My Writing Space (Nerds Unite)

March 4, 2012 By 8 Comments

Just because Jen did this writing space link-up three days ago (or was it four?) isn’t stopping me from participating late.

Here’s where I write:

It’s the far end of my kitchen counter, the dividing bar between our family room and kitchen.

To my left is my kitchen sink, with the great window view that’s the header of my blog:

Often, one of my girls will color or play horses while I laptop away. Here’s the view from the family room facing in:

Behind me is our table:

Sometimes, I turn my laptop so that I’m sitting at the bar, instead of standing at the bar. It really depends on the time of day and what I’m working on.

I tried to use an office set-up, but it just didn’t work. My kids would follow me, and locking the door didn’t really work either. They totally ignore me if I’m out here working in the middle of the action. That room’s being repurposed as a study, where we’ll go for quiet time or prayer or things that need to not be in the middle of the action. (Math homework comes right to mind.)

Here’s the in-progress peek at that room:

I have a friend who has promised to help me decorate the white walls. I have some great horse stuff, some religious art ideas, some favorite “stuff,” and some family pictures I want to hang. We’ll be including a table in this room, and in the corner, I have a favorite rocking chair and plan to move my morning prayer to this room as well.

Now, pardon me while I go explore the other writing spaces!

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A Monday Daybook

January 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Outside my window: The moon was hovering over the western horizon as a big tangerine. My seven-year-old pointed it out to me as we were waiting for the bus. I can’t get the image of it out of my mind. The light outside is still soft and new, but won’t be that way for long.

Around the house: The dishwasher and washing machine are busy doing their work, the four-year-old is beside me making a deck of horse cards into a quite hilarious drama, and the mancub is “sleeping” (he stopped singing, and I’m going to blog in that small window of time).

In my thoughts: I’m thinking of the blessing of another year, the joy of Christmas, and the lovely smell of the Dutch apple pie candle that’s burning on the counter nearby.

In my plans: I surely have plans, I just can’t think of what they are. Today, I’m going to figure out what’s for dinner this week and I’m going to start in on the recurring to-do list. There are some twists and turns ahead this week, but we’ll take those one at a time.

In thanksgiving: For peace, despite mental chaos. For the kids in my life. For the friends who won’t let me forget what this week is, despite my own attempts to play it down. For my husband.

Nose inserted: I am reading the first of the Young Chesterton Chronicles, The Tripods Attack!, by John McNichol. I’m also reading an advance copy of the tenth edition of Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach, by Kathryn Hermes. Last week, I started Strengthening Your Family: A Catholic Approach to Holiness at Home, by Marge Fenelon.

Recent reads: 

  • Who’s There?, by Seth Godin - Read in part because I’m a nerd and in part because I blog each week about blogging over at the Catholic Writers Guild blog, and I thought this would be a good resource. It was free and quick and I was okay with it. Not a bad introduction to blogging and things online, even if it was written long enough ago to be a touch out-of-date. I’m always looking for resources to share with writers who want to blog but aren’t sure how to start, and this is pretty decent for that end.
  • Darkling Fields of Arvon, by James Anderson and Mark Sebanc – I enjoyed reading the first book in this series, and I enjoyed this one as well. In fact, my reading it (which was long overdue–it’s been on my shelf for far too long!) inspired me to share the series with my husband. I found the names a bit difficult (but I always do with these fantasy types of books), but enjoyed the story immensely. It moves pretty well, has an underlying tone that’s intriguing, and is, all in all, a good read.

Food for thought: No wise man ever wished to be younger. (From CoolNSmart.com)

Worth a thousand words: On either side of my kitchen sink and the window above it (because, though I didn’t muster together a whole Marian post, I can at least share some lovely images, right?):

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Celebrating Advent: An Advent Wreath Carnival Link-up (with updates)

December 15, 2011 By 15 Comments

Advent is a season that fills me with love and hate, in almost equal amounts.

I love the idea. I hate the reality.

But I’ve come to find, especially this year, that I can choose my attitude (hard though that may be so often) and thus, my reality. Hosting this carnival is one way that has helped me to get outside of myself and enjoy the season.

So welcome to our carnival of Advent wreaths! (Updated with new additions at the end.)

My passion for Advent wreaths is thanks to an aunt (the one who loved The Sound of Music with such abandon). She would make such an adventure out of lighting the candles, and she always had a story about each candle. I’ve since found versions of the stories and shared them in various places, from our parish bulletin to my own book of Advent and Christmas reflections. (I can’t seem to find the original paper she gave me about nine years ago when I started teaching 3rd grade religious education classes, though.)

When I was shopping with my mother-in-law a number of years ago at our local Catholic store, we came across this Advent wreath. I was enchanted with the figures and went on and on and on about how it reminded me of my aunt and the stories she told as she lit the Advent candles.

My mother-in-law bought me that Advent wreath as a gift that year, and it has been a part of our Advent ever since. It’s made by Roman, Inc., though I’ve been unable to find it anywhere online.

(I’m not such a fan of how the tapers tend to tip and sway and need some extra help.)

I’m including the excerpts that we’ve used in our parish bulletin below, which I found online at Living Hope.

We light the candle by the Virgin Mary first, which my aunt called the Prophecy Candle.

The Prophecy Candle reminds us of the promise God made his people long ago and opens the period of waiting.

Then we light the candle with Joseph and the Baby Jesus, the Bethlehem Candle.

The Bethlehem Candle reminds us to make room for the needs of others, as the innkeeper did for Joseph and Mary. It is symbolic of the preparation being made in our hearts to receive and cradle the Christ Child.

This week’s candle is the Shepherd Candle.

This candle reminds us of the announcement to the shepherds of the birth of Jesus and typifies the act of sharing Christ with others.

The last week of Advent, we’ll light the Angel Candle.

The Angel Candle reminds us of the angel sent by God to tell of the birth of Jesus. It is the candle of love and the final coming.

The Christ Candle is in the center, and we light it (and all the others!) on Christmas (and until the end of the Christmas season, which, for us, usually goes at least for 12 days, until January 6, but sometimes as long as the Baptism of Our Lord).

The Advent season ends on Christmas when the Christ Child or Christmas candle is lit. This larger, central candle symbolizes Christ as the light of the world. Together with the other candles, it is a dazzling climax which reminds us of God’s great gift to us.

I didn’t realize, until I started collecting the submissions for this Advent Wreath Carnival, what a delightful and varied assortment there is!

Let’s take a look at our submissions, shall we?

Larissa Hoffman shared her wreath with me (and, in a way, inspired this carnival!) on St. Nicholas Day. It looks like her family is enjoying their wreath and using it pretty often.

Lorna Reine was inspired to hang her Advent wreath by Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda. She made the actual wreath at a parish event a number of years ago.

Heather Hampton says her Advent wreath is perfect for her family with five little ones (ages 8, 7, 5, 3 and 10 months). She says, “No one is reaching for the carrots and burning themselves on the flimsy taper candles.”

My friend Jodi Santini sent this picture in of her family’s wreath. She’s a member of my parish and, a number of years ago, she marked herself as my first godchild when she came into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. I particularly love the shiny ribbon.

Pat Gohn of Among Women may claim she’s craft-impaired, but her Advent wreath proves that her creativity wins over those struggles. She shares that this is “easily re-usable year to year. Colored ribbons denote purple & pink/rose colors on a wreath. Just add votive size candles or tea lights.”

Christine, who blogs at Domestic Vocation and is on Twitter as @CatholicMomVA, uses jar candles (very inexpensive from a certain unnamed big box store, she told me), and she said they last through all of Advent. I’ll bet they smell delightful, too!

Jen Minson transforms her prayer corner for Advent. Isn’t it lovely? I feel peaceful just looking at it.

Diane Brooke has a huge outdoor Advent wreath. They light a new candle each week. What a way to evangelize and share the season with others!

Lena Flores, of JOYfilled Family, has quite a flair for making her Advent wreath into a haven, don’t you agree?

Barb, of SFO Mom, is using the same Advent wreath her husband used while growing up, which must make the season feel so special to her family.

Ellen Thomas did quite a bit of cleaning to get me a picture of her Advent wreath, and over at her blog, Salome Ellen, she shares more than one picture. (I just lifted one of them for this carnival.) I wouldn’t mind sharing a cup of coffee with her at that table…how about you?

Kerri shared at Journal of a Nobody that her Advent wreath doesn’t have purple candles because she waited too long to try to get her candles. There’s a tradition, though, of red candles, especially in Protestant churches in Britain (according to Wikipedia…take it with a grain of salt…but I have seen red candles before).

Katie at Orange, Pink, and Green has an Advent wreath that touches my heart. That candle in the center? LOVE! She has a close-up of it over at her blog and explains how she made it (and I think that maybe, just maybe, I might try a version of it for myself).

Thanks to everyone for participating! I think I may have to include at least two more Advent wreaths in my home after this walk down Advent Wreath Lane!

Want to share YOUR Advent wreath? Go ahead and send it to me or link to it in the comments…I’ll update this post periodically and maybe we’ll do this again someday!

New additions (see? told you I’d keep updated…I can’t help it, I want to share them all!):

ViolinMama, from A Rosey Outlook on Life, has a brand-new Advent wreath (the one from her childhood is “lost” in storage).

Sanne, from the Netherlands, shared her wreath and she included a picture she’s working on of Mary and Joseph on their way to Bethlehem. (I’d like to see that when it’s done!)

GeekLady of Geek Tales has quite a lovely wreath, don’t you agree? I especially like the beverage that accompanies it (you mean I’m not the only one having that sort of week?). I like the shiny stuff around the candles, too. I have no illusions about this, though: she talks about making her own candles next year. Wow.

Jen at Happy Little Homemaker has an Advent wreath that screams “I know how to decoupage,” but isn’t it lovely, all the same? She said the evergreen branches didn’t last, though she had them in there earlier, before the needles fell off.

Renee sent me this via email. She shared, “Our family put this together a couple of years ago, using a wreath and some votive candle holders that slightly resemble wine glasses with long stems. We added all the decorations and ribbons. Every night in Advent we gather together to say our prayers, and for the past couple of years we have added the daily prayers from one of the Advent and Christmas books like this one.”

 

Melanie, from The Rosary Chick, has not one, but TWO, Advent wreaths. Pictured at the top is the wreath in her living room. The second picture is the one on her table so that they can enjoy it during dinner. She gets her kids involved in the lighting and praying and, well, every aspect of it. Since it’s unlikely I’ll be able to make it to her house for dinner this Advent, I’ll live vicariously through her post.

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The “Off the Grid” Daybook

October 15, 2011 By 9 Comments

Outside my window: The sun’s just finishing it’s pink explosion in the sky, and the wind is whipping the leaves off the big oak in the backyard. The corn’s waving at me from the walls it makes around our yard.

Around the house: The kids are up, though the baby’s still cooing in his crib and the girls are coloring and watching Saturday morning cartoons. I’m planted at the bar with my laptop and my coffee. I went “off the grid” yesterday and we had a delightful day full of horses and laughter. Saturday mornings, I often catch myself sneaking off to do some work, but today I’m doing it in the middle of all the action.

What I’ve been writing:

In my kitchen: It is a mess. In the last week, my mother-in-law and I processed just less than two-and-a-half bushels of apples. It was fabulous, and I think it marks the end of my canning for this season, which began with tomatoes and included grapes and more tomatoes. There might be some tomatoes still out in the garden, and I might find myself canning a bit more, but it’s time to scrub down the kitchen.

In my thoughts: Tomorrow, our three-year-old daughter turns four. I have her on my mind. (And I’m trying to keep the “slacker mom who never has birthday parties of note, with anyone, ever” thoughts at bay.)

In my plans: Though I am a low-key birthday celebrations kind of mom, I will make a cake. I WILL. Today.

In thanksgiving: For forgiveness, especially through the sacrament of Confession and from children whose example I should follow. For a delightful class of 5th graders.

In my prayers: A few special friends who have requested my prayers. The Confirmation class at our parish.

Nose inserted: I’m reading a review copy of Seven from Heaven: How the Sacraments Can Heal, Nurture, and Protect Your Family Today, by Elizabeth Ficocelli and Soul Reader, by Gerard Webster.

A favorite thing: My girls being horses, or riding horses, or both at the same time, all over the house and yard.

Food for thought: Attracted by the heavenly brightness of the Mother of the Redeemer, let us turn with trust to the one who looks upon us and protects us from on high.We all need her help and comfort to face the trials and challenges of daily life; we need to feel that she is our mother and sister in the concrete situations of our lives. - Pope Benedict XVI, in the Angelus address on August 15, 2007, via BenedictEveryday.com, emphasis mine

Parting trifle: Look what came in the mail this week, quite unexpectedly!

It’s latest pamphlet from Liguori, Do I Really Have to Give Something up For Lent? (available from your Catholic bookstore, Liguori, or pre-order from Amazon) Rhe shock, awe, and wonder at my words being published will wear off, right?

 

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A Corner of My Own

September 26, 2011 By 6 Comments

A Mary Moment Monday post

In our new house, I find myself with my own room. It’s a bit disconcerting, and I feel a bit guilty about it.

But…I needed a place for my desk and, really, a place to do my writing work (and pay the bills). And here it is, in its very own room.

In the beginning, I put a shelf with toys in here with me, thinking that while I tapped away and did the things I do, the kids could play. My husband frowned, and I had to admit that he was right after the three-year-old started using my desk items and critical papers as her toys.

It’s not that we don’t have plenty of other places for toys. They’re more organized than they’ve ever been, in fact. (How long will that last? We’ll see…)

It’s not that I can’t do my work in some other room, because I can and have, especially at the kitchen table or the little bar we have.

It’s not that I don’t like having my own space, a corner of my own. I love it.

It’s that I feel a bit guilty about it.

There are many reasons for that guilt, but as I’ve spent time pondering it and examining it, I’ve realized that it’s a lot like the other guilt in my life.

That guilt is not helpful. It’s not leading me closer to God.

There’s a place for guilt. I’m a fan, in fact, of my “Catholic guilt.”

Let me define what I mean by that, because I don’t mean “feeling badly about things.” For me, Catholic guilt is an indicator, not something random. It’s a gauge, telling me when I’m close to (or on) “empty,” in need of a sacramental refill (such as Confession).

Feeling guilty about the blessings God has given me is in no way Catholic (or helpful, for that matter). For me, it’s a path leading me AWAY from the abundance in front of me and a healthy appreciation of it.

How do you suppose Mary dealt with guilt? Did she feel guilty about being chosen to be Mother of God?

It’s all too easy to allow guilt–in the name of “Catholic guilt”–drive my decisions. It’s all too easy to ignore the underlying reasons for my guilt and pretend I can’t help it.

It’s novel to me that I can control my feelings. Aren’t feelings as unpredictable as the weather?

Knowing that I am in control (of my feelings…or maybe, more precisely, my reaction to my feelings) changes things. It makes my approach to guilt in general different.

I suspect that Mary battled feelings of guilt, just as we all do, especially when we have other people’s lives to worry about. Guilt is human, and Mary was human.

What Mary has to teach me about guilt is in her approach to it. I think, instead of feeling sorry for herself or abandoning herself to its effect, she turned first to God. I think, instead of complaining about it, she examined it and thought about it.

In Scripture, Mary didn’t do a lot of talking or responding. She pondered. She thought. She reflected.

And, in that, she turned to God FIRST. Her heart magnified the Lord.

I am going to try to take a lesson from her this week and give my unneccesary guilt to God. He can carry it far better than I can anyway.

image courtesy of my three-year-old

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Greener Pastures

August 29, 2011 By 3 Comments

A Mary Moment Monday post

It doesn’t take much for me to long to be where the grass (appears to be) greener. Every so often, though, I get a chance to actually go where the grass is greener.

Like across the street.

Into a brand-spankin-new (to us) house.

We are still shaking our heads over this. And now that we’re here, we see just how green the grass really is.

There’s new carpet. There are walls with drywall and studs. There’s insulation. There’s even…wait for it…a GARAGE, with an OPENER, that is ATTACHED.

Oh, and did I mention there’s a dishwasher? And that it’s not me? :-)

These are just the tip of the new house iceberg for us. Though this house is about 30 years old, that makes it at least 80 years newer than our previous home.

There’s charm to an old house. The charm, though, comes with a price. In this new house, I find I can relax as I cross “hunting down the wasps before they sting someone” and “worry about swarming bees but leave it in God’s hands” off my daily to-do lists.

We are thrilled. We’re past the hump of not believing we’re really here. I’ve hung some pictures and have even tried my hand at a wee bit of decorating (with some help).

A friend, when discussing my decoration strategy, mentioned that it seemed to have a Marian theme.

She’s right: it does.

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Our Lady of Grace, the Holy Family, and a bust of Mary are all within sight of me as I type from the couch in the family room.

I have just the spot for a big statue of Mary (when I can find and afford just the right one) between my kitchen and family room. And there are places in the front room, my office, and the bedrooms where we will certainly incorporate the Blessed Mother.

At first, it might seem like an obsession. I think of it, though, as a reminder to all of us of who our model is and where she points. When I see Mary, I smile (even if I am in the middle of ranting at her Son), because I know she can take whatever I dish her way (and so can her Son; he had a good teacher in that regard).

The many Marys in my house remind me how much I am loved. Just look at this palace, this house that is so much nicer than what we were unable to build the three times we researched it (and gave up on it–the most recent time less than a year ago). Just look at these children, at the family beyond our doors, at the many other blessings.

Mary points me to the power of God’s love for me and the amazing things that will happen if I step aside. She shows me, again and again, the joy of Yes, when that Yes is said to God (and even when it’s said with a bit of a hesitation, with some grumbling, with a frowny-face).

 

Filed Under: Inspired by the Virgin Mary, Mary Moment Mondays Tagged With: , , , ,

Burnout

February 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Originally posted February 22, 2008, and every bit as relevant today as it was then.

Stress Reduction Kit Installation
Tis the season for being burned out. I seem to be coming out of it, but when I sat down and thought about it, I realized it happens to me every year around this time. I feel like I’m unable to do it all, like the universe is conspiring against me. The “to do” list seems to be impossible, an endless supply of things I won’t get done, and then the reality of the deadlines and the people I’ll let down washes over me and I feel futility set in.

I first encountered burnout in college, near the end of my time there. I look back and I just don’t know how I did it all—the clubs, the meetings, the organizations, the fund-raisers and the extra classes, the projects for charity, the parties, the hanging out, and on and on and on. That final spring quarter, I was a waste, not worth much at all. Nothing seemed to be worth it, and no matter how much I did, there was always more to do.

After I graduated, I left all that behind me and started all over. I thought that with a job, I had all this free evening time, so I set about filling it. I taught Sunday school classes, attended every evening Bible study, was a 4-H advisor, did county-level 4-H activities, helped with youth ministry at church, and found time to sleep somewhere in there.

Then I got married, and as I was getting ready to jet on over to one of the many evening commitments I had, Bob looked at me and commented, “You know, we’ll never have a family if we never spend any time together.” That really set me thinking about my focus in life, and about what I’m supposed to be doing right now.

I still struggle with wanting to do too much, and then finding myself so worn out from all that I try to do that I don’t want to do anything anymore. I’m trying to find the balance of extracurricular and home life.

Sometime, and especially as we have more children and as Bob begins to take more classes, my extracurriculars will have to nearly disappear. At one point, that really bothered me. I thought that those outside things defined who I am.

But I’ve come to understand that the most important work I do is the work God calls me to do…and to know what that is, I have to be listening.

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