The Pity Me Post

I have now spent 28 days separated from my husband, who is 5,882 miles away in Stuttgart, Germany. Only 4 days left, then off to vacation in Catalina with his family.

FOUR MORE DAYS!

Small Successes

1. My IBD has been a lot better this week than it was when I got back from Europe, even the fevers have been a bit better, although the prednizone is still giving me insomnia and acne. I will be off of it soon though! Just glad to be feeling almost normal again.


2. I've managed to make it two weeks (halfway there) without my husband. Only two weeks to go until he comes back from Germany. That day cannot be soon enough! I cannot even begin to explain how empty the apartment (and my heart) feel without him.


3. Ordered a yoga DVD called Yoga for Stress Relief. A lot of the books I'm reading about IBD suggest yoga as a good tool for exercise and stress relief, so I'm going to go ahead and give it a try.


4. Got a pedicure and manicure with Courtney and Lindsay on Tuesday. It was so nice and relaxing and my nails are so PRETTY. I think I need to do this more often! Plus it was great to hang out that night and have girl time with Courtney, Jazzy and Madison. Love you girls!


5. My apartment is still clean since my mom last visited. Thanks Mommy!

Open to Life Series

Laura over at A Bird on Her Nest is doing a series on being Open to Life -- and it is excellent! I came across it a week ago and have been studying along since. Laura is a great writer who is comfortable interpreting from multiple sources and integrating them into her study. I highly recommend it!

To view the Open to Life Series, click the above image or this link. 

Thank you Laura for taking the time and having the courage to write this!

Saints and Scripture Sunday

I'm a little late this week for Saints and Scripture...but I figured better late than never! Sunday's gospel reading is one of my favorite parables, and I wanted to spend some time on it.

Matthew 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

How often I feel like these seeds! At times I am like the seed that falls on rocky ground. I hear the Word and am joyful, but the roots do not develop and my joy withers at the slightest of troubles. Other times -- and I think most times -- I am like the seed that falls among the thorns. I hear the Word and feel the joy, but as I grow and take root, my leaves are choked by the thorns of the world.

Of course, we all want to be like the last seed that falls on rich soil. I want to accept God into my life, not just when it is easy, but when rough times come as well. I want my roots to take hold in the rich soil of Jesus Christ. Easier said than done, but no one said being a Christian was an easy call.

Each one of us can look into his own conscience today and discover to which class he or she belongs. Are some of us perhaps, like the seed that fell on the rocky ground? While Christianity makes no very difficult demand we are all for it, but when it demands mortification, the curbing of passion, real sacrifices for our neighbor, do we forget our Christian calling then and ignore its precepts? And how does our type of Christianity stand up to the temptations of the world—the desire to get all the enjoyment we can out of this life, licit or illicit, breaking God's commandments weekly or maybe daily? Are we chasing after wealth and power, using all our energies to rise in the world to be above our neighbor by fair or foul means? If the above are our aims in life, our Christianity has been or is being choked out of us.

There are millions of saints in heaven today, enjoying eternal happiness, who had some, if not all, of our present failings. We, too, can be with them one day, provided we do what they did. They repented sincerely and remained God's close friends, until he called them to himself. May the merciful God give us the grace to imitate them while we yet have time.

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

Catholic Review: Meet the Saints

Meet the Saints

The second book I chose to review through The Catholic Company was Meet the Saints. Now, when I received the book I have to admit it was a little bit smaller than I had hoped for. The entire text is less than 100 pages, not including the FAQ and Bibliography. So if you purchase this book, keep in mind that you will be meeting the saints, just a very select few of them.

On that note, I think this is the perfect book to "dip your toes" in the water. I would recommend this to someone who was not familiar with saints at all - a perfect gift for RCIA! It's an easy read and broken up into chapters that categorize the saints by what they were known for (Chapters include "Women Who Knew Jesus," "Male Founders," "Special Friends of the Poor," etc.). Each chapter gives a synopsis of three saints that fall into these categories, and lists their Feast Day.

My favorite part about this book are the "Stepping Out in Faith" sections at the end of each chapter. These are a call to action that really take the lives of the saints and put them into perspective as you try to incorporate them into your own life. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter:

Take advantage of the opportunities to do good. Follow in the footsteps of... 

* Salome, who transferred her skills as wife and mother to minister to the crowds that followed Jesus. Consider sharing your talents, abilities and knowledge in new ways within a parish ministry or social outreach effort.
* Martha and Mary of Bethany, who provided Jesus with the support of friendship and a refuge, a place apart. Invite your pastor or member of your parish staff to dinner or for coffee. Write a note to thank a minister for his or her efforts on your community's behalf.
* Mary Magdalene, who committed her life and possessions to Jesus and carried the news of the Resurrection to the apostles. Commit to more fully living your faith in Jesus and the promise of the Resurrection. What will that look like in your life?

The introduction by Bishop Robert F. Morneau has a great suggestion of taking the twelve chapters and studying one every week. This book could certainly be used as a jumping off point to learn even more about the saints featured in each chapter, to study their writings, research who they influenced, etc.

Therefore, I would recommend this book for those who just don't know where to get started. There are so many saints, it can be overwhelming to figure out who is who. The book also has a great FAQ section about saints, as well as an extensive biography list to look into. This book will definitely help you lay the foundation you need for learning about saints, and the "Stepping Out in Faith" sections will help you to implement some of their characteristics into your life. And who doesn't want to be more saintly?


This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Meet the Saints. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.