On the Way to Behold Quick Takes

March 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

— 1 —

As you read this, I’m probably on my way over to the Behold Conference.

Not to brag, mind you, but I am a LOT excited.

I’m going to be spending a LOT of time with Elizabeth Duffy and Mrs. Darwin. I also plan to harass pursue follow around like a puppy dog see Danielle Bean, Jennifer Fulwiler, Hallie Lord, Arwen Mosher, Kate Wicker, and many, many more of my favorite online friends.

Hoo boy!

— 2 —

In the latest Catholic Foodie, Jeff’s talking fishy Fridays, and I’m sharing a Mary in the Kitchen that reflects on just why Lenten failures are good for me, every single year.

On the newest iPadre, Fr. Jay Finelli is awesome, as usual, and I’m on with a Mary Moment that’s B16-inspired.

— 3 —

Got a new iPod, iPad, or iPhone? I share my 13 Essential Catholic Apps in this week’s Tech Talk at CatholicMom.com.

Got a few minutes to talk New Evangelization with me? Over at New Evangelizers, I’m talking about how we’re all in this together.

— 4 —

You’ve probably long suspected there’s something “not quite right” about someone who names the voices in her head. But did you know I have multiple personalities online too? I talk about my dilemma over at the Catholic Writers Guild blog this week. If you have ideas for how I can reconcile myself…well, I’m all ears/eyes.

— 5 —

“Would you review my new book, Getting #Married: Using Social Media to Celebrate the Sacred?”

I was too curious to say no when the request came into my inbox.

For one thing, I think very highly of Meredith Gould, who is an author, a blogger, and one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter.

For another, when you put both “social media” and “sacred” in the subtitle, it makes for irresistibility as far as I’m concerned.

Read my review over at CatholicMom.com.

— 6 —

I’ve been tempted to start posting links to our priest’s homilies here on my blog. He’s such a talented homilist–he can say more in seven minutes than I can say in a half-hour. Last weekend, his homily inspired a whole column idea for me, among other things. (I need to listen to it a third time to get all my notes down so I can bug him with my uber-nerdy theology questions.)

— 7 —

This is a classic case of saving the best for last, don’t you think?

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Saturday Quick Takes: More of Me, Lent Goodness, and a Picture

February 25, 2012 By Leave a Comment

— 1 (Be Proud of Me) —

Yeah, I know. It’s not Friday. The temptation was strong to do two posts yesterday, but aren’t you proud of me? I resisted!

So here I am on Saturday with some Quickish Takes…

— 2 (Book Giveaway Winners) —

If you entered my book giveaway this month, I announced winners the other day and also sent emails (though I have a good hearty appreciation for spam filters, indeed I do).

Be sure you contact me if you won!

— 3 (Papa Rocks!) —

Have you read the pope’s message for Lent 2012 yet? How’d I not find it until now? Here’s a sampling:

The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity. This is a favourable time to renew our journey of faith, both as individuals and as a community, with the help of the word of God and the sacraments. This journey is one marked by prayer and sharing, silence and fasting, in anticipation of the joy of Easter.

This year I would like to propose a few thoughts in the light of a brief biblical passage drawn from the Letter to the Hebrews:“ Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works”. These words are part of a passage in which the sacred author exhorts us to trust in Jesus Christ as the High Priest who has won us forgiveness and opened up a pathway to God. Embracing Christ bears fruit in a life structured by the three theological virtues: it means approaching the Lord “sincere in heart and filled with faith” (v. 22), keeping firm “in the hope we profess” (v. 23) and ever mindful of living a life of “love and good works” (v. 24) together with our brothers and sisters.

Go read the whole thing.

— 4 (Hearts to Celeste) —

Here’s a great Lenten resource, courtesy of Celeste Behe: 40 for 12.

Throughout the 40 days of Lent, the 40 for 12 Menu Plan will offer a weekly shopping list and menu of meatless meals, along with easy recipes and fun commentary. Each of the recipes is designed to serve 12, in order to suit big happy families with many mouths to feed, small happy families with voracious teens, and prudent wives who know the value of a good leftover.

Here’s the bottom line of this 40 for 12 Menu Plan brilliance:

  • Living out the Lenten discipline of abstinence as a family
  • Free Mom from undue stress
  • Keep kids from being sullen
  • Recipes serve big families OR have plenty of leftovers
  • Plans can be modified easily
  • There aren’t expensive convenience foods
  • Shopping lists included!
  • Do I really need to go on? Aren’t you SOLD? :)

Something to help me spend less time in the kitchen? Well, Celeste, let me hug you!

— 5 (My Other Blatherings) —

Total excitement: my interview made the podcast version of The Catholics Next Door. So if, like me, you don’t listen to Sirius/XM (but you long to, if only to hear the awesomeness that is Greg and Jennifer Willits), then you can hear my recent interview.

More excitement: I’m now a contributor over at the Integrated Catholic Life. My first column, “My Reckless Experiment with Fridays” went live yesterday.

Lenten failures: I’m on iPadre this week with a Mary Moment about my Lenten failures.

I love pizza, need I say more? On Catholic Foodie, Mary in the Kitchen is pizza-oriented (after a fun-filled parade-induced show).

Did you know there’s a great new app for Total Consecration? It gets my rave review over in my Tech Talk column this week at CatholicMom.com.

Lent’s on my mind: I’m talking Lent and blogging at the Catholic Writers Guild this week.

— 6 (Share Your Story) —

Do you have a Lenten story about how you’ve grown? Is there a faith story you’d be willing to share with others?

Karina Fabian is collecting them at the Why God Matters website. Here’s the scoop:

In 1996, Karina Fabian, mother of toddlers, made a Lenten vow that launched her career as a writer.  Years later, it led her to share that joy of writing with her father, as they collaborated on an award-winning devotional, Why God Matters: How to Recognize Him in Daily Life.  This year, she hopes to share the joy of Lent through her book and the Why God Matters website.

This year, Fabian and Tribute Books are opening the Why God Matters website to faith stories by others, especially Lenten faith stories.  “I believe that Lent, and Lenten vows, can change lives,” Fabian said.  “I’d like to share that hope with others, and the best way is through sharing our stories.”

“God continues to bless me through that Lenten vow,” Fabian said.  “Not only will I cherish having worked with my father, but the book itself has touched so many lives.  People have written to us that it’s helped them understand their faith better , brought them closer to God, or touched them when they really needed it.  I hope this Lent, through the website, we can do this some more.”

— 7 (Picture, As Promised) —

When she got her hair cut earlier this week, my seven-year-old asked the beautician to do her hair up. This is my glimpse at how quickly time passes…

Conversion Diary has more Quick Takes…though most people do them on Fridays… :)

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Lots of Love, Links, and a Thought

February 18, 2012 By 4 Comments

The love:

I owe a lot of love, cheering, and a debt of gratitude for my nifty new web design to Dorian Speed of Convolare Design. She has spent more time than she should have dealing with my idiosyncracies, and here we are.

Isn’t that header pretty? And nice? And lovely? And…homey?

She used my actual window for that header. That’s what I see in my backyard. The plan is to update it with the seasons. And maybe I’ll find a way to insert a horse and some kids back there… :)

I do hope you’ll click through and see the whole new look. I’m still unpacking a few proverbial boxes, figuring out where things fit and all of that. She picked a theme that’s more mobile friendly, which I love.

I love Dorian, period. She was great to work with, did fabulous work, and I can’t recommend her highly enough. She also designed our parish website and does the full gamut of web design work.

You get her sense of humor for no extra charge. (I think it’s worth paying for, myself.)

The links:

Mary can be our Valentine, and that’s just what I consider in the latest Mary Moment on iPadre.

I’m app-happy, in case you hadn’t noticed, but I’m also fed up with ugly in apps. So I gave in to my desire and let loose on a call for beauty in apps in my Tech Talk column at CatholicMom.com.

I’ve asked myself for years if blogging has to lead to podcasting, and inspired by a conversation, I dive into that topic this week in my column at the Catholic Writers Guild blog.

There’s a great new prayer book for children available from the people who brought us our very tattered and loved-to-pieces Beginner’s Bible. My rave review is over at CatholicMom.com.

The folks at the Behold Conference (see you there?) invited me to guest post, and so there I am, talking about the importance of girlfriends.

Leaving you with this thought:

I found this in yesterday’s Magnificat (which I read through the app and which I so love), and I wanted to share it with you.

The danger of Catholicism is its power to help. It is a faith that even to those who do not believe seems to carry with it comfort and reality. Yet it is not wise to come to the Catholic Church because you need comfort. It is never wise to join any cause or any ideal for what one can make out of it or get out of it. We should come in for what we can give…

I think that the best thing of all is your devotion to our Lord. It is to give ourselves to him that we must come. It must be under the inspiration of his unselfishness, of his service to God in man and of man in God, that we seek to join ourselves to him: there were those who followed because they had been fed in the wilderness. This wasn’t enough. “Signs and wonders” are not good enough proofs; the only great proof is that people have followed him down narrow lanes and over uneven paths and wearing thorns and carrying their cross. It is along that line then that you must pray that he would help you to give yourself to him, patiently, indeed serenely. You won’t then bother about arguing or the need of it. You will just follow where he leads you, sure that all will be well: “Be not solicitous.” For the past, remember his injunction to let the dead bury their dead; for the future, remember that the morrow, so he said, would take care of itself. All that’s to be done is to hold oneself in the Everlasting Arms or rather be held by them. The rest is peace that comes of having nothing left.

- Father Bede Jarrett, O.P.

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Quick Takes – Linky Dinky Do Version

February 10, 2012 By 7 Comments

— 1 —

Under the “too cool not to share” heading: Ellen Gable is giving away Kindle copies of Emily’s Hope from today through Sunday, February 12. If you’re looking for a good novel, give it a try. You can read it virtually anywhere–there are Kindle apps for every device and even a way to read using the Amazon Cloud Reader.

A bit about it:

Emily’s Hope is the fictionalized, parallel true stories of Ellen and her great-grandmother. Damon Owens said: “Compelling…a real page turner.” Lisa Hendey said: “…great storytelling that teaches some important messages, but they are wrapped in a plot that will pull you in and leave you wanting more.”

So what are you waiting for? Free books = good February.

— 2 —

Speaking of free books…have you entered my contest yet?

— 3 —

My audio reflections on Mary this week:

— 4 —

Over at CatholicMom.com this week, I’m considering how I can better understand art using a great app and I also share about some Lenten devotionals that have crossed my desk in the last few weeks.

— 5 —

I first discovered the Catholic Writers Guild during their first online conference a few years ago. (You should sign up to participate!)

I participated in that conference on a whim and because of the price (free). It was mostly a lark, but I have to look back with some amusement. I ended up helping with some behind-the-scenes things and then joining the Guild. I learned a lot about writing and, even better, made some connections with real people.

I didn’t even consider myself a writer then, though I had been blogging for a while (and blogging is writing) and I was dabbling in a few other writerly things.

That conference shifted my perspective of myself and, between their other conferences I’ve attended over the years and my involvement with the Guild, I’ve found a great network of resources and people who share my faith and my craft.

Beyond all that, it’s fun. It’s a change of pace. It’s educational.

And you can’t argue with the price: it’s FREE!

This year, it’s two weeks, March 17-31, with one week dedicated to forums and one week dedicated to chats. I’m going to be helping out again as a presenter and probably as a chat moderator, and I’d love to see you there!

— 6 —

If you’re interested in being in other places, the Catholic Writers Guild blog is looking for either regular or one-time guest posts from members. (You do have to be a member of the CWG to write for the blog.) If you’re interested, check out the blog guidelines and get involved!

I was over at the CWG blog this week with a post talking about being a Small Fry Blogger.

I was in a couple of other places too.

Ginny Moyer, the hostess over at Random Acts of Momness, invited me to share the greatest gift my mother gave me, and the Patheos Book Club ran my review of Christopher West’s new book.

And then, over at Amazing Catechists, I share my experience with the seven deadly sins and a room full of fifth graders.

— 7 —

You know what I’m looking forward to this Lent? Hearing the special Among Women podcast that Pat Gohn is putting together.

Could you spare a few minutes to share your favorite and most meaningful Lenten practices? Pat’s collecting them at amongwomenpodcast@me.com or 206-203-2024 until February 20.

I’ve done my part…now, you do yours and we’ll have a wonderful little Lenten gift.

Visit our lovely guest hostess Betty Beguiles for more Quick Takes!

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Quick Takes: Writing and Writing and Writing

January 27, 2012 By 5 Comments

— 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!

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This week in writing: Kindle and Fiction and Blogging

January 21, 2012 By 6 Comments

My writing elsewhere this week:

And because I can’t resist, here are a few things I loved reading this week:

  • Date Night Challenge – Our parish is actually going to do one of these. I need to get a babysitter lined up–what a great idea!
  • Moms of Young Children, The Time to Thrive is Now! – Jen Fulwiler with a timely reminder that we don’t have to be in hunker-down mode all the time when we have young children. Do read!
  • Catholic Blog Day – The first Catholic Blog Day is going to be on Ash Wednesday, February 22. Catholic bloggers are invited to write on a common theme for the day. Click through to read about the theme and the details. I’m excited!

Have a great weekend!

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Teaching the Sacraments & Gushing about Women

January 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment

This week, I used an object lesson to introduce my fifth-grade class to the sacraments during our parish’s evening religious education classes. I wrote about it over at Amazing Catechists, and there are already some great ideas in the comments. Hope you find it useful, and please do share your ideas or suggestions if you have them!

image credit

Over at Catholicmom.com, I wrote a review of a book that I dub a must-read for all Catholics, Women, Sex, and the Church: A Case for Catholic Teaching, edited by Erika Bachiochi.

Take a moment and check out that new photo at the top of my blog (copied below so that those of you in feed readers and on email can just stay comfortably there).

It comes courtesy of my four-year-old, who loves lining up her horses. And her brother’s cars. And her sister’s markers. It may be my favorite blog-topper EVER.

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