Grief for Today

Grief is the sad-love we wear like
His jacket.
Left behind, still warm, on that
Stark summer day.

Grief is the new-love
Never known, never held
Hope back to Heaven
Love flown away.

Grief is the long-love
Years spent together, now whittled to minutes--
Cancer ward lips,
Don't know what to say.

Grief is the strong-love
Crossing the ocean
Not expecting - news from a stranger,
While children at play.

Grief is the sorrow for what's lost or won't happen:
Hopes stacked as high mountains,
Cast down, tumbled like towers--
Dreams lost on the way.

Grief hangs like clouds,
Envelopes, surrounds us
Sharp in our hearts,
Like glass in the bay.

                *
Hand reaches down
Through the fog, through the rubble.
Hand reaches out,
Will lift us some day.

Joy in the sorrow.
Hope in the hurting.
Hope for tomorrow.
Grief for today.

I have been reflecting lately on grief.  There is so much pain in the world today, and it seems we hear of new atrocities or disasters hourly rather than daily, even.  Pain worlds-apart seems just that--distant and unrelatable, but there is still the everyday and close sorrow of those around us to consider.  This close pain can perhaps give us some perspective on terrors we cannot comprehend. 

Beautiful Monotony: Guest Post @A Knotted Life Today!

I'm so excited to be guest posting over for Bonnie @ A Knotted Life today!  Come join us for a reflection on the "beautiful monotony" of motherhood.  Monasticism, motherhood, and Fulton Sheen--don't miss out!

Keeping Up Appearances: Let's Just Not, Okay?

 Super cool news! My debut as an official Contributor to the new hip site Real Housekeeping is today!

Ethel says go check it out!

Real Housekeeping is "a collaborative, multi-contributor blog dedicated to helping real people find real home solutions"--and I'm really excited to be a part of it!  There is so much out there these days bombarding the average (and the Rockstar) to be, well, let's be honest, to look a certain way, with all of their ducks in a row, pies in the oven, and baseboards sparkling, that it's refreshing to find a community of people who take all those projects you tackle around the house and present them from the "real" perspective. This is the perspective of those who've been in the trenches and know that all the events and projects that you aren't pinning on Pinterest or posting on Facebook are where you live 85-90% of the time. No one is doing everything perfectly all of the time.

The problem is, that there isn't anything wrong with having a clean house, or trying out a fancy new recipe, or making your child a super cute costume for a special holiday. Where we get lost is when we think badly of ourselves or of another person because of it. Oftentimes the people who seem like they've "got it all together" are just a lot better at advertising. Your obstacles and responsibilities at this time in your life are unalike anyone else's. You have no obligation to meet a standard that is set for another person.  All that is required of you is to live well your current circumstances and relationships. 

So, my message today is for all of us out there trying to "keep up with the Jonses": let's just not. But if you have a house-hold project to tackle, a new recipe to try, or want to laugh when it all bites you in the butt, come on over to Real Housekeeping. We have cookies.

Spring? I Hope Eternally.

You guys. It was 47 degrees Fahrenheit outside today (I specify so that all my international readers will understand. ha.).

This happened:

Almost two years old. I kid you not.

Just look at that face. Joy, my friends, sheer happy-sunshine-outdoor-playtime-muddied-jacket-joy. The air is damp, the ground is soggy, and one of the ducks has started laying again. I'm going to go right out and say it: Spring is on the way. 

I know that you know this. Spring has a way of arriving pretty much every year, but somewhere along the dark-and-dreary-frozen-bleak of February, we forget. We become a winter people, slogging along with the determined steps of folk who are just trying to get through one more day. 

And then we enter into March. Oh, March, you sly vixen, you. The snow will yet fly on us, the ice will yet cause our spring-longing hearts to fear, but March brings us the promise of gleeful days, unbound by hats-and-gloves-and-boots for every trek. 

I think it is no coincidence that Lent often falls in this in-between time of the seasons. Though we are led out into the desert liturgically, we have the promise of the Resurrection to sustain us.  Though we join ourselves to Christ's sufferings, we know what joy awaits us. Our winter shall not last forever; we are a Spring  people, a Resurrection people, and we shall yet sing again!

source

"I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yea, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:13-14

'The Glass Castle" (and Downton Abbey): Pick your Poison

I just finished reading Jeannette Walls' book 'The Glass Castle', and I can't stop thinking about it. Walls pulls her reader through a deep and dark saga that left me feeling melancholy, yet amazed, incredibly blessed, and with a new outlook on humanity. I'm not exaggerating, I promise.

source

The book made me think about lots of things. About my childhood, about my children's childhood, about how lucky I am, and about the choices people make.

When my friend Ann gave me the book to read, she said that it was depressing. Trying to figure out if it was worth my time, I asked if it were also redemptive. This has been my gauge on depressing books since freshman year of high school, when we had to read Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton. I discussed the book with my Dad, probably just complaining about how awful it was, and Dad taught me that Ethan Frome wasn't just awful, it lacked redemption.

...and then they made a movie out of it?!
photo source (+me)

What I didn't know then (thanks to my blessedly lucky and wonderfully naive childhood, and my loving parents...!), but for sure and certain know now, is that life isn't always a chair of bowl-ies.

source

But what of this "redemptive" business? Cannot there be suffering without painting it pink and calling in the clowns? Back to Ann giving me the book. To answer my question, she told me about how the author's parents *chose* to live as homeless people. Ann told me that the book showed how sometimes people make surprising choices in life.

I devoured the book in two days (which is significant, considering the amount of trouble Leo and Daniel can get into...or maybe they got into extra trouble because I was reading? Shhhhh!)

There were multiple instances in the book that started to make my skin crawl. Nearly every page recounts experiences that would land the best of us in counseling for decades, and Walls' parents in prison for child endangerment and neglect. And yet, Jeannette Walls does not have a tone of regret or complaint in her narrative. She relates the stories as just what happened to her and her family. She tells them as someone who has lived through quite a lot, has learned and grown from it, but has not let it embitter her or harm her in the long term. Now, these conclusions on my part are entirely speculative. For all I know Ms. Walls has spent decades in therapy to come to this point. However, she does not leave the reader feeling this way.

The reader of 'The Glass Castle' is left in a sort of awe at the maturity of the Walls children, and baffled at the choices of the Walls parents. And yet, with Walls' talented authorship, you aren't allowed to feel sorry for any of them. The choices that Rex and Mary Walls make are dangerous to their family, but Jeannette leaves them there, they are just choices. She describes vividly the consequences of the choices, but she doesn't seek to tie you to them, to make you sick with the unfairness or the ugliness in any of it.

So, what's the verdict? Is the book redemptive? Does it pass the Ethan Frome test? (EF Test: tie the book to a sled, push it down a hill...). Yes, I believe it does. And stay with me, because I don't think I'm trying to gloss over anything, or to see everything through rose-colored glasses (read: I'm alright with having a book fail the EF test...).

Let me digress to illustrate...since watching the first few episodes of Downton Abbey's Season 4, I have been reflecting a lot lately on suffering, especially suffering that is inflicted on us by another. Episode 2 had me antsy for days. If you know me, or have read some of my thoughts before, you know that some suffering scares me. I've decided (because it's flattering) that this is partly because I am empathetic to people, even if they are *just* TV characters. But I think the deeper issue is my need to see the redemption in any suffering. Suffering for its own sake, or inflicted at the cruel and twisted whim of an evil heart, makes my blood boil.

you're killin' me smalls...
photo source (+me)

I have learned recently through reading some posts by Anne over @ModernMrsDarcy, that the dramatic reactions I have to mere fictional stories could be that I am perhaps a "Highly Sensitive Person" (think you are too? Take the quiz here. Just like taking quizzes? Click here instead.)

I can take this information that I may be a HSP (as ModernMrs.Darcy puts it), and decide never to read or view content that sets me off. This may seem like over-kill, but I think that some moderation, in light of the emotional train wreck that my brain goes through for several days following such stuff, is not dramatic. I need to find the balance between hiding from the dark, and letting it make me cower.  Avoiding books or TV shows with such content, to leave room in my emotional bank for real-life situations is probably something I need to consider seriously.

Beyond finding out more about myself, I am becoming more and more aware that ultimately, there is a lot of choice in life. I don't seek to erase this part of myself, for there are benefits to draw from being sensitive. I am an empathetic person, who can often sense a solution to a problem or the particular help a person might need. This is good. But part of my sensitivity can be balm-ed by the knowledge that much of life's pain an suffering is caused by mere people's mere choices. And this is what I have learned most concretely from The Glass Castle. People can choose to be cruel, vindictive, twisted, malicious and even evil, but I can choose how I react. I can choose to love. I can choose to be respectful in the face of callousness. I can choose healing over hurt.

How can this be?

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" (Romans 12:19)

Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. (Deuteronomy 32:35) 

When I "cast all my anxiety" (1 Peter 5:7) on God, I am free to let go and let be. I do not have to let the cares of the world weigh me down. This does not mean that I go through life as an uncaring block of ice, no. I can still empathize and care for people, but my care does not have to shake my core. My dismay does not need to detract from my duties and desires.

I can take a page from Jeannette Walls' book, (quite literally !), and find myself at peace amidst the turmoil I witness.

Don't Have Kids

In the height of wasting some time online the other night, I came across this gem, "28 Reasons You're Better off Never Having Kids".  [not rated G].

Allow me to get out my soapbox...

source

...ok, here we go.

Now, I can fully grasp any number of serious reasons for not having children, and I can completely comprehend that a fulfilling life can be lead sans offspring, and I am well aware that some people are not ready, or not able to have children.

How-ever.

This piece, however playfully meant, does an injustice to parents and those without children alike.

It says to the childless: you can live as selfishly as possible.  You can sleep whenever you want. You can eat whatever you want. You can party, and have a cleaner home, and travel, and go to the bathroom alone, and have more money, and swear (yes, that was on the list...!) all on your own, as much as you would like, with no strings attached...just don't have kids.

And, just as callously, it says to the parents: your life sucks.

just your basic poster-children parents, right here...
source

They are wrong, and they are wrong on both counts.  To be childless does not mean that you have any right to be a selfish, self-centered person with nothing better to do than take naps.  To be a parent does not mean that you have no enjoyments in life, and have given up on any indulgences, and all sleep or health. These things have more truism than truth to them.

I would argue, that the strings that children attach to us (heart-strings, if you will, as I'm trying to be dramatic...), are entirely worth it.  Children are everything that that silly internet fodder meme-list is saying they are. Children are annoying, they are messy, they are enormously inconvenient. They take up enormous, and often baffling amounts of time, energy, and money.

source

And yet, that is the point.  The demands that our children make upon us take us outside of ourselves, and draw us closer to Heaven. 

heart-strings...

On the flip-side, it is offensive to think that folks with no kids are as shallow as that piece makes them out to be. The people in my life who are childless are in fact extremely generous souls.  One of my dearest friends has no children, and is one of the most mother-ly women I know, caring for her family, friends and community in countless ways.  Another childless friend pours what seems to be every waking minute into caring for those in medical crisis. Those without children are called to live selflessly in other ways, to highlight and bring about the good, the true, and the beautiful with the time, energy, and strength that we parents lack.

source/Shel Silverstein

God calls each person or couple to a certain life. He calls some to have 7 children. He calls some to have no children.  He calls no one to live for the self.  Each of us must pour out our lives, must lay down our selfishness, to make any progress.  It truly is "in giving that we receive, in dying that we are born to eternal life".  The death that St. Francis speaks of in that prayer must for certain be our death to self, for that is what Christ did for us.

Completely Pathetic

There are those days when you haven't gotten enough sleep, and your children haven't gotten enough sleep, and you have already gone *way* way over your imaginary quota of how much TV they will watch, and it's not even 11:30 am yet.  

Those days when you realize that your kids really have needed *constant* redirection, but you really just don't want to have to be nice any dang more times.

Thoughts run through your head like, "Can't you please just have one rational thought, you 3-year-old, you?!" Who am I kidding?  You start saying things like that to your children.

Le great big sigh.  Poor you.

source

I got some pretty simple, yet really sound advice from a mom-friend of mine the other day. She says that sometimes she tries to see her kids in the same light as God sees us.  Our children are pretty pathetic sometimes.  They can't negotiate going to the bathroom without serious fanfare and intervention, let alone the intricate delicacies of getting a younger brother to let go of their hair or to give back a treasured (aka ALL of them) toy.  Pathetic. 

Yet, take a step back, and we're just as feeble.  We can't cope with disasters, we can't relate properly with people, we fall apart when we fail--we are pitiful little creatures, aren't we?

This outlook has helped me immensely, though.  Even in the heat of the 78th "let-go-of-your-brother's-hair" moment, I can remember that I myself am so very small, and need so much direction too.  I need constant reminding, and poking, and prodding to stay on the right track, to choose the good, and to draw closer to holiness.

Putting it this way helps me to have a little more patience, to move with a little more grace, with the meager everyday efforts of my small ones.  I myself need such mercy, as He's reminding me all the time.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Cor.12:9)

Note to my Nosy Kids Upon Reading My Stuff

{Forget the NSA Listening in on the Phone:
What if the Kids find my Texts?!}

Dear Nosy Kids,

You found my old Facebook, or my old text-ing history, or this blog, or some old Gmail chat session that I thought disappeared into the Internet netherworld 27 years ago: congratulations!

You now know just *how* frustrated I was when you whined at me *all* day, or how hurt I really was when you said that awful thing, or just *how* judge-y I was of that one friend's news.  It's true.  I am a real live person with thoughts and feelings that I've shared with a few people, that may be surprising to you.

You see, back a long time ago, people didn't have text-ing and Facebook, or any kind of *instant* messaging...except of course actually talking to someone, face-to-face, or over the phone (which wasn't recorded either!).  Folks wrote letters, and that can make a very interesting and wonderful record of a life, but what one writes in a letter is very, very different from what one will say directly to a close friend.  And what one says to a close friend directly didn't see the light of day, much less the eyes of prying children.

All this being said, I know that times have changed, and we adjust. I hope that you don't think less of me from whatever it is you find, but I'm not going to censor myself (too much!) in my private conversations just to save face after I'm gone.

I do want you to know a few things though.

1. I love you very, very, very much. You are my best thing, my happy thoughts, my joys and my hopes. I pray for all the best in you.  I have tried to bring you up correctly and to give you the tools to succeed. May you know that you are loved, and seek always to love.

2. I hope whatever you read of me and my past reflects something good on me (of course!), but if it does not, I hope that it teaches you something about life, about relationships, or just makes you laugh.  Motherhood has been (so far!) the hardest-best-easiest-worst job I've ever had. Life in general has been difficult and wonderful. May whatever I've said reflect all this to you.

3. Wash your face and your clothes, brush your teeth, and make your bed.  Pray every day; seek the Lord and trust Him.  Love your family with all you've got. 

...and if I'm still around, but I'm old and don't remember much: don't leave me alone, read funny things to me, and bring me old pictures to look at.  All will be well.   I love you all so much.

All my love, 

Mom

Does Jesus Have a Superman Shirt?

Theology from a Three Year-Old

I really wonder sometimes how parents *actually* pass along their religious beliefs. I mean, I guess eventually Leo and Daniel will get old enough to understand some things, and I honestly pray that they grow up to be happy-holy-healthy-and-handsome all of the time, but the logistics of getting there? I dunno. Right now, I'm pretty sure Leo thinks this is what Jesus looks like:

source

Except, he may have a sword like St. Paul.  Jury's still out on that part.

Leo had all kinds of questions yesterday about Jesus.  He was holding a small crucifix that I have from my grandmother's house, and asking about if Jesus had died, and who had done that to him.  This got Leo thinking about other Jesus statues he'd seen, particularly this one we saw at Franciscan the other day, when I dragged the boyos down for the Kelly Roggansack Memorial 5K race:

source

Let's just say, this one's a fountain, and for a boy who's potty training...one gets certain ideas.

Then he wanted to know where Jesus lives...

Mom: "In Heaven"

Leo: "With Fr. Batt?"

Mom: "Umm...well, we see Fr. Batt at church, and Jesus is there too..."

Leo: "Does Jesus have a Superman shirt?"

That is probably the central question of doctrine for three year-olds everywhere. I am simply not equipped to answer that one. I suggested calling Grampa. ...and good thing too, because here's what came next...

Leo: "Does Jesus have a sword"
Mom: "Hmm...? Well, I guess sometimes He could have a sword"

Turns out Leo was remembering all the statues at church; there's Jesus, there's Mary, there's the guy with the sword...

source

Oh....Saint Paul. Yes, he's got a sword. This lead to watching YouTube videos of Saint Paul's conversion...(yea, there's video of it--who knew?).

Let's just hope my catechesis stays this stellar (ahem.) as the boyos get older. ;)

Fear & Loving

I am afraid.

I am afraid of a lot of things. I fear that my sons won't grow up to be happy, healthy, handsome and holy. I fear that they won't grow up at all. I fear accidental deaths. I fear drivers who text. I fear being attacked on a nursing visit. I fear being attacked in my home. I fear falling down the stairs while carrying a child. I fear being in some accident that leaves me maimed for life. I fear mental illness or delayed development in my boys. I fear rape. I fear for my loved ones. I fear miscarriages, chronic illnesses and major surgeries. I am afraid of taking a wrong step, of giving a patient the wrong or insufficient information, and leading to their increased illness or untimely death.

I am afraid.

Now, some of my fears are completely rational. Some of them are silly or unfounded. Many of them are useful for compelling my actions, leading me to take extra precaution or to double-check important things.

Secretly, though, I am afraid of the unknown, and I don't know where my trust has gone.

I used to trust so well.  I remember when Steven and I were dating, and I realized that being so close to someone could lead to major heartache. I realized that I had to trust God that I was supposed to continue, that He would hold me if I stepped out further on the branch.  I had to trust that the branch would hold, but even if it would not, I had to trust that God's hands were big enough to catch me.


I know that I need to let go of my fears; I need to find that place of trust again.  I have been thinking about fears today, after hearing a piece on the radio.  The woman being interviewed, Dawn Eden, is the author of a book for victims of sexual abuse. Now, thank the good Lord in Heaven, I was never in such a situation myself.  One particular statement she made, however, has been sounding a bell in my heart today.

She pointed out that Christ on the cross did not say to those crucifying Him, "I forgive you." Rather, He said, "Father, forgive them." (Luke 23:34)  Father forgive them.  Her point was, that Christ's example wasn't to go directly to those who were crucifying Him and open Himself up to further abuses.  He gave it to God to forgive. Indeed, St. Paul tells us, 

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, 'Vengence is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.'" (Romans 12:19 {cross-reference: Leviticus 19:18 & Deuteronomy 32:35})

My fears are preemptive acts of un-forgiveness, walls built up, instead of trust laid down. My creature-ly heart doesn't believe that I can forgive sins against me or my loved ones, doesn't imagine that I could cope with the worst situations I can conjure.

And I am right. I  can do none of that.

My heart remembered today a truth that I had forgotten.  I cannot change what the future holds: there is likely a lot of heartache and trial and rocky-road ahead in my life, but His love is big enough to cover it.  His mercy is great enough to forgive it.  His peace is surpassing enough to smooth it all out.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day. (Matthew 6:34)

No good thing does the Lord withhold from those who walk uprightly. (Psalm 84:11)

Joy

{7QT} Pope Francis, Cookie Monster & the 20th Maine

So, I did this cop-out/double-dip linky thing last week ...

but this week I'll just grace you w/ the usual mixy-mixer of stuff...and join Jen for Quick Takes

1. Papal art contest. 
As in, art that people have submitted of Pope Francis. You can vote here for my personal favorite, #28, by Jared Klodt:

Thanks to Simcha Fisher for sending us there :)

And remember that Pope Francis has called us to a day of prayer and fasting for Syria.

2. 'Does God Know How to Tie Shoes?' book & favorite Leo quote
This book is one of my favorites. It combines lovely oil-painting artwork with references to the Psalms as answers to a child's questions about God. You can buy it here. While reading this tonight, Leo said to me, "...and God looked at me and said, 'There's my Leo!'". 

3. This quote

Found this again on my FB page...at least it's good for something!

Therefore I will trust Him. Whatever, wherever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends; He may throw me among strangers. He may make my spirits sink, hide the future from me - still He knows what He is about.

--Blessed John Henry Newman

4. Free at Last!

"one, two, free!"

Can't hardly believe it, time flies, and all that jazzy-jazz. We had lots of fun yesterday. We went to the park to go on the slides and swings, and I actually enjoyed the 28 minutes I lasted until it was time for DQ mini-blizzards. We also had a nice little family dinner/party.  There was a cake too...but Max the dog ate the leftovers...oh well...

5. My new life philosophy. 
Well...those of you who know me, you know that this has always been my life's philosophy ;)

source

6. I love getting mail!We got a care-pack from Aunt Margaret today.  She sent a bday prezzie for Leo (a "snow jacket"):

Leo dislikes the papparazzi

And a T-shirt for me! It's a 133rd Engineering Battalion shirt, so that I can show support for my favorite brother-in-law, the best Lieutenant there is.

The 133rd is a direct descendant (I'm getting my military lineage wording wrong, I know, please don't cringe too much, you history buffs!) of the famous 20th Maine. And if you didn't know that the 20th Maine was famous, you need to go watch Gettysburg again:

link

Wow, all of that from a box in the mail. See--it is great stuff! :)

7. Davy & Georgie

Leo has taken to calling Daniel "Georgie Russell". Georgie, of course, is Davy Crockett's best pal. (And if you didn't know that, you need to go watch 'Davy Crockett' again...)The red hat is the "Georgie Russell hat", although the knitted tractor cap that Heather and Laura made for Leo is sometimes a substitute. Anyways, here they are, in all their glory.

I'm hoping and praying that these two grow up to be best pals forever and ever amen. 

That's all from me, now head back over to Jen's for more of the real stuff from the actual bloggers! :)

"Passed away 8/29/2013"

For the two of you who read this and don't know me personally, I work right now part-time as a home health nurse. I visit people in their homes as a nurse. I actually like it, and it is *mostly* way less stressful than my nursing home days.

Most of my nurse visits are flurries of medication lists, wound care, blood pressure checks and listening to the radio between stops. I don't have *a lot* of critical patients, so I don't often get emergency scenarios like this one from before.

But then I get an email like this (with subject line of a patient's name):
"Passed away 08/29/2013"

...and I am reminded again how life is so fleeting. It is brought close and real again that in the end, we don't last forever. In the end, life gets harder, health fails and we turn the corner.

source

My small prayer today is for this patient and his family, and for all of us in the crazy-mixed-up healthcare world. May we keep ever mindful of the fragility of body, and the permanency of soul.  Amen. 

Crossing the Bar

BY ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON

Sunset and evening star,

      And one clear call for me!

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

      When I put out to sea,

   But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

      Too full for sound and foam,

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

      Turns again home.

   Twilight and evening bell,

      And after that the dark!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

      When I embark;

   For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place

      The flood may bear me far,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

      When I have crost the bar.
(source)

In its Time

The nitty-gritty tedium of our every-day lives can be, well, tedious. Each morning we are greeted with what is often the same exact 'To Do' list as the day before. The laundry and dishes are never done. The children have to be feed and cleaned and prevented from causing each other bodily harm several times a day (that last one nearly constantly).

Source

Our work in and outside of the home is repetitive. Day to day, over and over, we keep on doing what we have kept on doing. It is easy to get bogged down in this, to feel discouraged, bored or fed up with life as we know it. But we also know that this is not how we are supposed to live: 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

I have read several things recently that deal with this problem in our lives. I was first encouraged by a short essay sent along by a dear friend. In, 'The Duty of the Moment', Catherine Doherty says:

Or your duty of the moment may be to scrub your floors. Do you scrub your floors well? With great love for God? If not, do so. If you see to it that your house is well-swept, your food is on the table, and there is peace during meals, then there is a slow order that is established, and the immense tranquility of God's order falls upon you and your family, all of you together.

Your doing the duty of the moment, your living the nitty-gritty, daily routine of ordinary life, can uncover the face of Christ in the marketplace. Christ can come into the place where you work or play or eat. He will come into your home or into a restaurant. He will come into a school or a company cafeteria or a subway or wherever.

So this is what I mean. You, as a Christian, as a follower of Christ, do your duty of the moment. Whatever your duty is, you do it with great love. And as you do, the image of Christ, the icon of Christ, will be shown to people wherever you are — in your home, in your place of work outside the home, in your school, in the neighborhood where you live, in your church, in the grocery store, wherever you happen to be.

I have found that focusing my mind on that line, the duty of the moment, has brought more peace to my days and more clarity to my priorities. Sometimes the duty of the moment is finishing the dishes during nap-time. Sometimes the duty is resting so that you don't go crazy on your family later in the day ;).

 Next was an excerpt from a blog I read sometimes called 3 Things for Mom. Each day is a different guest posting a Truth, Tip & Find for moms. This particular entry was by Catherine Newman, who writes for Real Simple magazine. Here's what she says:

If you wait to get past the hard parts, the busy parts, the stressful parts, your whole life will pass and you’ll have just been waiting the whole time...Remind yourself that this is your actual life, your time with this person, a moment to experience and then move on from...

I am *way* guilty of the hurrying life along problem. I just want to get through this little time, and then it'll be nap time for boyos, or dinner time, bedtime...give me teenage years now and I'll give you the squirmy-mind-numbing-hair-pulling-toddler-hood! [Disclaimer: I get it. I don't want those years yet, really, but...you know...in the moments I do...]. But what Catherine points out is exactly right. The problems of yesterday aren't any easier than the problems of tomorrow will be. I have today, this is my actual life. Each moment, each nerve-wracking moment, each sweet and joyful moment, is mine for today. 

We "grown-ups" get lost in the monotony. We get fed up with the same-old trudgery and lose sight of what is actually happening. There are probably 5,000 million quotes about living for today and living in the moment and time flying by, so I will spare you all that. Consider instead what Chesterton has to say:

Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE. Heaven may ENCORE the bird who laid an egg.  

(G.K. Chesterton, in Orthodoxy - source)

"...in spirit fierce and free"

Look around. "The Heavens are telling the Glory of God!" ...and they do it in beautiful repetition. The trees are ever fading in and out of each season, reminding us anew of Christ's Life, Death & Resurrection. Spiders aren't finding new ways to spin their webs; bees are making honey bit by little bit just as they have done for year upon year upon year. And yet all of blessed Creation is reflecting the glory and magnitude of the Lord whose "mercies are new every morning" (Lamentations 3:22-24)

Let us not grow weary. Let us delight in our days, take up the duties of our moments and recognize that this is our actual life. 

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, because we look not  to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, bIn ut the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that you may do the will of God and receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36)

Source

 

Take Heart

{Favorite Quick Takes}

Joining Hallie for Favorites and Jen for Quick Takes

(because that's how we roll in the world of slacker-bloggers!)

Basically just what's on my mind and what I like this week. With pictures.;)

1. The Radical Life
I keep on talking about this Radical Life guy:

Matthew Warner

I like his stuff. This week's post is more good stuff: 12 Most Important Metrics for Your Child's (and Your) Education.


2. Freeset Fundraiser
You probably heard about the UPS plane crash last week. We should definitely pray for the families of the two pilots who lost their lives in the crash. There is another way to help the victims of the event. Freeset is a fair-trade company that employs women who were trapped in the human trafficking industry in Calcutta. They pay their employees about 3x what they would otherwise make. They make organic cotton T-shirts and jute bags.

They make some pretty bags, y'all.

The UPS plane was carrying about $150,000 of their merchandise, representing 3 months of work by their employees. You can go here to donate to Freeset to help them cover their losses. In a truly lovely exchange of events, Freeset is also making a memorial T-shirt, the profits of which go 100% to the UPS pilot's families. (Thanks to Melanie @ the BigMama blog for sending me towards all of this).


3. Mom-couragement
I am always finding some good encouragements for moms. Here's a thought from a new source, Incourage. In a post entitled "10 Ways to be a Happier Mom" (who wouldn't click that?) by Ann Voskamp, I find:

 Love always begins with patience, and patience is a willingness to suffer.

How is that encouraging, you ask? --how could it be encouraging to suffer? Suffering isn't exactly what you think it is, then. Did you know that the root of our word, passion, is the Latin verb patior which means to suffer?! Think about it...what greater act of love is it than to give up your own selfishness (time, talent, wealth, wants etc.) for another?  Indeed..."Greater love has no man than this, than a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). When we sacrifice in the small things, when we make the extra efforts for our loved ones (and our un-loved ones!), we are growing in love. --and what could be better, or more important than that?

Source

4. Home Pre-schooling
SO, I'm not sending Leo off to a pre-school this fall.  I never really thought that I would be...he's only *almost* 3 after all...and I kind of like having him around...BUT I am going to be doing some more planned efforts at education (other than the constant stream of wisdom in didactic moments that comes out of my mouth ;) ).

This will perfectly describe me in the not-too-distant future...

What have I done to prepare so far? I made a Pinterest board (...but you should basically just look at Sarah's if you're in my boat...she rocks.) SO, I'm obviously Super Mom, and ready for anything. 

5. Veiled Truths...This week I read another post about veiling during Mass, this time from Jenna @ Call Her Happy. Basically, she's considering veiling during Mass, which was something women did *way back when* as a way to be respectful, and humble (and less distracting to themselves and others!). I was first intrigued by the idea by Jennifer @ Conversion Diary, a while ago. Kelly @ This A'int the Lyceum also wrote a good post about veiling, with some pictures of different non-veil veil options.  I think that where I stand on the idea is that I think it's kind of neat.  BUT I think this in a "I would wear a tasteful non-doily-on-my-head veil and everyone would love it" kind of way. 

Like this. Which you can find here. "Eternity scarf"

SO...pretty much defeats the purpose, which would be one of making my time at church more prayerful (HA! with two boyos...! yea...) etc. So, for now, I think I will remain unveiled...but there are these scarves...$5 only...BUT...then there's St. Paul, reminding us women to be adorned with "good deeds" and not with pearls and braids...SO, yes, for now...just me and my unruly (read: boyo-pulled) locks. 

6. Tie a Yellow Ribbon
You may have thought that all this was over, but we still have A LOT of soldiers out there in harm's way on our behalf. It may not seem to little old you and me like they are out there for us, when they go to places like Afghanistan to help those folks, but then I hear news from Egypt, and I compare it to news from here (which is horrible enough), and I know that our soldiers are out there for us. Case in point, my wonderful brother-in-law. Lt. JDB has just been deployed with his unit of the Army National Guard to Afghanistan, and he'll be gone for almost a year (with a stint in Mississippi first which sounds just as bad). So, as you go to sleep tonight in your safe and A/C'd home, remember all of our loved ones out there, and please pray for their safety. 

Two J's on Mag's #1 list today: and neither one missing her b-day for anything.

Which brings me to...

7. MARGARET's BDAY!! 
Younger siblings aren't allowed to get older (take note, Jono!!), but older ones DO...mwahahhaha. Anyways. Today is Mags bday. Or it was when I started finishing this post...anyways...AUGUST 24th is the best and so is she. You may remember her from her famous stints as guest-blogger here and here and here. Basically click the *snark* tag on the posts, and you'll get them all. Best older sister ever. Most of the time. Prettiest and smartest and most fun. Always.

Always got my back :)

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY lovey. xoxoxo