A Simple Twist of Faith

No Greater Love

On this Memorial Day,  I would like to take a brief moment to salute all of our fallen heroes, especially the brave young men and women would have given their lives to the service of our country in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 In the gospel of John 15:13, Jesus tells us:

"There is no greater love than is, to lay down one's life for one's friends." 

How counter this idea runs to the current culture of greed, materialism, and unrestrained gratification. 

May the souls of our military dead rest in peace, and may their family and friends have peace in their hearts knowing  that their loved ones fought in a cause greater than themselves.

Beloved

Have you ever felt you were being attacked for your beliefs? 

Have you ever felt you were called to witness your faith?

Have you ever felt you were criticized for something that you knew was the right thing to do?

Recently, I have felt all of these feelings, and I have been asking the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to respond.  This morning, I woke up early with a headache, took aspirin, made myself a cup of coffee, and sat down with the scriptures for today from USCCB.  As I read St.Peter's first letter I received  my answer, please read it with me...

7 Quick Takes Friday Volume 37

1. In my bible study group, we reviewed chapter 18 of John, the Passion of Jesus Christ.  We had a lively discussion about this Pilate's question to Jesus, "What is truth?".  Then one of my friends sent me the link to Rachel Balducci's post on Oprah's last Show.  Rachel Balducci, a Catholic mom of 5 boys and 1 girl, and is a contributing writer for the Faith and Family website. It sounds like she was sitting in our group this week!

Read it and tell me what you think.

2. Thursday was a particular trying one for home schooling.  It culminated in my six year old answering "I don't know and I don't care" when I asked her to name two things she learned about habitat. I wrote that down on her narration page, and she ended up laughing, but I was emotional spent by the time my husband arrived home.

Please tell me you have days like this too, my friends?

3.Since I forgot to post it last week, here's a picture of my sister and me at the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Congratulations again to my sister for this great honor! 

4.Tuesday we had just completed our Girl Scout Daisy garden service project at a local assisted living residence when a heavy rain, wind and hail storm hit.  Fortunately, we had all of the little girls inside the retirement community when the storm hit.  There are many trees down, and one man was killed at the shipyard when a crane crashed into a temporary building. I cannot imagine how the people of   Midwest feel.

Join with me and pray for them.

5. Help me win a Personal Shopping Package...Betty Beguiles, who blogs about marriage, moxie, and modesty with a vintage twist is now launching a Personal shopping venture.  Her ideas are really cute, check her out!

6. Well, it's late and I am tired so...I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend and I hope you have one too!

7. For more Quick Takes, please visit Jennifer at the Conversion Diary.                

 

Fit in Fitness

Since my mother died when I was twelve years old, I have struggled with a weight problem.  All through high school, my Army service, my college years, and up until four years ago, I have been on a series of yo-yo diets.  As evidence of that, until fairly recently my wardrobe consisted of clothes ranging from size 6 to 16.

In October of 2007, something happen that made me rethink my approach to diet and fitness.  I had an abnormal mammogram.  Due to changes in our insurance coverage and a miscommunication with the diagnostic lab, I did not receive a clean bill of health until December 2007. 

During those two months of anxiety, I realized I had to change my life style.  In January 2008, I would celebrate my 43rd birthday, the same age my mother was when she died from breast cancer.  I was also a mother to a two-year old daughter, and the thought of my morality and leaving her made me take a hard look at my current health situation.  According to my OB/GYN doctor, I had many of the risk factors for breast cancer, I was at least 30 pounds overweight, I had a family historyof cancer, and I had never carrying a baby to a full term pregnancy.  I also sat at a desk ten hours a day, did no type of exercise, and had gained 20 pounds in the past year. Something had to give…

Our Little Garden

My husband is a man of many talents, and this year he is quite the gardener.  I  thought I would share a few links with you.  I think you will enjoy them whether you have a green thumb or not:

Our Little Vegetable Garden: Our little patch of green.

The Victorian Kitchen Garden:  This is a delightful little series, check it out.

The Bayou Gardener: Rick's favorite vegetable garden forum.

 

7 Quick Takes Friday Vol. 36

1. CONGRATULATIONS!! I am very proud of my sister, Anne Marie, who has been honored with the Presidental Award for Excellence in Teaching Science.  This very prestigious award is given to top teachers for achievements in science and math, my sister won in the science category for the state of California. The ceremony was Wednesday, and I was able to drive up there and  be present at the awards ceremony  along with a colleague and former student of hers.  

2. It was great to see my sister, although it was a whirlwind trip since her week in Washington was highly scheduled.  However, we caught up with a lovely celebratory dinner on Wednesday and I enjoyed getting to know her friends.  Thursday morning she left early for Capitol Hill, and I was able to take my time with drinking coffee and reading, exercising, and then have a nice omelet.  Not a bad morning for me!

3. During my recent car trip, I listened to Louisa May Alcott's Little Woman.  I am ashamed to say it is the first time I read it!  I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I looking forward to listening to the rest of it when I clean my house today after school. 

4.  Upon arrival home, I received a hero's welcome from my two little girls.  This is the first time since I stopped working a year ago that I have been away from them for the night.  They made me two beautiful cards.  My husband had dinner ready, and I read some more Little House in the Big Woods to the girls.  Rick and the girls had a great time, they were very good, but  he  said, "They sure ask a lot of questions, don't they?"  "Yes, they do." I said, thought of my quiet morning. 

5. I finally received The Outlander by DianaGabaldon from the library this week. I had placed it on hold, but it is such a popular book, I had wait.  I started it last night, and am looking forward to reading it over the weekend.

6. Four more weeks of school until summer break.   We will be busy with eight weeks of swim lessons, aquarium and zoo visits, and lots and lots of reading.What are your summer plans?

7. For more Quick Takes, please check out Jennifer at the Conversion Diary.  Have a great weekend!

 

The First Year

Today, I have the honor of guest posting at Carmen's blog, Mom to the Screaming Masses.  I am writing about the joys, and challenges of my new career, stay-at-home Mom.  This month marks my first anniversary of that faith-filled decision.

Please click here to read more

 

 

Mary, Our Guide

Mary, Our Guide

I am delighted to join the Bright Maidens again, and return to the topic of Mary.  How many of us really do listen for the voice of God in our lives as Mary did?  How does the story of the Annunciation and Virgin Birth help us reflect and reevaluate how we listen to God in the very ordinary moments of our lives? 

 This weekend I was at our parish Spring fest, listening to a rock and roll band, and sharing a beer with my husband’s Brother Knights and their wives.  We were talking about how God speaks to us if we have ears to listen and the willingness to act on His Words.  One of the ladies shared the story of her daughter who was born premature and was so tiny her baptismal gown was made from a men’s silk handkerchief.  This daughter is healthy, now grown with children of her own.  Another friend spoke of how a young charismatic priest ,after hearing her teach catechism to a classroom of fifth graders, asked her to help form a youth group at our church.  Now, our church has a vibrant youth and young adult ministry.

 And, I told them my story about a little girl named Mary.  She is eight years old, and last month she celebrated her First Holy Communion.  Mary lives with her Mommy, Daddy, brother, and sister in Germany.  Even though, she lives 3,000 miles away from me, she is very special to me.  She is my namesake, she is my godchild, and she is the reason I am a practicing my Catholic faith today.

Locks of Love 2011

Last summer, Ladybug donated 12 inches of her hair to Locks of Love.  Bumblebee has been wanting to do the same, this weekend she did it.  She said, "Mommy, I really like my hair, I can't wait to show Daddy."  She is very proud of herself and I am proud of her too.  

 
 
 

7 Quick Takes Friday Vol.35

                                       

   1.

May is my favorite month of the year.  I love the feel of the warm sun on my face, I love the smell of fresh-cut flowers in my house, I love the cool evenings and warm days.  There is a sense of hope with everything alive and growing.  In six short weeks we will be taking our summer break, and I am looking forward to it.  In August, it will be hot and humid and I will long for the days of fall.  Right now, I am enjoying strawberry picking, zoo trips, and being outside with the girls.

2.

Because of #1, I haven't done too much blogging lately.  can you tell I have spring fever? 

                                                                                            3.

I have started reading Little House in the Big Woods to my girls, and Ladybug is enthralled with it.  I think it is helping her with a sense of history and the past more than any textbook we covered this year.  The book starts with four year old Laura, and her family storing up food for the long winter in Wisconsin.  As a girl, I loved the "Little House" books and read all of nine of them. When the  television series aired I was disappointed that it did not follow the storyline of the ordinary books.

                                                                                            4.

I have decided to home school my oldest daughter for first grade, and instead of Seton, I will be using materials from Peace Hill Press.  I am still shopping around for a pre-K curriculum program I like, if any of you have suggestions, please share them with me.  For the month of May,Simple Home School is doing a series called Curriculum Fair, where different writers share what materials worked for them. 

                5. 

With the abundance of strawberries, I am looking for a good pound cake recipe.  Does anyone have one to share?

6.

I hope you all have a great weekend, we will be hanging out at our parish's spring-fest, watching the wonderful performances, and jumping in the bouncy house. 

7.

 For more quick takes, click on over to Jennifer's Conversion Diary.  Well, it's time for me to get on the elliptical so I can eat funnel cakes at the spring-fest.