— 1 —

Lent is coming and I have a book that’s hot off the presses.

And guess what? It’s only $1.99.

So go to your local Catholic bookstore (or one of the many other places you’ll find it, if you don’t have a store locally). Parishes receive bulk discounts, depending on the quantity they order, and can call 800-325-9521 to speak to the sales department at Liguori about that.

— 2 —

Mary Moments are back! Thanks to Fr. Jay Finelli’s support, I’ll be producing a weekly Mary Moment segment on the iPadre show. This week: 3 reasons I love Our Lady of Lourdes. Listen to the whole show for a fabulous summary of the story of Our Lady of Lourdes, too.

— 3 —

What’s your favorite game app? I share three of my kids’ favorites in this week’s Tech Talk.

— 4 —

Remember how I promised a full review of Strategies for a Tech-Savvy Classroom? It’s up over at CatholicMom.com.

— 5 —

It’s hard to believe that Daria Sockey has been blogging at Coffee & Canticles for a year already!

In honor of her one year anniversary, she has a pile of giveaways related to the Liturgy of the Hours. Go on over and enter.

While you’re there, be sure to wish her well!

— 6 —

In case you missed it the other day, I’m giving away a ton of books. You can enter as many times as you qualify for until February 21.

There are new titles by Christopher West, Mark Shea, Lisa Hendey, and Anthony DeStefano, among others.

So what are you waiting for? Enter!

— 7 —

Been a big week for the Tooth Fairy around here:

Visit Betty Beguiles, our lovely sub hostess, for more Quick Takes!

Nothing has pushed me to the edge like motherhood. I’m glad I was ignorant of the amount of work and stress involved in this adventure, or I might have declined my handsome prince’s offer of marriage and run straight to the convent. (Though, that said, I’m pretty sure it’s not easier there. In fact, it’s probably harder in a much different way.)

But here I am, married with three kids, completely to the shock of that small part of me who remains a rebellious teenager. I had embraced, rather completely, the notion that a liberated woman didn’t need to concern herself with things like dishes and laundry and cooking, but that was before the squalor beneath my feet and the grumbling of my stomach forced me to rethink my priorities.

I didn’t become different overnight. It might not have really happened until Kid Number Two made her appearance and shook  my tenuous grip on reality more than my balancing act would allow. Or maybe it was the brush with mortality that came from losing a few close family members and some health scares thrown in on top.

Whatever it was, I began to become better at embracing—however imperfectly—my role as “home maker.” And in doing that, I began to see that there was one thing I could not do without: prayer.

If I believe the things my spiritual director and confessor tells me, then God loves me. In fact, he has only good in mind for me. If I believe the reality before my eyes, then the floor needs scrubbed, the toilet is a mess, and there is anything but order in my domestic castle.

These two things seem unrelated, but it seemed to me, in my brush with feeling theological lately, that they could not be. They HAD to be related somehow.

What does God have to do with my poor housekeeping?

Well, not much, if I don’t invite him in. It’s hard to have a conversation with a friend who’s never available, isn’t it?

In some seasons of my life, getting up early and beginning my day with intense prayer is possible and fruitful. It prepares me for the battle—even if all I’m fighting are little people’s backsides and my own chafing pride.

In this season I’m in now, though, I find that I need to pray all the time. I’ve tried to make a habit of saying a Hail Mary when I’m washing my hands or going up and down the stairs. If I’m in the car without any conversation, I try to whisper a Hail Mary or even an Our Father. While the computer boots up or the information downloads, I might pray a Hail Mary.

And there’s the secret: it’s not when I pray, it’s that I do pray. Prayer has to be a habit, something I turn to without even thinking. Just as I dry my hands when I’m done or take my car keys inside with me, I need to pray as a habit, all the time.

Praying without ceasing seemed impossible when I first heard about it. That was before I found myself stranded between a baby and a deadline, cornered by a family obligation and a sick kid, humbled by the generosity of others and my own limitations.

Prayer can be as much a habit as anything else, and once God is in the small moments of my day, I find it’s not so mundane. There’s grace flowing all around me, but when I’m so focused on myself, I don’t even notice it.

The other day, I was running up my mother-in-law’s basement stairs on an errand of some sort, and I caught myself praying a Hail Mary. And I’m pretty sure that God was glad to be along with me as I did my work, whatever it was at the moment.

This “Finding Faith in Everyday Life” column originally appeared in The Catholic Times. 

Yeah, me neither. It’s the longest short month of the year in my part of Ohio, where the weather is always icky (even if nicely so). So how about we all cuddle up with some books and read the month away?

I have a stack of books here to give away! Quite a few of them are new releases, two or three of them are freshly dusted off, and a couple are just odd books I had doubles of.

Here’s what you do to enter by February 21 (Fat Tuesday):

1. Spread the word. Each time you tweet, post it on Facebook, blog about it, or hey, tell a friend or colleague about it, you can enter in the comments. (Yes! You can enter more than once!)

2. Read a book. I won’t be picky. You can read to your kids or you can read a book of your own. And you can enter every time you read a book!

I’ll put names in a basket and have one of my kids pull out names on Ash Wednesday. Then I’ll aim to mail them to you before Easter. :)

Wondering what you could win? Well, here’s the minimum (I reserve the right to add more–and I have added more!):

At the Heart of the Gospel: Reclaiming the Body for the New Evangelization, by Christopher West

I Just Can’t Take It Anymore! Encouragement When Life Gets You Down, by Anthony DeStefano

Jesus, Career Counselor: How to Find (and Keep) Your Perfect Work, by Laurie Beth Jones

Looking for Mary: Or, the Blessed Mother and Me, by Beverly Donofrio

Simplifying the Soul: Lenten Practices to Renew Your Spirit, by Paula Huston

The Work of Mercy: Being the Hands and Heart of Christ, by Mark Shea

Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, edited by Ellen Gable Hrkach and Kathy Cassanto

Aquasynthesis: Splashdown Vol. 1, edited by Grace Bridges (ebook only)

The Handbook for Catholic Moms: Nurturing Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul, by Lisa Hendey (signed copy)

Grace Before Meals: Recipes & Inspiration for Family Meals & Family Life, by Father Leo Patalinghug (signed copy)

A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body, and Soul, by Lisa Hendey

The Journey Home: My Father’s Story of Cancer, Faith and Life-Changing Miracles, by Joseph Hanneman

Angela’s Ashes, by Frank McCourt

You’re Late Again, Lord!, by Karen Phillips Goodman

New addition: Stealing Jenny, by Ellen Gable

So there you go…now, get entering! :)

A couple of years ago, I was struck over the head with a thought that wouldn’t go away: I’m supposed to pray for other people.

It felt so…well, so inconsequential. I want to be a Woman of Action, a Person Who Brings Good Change, a Warrior and Adventurer.

And praying? Just praying? Really, God?

So I did it, but I sort of held out for the Big Gig, the one where I would need a glowing sword and a pithy speech.

(I should know by now that there usually aren’t fireworks in my faith life, but I keep hoping. And I’m a slow learner.)

Now, many years later, I am pretty comfortable with this role of praying for others.

And I’ve noticed something…whether or not it’s helping other people, this praying for others has (and continues to) change me.

Has it made me more patient? Am I more willing to look into the crevices of life’s subtleties and see meaning there? Do I recognize God at work more than I did before?

Is it that I get beyond myself and my desires? Could it be the intertwining that happens when I take others’ concerns and needs to God? Might it be a letting go that I can’t help but do?

I’m not sure I can recognize the changes fully, but I know, even when I look back at the archives for this blog, that they exist.

The other day, my seven-year-old, who’s turning into quite a little reader, looked over my shoulder and started reading out names. “What are you doing, Mom?”

“I’m praying.”

“Why?” and then, before I could answer, “Do you pray for me?”

Yes, I do, and I told her so. I was praying for her long before I was scared we’d lose her, and I continue. Some of the names on my list represent wounds in my heart, while others are hopes and dreams wrapped up in another’s name.

That list is intimate, I realized, as I felt her gaze and her curiosity. And maybe that is what leads to the change: when you pray for someone else, you can’t help but let go of some of the worst parts of yourself.

And maybe that change is what the world needs.

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A Mary Moment Monday post

Did Mary yell at Jesus? I ask myself that question a lot sometimes.

Like the day I started the draft of this post.

I was trying to remain patient. I was doing my best to keep my voice calm.

I failed. I failed big.

If ever you think I am a model of motherhood or a mentor to emulate, let me set things straight right now. If you look at me and think, “I want to be like Sarah Reinhard when I grow up,” let me correct you loudly. If you smile when you read this and think I’m exaggerating, don’t tell me, because I will want to smack you.

I fail all. the. time. It’s part and parcel of who I am, how I’m made, what I struggle with.

Yelling: an ongoing struggle, a bad habit I fall back upon when I feel pushed, stressed, or otherwise cornered, and something I feel called, of late, to address.

It isn’t going to be easy to address.

Ask my fifth-grade PSR class: I’m not soft-spoken. Ask my husband: I’m not quiet. Ask my friends: I’m not calm.

So yelling fits right in, in many ways, with who I am.

Or so I used to think.

But that question keeps coming up in my mind when I think about yelling. Did Mary yell at Jesus?

Well, maybe she did: ”Jeeeeeeesuuuuus! Time for dinner! Come in, wash up!”

I can’t help but think, with some amusement, that she was one of the only people who could yell his name and not be guilty of breaking the Second Commandment.

On the other hand, I can’t help but continue to feel called to silence in different ways. And in that, my tendency to yell seems to clash.

My husband doesn’t yell a lot. For one thing, he doesn’t need to. When it comes to the kids, he can “growl” with great effectiveness. (Sudden insight: I need to learn to growl!) For another thing, he has presence. I can’t explain it more than that, but I get the feeling that it’s ingrained, not something I can learn.

Did Mary yell at Jesus, the way I slip and yell when I’m frustrated or overwhelmed? Did she give in to the emotion and let it out through her voice?

Is my yelling indicative of a lack of self-control? Does it point to a need for greater trust in others, in myself, in God?

As I consider my own question and Mary’s response in other areas, I think I stand a lot to learn, as usual, from Jesus’ mom. Maybe she did yell, but it wouldn’t have been in a way that would have been sinful. She certainly felt frustration, but did she give in and act on it?

Once again, I find myself turning to Mary and leaning back into her arms. I’m going to do my best, this week, to ask for her help when I’m on the brink of yelling in ways that aren’t positive.

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— 1 —

This week, I have stepped beyond. I have walked in dangerous areas. I have said yes and opened myself up to a whole new world of opportunity.

I am “babysitting” CatholicMom.com while Lisa Hendey traverses the Holy Lands with her perky, happy, lovely self.

Folks, I’m having so much fun! Who knew?

— 2 —

Are you a writer? Interested in writing? Looking for a way to spend two weeks in March?

DO NOT MISS THIS!

The Catholic Writers Conference Online is March 17-31. We’ve extended the dates thanks to feedback from attendees who say there’s too much to balance in one week.

From March 17-24, the forums will be open so that you can read, do assignments and get feedback from our fantastic presenters at your own leisure. (Forums are open 24 hours a day, and presenters will be visiting them frequently.) The forums will remain up, but presenters do not need to reply to posts after March 24.

From March 24-31, we will have only chats. These are scheduled one-hour moderated chats on a variety of topics. We will also be holding pitch sessions and prayer time this week.

We’re signing up presenters as we speak. If you are a presenter and would like to participate, please register athttp://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SXJVLJW.

If you have already attended an online conference, then you are registered–you just need to use last year’s username and password. If not, you can register now where it says REGISTER on this site.

DO NOT MISS THIS! (Did I say that already? Do you believe me yet?)

Yours truly is presenting on blogging again (unless they tell me I’m not), and I’d love to “see” you there.

— 3 —

Now, a word or two about Facebook and Twitter and how they’re useful for promoting your blog. What do you think?

— 4 —

And how about an app that will let you access all sorts of great Catholic programming without cable? Yes, you read that right. Isn’t it cool?!?

— 5 —

Last week, I shared my favorite fiction from 2011. This week, I’m sharing my favorite nonfiction from 2011. Be sure to stop over and share YOUR favorites!

— 6 —

This week, I’ve been embroiled with editing my pregnancy book.

Let me sum up the week: I’m glad it’s done.

— 7 —

And with that, I’m outta takes. Just. Plain. Out.

Hope you have yourself a great Friday.

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

The road pointed out to you

is not a long one;

you do not have to cross the seas

or pierce the clouds

or climb mountains

to meet your God.

Enter into your own soul

and you will find him.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux

via WordofGodEveryday.com

The blurbs included below are from the back covers or from other book information and not my own, except as marked in italics.

The Catholic Briefcase: Tools for Integrating Faith and Work, by Randy Hain

The only book on this list that I’ve started, though I’m only just past the introduction as I type this. Randy Hain calls on us to examine our priorities, evaluate our lives, assess our values, and–ultimately–answer the question: “Am I faithfully living the call to be a good Christian and a light for Christ?”

At the Heart of the Gospel: Reclaiming the Body for the New Evangelization, by Christopher West

The sexual revolution brought a terribly disoriented vision of the body and sex into the mainstream. How should Christians respond? West leads us into the depth of Christ’s “nuptial union” with the Church, demonstrating how authentic Catholic teaching on the body and sex saves us from both the libertine perspective of popular culture and the cold puritanism that has sometimes infected Christianity. In the process, West provides a blueprint for reaching our sexually broken world in the “new evangelization.”

Dragon’s Tooth: Ashtown Burials #1, by N.D. Wilson

The only fiction on this list. In this first installment of the middle-grade series, Wilson brings his unique voice and vision to the story of two siblings’ discovery of a secret order of explorers and their legacy within the ancient society of Ashtown. It is a story that will take readers on a journey of mythic proportions.

Come My Beloved: Inspiring Stories of Catholic Courtship, edited by Ellen Gable Hrkach and Kathy Cassanto

I’m LONG overdue on reading this one, to which I am a contributor. This compilation contains 12 courtship/dating stories which will inspire, captivate and entertain readers. What all the stories illustrate is that God is the ideal matchmaker.

Extreme Makeover: Women Transformed by Christ Not Conformed to the Culture, by Teresa Tomeo

Tomeo pulls together the latest research on social behavior and trends in order to demonstrate that women are harming themselves and their chances for true happiness by adopting the thoroughly modern, sexually liberated lifestyle portrayed in magazines and movies. Packed with not only persuasive statistics but also powerful personal testimonies.

How about you? What’s on YOUR reading list?

A Mary Moment Monday post

Today’s the feast of the espousal of Mary, which means we celebrate the fact that she was married. (More about the espousal of Mary here.)

It’s easy to forget that Mary was a married woman. It’s also easy to imagine that marriage, for Mary and Joseph, was something easy.

Mary and Joseph’s marriage didn’t exactly get off to an easy start.  They were engaged and Joseph had promised not to “defile” Mary, because she was a consecrated virgin.  He was really marrying her because, in that day and age, there was no security in being a single woman.

And then she turned up pregnant.  This was the girl who was supposed to have promised to remain pure.

It was a dilemma for Joseph.  It’s a dilemma for us.

Mary didn’t struggle with NFP, because she was a virgin and she remained a virgin.  She didn’t worry about whether it was the right time to have a baby or whether she would be able to handle the next swaddled blessing.

That makes Mary’s marriage a little…different than mine.  It makes me wonder just what I can learn from her when it comes to marriage.

But maybe it also points us to some of the truths of marriage and to some lessons that we sometimes forget.

Mary gave birth to the Savior, and then she raised him.  She did it with the help and support of a man, a man chosen by God.  Joseph was the head of the family, and that’s no small thing.  Angels appeared to him, and he was the earthly male role model — the man Jesus knew as Daddy in the flesh.  How do I support my husband in his role as head of our family?  How do I encourage him — with a hot meal, a smile in the evening, my undivided attention?

Life in Nazareth wasn’t easy, but it was as normal as it could get.  Mary didn’t have a slew of servants at her disposal.  She and Joseph had to work — really, truly work — in their life together.  There were laundry piles and dirty dishes and meals to prepare.

It’s there, in the boring, ordinary, common life…it’s there that I see Mary and Joseph.  They’re holding hands and smiling at some shared joke.  Maybe it’s a toddler mispronunciation they’re remembering together.  Could they be thinking of Jesus’ first steps, of the journey to Egypt, of the trip to Jerusalem searching for Jesus?

Marriage is a commitment of the highest order, and Mary stands before us, not as an inaccessible perfect wife (though she undoubtedly was), but as an achievable sister-in-arms.  She taps us on the shoulder and urges us to put the computer away, to bake a pan of brownies, to write a little unexpected love note.  She shows us Who should be at the center of our marriage, reminds us where it is we’re trying to reach, prompts us to reach, together, for the many graces wrapped up in the sacrament of marriage.

She knows how hard it is in this day and age — it was hard then, too, though the standard was to stay married.  She sees the obstacles in front of us and she leads us, once again, back to her Son.

Originally published in a modified form at Faith & Family Live.

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