Women and Potential

I invite you to read my post at The Catholic Young Woman today. Have a blessed and beautiful weekend!

Holy Card Heaven

I have to share this lovely treasure of a blog so that you, too, can enjoy its beauty! Not only are countless holy cards (including antiques!) shared, but they even have one of my favorite scriptures verses in the header. :)

Holy Card Heaven

Pope asks Bloggers to Give Internet a Soul

(24 Apr 10 – RV) The need to give the Internet a soul and humanize the dynamics of the digital world was at the heart of Pope Benedict XVI’s message Saturday to participants in a conference on modern means of mass communication.

Promoted by the Italian Bishops Conference, “Digital Witness” draws together experts in information technology, social networking, web journalism and blogging to focus on the language we use and the way we communicate as Christians in the online society.

Pope Benedict told participants that the task of every believer who works in media, is to ensure the “quality of human contact, guaranteeing attention to people and their spiritual needs”.

“This is increasingly urgent in today’s world”, he said, at a time when Internet appears to have a “basically egalitarian” vocation, but at the same time, “marks a new divide", the "digital divide" that "separates the included from the excluded."

"The dangers of homologation and control, of intellectual and moral relativism are also increasing, as already recognizable in the decline of critical spirit, in truth reduced to a game of opinions, in the many forms of degradation and humiliation of the intimacy of the person."

Thus said the Pope we see, a "spiritual pollution" that brings us to no longer "look one another in the face”. So we must “overcome those collective dynamics that risk reducing people to "soulless bodies, objects of exchange and consumption”. The media must become a “humanizing factor”, focused "on promoting the dignity of persons and peoples". Only then will "the epochal times we are experiencing be rich and fertile in new opportunities."

"Without fear we must set sail on the digital sea facing into the deep with the same passion that has governed the ship of the Church for two thousand years. Rather than for, albeit necessary, technical resources, we want to qualify ourselves by living in the digital world with a believer’s heart, helping to give a soul to the Internet’s incessant flow of communication".

Election Countdown/40 Days for Life: Day 10

An Election Prayer to Mary

from EWTN.com

O Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy, at this most critical time, we entrust the United States of America to your loving care. Most Holy Mother, we beg you to reclaim this land for the glory of your Son. Overwhelmed with the burden of the sins of our nation, we cry to you from the depths of our hearts and seek refuge in your motherly protection. Look down with mercy upon us and touch the hearts of our people. Open our minds to the great worth of human life and to the responsibilities that accompany human freedom.

Free us from the falsehoods that lead to the evil of abortion and threaten the sanctity of family life. Grant our country the wisdom to proclaim that God’s law is the foundation on which this nation was founded, and that He alone is the True Source of our cherished rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

O Merciful Mother, give us the courage to reject the culture of death and the strength to build a new Culture of Life. Amen.

- Check out: "Being Bold", A heartwarming and challenging post at Faith and Family Live. Are we boldly proclaiming the Gospel of Life?

- Today's Life Devotional here.

Meme

One or two blogging friends "assigned" this to me quite a while back, so I'm finally snagging a few moments to complete it! It's been a packed last few days, so this is a welcome creative respite. I've seen plenty of other memes before, but this open-ended type is probably my favorite... Hopefully it may help you "get to know" me a bit better. :)


I am...a handmaiden of the Lord

I think...about His mysteries

I know...He is Prince of my heart

I have...lots of hopes and dreams

I wish...I knew His will with certainty

I hate...heavy metal "music"

I miss...my grandmother (deceased), and Malori (far away)

I fear...putting my own desires above His for me

I feel...somewhat overwhelmed at my current to-do list

I hear...my little brother practicing his cello upstairs, being coached by Sarah

I smell...the lingering scent of the frozen blueberries on which I just finished snacking (mmm!)

I crave...words of affirmation

I search...for meaning in everything

I wonder...what my future husband (Lord-willing) is doing right now

I regret...not practicing my violin more

I love...life

I ache...for children starved for truth; victims of the culture of death

I am not...quite ready for bedtime to be here yet; it would help the progress of my week if sleep wasn't required. :)

I believe...in miracles

I dance...at every opportunity

I sing...to give glory to God

I cry...for the pain in the world

I don't always...maintain the balancing act of life very well

I fight...my will sometimes

I write...plenty of things inside my head, and wish I had more chance to put them down :)

I win...word games frequently

I lose...chess! (In fact, I never even play it. My mind isn't wired for that kind of thing; I leave it to my dad and brother).

I never...want to fall into mortal sin

I always...long for motherhood when a baby is in my arms

I confuse...the days when they all "mesh" together!

I listen...to uplifting music whenever I can

I can usually be found...happiest when surrounded by children

I am scared...of hurting others by uncharitable words

I need...my sisters!

I am happy about...finishing this meme and posting on my poor, neglected blog

I imagine...Heaven and those who rejoice there

I am wearing...a light pink top, cross necklace made by my cousin Gabrielle long ago, and a dark skirt printed with vivid blue roses and pink flowers of a tone that I can't properly name right now.

I confess...to being chronically "time challenged" (I truly am working on that, though)

I anticipate...seeing Fireproof (hopefully) this weekend

I read...the Fairy Tale Novels when I need a "book escape"

I play...volleyball with my family on the beach when we go on vacation

I smile...whenever I see a reminder of His love

I laugh...when surrounded by joyful girlhood friends

I can't wait...for the next time I can go to Adoration

I believe...that we need to really storm heaven for the upcoming Elections!

Now, I think I'm supposed to "assign" this to a bunch of people, but since I'm not sure who may or may not have done it already, if you read my blog and haven't done this yet, please consider yourself tagged! And please comment and let me know if you do it!

Off Again!

I'm off again, and I never came back here this week. Too much catch-up. You will all be in my prayers... I will return July 6th.

On the Road...

I will probably be away from the blog till the 22nd. I'll be at Suzuki Violin Teacher Training, and don't know if I'll have internet access while there. God-willing, the "Why Am I Catholic?" series will be continued as soon as I return.

Please keep me in your prayers and know that you will be in mine!

Special Announcement

A few months ago, Clare at A Maiden's Wreath graciously invited me to join as a contributor. I'm excited to say that I've put up my first introductory post there, including a bit of background on why I'm thrilled to be a part of that blog! You can check it out here. God-willing, I'll be posting there somewhat regularly with thoughts, encouragement, and advice specific to Catholic young ladies. I hope you'll bring over a cup of tea and join us!

Excellent

Lady Clare from Romance and the Roses very sweetly awarded me with this a few weeks ago. Thank you, Clare!

I'm supposed to award it to ten others, but I think I will just keep it simple and say that if you're on my sidebar, you are one of my favorites and I hereby award it to you!

The occasion calls for a quote :)...

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

-Aristotle

Tagged

Deb kindly tagged me, so I am supposed to (1) Link to the person that tagged you. (2) Post the rules on your blog. (3) Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself. (4) Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. (5) Let each random person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

Six random things about me? Hmmm...

1. I was born nine days early. And I daresay it's about the only time I've been early in my life. (I'm working on it, though!).

2. My mom tells me I sat at our kitchen table at 12 months and said distinctly, "Cheese, please, mom!" Her follow-up comment is always that I started talking at a year, and never stopped. (A funny aside is that I still love cheese, but am sensitive to dairy!).

3. My mom tells me that I sang "Jesus Loves Me" from memory at 18 months. :)

4. The first time someone told me I was "charming", I was eight years old and didn't know what they meant. I had heard of (never tasted) "Lucky Charms", and so thought they were somehow talking about that!

5. I have a great weakness for garlic bread.

6. I rolled off the top of a bunk bed once during the middle of the night, was found by Dad and put back, and never woke up!

I'll admit that was a little fun. :) Okay, so now I'll tag...

Lady Rose, my goddaughter
Malori, my bosom friend
Lisa, a pen pal (even though I've not written you in a long while!)
Both Anna and Miriam from Maidens of Worth
Either Leah or Therese from the Miller family :)

If you were tagged, follow the instructions 1-5 above!

Thank You

Thank you all so much for the prayers. I am doing much better, and I know they have helped significantly. You are all a blessing!

I hope to be fully "back" here soon. Pax Christi.

I've been sick

Having an intense cold the last several days, as well as the sorest of sore throats I've ever experienced (as in, every breath and swallow is excruciating), has served to give me just a little more understanding of Christ's sacrifice for us on the cross. It is a terrible thing to not be able to breathe. Oh! to have such a God... Who would choose to die by suffocation!

The above-mentioned illness also kept me from completing many of the tasks I hoped to last week. I am trying to catch up right now while being "on the mend", and attempting to not work myself to the point of being bedridden again. Everything starts back full-force this week, including the huge project of our after-Christmas performance with my Religious Ed Program. So, needless to say, and despite how much I would love for it to be, blogging is not at the top of my list right now. My after-the-twelve-days-of-Christmas-return might not be for another week...

Please, pray for me... I need it right now.

Put Out Into the Deep

I know, I know, I'm gone from the blog right now...but I just stumbled across this and it was SO good I had to share it! Merry Christmastide!

“The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when His face is seen and His voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. ...Therefore,... I dare to summon the whole Church bravely to cross this new threshold, to put out into the deep of the Net, so that now as in the past the great engagement of the Gospel and culture may show to the world ‘the glory of God on the face of Christ’.”

—Pope John Paul II

Awake!

"Awake, mankind!
For your sake God has become man.
Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead,
and Christ will enlighten you.
I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.
You would have suffered eternal death,
had He not been born in time.
Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh,
had He not taken on Himself the likeness of sinful flesh.
You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness,
had it not been for this mercy.
You would never have returned to life,
had he not shared your death.
You would have been lost
if He had not hastened to your aid.
You would have perished, had He not come.
Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming
of our salvation and redemption.
Let us celebrate the festive day
on which He who is the great and eternal day came
from the great and endless day of eternity
into our own short day of time."

- St. Augustine

from a Sermon in the Office of Readings

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To better celebrate these holy days with contemplation, work on some of the many things I need to gain hold of, and adore my newborn Savior, I will be on sabbatical from all things internet for the duration of the twelve days of Christmas.

May the infinite light of the Holy Child penetrate your heart and soul!

Venite adoremus...

Enter a Rose

A sweet friend and dear goddaughter has just made her "grand entrance" into the blogsphere! (I am privileged to be her Confirmation sponsor.) She is a gifted writer, and I look forward to plenty of beauty and inspiration from her blog. Please take a minute to drop by and give a warm welcome to Lady of the Rose!

And because I just love the quote she shared today, I have to share it here too. (Hope you don't mind, Amanda!). It is a real gem, from none other than J.R.R. Tolkien.

"Out of the darkness of my life,

so much frustrated,

I place before you

the one great thing to love on earth:

The Blessed Sacrament...

There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity

and the true way of all your loves upon earth,

and more than that: Death:

by the divine paradox, that which ends life,

and demands the complete surrender of all,

and yet by the taste of which alone

can what you seek

in your earthly relationships be maintained,

or take on the complexity of reality,

or eternal endurance,

which every man's heart desires."

~ Tolkien in a letter to his son

The light blogging of late

has been due to, well, a great number of things, but primarily because on Saturday, we celebrated Mom and Dad's Silver Wedding Anniversary! The actual day was August 14th, but our big Mass and celebration was Saturday. An oh, it was a party to remember. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on some photos soon, and can share a few!

Here and There and On the Go

I know I've had too many unaccounted-for absences here as of late... truth is, this summer is flying by even quicker than I anticipated. We were at Ave Cor Mariae Camp from June 30-July 7, then came home to our 4-H County Fair this past weekend (my last! I'm a graduating member this year), and now are preparing to leave in the morning for Wisconsin to be with Grandpa and Grandma till this weekend. Never a dull moment, to be sure!

I realize that I've rather neglected my blog the last few months, and do hope to "revive" things here after this. In my continual striving for balance in my daily life (ho -- there's a topic I could write pages about!) it seems the blog had to (unintentionally) be placed in the background for a while. It was probably good for me... it's far too easy to let these things take too much precedence, you know? The activities of the next two months are extensive, but I'll do my best to bring some more life here.

In the meantime, here's a beautiful quote from John Paul the Great for you to meditate on:

"Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought."

(Pope John Paul II)

Till next week... Pax Christi!

"He Maketh All Things Beautiful in His Time"

There will (hopefully) be some expansions and alterations around here for the next several days (weeks?). I hope to -- without taking too much time... we'll see! -- try and make this blog more artistic and more unique. If you are experiencing any problems with the new template, kindly let me know!

One Year

It was exactly one year ago today that I started blogging. I almost missed the "anniversary"! My prayer is that I've been able to "be a light" here this year, and by the grace of God, may continue to be with increasing trust and faithfulness.

"Our Lord does not call us to be successful, but only to be faithful." (Mother Teresa)

Please feel free to leave a comment or email me if you have any encouragement for me, or suggestions for how to make this blog a more faithful tool for God's glory, or topics or questions you would like to see addressed, or feedback on post themes that may or may not have been helpful to you... this little space is not intended to be merely a personal "journal", or place to "vent", but hopefully a blessing and encouragement for myself and others to remain faithful on our individual calls to holiness. Any and all prayers/suggestions to help me keep focused on that goal are welcome!

Soli Deo Gloria!

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Homeschool Blog Awards

This is a neat thing going here! I think these kind of "blog awards" can serve as a great reminder for us to strive for Christlike excellence. There certainly are some gems on the nomination list, and many wonderful catergories! Check it out here.

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