind it.  We gave him a card.  On it is a black and white picture of a little boy with slicked down blond hair who’s wearing dark overalls without a shirt.  He’s eating a banana with a thoughtful expression on his face.  The quote underneath says, “He had only one idea, and that was wrong.”  We gave Kevin a clear bar of soap with a tugboat inside it and continued to hassle him about the sunken vessel none of us ever spotted. 

Mixed Messages, Unfettered Laughter

   The next summer we expressed our birthday wishes for Kevin with a few gifts.  We gave him a notepad that said, “Experience enables us to recognize a mistake when we make it again.”  I gave him a little wooden box with a star cut out of the lid.  I colored it with markers, put three shiny tugboat stickers below the star, and filled the box with little papers.  That summer my sisters and I would tell someone to be quiet by saying, “I’ve got a whole box of Shh! with your name on it!”  Kevin had heard us use this many times, so I wrote Shh! on several pieces of notebook paper, cut them up, wrote his name on the decorated wooden box, and gave it to him.  He was very amused. 

   Our useful gift, or one that at least appeared to have practical value, was a magnet with the numbers of the Coast Guard.  We told him we’d included it so he could call and get the coordinates of the sunken tugboat he still claimed existed.  He’d been disappointed by the Coast Guard in the past, and we’d joked about how much time they spend at local donut shops.  Later we confessed that the phone number on the magnet was really for Dunkin Donuts, not the Coast Guard.  He thought that was even funnier.

   We also gave him a set of ballpoint pens with his name on them.  He took this as an indication that he should be writing me.  This was a message I wanted to convey, but I’m sure wasn’t what my mom was thinking when she bought them.  He apologized numerous times for not writing me back.  He explained he didn’t know what to say.  I forgave Kevin and told him his father had written me one of the nicest letters I’d ever received in response to the one I’d sent him.  Of course, this didn’t make Kevin think he was off the hook.

Fantastically romantic fact: Kevin kept everything.  He still has the card, the tugboat soap, a whole box of Shh! with his name on it…

Happy Birthday, Babe!  I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to celebrate your last fourteen birthdays together.  I’m amazed at the countless ways God has worked in and through us to help each other grow closer to Him and one another.  It gives me hope that He’ll keep working such miracles in the years to come, and, thereby, exceed our current aspirations by 500 miles.  Love you muchly, me

Rediscover Catholicism

     I must say that I’m impressed with Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly. There are some books about Catholics coming back to the faith that give just a taste of the richness within the Church. Others tend to focus on a few aspects of the Catholic faith or treat one particular subject in depth. This book is a great one to give to those who are wondering about Catholicism, those who have fallen away from the Church of their youth, those who would like to learn the Truth about the pillars of the faith, as well as devout Catholics interested in growing closer to the Lord.

     I’ve read and reviewed a number of Matthew Kelly’s books, CDs, and DVDs. As with his other works, his strong, straightforward messages are ones basically every person on the planet could benefit from hearing. He provides practical suggestions for how people can become the best-version-of-themselves, which he explains means living out God’s will and becoming all He has created you to be.

     Rediscover Catholicism is a wonderful tool to help people of all ages and degrees of education (in terms of the faith and otherwise) to be inspired to live out the call to holiness which God extends to each of us.

     The repetition and re-emphasis of important points helps drive home the bold, yet basic messages Kelly has about why, how, where, and when each of us can become the best version of ourselves.

     As I’ve previously mentioned, the one and only qualm I have about the book is that there are some grammatical errors and typos that are distracting for an English major like me. I’d certainly be more than happy to read and be one of the copy editors for Matthew Kelly’s next manuscript. I enjoy reading his work quite a bit and would indeed be interested in helping his next book become the best-version-of-itself before it goes on the bookstore shelf.

     You can purchase the Rediscovering Catholicism here.
      I wrote this review of Rediscover Catholicism for the Tiber River Blogger Review program.   Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 7)

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Can I Keep Him?! This was a question I had after meeting Kevin and becoming friends with him.  I still think about it at times when he’s being particularly adorable.  It baffles me how the Lord has worked in and through my husband over the years.  He’s still the one who can make me laugh the hardest and longest.    

This past week we returned to the podiatrist to see how Kevin’s foot is doing.  When one of the women at the office asked him what had happened to it, he gave his standard reply: “I had it removed from my mouth.” 

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DE COLORES!! God has blessed my husband and me with a multitude of miracles, many of which have happened in the past five years as a result of our involvement in the Cursillo Movement. The friends we’ve made through the movement have truly become beloved family members. 
I made my Cursillo weekend in June 2006 at Mary Mother of the Church Abbey.  Our theme was “Be Still and Know,” and I sat at the table of the Sea of Conviction.  On the weekend, the ladies at my table and I renamed ourselves the Spiritual Divas and are now known by that name in the Cursillo community.  I served on the “Harvesting God’s Abundance” Women’s team in October 2008.  My husband Kevin made his weekend in September 2006 at the Abbey, and he sat at the table of St. John.  I was so excited that he made his weekend close to when I made mine, so we could share that experience and both enjoy our new friends/family.   Kevin served on his first team in March 2009 and he loved it!
For more information about the international movement that’s centered around a short course in Christianity, click here.

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Cheerios bring a big of nostalgia.  When cleaning out my car, I found a lone Cheerio in the backseat, and a wave of nostalgia poured over me as I remembered my days as a nanny taking care of “my two little guys.”  We rarely went anywhere without “O’s.”  I still think of Hank and Jack often and treasure the many memories of those to members of the “bare piggy brigade.”  Lord, thanks for the honor and joy of taking care of and working with children!

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Out of the mouth of babes.  I laughed out loud and grabbed a sticky note to jot this down when I heard the following exchange take place at school between some quite cute three year olds hanging out in the book corner:

“Do you like little kids?” one girl asked.

“No,” more than one three year old surveyed said in reply.

     I’m guessing that “little kids” to these young child means babies who are still in diapers, crawling instead of walking, and not quite as verbal.  I was laughing too hard to ask for a clarification at the time.    

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Put your oxygen mask on first.  Whenever I travel, I hear, as part of the opening instructions on an airplane, "If traveling next to children, put on your oxygen mask first." The reason they say this is because if there is an emergency and the oxygen masks come down, if you stop to put it on a child first, the child may move around. The result can be that the child doesn't get the oxygen mask on, and neither does the adult, and that is a very dangerous and perhaps fatal situation.

Those airline instructions are important in everyday life too. If you don't take care of yourself, your energy can be zapped, and you won't be able to take care of children. You are very important in the lives of children. Be sure and take time to take care of yourself. That is how you put your own oxygen mask on.
Have a great day and week-end. You are a difference maker.  

Note: This is one of the weekday e-mail reflections I received from the director of the Applebaum Training Institute. If you’d like to be added to her list: click here.

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I got caught!  We’ve had a fun, busy this week in Nature Camp.  We’ve done activities which have allowed us to experience nature through all five of our senses.  Through outdoor exploration, books, puzzles, special projects, food tasting, and discussions we’ve learned quite a bit about the natural world around us at school.  We identified what’s living and nonliving in our classroom and also pointed out which nonliving things are made from things that were once living (such as paper, wool, furniture, and leather).

This morning the Cheering Camp did a performance for all of us.  Afterwards, one of the kids in my class needed to go potty.  I was waiting in the hall for her and while no one was around, I began doing the half-time cheer (with modified jumps).  Suddenly I look up and see my supervisor standing there, clearly amused that I was passing my time in the hallway on potty patrol by doing an old cheer when I thought no one was watching.    

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Got Questions about Catholicism?  As mentioned last week, I’ve often had people ask me for book recommendations.  Here are five I’ve read and loved that I’d recommend for people who have questions about Catholicism:

1.     RediscoveringCatholicism

2.     Recovering Faith: Stories of Catholics Who Came Home  
3.     Truth for Your Mind Love for Your Heart
4.     Prodigal Daughters
5.     My Life on the Rock: A Rebel Returns to His Faith

The two most important things are that you love the Lord with all of your heart and long to do His will.  With those two priorities at the center, I know you will continue to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and go where He leads you in your spiritual journey and in life. 

     Check out Jennifer Fulwiler’s 7 Quick Takes Friday series and her high-traffic for good reason blog Conversion Diary.

Catholic Update Guide to The Mass

     The Catholic Update Guide to The Mass is a short, clearly explained guide to the Mass and the changes in the Roman Missal (which will soon be coming to the Catholic Churches near you).  After hearing various compliments and critiques of the new Latin translation of certain prayers, I found this quick read, complete with the new responses the congregation will be praying during the Mass to be very informative and easy to follow. 

     I can see, in many ways, how this new translation will promote deeper reflection and awareness of what we say and do at Mass.  I know I have been guilty at times of saying the prayers I know by heart without putting as much thought, concentration, and conviction into them as I do when more focused.  Certainly the humility and reverence we ought to have before the Lord seems clearer in the new Roman Missal.  With this in hand, I don’t feel as uncomfortable about the changes, even though I know it will likely take me a while to get use to praying these slightly reworded prayers. 

     This guide is a very handy reference, small enough to put in a purse or slide into a planner, that will help those who have memorized the responses at Mass learn the new ones and, thereby, have a renewed appreciation for the blessing of the Word of God as well as the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. 

     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 Catholic Update Guide to the Mass. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible.

The Chocolate Diaries

     Truth be told, I’m a firm believer that all women need chocolate.  When I found out about a non-fiction book about women getting through tough times with the help of family, friends, prayer, laughter, tears, and plenty of chocolate, of course I was interested in reading The Chocolate Diaries. 

      In some ways, it is lighter in tone and has more humor than many of the books I’ve been reading lately, though there are certainly some heart-wrenching stories included.  Karen Scalf Linamen approaches what she refers to as “Secrets for a Sweeter Journey on the Rocky Road of Life” with humor and honesty that make even some of the most bitter circumstances palatable in the end.

The True Meaning of Christian Marriage

    Yesterday I had the blessing of being the wedding photographer for friends of my sister Mary’s.  I hadn’t met the bride, groom, or either of their families before yesterday afternoon.  I got there after their regular church service ended so my sister could introduce me to the family. 

     Rachel is one of nine children, ranging in ages from 8-28, so there were lots of people for me to meet.  They had their first dress rehearsal at 2:00pm Sunday for the 3:30pm wedding, which didn’t give them or me a whole lot of time to figure out where and when things were happening, but everything turned out beautifully. 
     The pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church, Kevin Germer, spoke about how Christian marriage is a commitment and covenant to love one another for the rest of our lives whether the warm-fuzzy feelings are there or not.  He emphasized that as soon as they were officially married, they’d have a problem in their marriage.  I thought that sounded a little negative, until he continued.  He said their problem would be

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 6)

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We’re still LAUGHING TOGETHER! The year we first met, I was quickly attracted to Kevin’s friendliness, outgoing personality, his sense of humor, his ability to appreciate and reciprocate my brand of sarcasm and banter of wordplays.  Oh yeah, and his great smile and blue eyes might have gotten my attention as well.  My dear husband has reminded me numerous times I need to finish the memoir about us and get it published.  Babe, I believe you’re right.  I think it’s time, but I’m going to need your help, input, humor, love, support, patience, prayers, and your rather impressive editing abilities to get the job done.  Thanks for believing in me and always encouraging me to become the best version of myself! 

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I had a dream last night… that was filled with many people from my past.  A number of situations and experiences seemed sparked by recent thoughts, events, and feelings.  I can remember a lot of detail in most of my dreams: people, what places look like, sometimes exactly what people say in the dream and how it made me feel, and yes, I dream in living color.  I find it significant and perhaps another nudge from God that the dream I was having when I woke up to the alarm this morning was in French and English and had people in it from my time studying abroad in France.  It’s always encouraging when I realize I still sometimes dream in French, and it’s a strong subconscious indicator that I need to get back to working on the memoir, the next part of which is about my time studying abroad in France.  I know I can be stubborn and reluctant, but I’m glad the Lord and my husband are persistent.   

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Total Consecration of St. Louis de Montfort is a very powerful way to grow in love, knowledge, and spiritual closeness to the Lord Jesus Christ through the Blessed Mother. I first read and prayed through the Preparation for Total Consecration according to Saint Louis Marie de Montfort over ten years ago. I found the experience of reading the reflections and praying the included prayers over the prescribed 33 day period to be extremely powerful and spiritually enriching. I find that some of the prayers included are still among my favorites to use in my daily morning prayer time.

Through MyConsecration.org apostolate, since January 1, Ray Mooney has shipped over 6,500 Consecration Packets. In the last 15 years Tony Mullen, who founded Children of the Father Foundation, has shipped over 300,000 Consecration Packets throughout the world. I hope that you will thoroughly check out our website and place orders for free materials if you feel so inclined.

To Jesus Through Mary,

Ray Mooney, National Coordinator of Parish Consecration, 718-309-6126

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It’s hard raising parents these days.  Matthew Archbold, who left the business world to raise his five children has some truly hilarious blog posts involving kids, faith, child care, parenting, and such that I’ve found so entertaining I’ve insisted on reading them aloud to my husband so we can both laugh together about the antics of the Archbold household.  Here are three of my favorite posts of his:  “I Have No Idea How I’m Doing as a Dad,” “OCALHEAP!” and “Batman Tried to Save Jesus.” And by the way, as someone who has taken care of kids of all ages, worked as a nanny, teacher, tutor, camp instructor, religious education teacher, and “other mother” for numerous children over the past 18 years, I’d have to say that overall, you’re doing a good job as a dad, Mr. Archbold.

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Ongoing discernment.  The necessity of ongoing vocational discernment has often been a buzz topic for me.  I firmly believe that if we genuinely listen to the Lord, then He will continue to reveal His will for our lives and vocations as we go. 

A good case in point, Abigail Seidman, a wife, mother, just came into the Church at Easter Catholic, is a woman I met through 40 Days for Life when she and another woman from Silent No More came to share their abortion experiences with those of us gathered before the clinic to pray for an end to abortion.  This dynamic pro-life speaker has recently discerned that God is currently calling her to focus on private life and religious life rather than putting so much time and energy into the abortion issue.  Read her full post here and check out her other blog Cosy Moments.

Here’s my response: I completely respect your decision and know it's one you've made with ample prayer, discernment, and guidance.  I'm glad you're leaving this blog up as a link to some of the very moving stories and testimonies you have of why you are pro-life. 

Quite honestly, the Catholic, wife, and mother aspects of who you are will always be the most important.  You are doing what's best for you and your family, and what is truly pro-life and the best example for others by following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

God bless you and your family!

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You never know.  A gentleman who’s a member of the Charismatic Prayer Group at our church, is also doing the Theophostic Prayer Ministry Facilitator Training, and who Kevin and I regularly see at daily Mass at the church near us, has given me two little booklets that have had a big impact on me.  They are reflections and prayers based on the daily Scripture Readings for Mass that are quite poignant and thought-provoking.  Today, I immediately opened the book and read precisely what God knew I needed to hear this morning.  Funny thing is, I had such a strong sense that was the one I had to read, I didn’t realize until I’d finished it’s the reflection for Saturday, not Friday.  Rich, thanks for ministering to me by blessing me with the last two issues of One Bread, One Body published by Presentation Ministries.  For more information or to order your own copies to read and share, click here.

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Need reading recommendations?  I have done lots and lots of book reviews!  Check them out here.  Some of my favorite requests for best books have come from people who I’ve never met who have come across my blog.  It’s always fun to share my passion for books with others, but I get the most fulfillment when people contact me who have fallen away from the Catholic Church or who would like to educate others about the Truth and richness of our faith tradition.  I read the stories they share about their own spiritual journeys, pray for them, then point them where the Holy Spirit leads.  Thanks for writing and sharing your journeys with me! 

     Check out Jennifer Fulwiler’s 7 Quick Takes Friday series and her high-traffic for good reason blog Conversion Diary.