Carolyn Astfalk's Blog, page 34

3 Things Pregnancy Is Teaching Me About Parenthood

By Guest Blogger Olivia Folmar Ard
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Photo Credit: Bich Ngoc Le via Unsplash

“So, don’t hate me, but . . .”

It’s a conversation my husband and I have had about twenty times this pregnancy, usually about the name we’ll use if our baby is a girl. The formula is quite clear: we discuss the names on our shortlist and settle on a combination, and then a few weeks later, I start having doubts.

My husband—who, God bless him, has had the patience of Job regarding my fickleness—will respond good-naturedly, “What’s wrong with Lucy?” (or Damaris? Or Bernadette? Or . . . you get the picture.

“Nothing,” I always respond, frustrated and confused by my own misgivings. “It just doesn’t feel right.”

Before this pregnancy, I’d always rather scoffed at couples who had difficulty deciding on a name for their child. Surely that was the easy part. I was smug and satisfied with my own large, expansive list of combinations. When the time came for me, I’d pick one of my preapproved choices, and boom! It’d be on to the harder, more important parts of raising a child.

Go ahead, take a minute to laugh at my naiveté.

The truth is, trying to name this child has felt like one of the weightiest decisions of my life. I’ve spent more time thinking about this than I did about choosing a university, getting married, or buying a house. That seemed crazy at first, but a few days ago, I finally realized what was holding me back.

The reason none of these names, all of which I’d been so sure about before that positive pregnancy test, felt right? They were all about me. They were inspired by characters and ideas and people and places that I liked. I hadn’t truly approached naming this baby as a decision that would affect another human being for the rest of his or her life, but as a chance to nerd out a little. And while there’s nothing wrong with that—in fact, both our boy and girl names still have nerdy factors—it shouldn’t be the main focus. Because this choice won’t really affect me, not in a lasting way. Not in the way it will affect this Napa cabbage-sized wonder.

I hadn’t really stopped to think about how my choices would affect my child before. As silly as that might sound, I’ve been more focused on how my child would affect me. I spent so much time and effort getting to this stage of the process so much time in and out of doctor’s offices and pharmacies in an effort to reach this goal of pregnancy, that I hadn’t really thought about what comes next.

I’d focused on how my child would affect me, not how my choices would affect my child. @oliviadeardTweet This

I would be panicking, if not for the fact that I feel the aches and pains and inconveniences of pregnancy—the same ones I’ve been quietly bellyaching about—have been preparing me for this great unknown all along. Here are three things pregnancy is teaching me about parenthood.

1. Priorities Are Everything

I’ve never been incredibly realistic when it comes to making decisions or committing to an obligation. Choosing between two or three things I really want to do is no fun—I want to do it all! During high school and college, and even my adult years, I’ve lived this in this boundaryless wasteland, taking on more than I can handle and somehow getting it down, but at great personal cost.

The physical limitations of pregnancy have helped me slow down and realize not only that I’m not able to do it all anymore, but also that I was never able to do it all—at least not in a healthy manner. In the beginning, I was determined not to let this baby “slow me down.” I agreed to a major short-term writing commitment. I signed up for one too many summer classes. In the back of my head, I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to do these things, but I was determined to push through. After all, in college I’d been able to do things way beyond the scope of reasonable expectations, with the help of lots of large latte and all-nighters.

But here’s the thing about pregnancy: it takes that “lots of large lattes and all-nighters” option off the table. I no longer have the luxury of occupying my body solo—for the next 3 months or so, I have a roommate, and a pretty demanding one. I can’t drink caffeine with impunity, and as it turns out, a fraction of my former intake doesn’t cut it when I’m splitting calories and energy with a pint-size wiggle worm. And what little free time and energy I do have, I end up spending on the things I need to do—things like exercising and resting and preparing our home for a new occupant.

This summer, I’ve become a student in the art of trimming down. I backed out of the writing commitment. I dropped the extra class. It wasn’t fun, but it was a valuable lesson: I can’t do all the things, only some of them—so prioritizing is more important than it ever has been.

And this is how it will be when our little one is here, too. It’s not that I won’t be able to do things outside of momming; I’ll just have to be more selective. The limitations pregnancy puts on me has helped me slowly but surely adjust to this new normal.

2. Life is Unpredictable

It never fails. I’ve showered, dressed, put on makeup, and gathered everything I need for the day. Amazingly, I’m leaving for work or my doctor’s appointment on time. But just as I’m about to step into my garage, I feel it. That terrible clenching in my stomach that tells me I’m not getting off so easy. Not today.

I have been fortunate to have a relatively sickness-free pregnancy, but once every two or three weeks, when I’m starting to feel cocky, this wee one decides to assert his or her dominance and remind me who’s really in charge. That’s when I lose my lunch. (Or breakfast. Or, sometimes, water and vitamins.)

After cleaning up, sitting for a moment to recover, changing, and packing a second breakfast to replace the one my body decided to waste, an easy fifteen minutes have gone by. The first few times this happened, I was annoyed at the baby—could it never trigger these episodes on a day when I didn’t have somewhere to be? But the last time I found myself huddled in the bathroom and glancing at the clock, hoping the traffic between my house and the doctor’s office was unusually amenable, I was annoyed with myself for not planning for the possibility.

The truth is, once this baby is here, my morning routine will be arrested by bodily fluids and other unexpected interruptions far more often than once every few weeks. Life, especially life with a child, is unpredictable. Pregnancy, through it’s less-than-savory complications, is preparing me even now to deal with unexpected, gross setbacks—to plan for them, even. It’s unpleasant, sure, but I know I’ll be grateful for what I’ve learned in just a few short months.

3. Parents Do What They Have to Do

When I was undergoing fertility treatments, I swore I’d never complain about any aspect of pregnancy. I would be a pregnancy saint. I would suffer in silence and dignity. Well, that hasn’t exactly been the case. And that’s okay. My expectations before were made in an understandable, unavoidable state of ignorance. I hadn’t spent months and months sleeping constantly and yet feeling more sleep-deprived than a collegiate insomniac. I hadn’t lost control of my bodily functions. I didn’t know. But here is what I do know. All these unsavory side effects of pregnancy have highlighted the power of love when it comes to undergoing discomfort.

Cutting back on caffeine, drinking more water, taking a daily vitamin, eating more vegetables—these are all things I’ve tried and failed to do for myself innumerable times over the years. But the second these things were for my child, rather than for me, it wasn’t difficult for me to do them at all. In fact, it didn’t even feel like a decision. I just did it. And as my pregnancy progresses and new obligations present themselves, I adhere to them without hesitation. The time leading up to each new level of limitation I spend in agony, worrying over whether I’ll be able to endure it, but when the time comes, I’m ready and willing. I do what I need to do.

I know this will continue to be the case if I develop gestational diabetes, or when it’s time to deliver the baby and I have the undergo pain I can’t even begin to imagine. Right now, those things quite frankly terrify me, but I know that when I’m faced with the choice of doing what I have to do or causing my child to suffer, I’ll choose the former every single time. And I know that won’t stop once I have this sweet one in my arms. This is my life now—our life now. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

[image error]Olivia Folmar Ard is the author of women’s fiction trilogy The Bennett Series and Readers’ Favorite 5-Star recipient ‘Tis the Season. She is also a guest contributor for the online magazine, Christ and Pop Culture. She has a bachelor’s in history and is pursuing a master’s in marriage and family counseling. She and her husband JD live in central Alabama, where they await their miracle baby’s arrival this November.

Connect with Olivia on Facebook, Twitter, or on her website. Her books are available online through Amazon, Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, her website, and wherever books are sold.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FROM MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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3 Unique Ways to Harness the Power of the Rosary

By Guest Blogger Allison Gingras

In Matthew’s Gospel with concern to prayer, Jesus says, “Pray then like this,” then follows up with the glorious words of The Lord’s Prayer, also known as the Our Father.   Oblivious for most of my life of the origins of this prayer, I often resisted reverting to it while in prayer.  Ironically, spending my time in my conversations with Jesus asking him to teach me how to pray better, how to grow closer to Him, and how to be more faithful to His teachings.

[image error]Had I opened the Scriptures or maybe even paid a little more attention during the readings at Mass, perhaps I would have discovered this connection much sooner.  The quote from St. Jerome, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ!” was quite fitting of my situation.

The Lord’s Prayer was not the only prayer to which I held a deep aversion. I felt this way about all the rote prayers of my youth.  The Glory Be, the Act of Contrition, even the Hail Mary (just to name a few) all fell into this category.  I thought these all just boring, insincere prayers taught to me as a child, but now as a “mature” adult I was perfectly capable of fashioning my own prayers or merely engaging in direct dialog with Jesus.

Included in this prayer evasion was the Rosary; partially due to the struggle to stay focused on the counting of the prayers and partially because I had convinced myself that there was very little value to memorized prayer.  How foolish I was to discount the rich treasury of prayer that the Catholic faith had provided me.

I have since come to not only appreciate but rely on these prayers.

3 Unique Ways to Harness the Power of the Rosary @reconciledtoyouTweet This

Here are three unique and unexpected ways I’ve learned to embrace and fully utilize the power of the Rosary:

Spiritual Abacus

My mind likes to wander; keeping my thoughts on a subject for longer than 15 seconds can sometimes be a challenge. My short attention span wreaked havoc on my ability to complete a Rosary until the Holy Spirit inspired a perfect plan for my brain. The beads on one of my favorite rosaries slide. As I fingered my way through the prayers, I thought how it sort of resembled a Chinese Abacus. Suddenly, I thought, “What if I use each bead to as a counter – creating a ‘spiritual abacus’?” My idea was to recall a particular person and/or intention as I moved from bead to bead.

Being a very visual person, I picture the person or where they live. That often leads to my mind shifting to, either another person in the same house, or another intention related to the same subject matter. Soon I found myself organizing intentions from decade to decade – praying for 10 women having babies; 10 neighbors from my childhood, or 10 people in need of work or new jobs. Before I knew it, the Rosary was complete, and I had remained on task the entire time. The best part: much-needed prayers had been offered for at least 55 people – though that count was typically much higher as multiple names would sometimes pop into my head halfway through the Hail Mary!

Mileage Counter

The “Spiritual Abacus” mindset worked wonders to keep me focused (most days), however, there were still lots of external forces in my home vying for my attention. One day the Holy Spirit showed me a wonderful way to overcome that obstacle as well. As I sat down to be the first prayer in a 54-Rosary Novena, I had a nudge to head outside to walk and pray. At first, I chuckled to myself at the thought – I do not DO outside. There are bugs and air (which can sometimes be very cold or oppressively hot), not to mention walking on the roads near my home can be dangerous. Since I could not shake the nagging desire to get outside, I obeyed, hence launching my now (nearly) daily Rosary walk habit.

Quickly I discovered that not only could my rosary walk help me focus but could also help answer my prayer to become a healthier me. I could even use my Rosary to keep track of my exercise time. A Rosary typically takes about 17 minutes to recite, most people aim to move 20 to 30 minutes a day – this equals (roughly) a rosary and a few extra laps. One priest I know prays all four mysteries on his walk helping him reach his hour a day goal. I’ve never been that ambitious; but I have been known to add a Divine Mercy Chaplet and /or an express novena of 9 consecutive Memorare prayers (via St. Mother Teresa) now and then.

Better than Counting Sheep

One of my sweetest childhood memories is the sleepovers at my grandparents’ house. The only trouble was my bedtime separation anxiety. My dad’s parents lived almost an hour away, so bringing me home at 9 p.m., was not an option. My wise and faithful Grammie Perry (as we called her) had the perfect solution. She would hand me her Rosary, and tell me to pray it to fall asleep. “Great idea, Grammie! It is really boring and I will be out like a light in minutes.”

Her plan was far more holy and helpful than that. She wasn’t giving me the rosary to bore me, but to empower me to be brave and fill me with the peace I needed to sleep. My grandmother knew the power of prayer, especially to our Blessed Mother!

So, I would pray it and it would help me sleep; though the next morning there was sometimes this guilty feeling that I fell asleep before finishing all the prayers. Grammie Perry had an answer for that as well. It was her belief, and mine now as well, that if we fall asleep praying, our dear Guardian Angels finish the remaining prayers for us. To this day if I am struggling to fall asleep because I can either not calm my mind after a busy day or I am traveling and my sleeping arrangements are less than ideal, I pull out my trusty Rosary and pray!

All Rights Reserved, Allison Gingras 2017

 

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Allison Gingras is founder of Reconciled To You, where she blogs, shares and speaks about the Catholic faith in our everyday life and the many opportunities life presents to discover the grace of God!  She shares these with great enthusiasm, passion and a sense of humor.  Allison is a WINE Specialist overseeing and facilitating the online aspect of the Between the WINES Book Clubs for WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.

 

Links:

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ReconciledToYou

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/reconciledtoyou

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/allisongingras/

 

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The post 3 Unique Ways to Harness the Power of the Rosary appeared first on Carolyn Astfalk, Author.

Seven Quick Takes

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The Grace Crasher

I recently read The Grace Crasher by Mara Faro in less than a day, and it rocketed to the top of my list of favorites for the year! See why you should get a copy of your own.

–1–
The Cover

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 –2–
The Blurb

Armed with a floral-print Bible cover, Julia must pretend to be “born again” for her Christian housemates–cute EMT Mark and his church-lady mom. Their place is walking distance (cough, stalking distance) from Dylan, her latest musician crush.

Mark knows she’s faking her faith. But he needs someone like her to crash his dull routine. So he protects her secret and brings her to his Evangelical church. Hiding her Catholic past, she bumbles her way through hand-raising worship. Other times she sneaks into Mass. Meanwhile, Mark explains how to be “saved.” (Sure, she needs saving–from her alcoholic dad, her copier-jamming job, and Mark’s suspicious mom.) But does he just want to save her? Or date her?

Then Dylan sings her a song at open mic. Suddenly she’s torn between two guys, flubbing her way through three different churches, and completely confused about life. Will it all crash down around her, or will she crash straight into grace?

–3–

My 5-Star Review

This book’s premise held my interest from the start, but I didn’t expect it to rocket to the top of my all-time favorites.

From the spot-on humor that targets Catholics and Evangelical Christians alike to the fully-developed characters and the beauty of capital-T Truth that keeps the whole mess of them afloat, Julia (say it with three syllables, if you please), Mark, and Dylan sucked me into their world and wouldn’t let me go until I finished The Grace Crasher in under 24 hours.

A hilarious, poignant story that sets the broken love among families, friends, lovers, and fellow believers against the backdrop of God’s unfailing, patient, perfect love.

The Grace Crasher left me with a smile on my face and in my heart.

–4–

The Author Interview

The Grace Crasher deftly combines laugh-out-loud humor with serious issues regarding relationships and addictions. How do you maintain a balance that keeps the book from veering into something either superficial or maudlin?

I come from a family that combined funny and dysfunctional. When I was a teenager, my dad got arrested for drunk driving. (That’s not the funny part.) It was in the police blotter of the local paper, and some people mentioned it to me. To cover up my shame, I would chuckle and say, “Yes, I’m a member of the Faro crime family.” I actually don’t think that was one of my funnier lines, but people would quote that line back to me for many years afterwards.

By the way, Faro is not my real last name; I’m using a pen name so I can write fiction about these topics without self-censoring. And my dad did eventually get sober. Sadly, he didn’t live to see the publication of The Grace Crasher, because he got ill and died from another addiction, cigarettes. But while he was in the hospital a few days before his death, he asked how my book was going, and added, “Whatever you do, don’t censor yourself.” I still remember his voice, hoarse from lung cancer, saying that.

He also said, “You better put me in your novel. And I don’t care if my character’s a jerk in the book—as long as I’m in it!” Well, he’s definitely in it. Not as an actual character, because Julia’s dad is much worse than mine ever was. But my dad’s sense of humor is definitely in it.

–5–

The novel pokes fun at both Catholic and Evangelicals. Would you share how your own journey has enabled you to see the Christian faith from the inside?

I’ve spent time in both Catholic and Evangelical worlds. I was raised Catholic and received all the sacraments, but we weren’t consistent in our faith. However, my mom gave me a good foundation about who Jesus was and the Trinity. This was in the 70s and early 80s, during the Felt Banner Years.

Although I liked going to Mass, and felt like there was something holy there, I was confused, especially by the Eucharist. Gradually, after my brother and I got confirmed, my family’s irregular Mass attendance drifted down to none.

Then, when I was in my early 30s, I had an emotional crisis that led me to turn my life over to Jesus. I had Evangelical friends who were so incredibly kind and great examples of Christians walking the walk. When they invited me to their contemporary mega-church with a talented band playing “God of Wonders” and an active, friendly singles group, I was hooked.

But I also felt like a stranger in a strange land. I did a fictional composite of some of my more unusual experiences in The Grace Crasher. For example, when Julia goes to the contemporary Evangelical church (“elements” with a lowercase e) and they have interactive exhibits including the “sin shredder” paper shredder, that was similar to some of my experiences.

I considered myself an Evangelical Christian for about seven years, met my wonderful husband in an Evangelical church, and got married in one. Long story short, I eventually reverted back to the Catholic Church and he converted. But I do have an insider view of both Catholic and Evangelical churches. I hope and pray that the kindness and faith of most Evangelicals came through in the novel.

–6–

Julia and Mark are remarkably well-developed characters. They both have their flaws and yet both are lovable and admirable. What or who inspired them?

Thank you! Well, Julia is largely inspired by what I was like when I was single and looking for “love.” I was never quite as gutsy (or is the word, stalkerish?) as her. For example, I never would have moved to a crush’s town just to “accidentally” run into him, like she chased Dylan. But I certainly wasn’t above doing things like going to coffee shops to flirt with cute baristas while placing my order—and I don’t even like coffee.

For years, I had a consistent pattern of crushing on emotionally unavailable men who would flirt with me, give me their number, and then never call me back. Meanwhile, I would turn down perfectly nice guys who did call me and ask me out. And speaking of nice guys…

Mark was inspired by several guys I knew in my Evangelical church singles group, including my husband but not restricted to him. I’m talking about the kind of nice, Godly men who volunteer to drive the 10-seater church van on singles trips. And they do this even though it’s actually a really dangerous van with a door that keeps falling off, and they have to attend a special driving class just to get insurance approval to drive said van. He was also loosely inspired by people I’ve known who felt like they had to be a strong emotional support to a parent after the other parent died or was absent for some other reason.

–7–

About the Author

Mara Faro worked as an advertising copywriter and proofreader before becoming an author. The Grace Crasher was inspired by her years of dating confusion and spiritual seeking. A member of the Catholic Writers Guild, she is now happily married and writing a new novel.

Blog: https://marafaro.wordpress.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/MaraFaroAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaraFaroAuthor

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For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain’t the Lyceum.

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Relevant Fiction Reviews: Conquering Addiction

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Novels in which the hero or heroine are battling an addiction are not typically easy reads. Both My Unexpected Hope and Blue Columbine are childhood sweetheart/second chance romances that make your heart hurt in the best ways as the characters fight to break the bonds of addiction (alcohol in Blue Columbine and alcohol and illegal drugs in My Unexpected Hope). The Things We Knew includes a large cast, several of whom are addicted to alcohol and drugs. Gray Carlisle is the character to watch, as he struggles to get clean for the sake of himself and those he loves.

The Grace Crasher includes a minor character addicted to alcohol, but the heroine in this hilarious novel is addicted to love. (Say that out loud without singing the refrain of the Robert Palmer song. I dare you.) Hip and funny, yet serious when it needs to be, The Grace Crasher tackles the “less popular” addictive behaviors, such as those involving serial crushes and (in another minor character) overeating.

My Unexpected Hope by Tammy L. Gray

Chad, Laila et al are about as messed-up a bunch of friends as you’ll find, all raised (barely) in highly-dysfunctional homes. Having previously read My Hope Next Door, I questioned at the outset whether Tammy Gray could make me care about any of them. (Particularly Cooper, who’s come a long, long way in this book.)

Thanks be to God, I don’t have any first or secondhand knowledge of addictions like the ones portrayed in the book, but I do know something about the difficulty in overcoming habitual sins and creating new starts, which is the heart of My Unexpected Hope.

This is by no means a lighthearted romance though there are a few lighter moments and just enough tender memories between Chad and Laila to keep the story from becoming too dark.

By the last quarter of the book, I was highly invested in Chad’s battle for sobriety and his reunion with Laila, just as the author introduced enough twists to leave me frustrated when I had to step away from my Kindle and tend to my duties.

Well-written and compelling!

The Grace Crasher by Mara Faro

This book’s premise held my interest from the start, but I didn’t expect it to rocket to the top of my all-time favorites.

From the spot-on humor that targets Catholics and Evangelical Christians alike to the fully-developed characters and the beauty of capital-T Truth that keeps the whole mess of them afloat, Julia (say it with three syllables, if you please), Mark, and Dylan sucked me into their world and wouldn’t let me go until I finished The Grace Crasher in under 24 hours.

A hilarious, poignant story that sets the broken love among families, friends, lovers, and fellow believers against the backdrop of God’s unfailing, patient, perfect love.

The Grace Crasher left me with a smile on my face and in my heart.

The Things We Knew by Catherine West

Apparently, Catherine West heard the advice to give your characters secrets and took it to heart. Wow. Every person in this large and tangled cast has a secret or two – or more! And they are doozies!

Well-written, engaging, and suspenseful, this story of neighboring Nantucket families pulled me in right from the start. A real and raw tale with endless opportunity for grace and mercy with a heartwarming romance at its center.

The Things We Knew would make a great beach read, but I enjoyed it at home, imagining the majestic Atlantic coast and the beautiful home that was a backdrop for so many memories – good and bad.

Blue Columbine by Jennifer Rodewald

Given the premise – childhood sweethearts whose reunion is derailed by his alcoholism – it’s no surprise this isn’t a light, bubbly romance. It’s difficult, and at times, I thought, overlong, but I suspect the repeated progress and setbacks ring true for overcoming any addiction.

Blue Columbine made my heart ache at times, but in the end it’s a touching story of love – tough love, tender love, patient love, and enduring love. And ultimately, redemption.

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The post Relevant Fiction Reviews: Conquering Addiction appeared first on Carolyn Astfalk, Author.

Seven Quick Takes

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Family Camping: The Sequel Edition

Last Labor Day weekend, we gave family camping another shot. After several years’ hiatus allowing our babies and toddlers to grow into preschoolers, the six of us tent camped for a weekend. You can read about our adventures with pit toilets and fish pedicures here, but all in all, it was well worth it.

This year, we chose better when it came to the facilities, more memories were made, more lessons learned.

–1–
The “Facilities”  and Site Location Make a Difference

We went from putrid pit toilets and no showers last year to pristine bathrooms and showers this year. What a difference it makes! My camping bathroom standards aren’t ridiculously high. We are in the outdoors after all, and I expect a certain number of moths, spiders, and other creepy crawlies to make their way inside. But these bathrooms had next to none! My only quibble is the fact that no paper towels were available, only weak hand driers. (But that also probably contributed to the cleanliness factor.)

While this site was another previously-unseen walk-in, its steep incline from parking spot to tent site amounted to a matter of yards. No excruciating, back-breaking treks up and down with gear or to the potty. Speaking of the potty . . .

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The mossy trail behind our tent.

 –2–
We Should’ve Pitched a Tent in the Bathroom

I thought we made a lot of potty trips last year. From this vantage point, that estimation is laughable. Our so-called potty trainer of last year is still a potty trainer this year. And the other preschooler, while fully trained, is a thirsty critter with a  small bladder. The first evening alone – we’re talking a period of four to five hours – eleven trips were made to the bathroom with various children. One day, I counted four trips in one hour! If the road hadn’t been paved, we would’ve worn our own path. I can only imagine what the people in the RVs thought as we trekked by them with crotch-grabbing kids for the umpteenth time.

–3–

A Beach is a Beach

It may not be an ocean, but a beach is fun, even if it is only a small lake beach. This beach was large and, like the bathrooms, spotless. I didn’t find a single cigarette butt in the sand or the water. Nor a bottle cap. Nor a plastic lid. Which is something I can’t say for nearly any other beach I’ve visited – lake or ocean. And bonus: more minnow pedicures this year. At least for me. The little fish seemed to ignore the rest of the family.

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The lake beach at Cowan’s Gap State Park.

–4–

Wildlife MIA

Before we hit the beach, we hiked the perimeter of the lake. While beautiful (and clean!), we were disappointed in the lack of wildlife. Maybe it was too crowded due to the holiday-ish weekend, but at least a dozen times my daughter and I mourned perfect sunning spots for turtles that, sadly, included no turtles. No water snakes. No interesting waterfowl. Only several deer I spotted in the campground close to midnight.

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My little guy surveying the lake.

–5–

Angels in Action

Nothing builds trust in guardian angels like abandoning your children to Divine Providence. We set our four kids out on a paddle boat. I had no qualms about the older two, who are competent swimmers. The younger two, well, I had some qualms. It helped that both had just come off of a week of Red Cross swimming lessons in which they’d donned life jackets and learned about water safety. The older of the two can do a pretty good dog paddle. The little guy? *gulp*

I entrusted them to a fairly stable looking boat, PFDs, an older brother/Boy Scout with some life-saving training, the benevolence of strangers on the lake, and their guardian angels. I waved them off with a confident smile and instructions for the little ones to remain seated. I don’t think they had any idea of the niggling fears I had.

No one cried, no one died. And I said a prayer of thanks to their guardian angels.

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My babies on a paddle boat.

–6–

No Cell Service – Thank you, Jesus!

I didn’t anticipate our lack of cell phone service until the day before we left. So, all that posting and sharing I was going to keep up with while camping? Poof! Once we left the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I couldn’t get more than a single bar. Or circle, as it appears on my phone. What a blessing. All those notifications and messages? They could wait. It was only a couple of days. When I resumed catching up on social media stuff after I returned home, I quickly noticed its effect on me.

I mostly enjoyed my two days in a tent with my family. After quickly scanning my feeds and seeing these people in Europe, this family in Hawaii, and those at the beach, my mini-vacay seemed to pale in comparison. And it shouldn’t. I should be grateful for and satisfied with those couple of days with the people I love, not comparing how much less of a vacation we’ll get. And yet that’s what happened as soon as I started scrolling.

I could probably stand to indulge in social media a little more sparingly.

–7–

The Souvenir No One Wants

We brought home an unexpected souvenir from the campground: a wretched stomach bug. Home little more than twelve hours, it started with the nine-year old. Then the four-year old. Then the fourteen year old. And finally the five-year old. Fast forward two days to about the time my husband and I thought we’d get through this one unscathed. Uh-uh. Stomach bug – 6.  Astfalk family – 0.

How are your vacation plans going this summer?

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The Struggle Is Real for Catholic Fiction Authors

By Guest Blogger T.M. Gaouette

As the author of Catholic fiction for teens and young adults, I find myself in a constant battle of the wills. There’s this desire to delight the reader with an entertaining and relatable story, while still remaining focused on pleasing God and sharing His Word. Some may not think this much of a challenge, but when you reflect on the world we live in, as well as what passes for entertainment these days, hardly a fraction of it would be considered godly. In fact, entertainment is so focused on stories that do everything but promote God’s word, or worse, indulge in ideas that are contrary to God’s word.

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Photo by Alexis Brown on Unsplash

When it comes to teen fiction, it’s all about rebelling against everything that used to be considered good, promoting dark and destructive themes, and introducing attractive characters with sinister desires. I could throw out a list of examples, but that wouldn’t be fair, or even necessary, quite frankly. I’m confident you know what novels, past and present, I’m referring to.

That’s life, some people will rationalize. That’s the world we live in. Well, yes, it is. But is it the world we should be living in? Is it the world that God wants us to live in? Is it a world we should be promoting? Is it one we should be celebrating?

Scripture tells us that we should be careful about what we put before our eyes. In 2 Corinthians 7, St. Paul reminds us, “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, and make holiness perfect in the fear of God.” To cleanse ourselves means to ensure that nothing unholy fill our minds or our lives. That’s not easy for us to do when we’re constantly bombarded with unclean and unholy images all day long. There’s only so much we can control, but we can certainly limit the unholy and instill within us God’s glory in so many other ways, including the books that we choose to read.

So, does that mean that Catholics should only read novels about good people doing good things in a world where real life messy doesn’t occur? Well, of course not. That wouldn’t be realistic. And besides, Catholic authors are real people living in the real world. Regardless of how much some of us wish to isolate ourselves from this current post-Christian society, we feel deeply about our role in this world. We are aware of the real world issues that teens are dealing with, whether they’re emotional or physical. We understand temptation, loss, insecurity, loneliness, lust, heartbreak, crushes, drugs, premarital sex, depression, suicide and so many other dark aspects of the world that are confusing and consuming for teens and young adults. But we take the dark and we add light.

Writing is a vocation for us. It’s a ministry. Personally, I believe that the Lord sprinkled the gift of writing upon my head and now I must use it to glorify His name. I am to take the world as it is and place God into the center of it where He belongs. I’m to create real lives the way they should be lived in the hopes that teens are inspired and instill the virtues and values into their own lives.

My fiction is restrictive, it has boundaries. It takes you only so far and then pulls back where most secular fiction throws itself out. Sure, my stories are real. They hit hot button issues and take the reader to places that the world has to offer. But my desire is to show my reader that, while there are these wild places of abandon where fun and happiness seem to abide, they’re often apathetic choices and temporary highs, and they certainly don’t make us the people our God wants us to be. What my novels have to offer are holy encounters that lead to a more fulfilling life.

What my novels have to offer are holy encounters that lead to a more fulfilling life. @TMGaouetteTweet This

For example, in The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch, I introduce foster children who have experienced unjust adversity and are learning how to overcome the anxiety and fear of their hurt. And in the first two novels of my Faith & Kung Fu Series, Freeing Tanner Rose and Saving Faith, I include themes such as drugs, addiction, destructive fame, and loss, and I show how God can help overcome it all. These are real stories about real issues, but they offer hope. They’re about God-loving people in a godless world.

And of course mine are not the only Catholic novels out there. There are many new Catholic authors who are taking pen to paper in a desire to share His word with teens and young adults in fun and exciting, entertaining and edifying stories about every day people, dealing with everyday issues. If you like contemporary fiction, consider Carolyn Astfalk’s recent release Rightfully Ours, Leslea Wahl’s The Perfect Blindside, Stephanie Engelman’s A Single Bead, or Cynthia Toney’s Birdface Series. If you are into historical fiction, then try Carmela A. Martino’s Rosa, Sola or Susan Peek’s awesome collection of saint novels, including Saint Magnus: The Last Viking –a personal favorite. Love a good mystery? How about A.J. Cattapan’s 7 Riddles to Nowhere or Lizette M. Lantigua’s Mission Libertad. If you prefer dystopian fiction, then read Theresa Linden’s Chasing Liberty Trilogy, or Corinna Turner’s I Am Margaret series. These are just a few examples of great Catholic fiction that won’t leave you empty and alone or stuck in a pit of depression. These novels will hold you high, give you hope, and show you God’s love and amazing grace. Check out CatholicTeenBooks.com for more. And the Catholic Writer’s Guild always has a great list of Catholic fiction for teens, old and new.

Yes, the struggle of a Catholic author for teens is real. I have to compete with hot and unbinding fiction that grabs at the emotions and the loins, while my goal is to win hearts and minds for the Lord. The struggle is real, but so worth the effort when teens are inspired by my stories and others to place Christ into the center to their lives and shine a light on their darkest moments.

“Finally, beloved whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8

[image error]T.M. Gaouette is a wife, home-school mom, homesteader, and fiction novelist. She was born in Africa, brought up in London, and is now living in New England, where she raises goats with her husband and four children. Devoted to Him, Gaouette is dedicated to glorifying God by sharing His word through her fiction for teens, and young adults. She is the author of The Destiny of Sunshine Ranch, Freeing Tanner Rose (Bk. 1-Faith & Kung Fu), and Saving Faith (Bk. 2-Faith & Kung Fu).

 

Links:

Website:  https://tmgaouette.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TMGaouette

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/TMGaouette

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6037114.T_M_Gaouette

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/T.-M.-Gaouette/e/B008IAC4D0/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

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An Open Book

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Welcome to the July 2017 edition of An Open Book, hosted both at My Scribbler’s Heart AND CatholicMom.com!

[image error]I had long been looking forward to reading a trio of contemporary Christian romances for which I received ARCs. (Those are Advance Review Copies, for the uninitiated.) First up was The Whys Have It by Amy Matayo. Her writing gets better with every book (and I know she wrote this one years ago, but the rewrite benefited from the skills she’s acquired over the years).  I’m just going to admit it: Maybe it’s leftover teenage fangirling over Duran Duran et al, but I’m still a sucker for a rock star romance. This one isn’t all crushes, butterflies in the stomach, and glamour. This one is grief, regret, and making peace with the hands life deals you.  I loved it.

[image error]The second ARC was by another of my favorite contemporary romance authors, Tammy L. Gray. My Unexpected Hope is technically not the second in a series, but it builds on her previous novel, My Hope Next Door. Back-to-back with The Whys Have It, it was another heavy-hearted romance, if there is such a thing. The main characters are grieving their divorce and trying their best to move past messed-up childhoods, a dysfunctional relationship, and addiction to make a new start. I especially loved the unexpected twist the ending took.

[image error]Last up was Just Look Up by Courtney Walsh, the first novel by her that I’ve read. After The Whys Have It and My Unexpected Hope, the lighter mood of Just Look Up was welcome. And while it’s a lighter romance, it’s filled with good, important stuff about worrying less about what we do and concentrating more on who we are. If you’re driven to distraction or just plain driven, this book is for you.

[image error]I topped the romances with a short, nonfiction, self-help book by 10 Minute Novelists foundress Katharine Grubb. When the Timer Dings: Organizing Your Life to Make The Most of 10 Minute Increments is a quick read, but you’d benefit by taking some time to answer the thought-provoking questions at the end of each chapter, which will help you see where and how you may improve your approach to organizing your time. I don’t do chapter-end questions, but I still got something out of the book. On, to tackle our clutter!

[image error]My son has completed one of the three books that are part of his summer reading assignment. He selected Animal Farm by George Orwell from one of the lists provided. After hearing him talk about it, I’m eager to read this classic that I somehow missed along the way, especially since he left me with this remark: “I’ve never been so moved reading a book.”

[image error]This morning, while waiting for his sister to finish up with lunchtime book club at the library (Chewsy Readers), he grabbed a pick-your-own ending book from the shelf. We hadn’t made it home from the library before he’d reached a dead-end in Can You Survive in a Dystopia? by Anthony Wacholtz. As I type, however, I spy him going back in and reading through to other possible endings.

[image error]Meanwhile, his sister was discussing the book she’d been reading over her peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Late one night last week, she couldn’t fall asleep and, horror of horrors, there was no new Trixie Belden book on hand. I suggested she take a book from her brother’s shelf, and now she’s hooked on the series beginning with The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger. I’m sure I’ll be finding a slew of paper puppets around the house again, including Han Foldo.

[image error]My little kids have a bad habit of asking “Can I have a book?” at the library and then grabbing random books from the shelf that may or may not be of interest to them. This week, I selected Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems, sure that they’d love it, and they did. I love the illustrated expression on the father as he drags his boneless toddler home in mid-tantrum. Ah, so familiar.

[image error]I rolled my eyes after first skimming The Tree That Would Not Die by Ellen Levine. Really? Who would poison an old tree? But then, sure enough, a note in the back of the book explained how a nearly 500-year-old tree, the “Treaty Oak” of Austin, Texas was poisoned in 1989. The picture book broadly traces 400+ years of Austin history in this tale. (By the way, the Treaty Oak still stands.)

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Want more details on An Open Book? You can also sign up for An Open Book reminder email, which goes out one week before the link-up. No blog? That’s okay. Just tell us what you’re reading in the comment box.

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FROM MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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Camera Shy? Press Play! Adding Video to Your Social Media Platform as Personal Growth

By Guest Blogger Erin McCole Cupp

Maybe you, like me, have heard that, in order to increase your reach on social media, you need to incorporate video into your platform.  Maybe, like me, your initial thoughts on the subject were less than enthusiastic.

“Go on YouTube? I could never do that”

“Ugh.  I hate to look at myself on camera.”

“Be on video? No way! The camera adds ten pounds.”

“Nobody wants to see a video of me. I’m nothing to look at!”

[image error]I hear these things all the time—especially from women, but men aren’t immune to such balking.  And in spite of having a monthly video series, I still say them to myself… usually while I’m watching a playback of a Sabbath Rest Book Talk to make sure there’s nothing that needs to be fixed in the feed.  I’m watching, and trust me, I’m cringing.

But I don’t cringe for long anymore.  It took a long time (and maybe a series of spiritual miracles) to see value in myself on camera, and I’d be lying if I said I don’t have to fight the negative self-talk, but there are ways to hear the good over the bad about seeing oneself on the screen.  I’ll be giving a talk at the Catholic Writers Conference Live this month called “HowTube: The Whys, Hows, and Be-Not-Afraids of Video in Social Media.” They Whys and Hows are beyond the scope of this post (so go to CWCL if you can or visit my Marketing-Related Pinterest board).  Think of this as a pep talk for those of you who really want to add that all-important video plank to your social media platform but can only think of reasons why you simply can’t.

A Sort of Approach Anxiety

If you are frozen at the very thought of putting your face and voice out there on teh intarwebz for the world to see, you’re not alone.  This article over at Psychology Today describes approach anxiety as (and here’s where the “sort of” comes in), “the fear of approaching and interacting with a stranger you find attractive.”

“Whoa, there, Nellie!” you protest.  “These are complete strangers we’re talking about.  How could I possibly be attracted to them?”

You are, sort of.  You really want these strangers to follow your blog or buy your books or subscribe to your newsletter or something, right?  You are interested in forming some sort of relationship with them, are you not, even if it’s a merely commercial one?  But you’re afraid of rejection, just like that guy sidling up to the girl at the bar who’s working up the courage to ask, “Is your name Google? Because you’re the answer to everything I’m searching for!”

In case it needs saying, if you have clinical anxiety, please work with a professional trained to give you the tools you need to live successfully with anxiety.  If you just have your garden variety fear of being judged, however, there’s an easy, low-cost thing you can do to get over it, and that is… get over it.

Use your well-formed conscience to determine between fear of human judgment and fear of divine judgment, and then do the scary thing even if it scares you.  The more you repeat a (morally good or neutral) frightening action, the less fear it can hold over you.

Do the scary thing even if it scares you. Adding video to your platform. @ErinMCOP #authortipTweet This
Invalidate the Invalidation

But is that even possible, when our fear is about having our bodies judged? Most of us, when we look in the mirror, don’t have much nice to say to our reflections. Of late, there have been some powerful videos, like this one, highlighting this reality: our tendency towards negative self-talk, especially regarding our bodies.

One video in particular was instrumental in my changing my approach to my own body image self-talk.  In this video produced by The Scene, two women were asked to write down all the negative things they think about their bodies.  Then they had to say out loud to each other they things they tell themselves about their bodies.

It asks the question, “Why do we say things to ourselves that we wouldn’t ever say to (or think about) our best friends? Be a best friend to yourself.”

Here’s the thing: some of us grew up hearing from the very people who were supposed to be our best friends the very self-defeating kind of body criticism that these women would never imagine saying to each other.  I grew up surrounded by laughter, which sounds like a nice thing.  The problem was that the laughter was always at other people: people who weighed too much, ate too much, walked differently, spoke differently, did anything at all out of the ordinary.

For many of us, the negative committee inside our heads isn’t imagination but memory.  Why would we put ourselves out there to dredge that up and have to hear it again, this time in a combox?

How did the negative committee of my memory find these people to criticize, though? With very few exceptions, they only ever criticized anyone who stepped out to do something brave.  That goes for the lady who had the courage to sing in Mass, the overweight woman who didn’t give a fig about what you thought of her and went jogging in public anyway, the big-nosed contestant on the game show gunning for the million dollar prize and that bar of Toblerone, the high school girl whose acne showed in the picture from the trip she self-financed to Paris.  I recently realized that all of these negative voices come from people who never did a single thing to distinguish themselves.  In other words, they never took a single risk, or if they did, they blamed others for their lack of apparent success.

Our real-life negative committee stays negative so they can justify their own sloth.  They laugh at others because they are imprisoned by their own fear of being laughed at.

The only person keeping you in their prison is you.

The Body as True, Beautiful and Good

Way back in 1980, St. John Paul II said, “The body, and it alone, is capable of making visible what is invisible, the spiritual and the divine.”  Yes, we all have a fallen nature, and yes, sometimes that manifests itself in visible gluttony, A. K. A. however many extra pounds. Jesus, however, has a record of empowering His people to serve Him well before they’re perfected.  In fact, it is in serving Christ as we are that we make tangible that which is spiritual.

Pray the Litany of Humility if you need to (and, honey, we all need to).  Put your negative committee’s harshness into perspective.  And if you’re still afraid of being judged, approach your fears rather than avoiding them, then offer up your terror for the salvation of those people who sinned against your humanity by telling you it wasn’t worth looking at.

Then go and make visible the divine—even out there on teh intarwebz.

PSA: In conjunction with the launch of Catholic Reads and in celebration of the Catholic Writers Conference Live, all three of the eBooks in The Memoirs of Jane E, Friendless Orphan, will be only 99 cents through July 21, 2017. [image error]

Unclaimed (Book 1)  (Click here for non-Kindle versions of Unclaimed)
Nameless (Book 2)   (Click here for non-Kindle versions of Nameless)
Vanished (Book 3)   (Click here for non-Kindle versions of Vanished)

[image error]Erin McCole Cupp is a wife, mother and lay Dominican who lives with her family of vertebrates in the middle of Nowhere, Pennsylvania.  She is co-host of the monthly Sabbath Rest Book Talk video series .  Learn more about Erin, her videos and her books at her website .  

 

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FROM MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

The post Camera Shy? Press Play! Adding Video to Your Social Media Platform as Personal Growth appeared first on Carolyn Astfalk, Author.

Seven Quick Takes

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Edition
–1–
The Elderly Couple

When we moved into our first (and current) home eighteen years ago, our neighbors were an elderly couple. She’d been widowed twice. Him, once. She baked pies from the cherries grown on their tree. He told stories of his Merchant Marine days in WWII. They spent evenings sitting in the shade of two giant maple trees. When it snowed, the previous owner of our home often came with his snow blower. When he didn’t, we shoveled out the shared mailbox area in front of our homes.

 –2–
The Meth Lab?

When taking care of the property got to be too much for the elderly couple, they moved to an apartment. The house was sold to a young couple with two large chocolate labs. They were pleasant, but for a long time, we suspected they were running a meth lab (the humans, not the chocolate labs). Strange containers and odors. People coming and going in the middle of the night. Despite being Canadian, they were not adept at shoveling snow, so we shoveled out the shared mailbox area in front of our homes.

–3–

Redneck Snow Removal

When the couple left, a woman and her teenage daughters moved in. While the woman (and later her boyfriend) were always kind to our children, the total amount of words spoken to us by the daughters never surpassed twenty in all the years they lived there. Their system of snow removal consisted of having one of the daughter’s male friends drive a pickup through feet of snow until it was tamped enough for them to drive over. They didn’t shovel their walk, so we shoveled out the shared mailbox area in front of our homes.

–4–
I Want to Be Alone

When the woman, her boyfriend, and her daughters left last month, I reveled in not having people so close. No worries as to whether our music or our kids were too loud. We could wander onto the patio for weekend breakfast in our pajamas. We’ve always wanted to live in a more secluded location, so I’ve been reveling in the relative privacy.

–5–

Vetting the Prospects

In the four days the home has now been on the market, at least five families have been through. Depending on the vibe they give off, we either rush into the backyard with smiles, letting the kids play cheerfully, or send them outdoors, encouraging tantrums and any other behavior that might drive the prospects off.

[Insert “You came to the wrong neighborhood” meme without F-bomb here. Good luck in finding one.]

–6–

What Might Be

I grew up in a mixed commercial/residential home. Our only neighbor was my uncle’s transmission shop. On the other side of him was a hermit lady who only left the home to go to work. I have no real experience with neighbors. When I was at a friend’s house, and she went next door to borrow some sugar, I was stunned. I thought that only happened on TV sitcoms. While our neighbors thus far have ceded all shared snow removal to us, it hasn’t been so bad. There have been no arguments. No disputes. No gross violations of property or privacy. I find myself wondering what we could be in for. It could be a happy family with values that match ours and kids whose ages line up with ours. Or it could be a fight club. A revolving door of shady suspects. A neo-Nazi or a bunch of belligerent oafs. The may not tend to snow removal.

–7–

A Neighbor Novena?

We’ve decided a novena for a new neighbor is in store. Any suggestions? Since St. Joseph is the go-to guy on homes, he seems like a logical choice. Or maybe we should just pray for Fred Rogers to intercede for us. I bet he shoveled snow.

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For more Quick Takes, visit This Ain’t the Lyceum.

 Thanks for stopping by! Stay a while and look around. Leave a comment. Share with a friend. If you like what you see, please sign up from my author newsletter to keep up-to-date on new releases, extras, and hot deals!

The post Seven Quick Takes appeared first on Carolyn Astfalk, Author.

How I Reconnected With God Through a “Grown-up VBS”

By Guest Blogger Sarah Damm

Have you heard the Christmas song “Grown-Up Christmas List”? Many singers have recorded it, but the version I am most familiar with is on Amy Grant’s Home for Christmas album.

The lyrics reflect back on childhood when Christmas included writing out a wish list and sending it to Santa Claus. As children, we hope for the magical appearance of presents underneath the tree on Christmas morning. However, as we grow up, our Christmas wishes change. We realize that we care less about material goods, and we begin hoping for less tangible gifts like peace, joy, friendship, and healing.

Last week, that song came to mind as I was sitting in the Adoration chapel at my church. My children were completing their week of Vacation Bible School, and I was closing out my own “Grown-up VBS.”

My “Grown-Up VBS” didn’t include crafts and catchy songs to teach me about my faith. It didn’t involve playing games and eating snacks. Rather, it simply consisted of time with God. Time I haven’t taken enough of lately, but time I so greatly need.

My “Grown-Up VBS” didn’t include crafts and catchy songs to teach me about my faith. @sarahcdammTweet This

During the two-and-one-half hours I had without my kids each morning, I could have done a myriad of activities. I could have sat with my feet up and made a dent in my ever-growing stack of books to read. I could have rolled up my sleeves and got some much-needed cleaning done. There were hundreds of options, really, but the one that made the most sense to me was taking the week to do exactly what my kids were doing: immersing myself in the love of God.

With the transitional year I just had, I knew I needed to find my way back to a more consistent prayer life. I needed to reconnect with the Lord. So, each morning of VBS, I went on my own spiritual retreat. I headed to the chapel. I pondered Scripture. I prayed for my loved ones. I journaled. I read a spiritual book. I sat quietly in the presence of Jesus. I didn’t feel the need to rush; I took as much time as I needed. And over the course of the week, I realized three simple facts about my prayer life:

1. The Lord wants nothing more than to spend time with me. He is constantly inviting me into conversation and into deeper relationship. But He waits for my response before acting further. I think of all the times I feel like I am waiting on God to answer a prayer, but He has to wait for me far more. When I fail to respond, I create distance between us, and nothing can fill that space, that emptiness. I miss Him … and He misses me. And it is only when I return to His outstretched arms that we can continue that conversation, go deeper in our relationship, and begin to wait together for those answers.

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Photo by Josh Applegate on Unsplash

2. I need time with the Lord every day. I am not sure what keeps me from taking time to pray every day. Perhaps it is spiritual sloth, distraction, or feeling too busy. Whatever the excuse, it’s not a good reason. With all that I have going on with my health, my marriage, and my children, I can’t afford to stay away from God. I can’t carry this load on my own. I can’t expect to find answers to life’s questions in my human mind and heart. I need Him. Period. And the only way to rely on Him is to connect with Him every day.

3. My prayer time doesn’t have to be perfect to be good. Now that VBS is finished, I can’t necessarily go to the chapel for over an hour every day. St. Frances of Rome stated, “A married woman must when called upon, quit her devotions to God at the altar to find him in her household affairs.” God has called me to be a wife and mom, and He expects me to be present to the people He entrusted into my care. However, perhaps I could go one day per week. I can certainly carve out 15 or 30 minutes of prayer each day at home. Perhaps it’s before I check email in the morning or before I watch a favorite episode on Netflix at night. The time is there; I just need to take it.

I am grateful for the blessed opportunity to spend so much time with God during my “Grown-up VBS.” I am grateful for His patience, love, and mercy. I pray that I will use this reset in my prayer life to continue growing closer to the Lord every day.

How do you spend time with God each day? When life gets crazy and keeps you from prayer, how do you reconnect with the Lord?

[image error]Sarah Damm is a Catholic wife and mother of six children, living in Minnesota. She spends her days running errands, cooking meals, and helping with homework. She and her husband Greg strive to weave the Catholic faith into their daily lives as well as into their family celebrations. Sarah blogs at sarahdamm.com. She is a contributing author for The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion. In addition, she writes for CatholicMom.com and WINE: Women in the New Evangelization.

Links:

Website: http://sarahdamm.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahdammwriter

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahcdamm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahcdamm/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/morethanenough7/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2414810-sarah

THANKS FOR STOPPING BY! STAY A WHILE AND LOOK AROUND. LEAVE A COMMENT. SHARE WITH A FRIEND. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE SIGN UP FROM MY AUTHOR NEWSLETTER TO KEEP UP-TO-DATE ON NEW RELEASES, EXTRAS, AND HOT DEALS!

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