7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 44)

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Stand Up for Religious Freedom “No more than should my car insurance cover your tune-up, should my health insurance cover your sex life.” -Star Parker of Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE)

         Got 10 minutes to listen to the truth?  WATCH THE VIDEO HERE!!

A few of my favorite key talking points of Star Parker, a woman who was once at the mercy of our messed up "women's health care" system she’s now trying to fix:

 The three options given to religious organizations through Obamacare:

1.      Bow your knee to King Nebachnezzar 2.      Pay a fine to Caesar  3.      Leave the business

     “And what is the specific business of the Church that the secular left has declared war on?  Care for our nation’s elderly, our nation’s weak, our nation’s sick, and our nation’s orphans.”

       “Why is this administration declaring war on those who would serve the least of these?” 

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Praising God! The doctor is very pleased with how well Kevin's foot is healing!  He’s still sporting his sexy black surgical sandal.  He finally gets his stitches out on Monday.  Thanks everyone for the prayers and support!  Oh, and his podiatrist, Dr. Shadbolt, is yet again listed in Richmond Magazine as one of the Top Docs.  It’s all good!

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Taking It to the Next Level! Kevin and I are very excited for our dearly beloved brother in Christ, who today, March 29, 2012, will be taking the next step in the official application process (and in his ongoing discernment) to enter seminary.     John, you’ve truly fallen in love with the Lord Jesus Christ and want God’s will for your life more than anything else.  That’s the best position to be in now and in the future.  Be at peace: God loves you unconditionally and continues to draw you ever-closer to Him!     

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The Boy Who Met Jesus: Segatashya of Kibeho is amazing, spellbinding, miraculous, and riveting! The Boy Who Met Jesus: Segatashya of Kibeho is the well-documented and researched account of how a very poor, illiterate, pagan farmer boy from a town in Africa so small it literally wasn’t on the map came to be a prophet and evangelist before he was brutally murdered in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda… Read more here.

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Pure Pleasure, Sheer Joy This week I had the privilege of witnessing the pure pleasure and sheer joy of children discovering the wonders of nature, particularly as it reveals itself through little green inchworms crawling everywhere.  Their faces lit up and their friends gathered around as they picked up one tiny inchworm after another around the playground so they could inspect them closely in the palms of their little hands.  This seems to be the sort of rejoicing the Lord intends for us to have for His creation!  Again, children have proven to be such wonderfully wise spiritual directors just by their honest example.

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Welcome home!! Kevin and I, of course all of the Baab clan, and lots of other family and friends are very excited that Luke Baab is finally home  after serving our country in Afghanistan.  Praise God for bringing him home safely and continue praying for all the men and women who are still in harm's way, and their families waiting eagerly for their return.   
Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel  St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in our day of battle.  Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil.  May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and by the power of God, cast into hell all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

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Celebrate New Life!  Keep praying, and keep believing. God is working, even now! Remember that our 40 Days for Life closing hour April 1, 2012 Sunday 6 - 7pm will be a celebration of NEW LIFE. Bring baby items - especially diapers and formula - for the three organizations we will help: The Pregnancy Resource Center     Catholic Charities     Healthy Families

    We will celebrate the wonderful things that have happened this Spring, 2012, in Richmond and in the nation!
     Plan to join us for the fun, the prayers, the songs and the celebration. You earned it!
God is good. Praise Him Forever. Peace, Ann

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Is Your Faith Fireproof?

     My husband and I can’t help but smile and laugh a little when we hear the reading from the book of Daniel about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We do know that this account of forced idol worship and cruel torture has an awesome, miraculous ending, but our amusement has a lot more to do with our familiarity with the Veggie Tales version still fresh in our minds.       

     The Rack, Shack, and Benny: A Lesson in Handling Peer Pressure DVD is a hilarious, very kid-friendly retelling of this story which is hard to forget.  Truth be told, it’s also amusing to think of the person doing the reading suddenly start referring to these three fireproof men of faith as Rack, Shack, and Benny. 
     It’s powerful to consider these types of questions and scenarios regarding peer pressure, submitting to popular culture, and the effects of standing up for what we believe in.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has spoken out about the violations of religious freedom that are included in the Health and Human Services (HHS) Mandate. 
    Am I going to believe whatever Obama and his administration tell me? Am I going to check out one news source only?  Am I going to pray at all about this and ask the Lord what He wants and knows is best for us?
     Over the years, I have been faced with a number of tough decisions and have walked with friends who have asked for advice as they’ve struggled with challenging choices.  The best advice I’ve received and can give is to take it to the Lord in prayer.  If you genuinely want to know the truth about something, then humbly come before the Lord and ask for wisdom and understanding. 
     I’ve found this request for spiritual enlightenment works best when I don’t throw in any provisos or quid pro quos about what the answers ought to be or what they should not include (due to my own particular likes and dislikes).  When I’ve been willing to lay my burden on the altar, and without putting any limitations, restrictions, or rules on the request ask what He wants me to do, then He’s usually made it clear.  Sometimes the answers haven’t come immediately as I’d hoped, but they will be received when our hands, hearts, and minds are opened to whatever God wants to share with us.    
     I have been willing to do some very difficult things in order to stand up for what I believe in and have had it made clear to me by the Lord are His will for my life.  That’s not to say I haven’t freaked out when the flames around me are getting higher and higher.  I’ve flipped out plenty of times, but fortunately that’s not been grounds for revoking the free gift of salvation extended to each one of us.    

     Will you be thrown into the fiery furnace for standing by and for God?  Maybe.  Is that a better prospect than being cast into unimaginable heat for all of eternity?  Absolutely!

Wherever Lily Goes: Book 2 in the Lily Trilogy

Wherever Lily Goes is a very moving sequel to the first book in the Lily Trilogy, Until Lily.  This novel is written from the perspective of a middle-aged woman named Terry about the adventure of when she and her husband uproot their three daughters and relocate several states away to take care of her sister Lily, who has Down Syndrome.    

Terry’s cynical view of faith and family is challenged from every angle once they move.  Her husband, children, and most noticeably Lily start posing questions and creating situations that end up completely transforming a marriage as well as an entire household.
     
The first person point-of-view and conversational tone make this an enjoyable, yet thought-provoking read.  Terry examines her various roles as woman, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and child of God, and finds there’s room to grow in each of her relationships.
    
So often we’re tempted to remain in our usual ruts when it comes to marriage, family life, and faith, but this story shows how a little extra laughter, lots more love, and some true sacrifice make for a magnificent metamorphosis.
     
Like the Until Lily, this novel is a celebration of life, an invitation to sanctification, and a collection of unexpected joys.  Author Sherry Boas proves that it’s indeed true: “Wherever Lily goes, goodness is sure to follow” (pg. 44).  I'm looking forward to reading the third book!
     
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit Caritas Press to find more information on Wherever Lily Goes. 

The Boy Who Met Jesus: Segatashya of Kibeho by Immaculée Ilibagiza

Segatashya’s story is amazing, spellbinding, miraculous, and riveting! The Boy Who Met Jesus: Segatashya of Kibeho is the well-documented and researched account of how a very poor, illiterate, pagan farmer boy from a town in Africa so small it literally wasn’t on the map came to be a prophet and evangelist before he was murdered.  I’ve read quite a bit about the saints and various apparitions over the years, but there is something about Segatashya’s experience that makes him stand out. 

     
Just for the record, Segatashya’s apparitions of Jesus have not (as of yet) been officially approved by the Vatican.  Most members of the Commission of Enquiry assembled to investigate the apparitions of the Blessed Mother to the three schoolgirls in Kibeho and later Segatashya’s visions were brutally murdered in the Rwanda genocide in 1994.  Also at that time, a vast amount of the proof collected was destroyed in fires.
    
As has often been the case over the centuries, the suffering these four youth endured for receiving and delivering the messages they were given to pass on was severe.  The courage of this young man in following God’s will as it was revealed to him by Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother is nothing short of miraculous. 
     
Through the grace of God, and the warning from one of the visionaries, the lone psychiatrist in Rwanda Dr. Muremyangango Bonaventure who was on the Commission of Enquiry, kept the copious notes, reports, interviews, and transcripts from his time investigating Segatashya’s cause were preserved.  It is in using the detailed notes, research, and spending time with author Immaculée Ilibagiza that the quotes and vivid details included were passed along.
     
I highly recommend The Boy Who Met Jesus: Segatashya of Kibeho and the others Immaculée Ilibagiza has written with Steve Erwin.  Click here to read more about the book or to order your copy.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 43)

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Good News & Continued Prayer Please! My husband had foot surgery last Friday, and  his doctor said he’s healing nicely.  He needs to spend another week off of it and therefore also off of work in order for it to continue healing.  If he gets an infection and his foot swells, he would lose his toe.   

     We made it through week one of Kevin being restricted in movement.  Please continue praying that we’ll make it through week two without any major complications and with his healing continuing smoothly (and each of us maintaining our sanity and our marriage). 

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Sister Sightings!  This week, I actually got to see, hug, and share a meal with both of my biological sisters.  Some of you are likely wondering why that is such a noteworthy thing I’d mention it here.  Well, it kind of is a big deal.  One of my sisters lives ten minutes away from our place with her husband, but we rarely see them unless someone holds a big family dinner.  My other sister is home on Spring Break from The Ohio State University.  So we’re not super close-knit, but I still love them lots and pray for them daily so it was nice to see them in person!

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Out for breakfast Tuesday morning Theresa and I met for breakfast at Boychik’s, the locally owned New York style deli/restaurant where we used to go regularly when Theresa was just a baby.  I found it a little hard to believe that I was sitting there waiting for my youngest sister to meet me there over 20 years after we’d begun frequenting that establishment.

     We had a really wonderful heart-to-heart.  What a tremendous blessing to be able to spend some quality time catching up with someone I helped take care of when she was little and have loved her throughout her entire life (and will keep right on doing so)!

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Our Lady of Kibeho is a very powerful account about the visionaries in Rwanda to whom the Blessed Mother and Jesus appeared starting in 1981. Immaculée, the author and narrator, was a young girl growing up in a devout Catholic family in Rwanda when these apparitions began. She was very intrigued and overjoyed to hear the radio reports that three school girls in Kibeho had been visited by the Blessed Mother. She begged her parents to go on a pilgrimage to the village. Though her parents, neighbors, brothers, and other family members made the trek to Kibeho, they didn’t allow Immaculée to go, as they feared for her safety…Read more here. 

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Kids’ Play Area This week I picked up Vivi and took her to the play area at the mall to run around for a while.  It was fun to watch her size up the equipment and the other kids for a bit, then climb over one thing a number of times before she branched out to other equipment and became more vocal.  My absolute favorite aspects of our outing were the running over to me with a huge smile on her face, arms wide open, to give me a hug.  I’d hug and kiss her, and tell her I loved her.  I could hear her say softly: “I love you” as she wandered back off to play again.  Love those make-your-heart-melt moments!

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Lovelines Family Kevin and I are incredibly blessed to have people in our lives that are essential members of our lovelines family.  This week we have been very grateful for a multitude of prayers from all over for Kevin’s smooth recovery.  We’ve really enjoyed the delicious homemade soups our siblings in Christ Laura and Jeff made for us. 

     Laura, thanks for listening, sharing, crying, and laughing with me when I desperately needed  to talk with a woman who understands.  John, thank you for your ongoing prayer cover, sharing your time with us, and cheering Kevin up by bringing him a CD/DVD that made him smile and laugh even in the midst of his I’ve-had-to-sit-around-at-home-for-a-week grumpiness. 

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A Prayerful Vigil on the Boulevard Great News! Times TWO! At the 40 Days for Life vigil in Richmond Thursday, two more mothers chose life for their babies. Two women drove out of the abortion facility parking lot and were offered help by the two women standing praying beside the driveway, on the sidewalk.  Both women in the car were pregnant, and both accepted the offer of help, they were given the phone number and the address for the nearby Pregnancy Resource Center.  As they drove away, one was already calling the number on the card to contact their office.

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7Quick Takes Friday.

Go to Joseph! Jesus and Mary did.

 I can vividly remember praying while I was studying abroad in France that the Lord would make me more like the Blessed Mother and make Kevin more like St. Joseph.  I believe it’s when I was in France that I was first inspired to pray this particular intention for both of us.  In previous years, I had prayed that I would become more patient, more loving, more submissive to the Lord’s Will in all areas of my life, like Our Mother Mary.  It seemed to be fitting that I would ask the Lord to make Kevin a God-fearing man who would be a loving husband and a good father when we had been talking of marriage for a few years by then. 

     
A couple years ago I wrote a review on an inspiring book called Go to Joseph which you can read more about here.  The book really opened me up to an aspect of Christ’s life I hadn’t really spent a lot of time meditating on or considering before.  I highly recommend reading this retreat in a book on St Joseph. 
     
What’s really amazing is that the Lord has granted those fervent prayers in many ways, some of them as recently as over this past year.
     
Here are two magnificent posts on St. Joseph you won’t regret checking out:

Ite ad Joseph by Gerard M. Nadal and St. Joseph Husband of Virgin Mary by Jean M. Heimann

Reflection questions that might be prudent to ponder: Who are your role models?  What would it take for you to become more like them?  Where will they be spending eternity?  Will you be there with them?

Post-Surgery News Update

     Kevin's recovery from the foot surgery he had last Friday has gone pretty well.  It’s certainly been a whole heck of a lot smoother than it has in the days after some of the other surgeries he's had over the years.

     In the past our post-surgery crises have included but not been limited to: adverse reactions to prescribed painkillers, complications with infection, fever, and the death of a family member who lived hours away. 
     The worst post-surgery collaboration of traumas occurred after Kevin had his fifth metatarsal removed.  I was nannying for my two little guys at the time, didn’t get a whole lot of sleep at night because of pain management, medicine reactions, blood sugar issues, and such, so I wasn’t exactly the most patient Pollyanna-like nurse on the planet. 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

I honestly never thought I’d write a review of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, but here I go.  I selected this complete and updated edition of the tome because I figured this is one book along with the Bible that every Catholic ought to read from cover to cover at least once.  I presumed the commitment to writing a review of it would help motivate me to read through the 846-page paperback even if the academic dryness I suspected it would have bored me at times. 

    
Imagine my complete and utter astonishment upon discovering this summation of the Catholic faith, as it has been handed down to us through Sacred Scripture, Divine revelation, the apostles, and the saints, is a fascinating read.  I looked forward to diving into the Scriptural texts and tenets of the faith, because they are presented with such brilliance.

     
My heart rejoiced in reading the explanations and explications of the Creed, the Our Father, the proclamation of the Word of God, and the foundations for the celebration of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  This passionate portrayal of the faith handed down to us by God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit blends the elements of Catholicism I have read about, experienced, and come to understand through prayer in a way no other book has.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church beautifully explains the basic beliefs, moral and ethical teachings, as well as the eternal Truths professed by the Church.  Along with the Bible itself, it is the perfect reference for any questions regarding the history of Christianity and present application of the principles of it.

     
Want to rediscover Catholicism or really grasp it for the first time?  Read the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

    
I wrote this review of Catechism Of The Catholic Church for the free Catholic book review program, Tiber River. 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.

Our Lady of Kibeho: Mary Speaks to the World from the Heart of Africa by Immaculée Ilibagiza

A number of years ago, I remember my mom was deeply moved by a book she read called Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust written by Immaculée Ilibagiza, a survivor of the Rwanda genocide in 1994, about her time spent in hiding while most of her family was brutally murdered. 

    
When our brother in Christ John recently received two of the other books she’s written, Our Lady of Kibeho and The Boy Who Met Jesus, I told him I wanted to borrow them both as soon as he’d finished them.

     
Our Lady of Kibeho is a very powerful account about the visionaries in Rwanda to whom the Blessed Mother and Jesus appeared starting in 1981.  Immaculée, the author and narrator, was a young girl growing up in a devout Catholic family in Rwanda when these apparitions began.  She was very intrigued and overjoyed to hear the radio reports that three school girls in Kibeho had been visited by the Blessed Mother.  She begged her parents to go on a pilgrimage to the village.  Though her parents, neighbors, brothers, and other family members made the trek to Kibeho, they didn’t allow Immaculée to go, as they feared for her safety.

     
The account of the visionaries, the messages they received, the Commission of Enquiry put together to ascertain that these supernatural experiences were authentic, and the reactions of the people of Rwanda and the leaders of the Church are all explained in fascinating detail. 

     
Included in these miraculous accounts, Immaculée shares the story of how Our Mother Mary interceded on her behalf over the years.  When she came of age, she rejoiced in finally getting the opportunity to make more than one pilgrimage to Kibeho, the place she’d longed to visit ever since hearing the first report of possible apparitions. 

     
Our Lady of Kibeho ends with a guide on how to pray the Rosary of Seven Sorrows which the Blessed Mother entrusted visionary Marie-Claire Mukangango to reintroduce to the world.

    
I was so enthralled with the accounts that it only took me a day to finish the book.  I highly recommend it to all who are interested in learning about the love the Blessed Mother has for every person in the world.  You can purchase a copy of Our Lady of Kibeho here.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 42)

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Extra Prayers Please! My husband will be having outpatient foot surgery this morning.  If all goes as it’s supposed to, Kevin and I will be coming home directly after the surgery and recovery, then he will be staying home for the next week with his foot up and me as his attending nurse. 

     Kevin despises being cooped up at home, especially when the weather’s nice, and he’s not too keen on following all of the doctors’ orders, so in addition to prayers that the surgery goes smoothly and his recovery is quick and without complications, please throw a couple intercessions in for his sanity and mine over this next week.  Thank you!!
 

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My Surrogate Sister A  good friend and dear sister in Christ is going out to California to spend a week with the Carmelite Sisters by the Sea as part of her ongoing discernment regarding entering the consecrated religious life.  Please pray for Michele and all who are discerning their lifelong vocations, that the Lord would draw them even closer to Him and that He would open them up to receive the blessings He wishes to bestow upon them at this point in their journeys. 

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It’s a Party! On Thursday evening, a bunch of the regulars who attend daily Mass at St. Benedict’s gathered at Bellacino’s, one of our favorite pizza places in town, to celebrate Michele’s discernment retreat to California.  As per usual, it was a very blessed evening filled with prayers, food, fellowship, laughter, and even some impromptu singing after supper.

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The Lily Trilogy God’s done it again, and this time through a beautiful novel, the first in a trilogy.  I read Until Lily at the perfect time.  Lately I’ve been reminded of how vulnerable it makes us to love others deeply, to let them into our hearts and know we’ll never be the same.  We might resist letting others get too close at first, thinking of the times in the past when our trust has been betrayed and/or our love rejected.  Letting others into our lives and into our hearts can be frightening at times and challenging when we are still mourning a previous loss…Read more here.

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Overheard on the playground. On Wednesday, I got to take one of my favorite cuties, Vivi, to Deep Run Park for a bit.  Vivi had a blast on the swings.  She cracked me up with her repeated public service announcements of: “WEEEeee, I am swinging!”  When I sat down on the swing next to her, she thought it was hilarious.  Each time I got up to give Vivi another push, she’d say, “Sit down, please,” and direct me back to my swing.  Too funny!  Her other favorite was going down the slide.     It’s hard to believe we used to take my little sister Theresa to play there 19+ years ago.  Of course, much of the equipment’s been replaced, but it’s still a stroll down memory lane. 

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Friend of a Wounded Heart This is one of my favorite Christian songs talking about the depth of God’s love and healing.  My mom got the audiotape of The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir singing “Friend of a Wounded Heart” when I was still in high school.  It brought tears to my eyes then, too.  Listen to it here. 

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Candlelight Vigil on the Boulevard Last Sunday we marked the halfway point of this spring’s 40 Days for Life campaign by holding a candlelight vigil on the Boulevard.  The weather was beautiful and the sun was still out.  About 25 people (from those in their teens to those in their 70s) came together to sing, pray, and stand vigil.  It was a bit windy, so some of us had trouble keeping our candles lit (like me), though Christ’s light was clearly visible to all.
Click here to find the closest vigil to you. 


Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7Quick Takes Friday.

Until Lily (Book 1 in the Lily Trilogy)

God’s done it again, and this time through a beautiful novel, the first in a trilogy.  I read Until Lily at the perfect time.  Lately, I’ve been reminded of how vulnerable it makes us to love others deeply, to let them into our hearts and know we’ll never be the same.  We might resist letting others get too close at first, thinking of the times in the past when our trust has been betrayed and/or our love rejected.  Letting others into our lives and into our hearts can be frightening at times and challenging when we are still mourning a previous loss. 

     
Journalist turned author Sherry Boas has crafted a moving story with lovable characters.  She dives right into some of the major life decisions, struggles, and challenges we face in relationships, especially with family members, taking care of children and the elderly and opening our hearts to those whom God places in our lives.
     
I love the authenticity with which the narrator Bev shares her story.  She is brutally honest about her thoughts, feelings, fears, troubles, and pain, past and present.  Many will be able to easily identify with her frustrations, reluctance, transformation, doubts, frailness, courage, and goodness. 
     
Boas paints a clear picture of the metamorphosis that takes place when we truly love someone and allow them to love us in return.  The growing pains are real, but so is the joy of being loved, and feeling such profound love for another person that you can’t imagine your life without that person in it.    
     
I’m really looking forward to reading the next two books in the Lily Trilogy: Wherever Lily Goes and Life Entwined with Lily’s.
     
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find information on baptism gifts or first communion gifts.