July 7, 2008
July 7, 2008
Categories

When God says, “NEXT!”

Exciting news!  As of today, Behold Your Mother is available with a beautiful new cover, courtesy of my publisher Cheryl Dickow. Cheryl is in the process of putting together the Spanish edition (Contempla a tu Madre), which will be available this fall. The English edition now also includes pages where you can write your own Mary meditations. Fun, huh? Ah, yes …. Changes can be a very good thing. Today I sent out the first CMN newsletter, in which I recount a time in my life when I sensed God was moving me on to something else … but I didn’t know just what. I’m in that place […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
July 3, 2008
July 3, 2008
Categories

Same-Sex Parenting: A Preferred Alternative?

“Thirty Days,” a television series on FX, recently ran a program entitled “Same Sex Parenting.” The program was about “Tom and Dennis,” a homosexual couple from my neighborhood who foster-adopted four boys, and “Kati,” a Mormon woman from California who was herself both an adoptee and adoptive parent. Kati moved into Tom and Dennis’ home for thirty days, while they attempted to persuade her to change her conviction that gay and lesbian couples should not be allowed to foster or adopt children. (She kept referring to this alternately as her “belief” and “opinion.”) The persuasion took a variety of forms, including … Dinnertime confrontations: “Are […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
June 18, 2008
June 18, 2008
Categories

Catholic Newletter for Thoughtful Women of Faith

The other day Kristen West McGuire got in touch with me about an online magazine she’s created for women who are interested in cultivating a deeper spiritual life. “Secretum Meum Mihi” (My Secret is Mine) was the response of St. Edith Stein, when asked why she converted to Catholicism (from Judaism). A convert to Catholicism (like me), Kristen has a heart for women who believe in God and want to understand why Catholics believe what we do … or are confused about how to live out the teachings of the Church in everyday life. Not every article will appeal to everyone … but a lot […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
June 14, 2008
June 14, 2008
Categories

All Aboard!

This week I was forced into a technology fast when our phone, e-mail, and cable were all on the fritz for a week. Yes, a week. A week without Internet. A week without anyone being able to call (apart from the few who have my cell phone number, and thought to use it). A week without my favorite blogs. While in some ways it couldn’t have come at a worse time (I had to lean on my fearless #2 gal, Amelia, to take care of the bajillion phone calls and e-mail messages that go with planning a week of Bible school), in some ways it […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
June 6, 2008
June 6, 2008
Categories

Mother Teresa’s Rules to Live By

I found this the other day at one of Sister Spitfire’s blogs, courtesy of A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. Mother Teresa gave these rules to her Sisters to help them develop the virtue of humility: 1. Speak as little as possible about yourself.2. Keep busy with your own affairs and not those of others.3. Avoid curiosity.4. Do not interfere in the affairs of others.5. Accept small irritations with good humor.6. Do not dwell on the faults of others.7. Accept censures even if unmerited.8. Give in to the will of others.9. Accept insults and injuries.10. Accept contempt, being forgotten and disregarded.11. Accept injuries and insults.12. Be […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
June 5, 2008
June 5, 2008
Categories

Caring Bridge: Helps You Stay in Touch

Today I received word that Ronald Asmus (the father of a friend from my days at Bethany) has been hospitalized with leukemia. It came on very suddenly, and his friends and family are still reeling from the news as he is fighting for his life. Please say a prayer for Ron, and for his wife Sharon and their family. The other reason for this post is to alert you to a non-profit service that helps family and friends stay in touch with one another when someone is suffering a chronic or terminal illness. Caring Bridges offers dedicated pages on their site so that family and […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
June 3, 2008
June 3, 2008
Categories

Adventures with Friends

Sarah at “Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering” has done her usual outstanding job with this week’s “Catholic Carnival.” Be sure to check it out! When Sarah missed her friend Lauren’s birthday, we decided to take the girls to Sarah’s favorite lunch place … “Sweet Aftons” Tea Room in Plymouth, Michigan. Sarah has caught my “tea bug.” About once a week we’ll have a special time with my best tea pot and pretty china cups … and c a k e. Cake is not optional, where tea is concerned. When I arrived at the school to pick up the girls and head for the tea […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
May 31, 2008
May 31, 2008
Categories

Me? Extraordinary?

Yes … you.  You might not feel like it some days (if you’re like me, most days you aspire to “adequate”). But Extraordinary Moms are not extraordinary because of how they feel, but because who they are. Not because of their giftings, but because of their calling. Some women are Extraordinary Moms because they have chosen to invest themselves in the life of one or more children to whom they did not give birth. Some are full-time parents: adoptive and foster moms, stepmoms, godmothers, custodial grandparents …  And some are extraordinary because they are doing their best to be both mother and father to their […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
May 31, 2008
May 31, 2008
Categories

Tips for Helping Your Child Cope with Stress

This week at CatholicMom.com, I recount a story about Christopher. The stressors of his world … his school work, his piano lessons, his home work, and the changes that are part-and-parcel of the end of the year… were creating a short fuse. This post is short and sweet, because I’d like to open it to you, my readers. Have you ever been through a particularly stressful time with your grade schooler, and what did you do to help him or her through it? Also, if your child has been taking music lessons, what do you do to help your child get practice time in — […]
Do you like it?0
Read more
1...3839404142...54