Saturday Fun

January 7, 2012 By 2 Comments

Are you a fan of resolutions?

I usually am, and I’m talking resolutions in my latest column at CatholicMom.com: To Resolve or Not to Resolve.

Intercessory Prayer: A Must-Read

What Would You Like Me to Pray For? Pat Gohn inspires and challenges me yet again. Here’s an excerpt:

The interior logic of intercession leads to love. For some people, that might be an unintended consequence, but the law of love is always within the will of God.

So, this is only advice I can give: When you choose to actively pray for someone, prepare yourself to love him or her. If you already love someone, prepare to love them even more. And if you pray for someone that you do not love or like—be it a difficult boss, an annoying relative, or someone who has trespassed against you—prepare to see signs of love or peace breaking through, even when you’d rather resist. You might not see changes in that person or their circumstances, but you will soon find that you cannot pray for someone in a detached way. It will move your heart in ways that might be surprising and sympathetic, especially if it leads to forgiveness, or freedom, or healing.

Don’t miss the whole thing. I found myself touched and moved to tears. I’m also looking at my own pull (dare I call it a “call”?) to intercessory prayer in a new light.

A Take on Priests: Highly Enjoyable

I’ve worked with a priest for eight years now, and I have a dedicated soft spot for priests in general. Simcha Fisher’s piece this week, Here Comes Fr. Everyone, caught my eye and moved me. She nails it. They’re men. That’s what’s to love (and what’s to grit your teeth about, sometimes, too).

Made Me Think: A Different Way to Look at Weight Challenges

I came across a link to Tara Parker-Pope’s article, The Fat Trap, in the December 28 New York Times thanks to Bearing. I read it, over the course of an afternoon and evening, in snippets. Unfortunately for me, it was late when I really got my mind sunk into it, and my husband was unable to discuss it and my friends were all asleep or offline and it was just me and my brain.

I think I’ll be considering this for, oh, the rest of my life. Weight issues surround me in many ways, and I feel so unequipped to face them. This article really made me consider the challenges of weight loss in a new way, especially with the biological findings and other factors that are discussed. It’s a long piece, but well worth reading, especially if you have any interest in the topic.

I agree with Bearing that it seems a bit depressing and frightening–the conclusion is that you’re stuck, in some ways, if you ever lose your will to keep working on it. On the other hand, that could be a big motivator (if you knew you could fight off some deadly disease, would you keep fighting? or give up?).

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Mama’s Voice

January 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

Part of the Mary Moment Monday series

I hear the bathroom door open, followed by the sound of a baby wailing.

“Work your magic, Mama,” my husband says. He sounds pretty calm, but I remember when he first did this, six years ago, with our oldest daughter.

I was taking my first shower in 36 hours after her birth, savoring the heat and the pressure of the water (which were far better than what we had at home), when he came in the bathroom. He was a bit frazzled, though calm.

“Hey there.” My voice, from the shower, is enough to soothe this infant, just as it soothed his older sister six years ago.

I can’t help but think about this with wonder. I’m not a Baby Person (except sometimes with my own), but my babies don’t care. They know me. They know my voice. And, whatever my failings, they want me.

It’s not much of a lesson in listening, really. And yet…and yet, isn’t the first part of listening — really, actively listening and not just hearing — recognition? I often have to recognize that the voice I’m hearing is one that I can trust, one that has the right to give me information, one that won’t steer me wrong or put me down.

This year, I’m focusing on listening, whether it’s the person on the other end of the line or the room or the person pulling at my hand. I feel called to listen, to explore what that means for my life. My model in this is Mary, who listened when the Gabriel told her the most amazing news, who listened to Simeon and Anna, who listened to the cry of her Son from the cross.

It was Mary’s voice that soothed the infant Jesus. It was Mary’s voice that sang him to sleep. He listened to her even as she listened to him. It fascinates me…and gives me hope.

So this year, as I try to listen, I’m going to remember that in this, as with so much else, I can turn to Mary and use her example.

image source (no, that’s not my kid, though I do have pictures like that)

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

Quick Takes from Chaos

January 7, 2011 By 4 Comments

1. Introducing a “Mary Minute with Chesterton”

I have been listening to Uncommon Sense, the podcast of the American Chesterton Society, since it started. I blame the hostess, Nancy Brown, for fanning the flame of interest I already had in G.K. Chesterton with her insightful commentary and interesting interviews.

The latest episode, #40, features my latest project, a “Mary Minute with Chesterton.” If you listen to me in other places, you know that it’s longer than a minute. :) It’s going to be a regular feature, and I have to admit, I hesitated before agreeing to it. (In the interest of full disclosure, I volunteered. But the idea had been bugging me for quite a while before I actually acted on it.)

One of the reasons I’ve been such a fan of Uncommon Sense is that it’s low-key. The episodes are digestible in length and content — I haven’t read a lot of Chesterton, but Nancy makes me want to try and try again.

So…let me know what you think. And if you have ideas for this, I’m probably going to need them! (This feels very much like an example of God calling the qualified and not the other way around!)

2. Writing about Mary in 2011

Do you have any special Marian topics you’d like to see me tackle in 2011? I should have had my calendar put together (it’s a guideline, not a hard-and-fast schedule — helps when I’m stuck), but…I don’t. We won’t get into reasons. :)

3. What’s your word?

Last year, I was inspired to pick a one word resolution. Though I hope to get back to monthly resolutions (like Michelle, who gave me the idea in the first place many years ago), I really found this one word theme for the year helpful.

My word this year is LISTEN. I am going to do a longer post, but thought I’d toss it out there. When I posted about this last week, there were some great suggestions in the comments. Anyone else doing this? What’s your word for 2011?

4. Who’s your saint?

I didn’t have a saint pick me last year (though one did, all the same, and it was Our Lady of Sorrows), but thanks to Jen’s saint’s name generator, I did this year.

My saint this year is St. Zita. I’ll admit, we’re strangers right now. It cracks me up that one of her patronages is against losing keys; it makes me smile to see that homemakers and domestic servants are also on her list. I’m going to read some more about her and include her in my prayer time.

Did you have a saint pick you? Who’d you get?

5. Make Saturday a family movie night.

Have you heard about Change of Plans? It’s a family movie that’s airing on Saturday, January 8, on FOX at 8 PM EST (7 PM CST). It deals with issues related to adoption and foster care.

From the press release:

“Change of Plans: demonstrates how our lives can be turned upside down with a single phone call. When Sally Danville (Brooke White, “American Idol”) finds out that her best friend from college died in a tragic accident while serving in the Peace Corps, Sally also learns that she has been named the legal guardian of her friend’s four children—three of whom were adopted from third-world countries. Now Sally and her husband, Jason (Joe Flanigan, “Stargate: Atlantis”), must quickly learn to parent this instant family and help the kids deal with culture clashes and life in America. The story is both humorous and heartwarming; revealing how fulfilling life can be when you look beyond your own plans and invest in the lives of others.

I’m intrigued by this whole thing…this is the second movie that’s come my way tagged as a family movie night and I’m glad to see it. Here’s more from the press release:

When research revealed parents across America are seeking more family-oriented entertainment options, P&G and Walmart made a commitment to be part of the solution. “Change of Plans” continues P&G and Walmart’s “Family Movie Night” initiative, which strives to produce more quality entertainment options families can enjoy together throughout 2011.

“Family Movie Night” launched in April 2010 with the film “Secrets of the Mountain,” followed by “The Jensen Project” in July, and most recently “A Walk in My Shoes” on December 3. All three movies celebrated success with high-rated tune-in from viewers and associated brands seeing increased sales during the promotional time surrounding the films.

Folks, this might be just the marketing move a certain large retail establishment needed to make to get me back in their doors on a regular basis. (But let’s not tackle that today, okay? I am not out to convert anyone, I just generally avoid that store.) I don’t know if our family will watch this movie on Saturday, but I want to try to capture it on the DVR and at least see it.

6. Speaking of family nights…

We recently started having a family movie and game night once a week and my six-year-old LOVES it. I suspect it’s because she gets to eat in the living room, but she’s also been really into games lately. Her Christmas gifts included quite a few games (buyer’s remorse on my part just a bit…though her enjoyment trumps my annoyance, at least most of the time), and she really gets enthusiastic when I mention that we’ll have a movie/game night. My husband jokes that eating in the living room and staying up late are sure bets for why she’s so excited, but I think there’s more to it.

Because, to tell the truth, I get pretty charged up about them too!

7. The way I get GOOD sleep

Most of the people I’ve talked to over the years say the third kid’s the deal-breaker, the wild card, the one who will break even the strongest. I don’t know if that’s true yet, but I will say that, thanks to my awesome sister-in-law, I am sleeping at night. (Oh, the baby has something to do with that too, I guess.)

When she heard about how much pain I was enduring when I would fall asleep for hours in the recliner after nursing him in the middle of the night, she came back from the store with this, the Total Pillow.

I was hesitant. I’ve never had any luck with neck pillows in the past, and this one didn’t look any different.

Maybe it was the combination of exhaustion and pain, but I tried it the night she gave it to me.

And…I slept with no pain! I woke up refreshed and totally sold on this handy little wacky pillow.

Then I saw the commercial on TV. In the interest of helping you out further, you can find them at Walgreen’s (which is where my SIL bought mine) and, I’m sure, plenty of other places. According to my calculations, you save at least $5 that way.

(This isn’t an ad. I just had to share this, in case some other poor soul can use this product.)

More Quick Takes at Conversion Diary, where Jen’s the hostess with the mostest.

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Non-Resolutions

January 1, 2011 By 1 Comment

My latest column at CatholicMom.com, “Failed Resolutions,” is more serious than what I’m sharing here today, which is a list updated from a post I did back on the brink of 2008.

Subtitled “Things You Won’t Hear Me Saying This Year”

“Coffee? Never drink the stuff.”

“Um, no, we don’t have any Chips Ahoy or Oreos in the house.” (Assuming, of course, that we maintain our well-ordered universe…)

“Shopping? Sounds like a great way to spend time.”

“Man, I wish I’d never had those kids.”

“I think I’ll spend the day offline.” (On the other hand, maybe I will say that one every once in a while, but it might just kill me…)

“Oh look, my blogroll’s shrinking!”

“Hmm, which blog should I read first? I seem to be all caught up!”

“No, that’s okay. I don’t need any help cleaning. My house is clean already.”

“I was just sitting here, wondering where to find a book to read…”

“No thanks, I’ll pass on the chocolate.”

“I have nothing to say.” (Bet there are people wishing I’d use that one…so maybe that should be some sort of resolution…)

“Twitter? What’s that?”

“I’m bored.”

“I think I’ll take the iPad back. It’s just not what I thought it would be…”

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Gearing Up for Another Year

December 28, 2010 By 8 Comments

Source

The last week of the year always does something to me. My to-do list, already full of things that need done, is suddenly bursting with exciting beginning-of-year tasks: get the new planner rolling, update the finance folders, clear off the desk and put away this year’s stuff.

It’s still Christmas, and the kids wake up each morning and pound downstairs, excited to see what’s in their stocking. (They get three gifts on Christmas Day, then a gift in their stocking for each of the 12 days of Christmas.) I try keep the decorations up until at least Epiphany Sunday, so the glow of Christmas tree lights fills the middle room when I’m up by myself (or with the baby) in the early morning hours.

And oh, I love resolutions…in a love-hate kind of way. This year, instead of making a list, I focused on one word. It’s funny how the word that came to me was “peace,” and this has been a year that’s needed a lot of it: unexpected death, health challenges on many levels, and a new baby.

Last night, I thought of how, at the beginning of this year, I wondered what the point of my life was, what God wanted me to do…with my writing, with my work at the parish, with life in general. The year started very upside-down and topsy-turvy with an unexpected death and severe health concerns in our family. But, looking back over the whole year, I do feel like I got a very clear answer from God. It wasn’t all in one sentence, but I think it’s safe to say that, while I still pray daily for guidance and direction, I have a pretty good idea of what He has in mind for me (in a general sort of sense…the specifics always seem to be up in the air, much to my prefer-to-be-planned dismay).

I’m ending this year with the beginning very much in mind, though it’s through a different lens. The fog of pain has given way to an ache, one that’s always with me but that also has given me a new perspective. I would have never guessed, at the beginning of the year, that I would be holding an infant when I rang in 2011 or that I would have not one, but two book deals as well as a few writing projects on the back burner. I couldn’t have foreseen the joys that this year brought, even amid the pain and the tears.

As we end 2010, I’m in the midst a novena to Our Lady of Sorrows. This has been the year that she has become a patron for our family, I think. This has been the year that I’ve turned to Mama Mary and gripped her hand and let her carry us. This has been the year that I’ve come to appreciate suffering (though I won’t say I like it, that I’m good at it, or that I don’t do a fair share of shaking my fist and complaining about it).

I can’t help but look at the upcoming year, with its blank slate of opportunity and possible pain, with some wonder. How did we make it through 2010? What does 2011 hold? Do I want to know?

What shall I resolve for 2011? I like the idea of one word (it was easy to remember, for one thing), and I think I’m going to approach it that way again. But what word?

What are your resolutions for 2011? Do you have one word or a list?

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Finding Peace This Year

January 9, 2010 By 7 Comments

I started thinking about a one word resolution for the year when I read Rachel Balducci’s recent post at Faith & Family Live, and then, hearing Lisa Hendey and Rachel talk more about it in this week’s Faith & Family Livecast, I found myself suddenly sure that this was something I needed to do.

I knew just the word.

PEACE.

It’s been something that’s been on my mind for quite a while.  I can’t put my finger on when I had the realization that peace was more important to me than almost anything else, but it’s something that struck me like gradual lightening in 2009.

Happiness is overrated.  It’s elusive.  It’s like water in my hands, something I’m always grasping and unable to describe.

Peace, however, is not.

I find peace at Mass; I find peace on my couch in the evenings; I find peace in the mundane tasks of folding and washing and doing.

Peace has come to be an umbrella for me, protecting me from the onslaught of life.  Maybe a better image is that of a special shield all around me.  I know it’s strengthened by prayers, because right now, I’m experiencing it, even in the midst of trials unlike any I could have imagined.

The word of the year, for me, then, is PEACE.  I might even go so far as to try to find some different plaques to hang up around the house and in my office.  I’m going to carry it with me, write it at the top of my planner page, inscribe it in my mind.  It’s going to become my approach to life, the lifeline I use when I reach up to God and ask Him to carry me through the trials.  It will be the code word for whether I answer the phone or let it go to voice mail.  In the evenings, when I’m tossing around the idea of working (despite the fact that Offline Evenings (#6 on this post) are supposed to be the rule), I’m going to remember my word, my goal, my promise to myself.

The photo, incidentally, was taken in February a few years back.  I stepped outside and was overcome by the need to take a picture, capture the sunrise.  Looking at it now, I still smile, feeling that cold morning, the day ahead of me, the wonder of the explosion of color.

What’s your word for the year?

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Resolving to Try

January 3, 2010 By 2 Comments

My column from this weekend’s parish bulletin:

new-year1I have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions.  On the one hand, I love the organized feeling it gives me to examine my life and promise myself and those I love to improve.  On the other hand, I hate failing.

I fail a lot.  Every year, no matter how small my resolution(s), I still seem to miss the mark.

This year, as I sit with a brand-new calendar in front of me, I can’t help but glance at the school supplies that are halfway through their school year.

In September, breathing crisp fall air, I find myself inspired by unsharpened pencils and the possibilities of blank notebooks.

Those pencils have been sharpened a few times, and a few have lost their erasers.  The notebooks have been scribbled in and the covers are crinkled and bent.

The pencils haven’t always been used for the purpose they were purchased, and the notebooks have been filled with doodles as much as with writing.  They’ve failed a bit in their resolutions too, haven’t they?

Maybe failing isn’t so bad.  Maybe I need that lesson in humility, that prodding that forces me to lay my pride in my Father’s hands.

Maybe, this year, I’ll resolve to try….perhaps I’ll try something God’s been asking of me or try to focus more on His will than on my lost desires.  Maybe I’ll try working out (again) or eating better (again).  And it’s possible I’ll fail (again).

One thing’s for sure:  if I’m letting God lead me, my resolution will start on the right foot.

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