Upcoming Conference

I am delighted to announce that next month I travel to Dubuque, Iowa as a teen speaker for the Martha and Mary Women's Conference sponsored by "Springtime of Hope". Please pass along the word to anyone in the vicinity, visit their website for further details, and if you are from the area yourself I'd love to meet you!

Great Article!

Pope Benedict Tells Youth: Church Counts on You
Urges Them to Be Envoys of God's Love

VATICAN CITY, MARCH 4, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging young people to pray and live the sacraments, so as to be witnesses of hope and joy in a world that counts on them.

Recalling the 2008 youth gathering in Sydney, the Pontiff reminded the young people, "I urged you to let yourselves be shaped by [the Holy Spirit] in order to be messengers of divine love, capable of building a future of hope for all humanity."

He added: "Youth is a special time of hope because it looks to the future with a whole range of expectations. When we are young we cherish ideals, dreams and plans. Youth is the time when decisive choices concerning the rest of our lives come to fruition."

We ask ourselves, he noted, "Where can I obtain and how can I keep alive the flame of hope burning in my heart?"

The Holy Father observed, "Experience shows that personal qualities and material goods are not enough to guarantee the hope which the human spirit is constantly seeking."

He said, "If you find your sustenance in Christ, my dear young people, and if you live profoundly in him as did the Apostle Paul, you will not be able to resist speaking about him and making him known and loved by many of your friends and contemporaries."

Benedict XVI emphasized: "The Church depends on you for this demanding mission. Do not be discouraged by the difficulties and trials you encounter."

"Be patient and persevering so as to overcome the natural youthful tendency to rush ahead and to want everything immediately."

He added, "Following in the footsteps of the people of hope -- composed of prophets and saints of every age -- we continue to advance toward the fulfillment of the Kingdom, and on this spiritual path we are accompanied by the Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope."

These are just some excerpts. Read the whole thing here!

HT: Victory Rose for Christ

The Voice of My Pro-Life Generation

Articulate, poised, researched, expressive...this 12-year-old speaker is simply compelling! Watch the video below, then be sure to visit this site to follow the amazing saga of her speech competition.

Actually, I don't want to sound boastful, but she reminds me a lot of me at that age. I started public speaking at eight, and had many similar mannerisms and expressions. I presented many pro-life speeches, too (though none that direct...she's got the bull by the horns!). Too bad YouTube wasn't around then so I could go back and watch myself. :)

Advent Day 9: The Immaculate Conception

“What a great gift to have Mary Immaculate as mother! A mother resplendent with beauty, the transparency of God's love. I am thinking of today's young people, who grow up in an environment saturated with messages that propose false models of happiness. These young men and women risk losing hope because they often seem orphans of true love, which fills life with true meaning and joy. This was a theme dear to my Venerable Predecessor John Paul II, who so often proposed Mary to the youth of our time as the ‘Mother of Fair Love’… How sad it is when youth lose the wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful sentiments, the value of respect for the body, the manifestation of the person and his unfathomable mystery! Mary Immaculate, whom we contemplate in all her beauty and holiness, reminds us of all this.”

~ Pope Benedict XVI
Angelus Address, December 8, 2007

My generation needs to prove the world WRONG

...and tomorrow we have an opportunity to help do just that.

The Rebelution's "Do Hard Things" Book Bomb

A message from Alex and Brett Harris...
We've written a book called Do Hard Things. It's a hardcover, non-fiction book for teens -- a genre that is about as popular with young people as foreign language math textbooks. Conventional wisdom says we'd be lucky if more than a few dozen teens bought it -- let alone read it.

But Do Hard Things is our hearts' cry. It's our humble attempt to put into words the message of a powerful work God is already doing in the hearts of young people around the world. Our prayer is that God would use it as a tool to remind a generation of timeless truth about the teen years -- and life.

From the official book description...
The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."

With over 14 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.

Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.

Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.

Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

What's the "Book Bomb"?
Tomorrow, March 25, we are trying to push "Do Hard Things" to the top of Amazon.com! What a powerful way to show that our generation is ready to rise above the low expectations of our culture! All you have to do to join the effort is purchase the book tomorrow. Here's a quick link for you: Do Hard Things on Amazon.com. Even better: purchase an extra copy! And tell a friend (or two, or ten) about it, too!

To learn all about the effort and the book, click here!

The Church is ALIVE!

I was so blessed today to visit St. Jude Parish in New Lenox, IL, where they'd invited me to be Mother Teresa for a few of their their Saint-themed Faith Festivals. And I walked away totally awed by the life, the joy, and the servant-attitudes abounding there. It's a huge parish with over 4400 families, and wow! What a vibrant one!

These Faith Festivals -- occuring every-other month and blended with the parish's Religious Education Program as a "Generations of Faith" approach -- are being so well-received that each of the 4 sessions so far (there are eight total; only two of them were today) have been filled to capacity, with waiting lists of those beyond the 350 they can handle per session. It did my heart good to see so many families, so many youth, so many generous organizers and volunteer youth... it was evident that a lot of planning, preparation, prayer, and hard work went into the events,

but the results were incredible. I came home filled with hope on this Respect Life Sunday: the Church is indeed alive. We have only to look with eyes of hope to see evidence of the springtime of Faith, the new Pentecost as the Holy Spirit continues to pour forth on his people!