Hailing from the Sacrament Ship...

One of the reasons I've been so not-here this summer. :)

The past week +

I pulled... two all nighters to finish the Modeling Modesty Handbook* (thanks for your assistance!).

I traveled... to northern WI.

I gave... two presentations (with PowerPoint; that was fun) to 130 or so ladies at the Embracing Your Call to Holiness Conference. Great response, and great event!

I visited... several wonderful families we know in Northern WI, and my grandparents on the way home.

I enjoyed... Sarah home on Spring break!

I felt... the pain of too many priests and seminarians under attack. The battle for souls is at an all-time high.

I welcomed... the first days of Spring.

I saw... A Walk to Remember with sisters and friends for "girls' movie night"

I practiced... for the upcoming Seven Last Words of Christ Performance, the premiere Lenten meditation/passion play of Chicagoland. With nearly 100 performers, it includes a large choir performing Dubois' classical contata (that's where I am), several professional soloists, live orchestra, and actors. Purchase tickets online, or call (815) 727-3018.

I smiled... at my music students' recital last night, and the pleasure of seeing their joy.

I went... from one big project right into another, as I write an Easter Play for my RE Program. As soon as I hit "publish", it's back to that now...

I (just) watched... this inspiring movie. I remember seeing this skilled gentleman last year at the Sacred Music Colloquium. Never say "can't".

I stole (shamelessly)... the style of this post from my sister. :) Love you, sis.

~~~

*To request a copy of the Modeling Modesty Handbook, email me at lily maiden @ sbc global . net (remove the spaces).

I need your help!

I'm right now working hard to complete a newly updated version of my booklet formerly called The Young Woman's Modesty Resource Guide (it will have a new name!). I'm revamping the layout for a crisp, sleeker presentation, and also doing a bit of expansion. That's where you come in.

Ladies: Do you have a favorite modesty website to share — either a source for purchasing apparel, or for going deeper into this subject? Are you willing to write a brief personal testimony about your modesty journey, why this virtue is important to you, or an experience or change of heart that you've had?

Gentlemen: Why is modesty important to you as a Christian man? Does it help you respect and reverence women? How does a modest gal help you in the quest for purity? How do you appreciate the girls and women in your life who seek to model modesty?

I'm calling on everyone: If you are a blog "lurker" who visits here and never speaks up, please do now. Your quotes will help me add valuable insight to this new print booklet, and/or to expansions on my website (which is another project on the burner). Now's your chance to speak out on this relevant topic! Only first names and ages will be published. You don't have to write a ton — anything from one sentence to a few paragraphs is perfect.

You can email your responses to me at lily maiden @ sbc global . net (remove all spaces). The only thing is that I need you to act fast. :) This edition of the booklet will be going to the printer within the next 2-3 days. So if you can send me something before then, that will be terrific. If you need more time, just send it as soon as you can, because it can still be helpful for future printings and/or the website. Please remember to include your age.

Quotes from Christian/Catholic men are always especially powerful. Women want to know what real men really think about this subject. After all, you are the ones whom modesty/immodesty affects the most (besides ourselves). So guys, speak up! And ladies, ask your husband, father, or brother to lend input and send me a quote from him, too.

Hope to hear from you soon!

This will also help me know how many visitors I have... I tried subscribing to a site meter recently, and it's telling me that I have received 0 hits. I think/hope there's at least a couple more than that!

The King's Castle

This morning's Joliet Herald News ran a beautiful article on what has been an immense but delightful summer project for me: organizing a Catholic Kids' Day Camp through St. Joseph Parish.

If you are visiting this blog because of the link mentioned in the newspaper article, welcome! This is actually my personal blog site; but the website of the purity apostolate mentioned in the article is www.rosamysticamodesty.org. If you are not attending the Camp, but are interested in receiving the children's coloring books mentioned in the article, you can email me at stjosephcre @ sbcglobal.net . net (remove the spaces).

If you're looking for information on the Camp, here is a summary...

THE KING'S CASTLE:

Knights and Princesses in the Family of God

~ ~ ~

Not just your typical Vacation Bible School...4 days of Catholic immersion!

When: July 28-31 (Tue-Fri) • 9am to 12noon
For: Kindergarten-6th Grade

Cost: $35/child • Second child in family $15 • Third child free

Limited openings available until July 25 by contacting Claire:

(815) 325-7361 or stjosephCRE @ sbcglobal . net (remove the spaces)

I will try to post some photos after the event!

I'm Back!

The 2008 ILCHC last weekend was simply saturated with graces! Sarah and I had two major projects going in the week leading up to the Conference: a new story-coloring/activity book for young boys offered through the Rosa Mystica Modesty Movement, and the workshop we gave together at the conference, titled "The Fruits of Homeschooling: A Graduate's Perspective". (If by chance you should be interested in hearing our talk, it can be ordered on CD here).

What a week it was! A week of many near-sleepless nights as we worked through them together, eating midnight snacks and laughing at our own excessive punchiness. At 2am (or 3, or 4am), nearly anything can drive me to laughter! I would have never been able to finish on my own — the joy and fellowship of sisterhood really comes through at a time like this! We'd chuckle because when one of us started to get really weary, the other would say "no, let's push through!", and by about ten minutes later, it was usually reversed. :)

Going on a few very short hours of sleep each night put my body into such a state of confusion...you know, where you start to mix up hungry and tired? I kept reaching for chocolate because I hoped the caffeine would help! It was only grace that pulled me through the weekend... usually I am an 8-hours-per-night person, or I just can't function very well. Our Lord's goodness kept me going last week on less than half that. There were times that Sarah and I looked at each other's glazed-over eyes and said to each other: "You know, if we weren't doing this for Christ, we'd have quit a long, long time ago." Yes, it was hard, but also so rewarding... and there are a whole lot of dear memories. I've no doubt that we'll be telling each other's children about it someday. :)

Needless to say, I have been more than a little exhausted this week. It all caught up to me rather abruptly yesterday when I came down with a fever, sore throat, and a whammy of a sinus headache. The hardest part of being sick for me is that I simply don't have time to be sick. I'll lay there thinking, "Lord, You know how many things I needed to get done today!", but He's clearly telling me that my agenda got replaced with His: prayer and suffering, and some "down" time. Thankfully, I'm on the mend today, although I've gone through no end of tissues!

I usually don't like to dedicate such a long post to a personal update, but these few weeks were exceptionally full, and blessed. Despite the exhaustion, and the illness, God is good. All the time.