SQPN

Quick Takes with Pictures

May 11, 2012 By Sarah Reinhard 4 Comments

— 1 —

You know what makes me happy? This conversation from Facebook and the subsequent picture I have in my head because of it.

Anyone know where I can find a statue of Mary on a HORSE? Huh? I think I need one.

Well, come to think of it, I probably need two. My four-year-old is sure to claim one to play with. (You know, like she did with the Holy Family.)

— 2 —

If you’re reading this in a feed reader, I’ll spare you the necessary click-through and just show you how the window view at the top of my blog has changed, thanks to Dorian and her amazingness.

— 3 —

In case you have an interest in my latest obsessions, it has involved dirt, flowers, and mulch, transforming my front view to this:

— 4 —

That streak of motivation also led to this:

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In other news, I just confirmed, this week, that I’ll be in Dallas at the end of August. For this:

and this:

I’m a weeeeeeee bit excited, especially as I’m going to be stuck like glue to her:

(and a few other people too, but Julie and I have a special plan, mwahaha)

— 6 —

This week, my phone (which is not “smart,” and that’s part of the reason I love it so), has been spending a lot of time in rice:

It had an unfortunate meeting with some coffee and then, as I was watering my hanging baskets, I leaned over to water some of the planted stuff and forgot all about the Truth of Watering Hanging Baskets: They will drip on you if you are under them.

To this I say: I’m glad I have rice in the house!

— 7 —

And here’s something pretty I just wanted to share, and which the artist, Michelle Paine, gave me permission to share (it’s copyrighted):

Used with permission; copyright Michelle Arnold Paine

She shares about her painting of this “transciption” of Fra Angelico’s original and the story behind it on her blog. She’s doing a whole series on the Annunciation and I’m moved by them.

It reminds me of how I used to love going to the Museum of Art in Toledo with my mother, and how she would stand beneath the panel of Monet’s Water Lilies and just gaze. I never understood that stopping and looking, that pausing to savor, that slowing down.

But maybe I do, just a bit, now.

Michelle Paine is doing some amazing work. Her figurative paintings on Mary just make my heart beat harder and tears well up in my eyes…and I have no ability to explain why.

Quick Takes can be found this week at Betty Beguiles. Please pray for Jen from Conversion Diary.

Filed Under: family, Garden, Quick Takes Tagged With: art, Catholic Writers Guild, CNMC, conferences, Dorian Speed, flowers, gardening, Julie Davis, life with children, Michelle Arnold Paine, pictures, Quick Takes, SQPN, Virgin Mary, writing

The Unthemed Takes

October 7, 2011 By Sarah Reinhard 14 Comments

— 1 —

It makes me happy to have a theme for my Quick Takes posts. I know that’s not the point of them. All the same, I like a theme. It helps me write them.

— 2 —

But this week, no theme. Not even something related to Mary. (But hey! Today’s the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary!)

— 3 —

I just finished an amazing book, by the mom of a high school friend. How cool is that?

The book, which I’ll be reviewing in depth at CatholicMom.com sometime soon, was Strategies for the Tech-Savvy Classroom, by Diane Witt.

It’s a book I’m glad I discovered, however accidentally. I have a tendency to geek out about education and technology, and to be able to combine them: bliss! Diane writes from experience as an educator and as a mom, and she speaks to some concerns I think we all have when we face the onslaught of technology and the need to educate.

I came away with some great ideas for myself–and for my kids! I plan to apply some of her ideas and concepts to my religious education classroom and to my home.

— 4 —

Last Friday night, I was not at the CNMC. I was, however, a panelist on Catholic Weekend. (They let anyone on, I tell ya.)

I mentioned that I had just started Sinner, by Lino Rulli.

And now that I’ve finished it, I gotta tell ya: one of the best Catholic books I’ve read.

Yeah, I know. Everyone is saying that. (Or not. I really don’t know.)

Lino keeps it real, but he does it in a way that had me laughing and snorting and nodding the whole book through.

I find myself inspired by how Lino is so honest, and I want to share this book with everyone I know, especially those people who may struggle with how perfect they’re not. Because, after reading this book, I’m struck by the fact that hey, it’s not just me.

Highly recommended. And maybe I’ll even get my husband to read it.

— 5 —

As I type, the baby is crawling around and pulling himself up underneath the table.

He’s also growling.

I find myself continually struck by how, well, growly he is. Oh, and grunty. He’s grunty too.

In a way that my girls just weren’t.

Anyone else have this experience?

— 6 —

Next week, I start teaching a fifth grade religious education class in our parish (aka PSR). I had these grand plans to build a website and everything, but…yeah. So far, I haven’t.

I’m a little nervous, to be honest. The last time I taught PSR, it was called CCD. I was single and a brand-new Catholic.

Now, eight years and three kids later, I’m just hoping that the “call” I thought I heard this summer, the one I thought I said yes to, wasn’t actually for something far different. You know?

— 7 —

I’m slowly getting back into blog-reading (and I hope this lasts a while, but we’ll see). In my email the other day, I had a link to Catholic Sistas.

I went and poked around and liked what I saw.

I especially liked this:

It’s a Catholic pro-life symbol! Go read about it, and especially about Erika’s journey with a breast cancer diagnosis during her pregnancy.

They make my feed reader, and I salute their fine work! Check em out!

Visit Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Filed Under: Books, Quick Takes Tagged With: Baby #3, blogs, Books, Catholic Weekend, Diane Witt, Education, life with boys, Lino Rulli, podcasts, pro-life, Quick Takes, reading, Reviews, SQPN

Yakkin Away

September 17, 2011 By Sarah Reinhard Leave a Comment

I’m yakkin’ in two different places this week!

On the Faith & Family Live Cast 107, I’m on with Lisa and Rebecca. In our delightful conversation, we talked about happiness as moms and then about the struggles we face as working moms (and all moms work, without a doubt). Have a listen!

On Catholic Weekend 87, Jeff, Maria, Steve, and I talked about humor and then took things more serious with a discussion about marriage and what it means. I love Catholic Weekend and it’s so fun to be able to participate on the panel (fun for me, anyway). See if we bring a smile to your face…

Filed Under: podcasts Tagged With: Catholic Weekend, Faith & Family Live, podcasts, SQPN

Behind the Veil with Steve Nelson

July 22, 2011 By Sarah Reinhard 1 Comment

This week, I’m blessed to share a delightful guy with you…drum roll, please. Meet Steve Nelson, who blogs at Everything Esteban, tweets as @steve_nelson, and has a major hand in one of my favorite online resources, SQPN.

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Tell us a little about your work with the Star Quest Production Network (SQPN).

For the past two years or so, I’ve been employed by the Board of Directors of SQPN (Star Quest Production Network) as its Executive Director. As anyone who works with a small non-profit organization knows, I have to be a Jack-of-all-trades in this position. Linda Nielsen (our CFO) and I are responsible for all the rather mundane aspects of the corporation, including accounting, budgeting, a certain amount of public relations, and facilitating the other work of the Board of Directors.

Fr. Roderick Vonhogen is, of course, the main creative brain behind SQPN. He’s awfully fun to work with because you never know what new idea he’s going to come up with.

We have a number of on-going audio programs (podcasts) that tell the story of Catholic Christianity and reach out to the secular world in a friendly and helpful way.

-2-

This fall, there’s an exciting Catholic New Media Conference (CNMC) shaping up, and you’re in charge of the details, right? Share what’s going on for this year’s CNMC.

This will be our fourth annual CNMC and this year it will be held in Kansas City, Kansas. Archbishop Joseph Naumann and the staff of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas have been very welcoming and supportive of this year’s event. At their invitation, we will be located at the Savior Pastoral Center, the converted former seminary of the archdiocese, so I suppose it will have a bit of a “college” feel to it.

We’ve got some excellent speakers again this year. Sean Patrick Lovett, director of Vatican Radio, will share his experiences and Vatican perspective on Catholic media.

The American perspective will come from Sr. Anne Flanagan (aka “the nunblogger”) from Pauline Books and Media. I’m very excited about both of these speakers.

Our workshop and breakout presenters will include our good friend and well-known author Lisa Hendey (CatholicMom.com) and writer and speaker Pat Gohn (AmongWomen and Patheos). They will provide our attendees with invaluable advice and resources for the spiritual formation of the “Catholic Communicator.”

Matthew Warner and Jeff Geerling (both from flockNote.com) will be our resident techies. For those looking to incorporate new technologies into their online presence, especially the use of “social media,” you won’t want to miss them.

In fact, we believe what they have to offer is so invaluable, we are offering an extra day of workshops preceding the CNMC for some extra focused presentations.

Besides the speakers and presentations, the CNMC has become an excellent networking event for all involved in Catholic media, whether they are authors, podcasters, and bloggers or clergy and parish webmasters. I think anyone would benefit by attending.

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What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing as you work behind the scenes on this year’s CNMC?

I think we have organized an excellent conference for this year. I am very excited about it.

The challenge now is to get the word out so we can have as many people attend as we have room for. I hope your readers will consider coming and pass the word about the CNMC to their friends and colleagues.

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What are you personally most looking forward to at the CNMC?

I am very excited to have Sean Patrick Lovett and Sr. Anne Flanagan in the same room together. Not only do they have unique and interesting perspectives, but they are just wonderful people to be with.

-5-

How is this year’s CNMC going to be different than in past years?

Each CNMC has been in a different part of the country and has had a different flavor to it. This year will have a Midwest flair to it and since all activities will be at the Savior Pastoral Center, I think we will have even more opportunities to get to know one another.

We’ve also incorporated some shared spiritual time to the schedule, including Morning and Evening Prayer and Sunday Mass. Being a former seminary, the Savior Pastoral Center is an ideal location for this.

-6-

Why should all try to get ourselves to the CNMC this year?

It will be two days of sharing and learning about Catholic media, particularly how to incorporate social media and new technologies into personal, parish and organizational communication strategies. So much of the New Evangelization is going to start in the online world.

In my opinion, everyone working in Catholic evangelization and outreach needs to learn what these new techniques are, how to be spiritually formed for this type of work, where to meet others working in this field, and to be encourged to begin. This is what we’re hoping the CNMC will provide.

-7-

For those of us who won’t be able to attend, is there a way to be involved?

Absolutely! Please encourage anyone you know who working in Catholic media to attend. This might be your pastor, parish webmaster, organizational leaders, or anyone who has a blog or podcast and promotes the Catholic faith. Anyone interested in Catholic evangelization and outreach is invited.

If you cannot physically be present at the CNMC, we plan to stream live video from some of the presentations during the CNMC. We know that much of the SQPN worldwide community cannot come to Kansas City, so we will do our best to share the conference with them.

For registration information and to follow all the CNMC news, please visit http://cnmc.sqpn.com. As we get closer to October 1, we will post information about how to tune into the presentations. You can also follow CNMC news on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnmc.

Don’t miss the other Quick Takes today over at Conversion Diary!

Filed Under: interview, Quick Takes Tagged With: CNMC, new media, Quick Takes, SQPN, Steve Nelson

Hopes for the CNMC 2011

June 22, 2011 By Sarah Reinhard 2 Comments

I so hope I can join all the cool kids in Kansas City for the Catholic New Media Conference, Saturday, October 1.

It’s possible I won’t be able to attend, life being what it is.

But boy, do I ever WANT to attend!

The program? It looks like the BEST YET.

The extra day of workshops? AWESOME!

If you have any inclination, register now, while you can. (Last year it sold out.)

Filed Under: blogging Tagged With: blogging, CNMC, new media, SQPN

Looking for the Hat, by Cathy Adamkiewicz

August 13, 2010 By Sarah Reinhard 4 Comments

Cathy A. (because I only just learned how to pronounce her last name at the CNMC, and she will be Cathy A. to me no matter what) has been blogging for quite some time. Her blog name, in fact, “from the field of blue children,” is a whole story in and of itself. (What’s not to love?) She’s a mom of many, a grandma to a few more, and, overall, a lovely person. Though I hesitated to post some of this (hey, it’s MY blog!), I did promise her free rein, and I guess she was saying NICE things, so… Thanks, Cathy, for bringing all your generosity and grace to Real Life, just as you have, all these years, online.

–

I was so busy looking for the hat that I almost missed her.

There were rumors that a “certain someone” would be attending last weekend’s Catholic New Media Celebration sporting a cool new chapeau, and meeting the wearer was high on my list. I had, after all, been a follower of her blog practically from the day back in 2008 when I became a blogger myself.

I was in Boston to attend the conference, glean wisdom and practical tips from the illustrious attendees, and become the kind of new media maven God had certainly created me to be. I was also there to stand in the same room with some of my heroes, more than a bit starstruck, and wonder that I had been given the opportunity to make a real difference with the talents and tools with which I’d been blessed.

And I did want to see that hat.

More importantly, I wanted to see the woman wearing it. I know Sarah will blush when she reads this, and her humility will push her to the point that she won’t want to print this post, but she’ll have to, because she offered me the guest post spot and I snatched it up. (I think the truth is that she was too busy planning for the weekend to find a better option, but that’s beside the point!) I was eager to write for her this week not only because it is an honor to be a guest in such a lovely place, but because I saw it as an opportunity to do something Sarah would never do here. It gave me a chance to tell you about the REAL Sarah.

Oooh, now things are getting interesting! Will this turn into an expose, a revelation of shocking new THIS JUST IN-style tabloid gossip?

Well, the hat was pretty spicy.

And the woman wearing it? She’s just as wonderful as you think she is.

Now, before you start thinking this is just one big kiss-up post from a guest blogger looking for readers, I must reveal my motivation. I set off for Boston for all the reasons mentioned above, and more. I wanted to discover the heartbeat of the new media movement, and that meant meeting the people behind it. I love reading blogs, listening to podcasts, and eating up the latest YouTube – or better yet, CatholicTV – videos. Like many new media consumers, I think the vibrant content so readily available to us is a delightful feast that keeps me well fed, entertained and enlightened. But I know that it really is, after all, about people.

Everything in life is about relationships. All that really matters is how we develop the relationships in our lives. That’s it. If we get the relationships right – those between us and God, between ourselves and our neighbors – it’s all good.

That’s why I wanted to meet Sarah, and the other attendees at the conference. I wanted to shake their hands and thank them. I wanted to tell them that what they were doing was making an impact in my life. I needed to see their smiles and hear the enthusiasm in their voices while they talked about their work and about the One they were doing it all for.

One of the bloggers I had the pleasure of meeting, the bright young Papist Thomas Peters, told me that he has a theory about faithful Catholics. Recalling the six degrees of separation that supposedly connect each of us with a particular actor, he said he’s sure that those of us who love the Church are separated by far less. “I’m convinced there is only one degree of separation between us,” he shared, and I think he’s right. Being in a room with these wonderful people was an edifying reminder that we really are a close-knit family, this Body of Christ to which we belong.

And as for Sarah? She’s humble, smart and witty. She’s genuine and real, just exactly as I knew she’d be. She’s adorable, with or without the hat.

We chatted for a few moments, took a few snapshots, and discovered we shared a love for red wine. It was wonderful to bring into the Real World a relationship, a “cyberfriendship” but an honest-to-goodness relationship, nonetheless. It was refreshing to meet Sarah and the others like her who are using their gifts to give the internet a soul, as our Holy Father has suggested.

And it was great to know that in this age of new media, we really aren’t more than a degree apart.

Filed Under: guest post Tagged With: blogging, Catholic, Cathy Adamkiewicz, CNMC, in real life, new media, SQPN

My Blogging Talk at the CNMC MMX

August 10, 2010 By Sarah Reinhard 6 Comments

For everyone who couldn’t make it and for anyone who’s slightly curious, here’s the uStream of my talk last weekend at the Catholic New Media Celebration (also embedded below). I follow the brilliantly talented Thomas Peters, of the American Papist blog, and my talk starts at 01:02:04 on this video (it’s worth watching and listening to his full speech (text here)).