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First Triple Digit Edition! I’m pretty excited that I’ve finally made it
to 100 weeks of doing 7 Quick Takes Friday.
John, dear brother, merci mille fois for encouraging me to participate
in this blog carnival nearly two years ago.
It’s been one of the best blog ideas to keep me writing regularly (in
addition to free books to read and review).
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Book Reviews Abound
I am a voracious reader and love books, as any
of you who know me are well-aware. The only drawback to reading and reviewing
so many books is when it means I have to go through over 50 of my blog posts
and change the item links when one of my top two fave bookstores goes out of
business. Sorry to see Aquinas and Moore go. If you love books about Christian
living and the Catholic faith, check out my blog for reviews on hundreds ofamazing books.
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Praying & Fasting
for the Bishops Check out this
website! It has a number of powerful prayers and suggestions for ways we can fast
and pray for our bishops as they are called to be true and faithful teachers of
the Catholic faith, remain open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and put
Your will above everything and everyone else in their lives.
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Chocolate Therapy I am a fan of chocolate as all of my friends know well. I was feeling kind of bummed when my friend
Michele texted and asked if she could stop over and visit. I said I probably wouldn’t be much fun to
hang out with since I was feeling down, but that she was welcome to come
by. While I was outside waiting for her
around the side of our building, Michele arrived and went up to our apartment. She knocked on the door, and she and Kevin
were both surprised when he answered and neither of them knew where I was.
Michele was on her way back down when I
was coming up the steps. She said she’d
brought me something, and that she wanted to present it like she’d planned to
if I’d opened the door. (She is an
actress after-all and certainly puts on a good, often amusing show.) I shrugged and closed the door, then answered
it again when she knocked. I opened it
and welcomed her as if she’d just arrived, and she handed me a pint of Ben and
Jerry’s Chocolate Therapy ice cream.
There are fair weather friends, and then there are “you’re having a
rough day, how about I surprise you with a pint of chocolate ice cream brought
directly to your door” kind of friends.
I’m so grateful to have so many of the second kind of friends. Though I don’t always show up with ice cream,
I definitely try to be that kind of friend to others, too.
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Covenant
Eyes This free
e-book available to download called Your
Brain on Porn includes five scientifically-proven
ways porn warps your brain and three biblical ways to renew it. Having read Man and Woman He Created Them: A
Theology
of the Body by John Paul II and related books, I have read other
research and commentary involving this sensitive topic and know what effects
such a rampant problem with it in our culture and world have done to others
perception and treatment of women. It’s
only 15 pages long, and the knowledge within could change your life or that of
someone you love. I saw this
advertisement on the National Catholic Register website. I didn’t know such a company as Covenant Eyes
dedicated to internet surveillance, purity, and accountability existed.
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Unhappy Feet Kevin's been having excruciating shooting pains in this feet yet again this week, and the earliest appointment he can get to have the out-patient procedure that will hopefully alleviate the pain is June 3. I don't think he (or I) can make it that long with him cringing and gasping every few minutes from such severe pain. We'd both really appreciate your prayers! Oh, if only a pint of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Therapy or even a pain-reliever of some kind would help Kevin feel better! Few things are worse than watching someone you love suffer when there's nothing you can do to help them feel better.
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The Ear of the Heart "Religious life is often painted
as something entirely different from what it is. To be obedient and humble
should be simply to stand in truth, unhampered by one's ego. If we can escape
the need for recognition that is so built into human nature, we can free
ourselves from our inhibiting patterns. It can be a blessed freedom—also a
terrible freedom." —Mother Dolores Hart, OSB From her new book The Ear of the Heart Here's the book trailer describing this woman's journey from Hollywood to a cloistered convent:
