Ellen Gable's Blog, page 65
January 10, 2015
Sunday Snippets – January 10
Photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach
Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets where we share posts from the previous week.I’ve been so busy these past few months that I haven’t been connecting with either 7QT or Sunday Snippets. I’m hoping to get back into the swing of things this month. I’ve missed connecting with these wonderful Catholic bloggers!
Here are my posts for the week:
Healthy Habits for the New Year: NFP
January 8, 2015
Healthy Habits for the New Year Should Include Natural Family Planning
The beginning of a new year often prompts the making of resolutions regarding lifestyle. Some will decide to exercise more or to eat better, quit smoking, eat less sugar etc.
Nowadays healthier lifestyle choices are encouraged: a diet rich in whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, low in saturated fat. Unhealthy habits are discouraged: poor diet, inactivity, smoking, excessive drinking.
An important part of a healthy lifestyle also includes making good choices regarding birth regulation.
Moral considerations aside, Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is very healthy. It is a highly effective method of birth regulation, and it also poses no physical side effects. In my experience, NFP fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of the couple’s natural combined gift of fertility. There are no pills or chemicals to harm a woman���s delicate system. There are no devices or operations for either man or woman.
Other methods, however, are not so health-inducing.
Each prescription for chemical contraception (Pill, patch, vaginal ring, injectables) includes an extensive insert outlining the many physical side effects: an increased risk of weight gain, mood swings, headaches, breast cancer, blood clots, strokes. Vasectomy comes with an increased risk of prostate cancer and dementia. Women who undergo a tubal ligation have a greater risk of chronic pain and hysterectomy.
For those who are especially concerned with the health of the environment, chemical contraception is a likely culprit in contributing to the feminization of male fish. Although chemical contraception isn’t the only cause, the following link includes more detail on chemical contraception’s effect on fish:
http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/86/8608cover.html
A new year can be an opportune time to adopt healthier lifestyle choices. It’s also a great time to learn NFP.
My husband, James, and I are certified NFP teachers and we even teach NFP online. For more information on NFP, check out a previous column entitled, “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NFP, But Were Afraid to Ask”.
Text Copyright 2015 Ellen Gable Hrkach
January 6, 2015
Georgios – Virtual Book Tour
Today I’m hosting A.K. Frailey whose novel, Georgios: Hidden Heritage, is now available both in print and on Kindle! I enjoyed this book very much and found it interesting, factual and well-researched. It is an inspiring tale for young and old!
Georgios was destined for greatness���at least that is what his grandparents told him, his father assured him, and his mother had left embedded in his heart. Living on the island of Patmos in the year 100 A.D. surrounded by the Aegean Sea, he knew the world through Greek eyes, but he also knew there was more to life than a home built on rock. At the age of thirteen, Georgios takes an unexpected voyage, almost murders his first real friend, gets waylaid by Celtic traders, and inadvertently discovers the truth about his father. What he learns horrifies him, forcing him into a decision and an adulthood, he is not ready for. In facing his father honestly, Georgios finds the strength to accept his grandfather���s vision and is thrust into the most dangerous adventure of all.
Amazon Georgios I paperback link: http://amzn.to/1ux0kqi
Amazon Georgios I e-book link: http://amzn.to/1wD0cXt
A.K. Frailey website: http://www.akfrailey.com/
A.K. Frailey Blog: http://www.akfrailey.com/blog/
A.K. Frailey Facebook Page: http://on.fb.me/1zuauLC
Family friendly, historical fiction.
���In knowing him so you know Me,
In serving him so you serve Me,
In loving him so you love Me,
For I am in every heartbeat, every breath,
every hope, and every death.
In grief you are born,
But in forgiveness you overcome,
Your life begins,
With God���s love for His Son.”
���A wonderful story of adventure and courage…��� Lu Cortese, President of St. Joseph Radio ��� I.H.S. Productions
���My children love this author!��� ��� Anne Houseal, Retired Army Colonel, Alaskan, wife and mother of four
“Family, rebellion, fierce battles and adventure…something for all readers.” Ann Stock, Our Sorrowful Mother���s Ministry
January 4, 2015
Feast of the Epiphany
On Epiphany Sunday, our family has continued a tradition of reciting a blessing and marking the lintel of every doorway in our home (usually with chalk) indicating the year and the initials of the wise men (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar): 20 C M B 15. (Photo to the right is from a few years ago!) CMB also stands for Christus Mansionem Benedicat, Latin for ���May Christ Bless this House.���
For more information on this beautiful tradition, the following website has some great readings and more information on this beautiful blessing:
http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/epiphany-chalk-house-blessing-2/4942
December 27, 2014
WORKING MOTHER AVAILABLE TOMORROW!
Working Mother will be available tomorrow on Kindle!!
Originally posted on Will Write for Tomato Pie:
Please join me in celebrating Holy Family Sunday with the release of my 99 cent ebook, ���Working Mother.���
Holy Family of Nazareth, pray for us!��
Many, many thanks to Ellen & James and all the team over at Full Quiver Publishing for all their hard work that went into this project.
December 25, 2014
A Blessed and Joy-Filled Christmas!
photo credit: Josh Hrkach 2011 (copyright)
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11
“Fear not little flock, fear not. Come with me to Bethlehem. Let us celebrate a joyous Christmas. Let us be merry and happy no matter what because Christ is born.” Catherine Doherty
Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!
December 23, 2014
Christmas Humor!
Copyright 2014 James and Ellen Hrkach, Please do not use without permission
December 17, 2014
Pregnancy & The First Advent
One of my favorite Advent quotes is from Catherine Doherty, foundress of Madonna House:
���Pregnancy, an advent eternally renewed in every woman expecting a child, is a book written by the hand of God, with each page, each day, each hour, reminding us of the first Advent. Think of the first Advent now, when worlds were hushed and angels still…waiting, waiting for the answer of a young girl! Her fiat, spoken so softly as to be almost a whisper, shook heaven and earth, and began the ineffable, incomprehensible, most beautiful mystery of the Incarnation! Each pregnancy sings of the first Advent. Each time is a time of waiting, of joy so immense that it can only be encompassed by the eyes and soul of a woman in love and filled with the fruit of that love.��� Catherine Doherty, Dear Parents
Every new life encompassed within his or her mother���s womb ���sings of the first Advent,��� as Catherine so eloquently said in her book, ���Dear Parents.��� Not all of these lives will actually be born. Sadly, some will be miscarried and others will be aborted.
However, for those women who nurture their babies lovingly in their wombs, pregnancy can also be a great time for character growth. Mary was a wonderful example of patience and virtue during pregnancy, having to sit on a donkey for miles and miles, then having to give birth in a stable, with the accompanying sounds, odors and discomforts.
But Mary also acted as my consoler during seven miscarriages. For who else could understand the heartbreak of losing a precious child better than Our Lady herself, who stood under the cross and watched her Son die in agony, then embraced him lovingly after His death?
Let us embrace the last week of Advent with Our Lady���s open welcoming of the Savior, the one she bore for mankind.
Copyright 2014 Ellen Gable Hrkach
December 15, 2014
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings Medley
Last year’s Christmas present from my husband and three of my sons. Enjoy this beautiful rendition of two traditional Christmas carols!
December 12, 2014
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Today is the beautiful Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. In 1531, Our Lady appeared in Mexico to a poor Indian, Juan Diego, at a time when human sacrifice was commonplace.
The following is an excerpt from a website with interesting background information and many images to download: www.sancta.org
“After complying to the Bishop’s request for a sign, She also left for us an image of herself imprinted miraculously on the native’s tilma, a poor quality cactus-cloth, which should have deteriorated in 20 years but shows no sign of decay 478 years later and still defies all scientific explanations of its origin.”
Saint John Paul II named Our Lady of Guadalupe the patron saint of the unborn.
To read more about Our Lady of Guadalupe:
http://www.sancta.org/intro.html
There are many ways to celebrate this feast. Our family usually has a Mexican type dinner like tacos or fajitas. Although our kids are older now, in past years, we have celebrated by allowing them (youngest to oldest) to break open a pinata.
What does your family do to celebrate this beautiful feast day?
