Thanks once again to our host, the very patient Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy.
Click and be amazed.
1.
Really Real:
I was going to continue my slacker non-blogging, but Potty Race pushed me over the edge. I had no idea video games could be so . . . realistic. First time I’ve ever said that about something Barbie.
2.
Really useful:
Chickens eat fire ants and highway grass. So basically, as long as they keep that up, the new arrivals have a home for life.
Dogs eat chicken feed. Luckily, there’s plenty of highway grass and fire ants, so the chickens won’t starve.
3.
Really cool:
Grayson Highlands State Park is air-conditioned. The entire mountain. Truly wonderful — so pleasant I didn’t mind camping in the rain, because at least it wasn’t hot. The ductwork must run underneath North Carolina, because I’m pretty sure the actual air-conditioning unit is located here in central SC, where it’s pumping a reliable jet of hot air, especially during peak hours. It would be pretty easy to disguise a giant heat pump as an office building. They look about the same.
3.5
Really interested in the will of God:
Please pray for a special intention, writing edition. You’ll get the other half of this take as soon as I have good news to report. Which there will be, the big question your prayers are directed towards are the who and the when. Thanks!
***
And with that, I’m back to regular life. Have a great week!
(And yes, you can post links. I am, by the way, reading comments. Oh, about once a week, but I am. And trying to reply as well.)
Thanks once again to our host, Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, always good, sometimes surprising.
Click and be amazed.
1.
My niece is here this week, so the topic ought to be Teenage Girls, but there’s not much to say. Other than: They’re fun and interesting and get along great with younger cousins, and also they sleep late. Which I don’t mind.
2.
But look, two good magazines:
One is the magazine of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and this was a pleasant surprise – sort of a Catholic National Geographic with a bit of the best of The Economist mixed in. The articles are substantial, and cover the history and contemporary issues in the regions CENWA serves. Not a light read — one of the articles this month is a history of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, starting in the middle ages and detailing, regime by regime, the power plays and organizational shifts ever since.
PG warning: Though there are no graphic descriptions of the horrendous things that go on in these lands far away, difficult topics are named by name, no glossing over or glamorizing.
Highly recommended.*
Liguorian is the other end, intellectually, of Center-Catholic reading spectrum. Like Reader’s Digest for Catholics, only without the edge. Good all-purpose, inoffensive but unapologetically Catholic magazine, targeted towards your average man in the pew. Encouraging and inspiring without being too in-your-face. Gentle. For your parishioners who aren’t quite ready for The Register or Catholic Answers.
3.
We brought home from the library the season one DVD’s of the HBO-BBC series The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. I haven’t read the books. But hey, what a cool show! Yes it runs sappy, and yes, I think you ought to watch along with your kids and provide a little parental guidance on the moral issues. But here’s what I love: Africa seen through the lense of the African middle class. How refreshing to see AIDS, or the ivory trade, or child sacrifice and witchcraft, or polygamy, or marital infidelity — through the eyes of someone other than PBS, NPR, Bill Gates or George Bush. And religion! Ha! People who can be overtly Christian on TV! Love it.
Moral note: The No. 1 Detective does not always resort to the police and the law for resolution to crimes uncovered. The Anglo-Saxon concept of Weregild comes in handy.
3.5
Glow in the dark rocks. I’m not sure whether I’m succeeding as hostess to the 17-year-old. I tried to explain that we don’t really do anything fun here, so it’s hard to think up activities. But listen, no visit to the inferno is complete without a trip to the third floor of the
***
Well that’s all for today. Tuesday is Link Day for all topics, help yourself if you are so inclined. Limit yourself to one link per comment in order to avoid the spam dragon. Have a great week!
*FYI – CENWA itself is a bit of a disaster to deal with for the small-time donor. Nothing egregious, just your normal incompetence in the administrative offices in New York; the flurry of solicitations, set aside and kept dry for use in the paper-stove, could keep a small house warm all winter. But the magazine is great.
Sarah Reinhard gamely sent me a review e-copy of her forthcoming book, and if you blog you can have one too. The snippets I’ve read seem to up the usual Sarah R. excellent standard, though I’ll admit I went straight to the special-feature paragraphs written by Jane Lebak (tear-jerking do-not-miss-lives-will-be-saved), Dorian Speed (encouragement-for-the-discouraged-disillusioned-and-cut-wide-open), and myself (you be the judge).
Heaven’s Fury, Heaven’s Grace is not my usual genre, but I asked Mrs. Peshek if I could borrow a copy to read on the plane. She was fresh out. But as I was on my way out the door after a lovely afternoon of mom-talk, UPS arrived with the new stash! So I’ve got a loaner, and can’t wait to see what it’s like.
[UPS also brought Mrs. P. a big box of school books from Rainbow Resource — which happens to be the best deal going for getting a teacher’s manual for the Oxford Latin Course. And boring things like Saxon Math and other stuff normal homeschoolers use.]
I picked upLand of the Morning at the homeschool used-book fair the other week — great piece of history. It is the memoir of an American missionary-kid to the Philippines who was captured by the Japanese and spent her teen years in the internment camp for expats near Manila. It is written as a historical document, not as a heart-thumping fact-based-novel. There’s a good overview of life as a missionary before the war that sets the stage for the details of prison life, and then freedom after.
The McAnlis family was Protestant, but the treatment of Catholicism (limited to times when it came up — just a few anecdotes here and there) is 100% respectful. The nun stories from the internment years make it fun and inspiring reading for the Catholic reader.
My copy is headed out on loan to my dad and stepmother (who hails from the Philippines), with the hope that it will come back to me in the fall for a tour around the inferno-area, then reside in my library for future homeschool use.
Not Going Anywhere:
I finished reading The Bible Tells Me So, and yes, it really is as good as Lisa Mladnich says it is. Review coming soon, but probably not until I return from vacation, since my review notes are written on the inside cover of the book.
Lest you think I overstate the case when I say you should save time and just buy one now before Christian comes to his senses and raises the price . . . my husband is reading this book. Do you understand what that means? The man is not like me. He doesn’t just “read books” for a hobby. Basically he reads the Bible and not much else, except Fine Woodworking and a few photoblogs and archery catalogs.
But we’re ramping up for another family-sized read through the Bible over this year and the next, and Mr. Bible Guy (the one I married) is working through the other Mr. Bible Guy’s book as a warm-up for that. Great book.
I knew the gist of St. Gianna’s life, but this was the first detailed biography I’d read, and I think it’s an excellent introduction to the saint. It’s a compact, readable biography that starts with the marriage of Gianna’s parents in 1908. Through the lens of family life, we see St. Gianna working to discern her vocation and make the most of the struggles she faces throughout her life, as well as the tremendous joy she found in marriage, motherhood, and her work as a physician.
Reading Level: Upper elementary and up. My fourth grader (average reader, Catholic girl — which makes a difference, see below) read it in one afternoon.
Why this is a great book for Moms: I know that technically it’s a children’s book. But when you have small children, you really need something that can read in five-minute snatches (with interruptions every other paragraph) and still hope to reach the end of the book before you forget the beginning. And this a book not only about a mom, but with some encouraging details for normal moms. Just look at these saintly facts:
St. Gianna, working mother? Once her first baby was born, she had not just her own sister as a full-time nanny, but a housekeeper too.Did you get that? Not a super-person.
She takes her two pre-schoolers to Mass and the baby stays home. She was a saint. And she left her baby at home.
Her preschool boy lasted all of five minutes at Mass, per her account.
See? You need to read this. Saintly living for normal people.
Why this is a great book for pre-teens and teens: There is a very strong emphasis on vocation. Even though it was easy enough for my fourth grader to read, it would be perfect for about a twelve- or thirteen-year-old. Super book-club or youth group discussion choice, if you have a group of teen girls who get together to talk about Catholic stuff.
Sanity via history through biography: As a teenager, St. Gianna’s parents pulled her out of school for a year so she could rest and regain her health. They felt the vigor with which St. Gianna was pursuing her studies was wearing her out, and she needed the break. This is a teen who eventually went on to earn her M.D. If an American parent did this today, in many cases there would be significant legal and financial penalties for both parent and child. For this one anecdote alone, I’d recommend this book. You can’t think clearly about public policy if you are utterly wrapped up in the quirks of your own time and place.
Cautions for the would-be reader:
1. It helps to have a general background in Catholic culture before starting the book. There is a very helpful glossary at the back of the book, for those of us who never can remember what it is that makes a basilica a basilica. But for teaching this book to a mixed group of students with varying amounts of Catholic up-bringing, I would plan to go over the vocabulary and cultural notes for the next week’s class session before students did the reading.
2. There is a clear and straightforward explanation of the moral choices St. Gianna faced when she was diagnosed with a tumor during her last pregnancy — another reason this is a great book for adults. But it would be helpful for students to have a knowledgeable teacher to explain some of the basic moral principles that come into play. St. Gianna’s death is also a good illustration of ways Catholics can choose to handle end-of-life situations.
Conclusion: This one isn’t leaving my shelf. Recommended if you want an enjoyable, readable introduction to St. Gianna’s life, encouragement in your vocation and efforts at holiness, and a real-life example of moral choices in medical ethics and end-of-life issues.
***
Thanks again to the Catholic Company for their on-going efforts to keep bloggers from ever getting bored. I received this book in exchange for an honest review, and it’s not my fault I picked a book I happened to like (okay it is — but I didn’t know it would be this good in these ways). In addition to their work of mercy instructing the ignorant, The Catholic Company would like me to remind you they are also a great source for a baptism gifts or first communion gifts.
What is isn’t: We have to start here, because it’s easy to guess wrong.
Eric Sammons is not a member of Opus Dei, and this is not a how-to book on being a member of that organization, nor an account of that group’s history. Opus Dei barely gets mention, other than to recommend two reliable books on the topic.
This is not a colorful anecdote-laden biography of St. Josemaria. The chapter that tells his life focuses is on his spiritual development — the details that help you understand the saint’s approach to holiness for ordinary people.
What it is:
St. Josemaria Escriva is a 20th century saint whose spirituality is very much in line with St. Therese of Lisieux, whose Story of a Soul was a bestseller during his formative years, and Blessed Theresa of Calcutta, who was his contemporary and likewise informed by the spirituality of St. Therese. Basic Catholic practical holiness — what you see in the lives of every saint across all of history.
St. Josemaria’s particular charism was the insistence that saintliness is not for the vowed religious only — an error of his time, and still a struggle among Catholics today. We tend today to either fall into the get-thee-to-a-nunnery trap, or just dismiss saintliness as something that hardly matters anyhow. St. Josemaria’s contention, and Eric Sammons’ as well, is that it is possible for you and I to actually be holy. And that there are specific steps we can take to cooperate with God’s grace in working towards that goal.
As with Who is Jesus Christ, Sammons’ text is packed with information and insight, but still approachable for the average reader. It covers similar territory as Christian Self-Mastery, but far more readable than that classic. I personally found every chapter to be helpful for me — life-changing, even.
Who would enjoy it? I’d recommend this for older teens and adults who want to be challenged with practical ways to grow in the Christian life. This is not mere inspiration: expect to be pushed to make specific resolutions about your prayer life and penitential practices. There are discussion questions at the end of every chapter, making this a great book club choice.
This would make an excellent post-confirmation course for 11th and 12th graders — either taught in a high school religion class, or as a parent-teen book study. (Also think: Post-RCIA discipleship group.) Because the text ties to free, online additional reading (Escriva, assorted Encyclicals), it would be easy to make a rounded-out senior-high religion curriculum using this book.
This is an ideal introduction to the writings of St. Josemaria Escriva. I picked up a (print) copy of The Way while I was reading this book, and coming to it already well-versed with how Catholic spiritual training works, I find The Way to be awesome. I’m thrilled to have been pointed in that direction. But I’d caution you: Do not read The Way without first reading Sammons’ book or some other similar work. Taken out of context, St. Josemaria’s collected comments are a recipe for scruples, misunderstanding, and stomping off in a fit of exasperation or despair. Combined with a healthy, balanced view of Christian spirituality, enlightened by a work like Sammons’, The Way becomes the perfect ’round-the-house spiritual cattle-prod — think Imitation of Christ, Football Coach Version.
Conclusion:Highly Recommended for Catholics for ready to grow in their spiritual life, and looking for an approachable, step-by-step walk through how to go about it.
Thanks once again to our host Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, who’s got a time machine of his own going on this week.
One day is like 30 years, 30 years is like one day.
1.
I finished reading Eric Sammons’ new book, and hey, it’s pretty good. A lot good, in fact, and a review is forthcoming. But today let me caution you: There’s a humility component to this holiness business.
Exhibit A:
Why do my renewed efforts at holiness always coincide with the arrival of a nasty evil throat-lung-stomach virus in our home? Doesn’t our Lord know I have important holiness work to do?
Exhibit B:
Why does a resolution to be more Therese-like and offer up little annoyances for some general heavenly purpose get transformed into:
1. A multiplication of petty annoyances, and a sudden intolerance for them?
2. A friend suddenly coming down with a horrid affliction (probable bone cancer — femur — please pray for Mrs. P) for which to offer all these things?
3. Thus destroying any sense of virtue I might have otherwise relished, and instead leaving me with a crotchety personality and the knowledge of just how petty it is?
So don’t say I didn’t warn you. Good book otherwise, though. Great book.
2.
I’m going to Dallas!!!!!!! Yes, all those exclamation points truly are needed. Because look, it’s like a giant crack convention:
A. The Catholic Writer’s Conference, which means meeting in person all the people I get to work with on the CWG blog, which really is that exciting because when you get to know these people . . . you want to get to know these people.
C. And then in case I just wanted to be near the superstars of Catholic internet, there’s the Catholic New Media Conference right there as well.
Quadruple bonus: I double-checked the back cover of my copy of Happy Catholic, and sure enough, Julie Davis lives in Dallas. It says so right there. (I knew it was some place in Texas, but I can never keep Dallas and Houston straight, except to know that confusing the two means wow, a lot of driving time.) So maybe, just maybe, I’ll get to live out my dream of one day buying the woman a cup of coffee. Or something.
3.
So here’s the thing: What’s the etiquette on bringing books to be signed at these events? Because I don’t think I can carry that many books to Texas, and yet it would pain me, just pain me, to miss my chance to get some autographs. I’m so conflicted.
3.5
Because I met the guy — that’s why. Neat person.
***
PS: Link day. Help yourself if you are so inclined. Post as many as you want, but only one per comment or the spam dragon will eat you up and I’ll never even know.
PPS: Thus far I myself appear to be spared the evil thing — I thought I was coming down with it last night, but this morning I’m good. So here’s your mission: Imagine you’ve already finished praying for Mrs. P and your other serious concerns . . . Would you consider offering up a little prayer for our family, that my other dream of seeing the Bethune Catholic homestead is not thwarted by more plague later in the week? I so want to go. I pass the place every non-plague year on the way to the family reunion, and I totally want to get a child to bake some brownies, and a different child to pack some airsoft guns, and stop in for an hour or two. Goodness I might even mix up the brownies myself.
I was about to ask that we’d also be miraculously able to attend religious ed tonight (last night of the year), but #2 came staggering into the study with glazed eyes and feverish misery, so I don’t think the virtue of prudence will let us get away with that, even if there were miraculous recoveries in the next six hours.
Thanks once again to our host Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy putting the mmmmn in Church Militant since . . . well, awhile.
It's electric. Except when it's not.
1.
You wanna know what’s better than bacon?Eric Sammons e-mailing to ask, “May I send you a review copy of my new book?”
I know! I couldn’t believe it either! I figured the SuperHusband must have driven to Florida in desperation, in order to beg a perfect stranger to please give his wife something, anything, that would help her grow in holiness. He would have observed that I already had a large collection of freebie plastic rosaries, so please did Mr. Sammons know of anything else that might help?
I worry sometimes that if I get too many review books, it will cause me to neglect my local Catholic bookstore. Fear not! The kids are taking care of us. For example – item #2 that’s better than bacon: This Sunday the “Roamin’ Catholic” bookmobile was parked at our parish. Yay! My favorite time of year! And the 4th grader spots this DVD and asks, “Please can we get this Mom?”
It’s a pretty simple formula: Child requests DVD about real-life Nazi-thwarting Secret Agent Nun? Mom says, “Um. Yes.” We haven’t watched it yet, though. I’ve been too busy yelling at the kids to clean the house growing in holiness.
3.
My biggest disappointment in reading Jack Chick tracts was the discovery that, through some bureaucratic snafu, I’d been cheated. If I really became a citizen of Vatican City the day I was baptized, where’s my passport??? Ah, but now my son has rectified my problem, and issued me my secret-agent ID:
Don’t worry, I’m still gonna carry my regular ID as well.
3.5
. . . delightful to read on a Sunday afternoon. See the review just below this post, or click here.
EDITED to add: And yeah, of course it’s link day. If you have one you want to share, we’re all eyes.
Today for my Quick Takes I’m reviewing Sarah Reinhard’s new book, Catholic Family Fun. This is a stop on Sarah’s virtual book tour, so she should be lurking around the combox ready to answer any questions you have.
FYI, Sarah is not only a super-friendly person, she is also an extrovert, which means that her life as a writer is made tolerable by finding people to chat with. So say “Hi Sarah!”. She’ll be excited.
2.
This is what the book looks like:
It’s about 140 pages, paperback, nice sturdy glossy cover. It’s designed to float around your house and be abused.
3.
What’s inside?
You know how women’s magazines have those little articles about fun things to do with your family? This is like 10 years of those ideas all in one place. Only you are spared those obnoxious photos of pristine toaster ovens and closets organized by that sect of hermits who take a vow to own nothing but three pieces of splashy, sassy, ready-for-spring ensembles to pair with their strappy heels. Also, no perfume ads.
Instead you get page after page of practical, realistic ideas for unplugged family activities that you can customize to match your kids’ ages and interests. The chapters are organized by types of activities (crafts, meals, outdoor adventures, etc.), and there are several easy-to-read indexes in the back to help you quickly find the ones that match your budget and energy level. Most of the suggestions are either free, or involve money you were going to spend anyway. (You are going to eat today, right?)
Other than the chapters on prayer and on the saints, the activities themselves can be purely fun family time, or they can be explicitly tied to the Catholic faith. Every activity includes suggestions on how to make the faith connection.
4.
What if you aren’t crafty? Don’t panic on the crafts, there aren’t that many and they are very low-key. Indeed, I’d say this is the perfect book for people who don’t do glitter glue, foam art, or anything involving popsicle sticks, ever. Did I mention Sarah R. is a real mom of young children, with a farm, and a writing job, and . . . you get the picture. You may find yourself wanting an internet connection to pull off a few of these activities (I see you have access to one, very good), but no glue gun will ever be needed.
What if you are, in fact, the grumpy, curmudgeonly type? See the next section. I advise letting your kids pick the activities. That way you never need fear you’ve gotten all goofy and relaxed for nothing. Also you could tell the kids you aren’t going to do Chapters 1 and 2 yourself, but you’ll give them five bucks if they’ll just be quiet while your finish reading the paper. (Um, wait a minute. No, that’s not how the book’s supposed to work. Oops.) Chapters 3-9 are Curmudgeon-Safe, though the one idea about a backyard circus makes me a little nervous . . .
5.
Who could use this book? Three groups of people come to mind, and last was a surprise to me, but it’s true:
1. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives.
If you’re trying to think up new ways to connect to the kids, and get out of the rut of doing the same old things.
If you have a long summer vacation ahead, with stir-crazy children and no money for expensive camps and activities.
Or if you didn’t have a satisfyingly Catholic childhood, and you want to find ways to share and practice your faith without being all stodgy and dour about it.
2. Kids. My daughter is fighting me for custody of our copy. The book is eminently readable, so you really can hand it to a late-elementary or older child, and say, “Pick something out for us to do Saturday.” I like that because then the onus is on the kids to decide which activity sounds fun — and I’m always surprised by what kids come up with when given the choice.
3. Catechists, VBS volunteers, scout leaders, and anyone else charged with keeping a group of kids busy for an hour or two. Some of the activities will only work in a family setting, but very many of them are well-suited to using in a classroom. The suggestions for faith tie-ins make this an awesome resource for religious ed and VBS. If your parish doesn’t have money for a high-priced pre-packaged program with talking pandas and cheesey chipmunk videos, you could seriously just go through this book and pick out activities to assemble a home-grown series of your own.
6.
You know who loves a good VBS program? Allie Hathaway. It’s Friday, so we’re praying for her. And hey, offer up a quick one for Sarah Reinhard’s intentions as well. Thanks!
7.
What else do you want to know? I’ve wrestled the book out of my daughter’s hands, so I’m happy to look stuff up and answer questions. Sarah’s around here somewhere, and if she doesn’t get to you today, she’s a very reliable combox-attender, so feel free to ask her questions as well.
Click the picture to find out where the book tour is going next.
PS: This and a package of pre-cooked bacon would make a great Mother’s Day gift.
**************************************
Updated to toss in three bits of full disclosure, which together give the most accurate picture:
7.1) Pauline Media sent me a review copy.
7.2) You might have caught on, Sarah & I are friends, and perhaps you’ve noticed we work together at the CWG blog. Which means that if she wrote a lousy book, I just wouldn’t review it. I’m very grateful she doesn’t write lousy books, because that saves us a lot of awkward moments.
7.3) See “free book” above. I gave a copy of this book to my DRE, who is a mom and grandma of 10 bazillion children, and always griping observing that all the grandkids do is play Angry Birds. I knew she’d love to pass it around her family, and I was thrilled to see she could use it for religious ed ideas too. But you know what? I did not give her my free copy. See, that’s what I would have done if this was a so-so book. Instead, I paid cash to buy her a brand new copy of her own.
Hey and a gratuitous 7.4: Let’s just clarify: If you want a collection of pom-pom art ideas, this is not your book.
Thanks once again to our host Larry D. at Acts of the Apostasy, who pulled the ol’ you-vacationed-where?? trick on me. Works every time. I’m easy to surprise.
Click and be amazed.
1.
We unplugged for Triduum, and wow: Peaceful. But look, the power of scheduling made it look like I was on the internet: In Defense of Pretty Good Schools, at CatholicMom.com. Technically it’s a homeschooling column (because that’s how I tricked Lisa H. into letting me write for her — I said, “Gosh, do you need any homeschooling columnists?”), but actually it’s for everyone.
But Sarah’s going to be nice to me at least until Friday, because her Catholic Family Funbook tour visits right here at this blog, when I’ll be reviewing her book in seven quick takes, for the other evil overlord who we won’t mention just now. What you need to know today: It’s good enough I actually bought a copy with my own money to give as a gift to somebody. Admittedly I buy a lot of books. But when I acquire a second copy, that’s your hint.
My theory is that the secular world is not anti-Catholic as much as it is anti-bad art.
Me, on the other hand, I’m all about bad art*. Then again, I’m not real secular.
3.5
In more book tour excitement, this coming Monday I’m reviewing Karina Fabian’s Live and Let Fly, and let me tell you, it is absolutely . . .
***
Well, that’s all for today. It’s Link Day once again, which is not an obligation, just an opportunity. Because no one likes having their perfectly good link stuck in my inbox with a little star next to it, when it could be down in the combox for everyone to enjoy. One link per comment so you don’t get accidentally caught in the spam dungeon, where even detective dragons dare not prowl.
And hey, Happy Easter!
*This is not a strictly factual statement. I’m good with hokey genre fiction as long as the story is fun and entertaining, though I reserve the right to joke about it over a cup of coffee with the boy afterwards. But even I have my limits.
This morning as I stumbled down the hall, coffee in hand, the fourth grader handed me A Bridge to Terabithia.“Mom,” she warned me, “don’t let anybody read this for school. It is terrible. It has very foul language.”
“Oh?” I had read it way back in elementary school, but hadn’t looked at it since. I couldn’t really remember what was in the book.
“Yes. They use the d-word. And the parents say things like ‘crap’ and ‘crud’ and ‘you stupid’. And that’s just in one chapter.”
We’re so used to seeing our own children, so used to the idea that they’re under our care, that we sometimes forget that the angels rejoice when a young person goes out into the world armed with truth and love, instead of going forth with their hearts cramped and crabbed by an acceptance of abortion. This is where the battle is fought: in individual hearts. Each abortion is a tragedy because it ends an individual life—but each heart that is taught how to love is a true and eternal victory.
Yes, raising our children lovingly is commonplace, a duty, nothing new. So what? It’s still a big deal. It’s still the way to save souls. This is the great thing about being part of the Culture of Life: everything counts. You don’t have to save your receipts! Your good works have been noted, and they will not go to waste.
2. Bearing reminds me, I’m not the only mom who got paid to go to graduate school, in order to prepare for a rewarding career in the ultra-non-profit sector. I don’t typically feel guilty about this. Back when I was applying for fellowships, I assumed I’d ultimately end up in some kind of field that was a natural extension of my start in accounting — maybe moved out of staff and into operations, or teaching accounting 101 at the community college, or who knows what — who can really predict how a career will turn? I also knew that I wanted to be a mom, and that I was intentionally picking a field that lent itself to momness. Ditching it all in order to stay home and raise kids? If only I could be so lucky.
At the fellowship interviews, I was asked, “What do you see yourself doing in five years? Ten years?”
I answered honestly. “Solving problems.”
Which is what I do.
3. This week at the Catholic Writers Guild blog I’ve been shuffling around the schedule to get all the mundane writer-talk posts pushed off until after Easter. I didn’t want Holy Week to be chit-chat as usually. But Sarah Reinhard’s post for today, even though it’s sort of a blogging post, it’s really a Holy Week post: Remember Your Priorities.
–> Hey and real quick please pray for Sarah’s very urgent prayer request for a family member with a scary, likely life-threatening diagnosis on the way. Thanks.
4. You know what? I just love this photo so much. I was thrilled with Julie D. picked it out for her 1,000 Words post. Because I just like to look at it.
5.Holiness versus Weirdness. It’s a constant battle. I spend a lot of time just trying to figure out how to live life. I feel stupid about this, because, well, not knowing how to live your life has got to be one of the marks of stupidity, right? But at the same time, I live in a culture that doesn’t know how to live life, so I remind myself it’s not exactly shocking that my adulthood be devoted to figuring out what I ought to be doing instead.
And I’m not alone. Which makes reading Catholic Lifestyle Lit of a decade ago so amusing, because the holiness-fads of years gone by shout out like a pair of parachute pants. Which is why my children in ten years will be laughing about this over Thanksgiving dinner:
When I wrote about fasting from artificial light in the Register a while back, I got a ton of interesting responses. One of my favorites was from a dad who told me about this family tradition that they’ve been doing for 30 years:
We turn off the light when we leave for Holy Thursday Mass and don’t turn them on again until we return from the Saturday Easter Vigil at around midnight on Saturday.
We got the idea when our parish turned off the lights and had us exit in silence on Holy Thursday. And we entered at the Easter Vigil in darkness which continued until the Gloria. And, of course, Good Friday services were held during the daytime so lighting was not a main focus. So we got the idea to practically “live” this period when Jesus the “light of the world” was taken away from us.
I think we might try this this year. Anyone else going to give it a shot?
My kids will the story of how I read this idea at some Catholic lady’s blog, and when I told Jon, not only did he like the idea, he proposed we just flip all the breakers in the house except the one for the kitchen.
So yeah. Weird. I know we are. I know it kids.
6. But listen, weird isn’t all bad. My garden is awesome. If by “awesome” we mean: I like it. And I was sitting in it this spring, and realized that Margaret Realy’s book about Prayer Gardens had come true. I read it, followed the instructions, and wow, it worked. Highly recommended if you want a little quiet garden-y oasis, and need some ideas about how to make it work.
And with that I’ll cut out the rest of the chit-chat and go be all vocational. Have a great week, and I’ll see you back here come Easter or so.
