Ellen Gable's Blog, page 88

Sunday Snippets – April 20

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets.

This week’s posts:

7 Quick Takes Friday – April 20

A Garden of Visible Prayer

The Book of Jotham Review

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 68

Friday means it’s time to connect with other Catholic bloggers for 7 Quick Takes Friday. This week, it’s at Camp Patton.

1. Amphibian Choir – Spring Has Arrived!

We know when spring has truly arrived: frogs start to croak in the swamp across the street. Each day, more frogs add to the amphibian choir. In fact, some days it’s so loud that the “choir” can be heard even with the windows closed. I remember when we first moved here 18 years ago, our oldest boys (then 8 and 5) could not sleep because the frogs were so noisy. Over the years, though, it’s become the official start of spring in our little corner of the woods. And, for me, the high-pitched sounds are music to my ears.

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

2. Fossil, Fossils, Fossils

One of the great advantages of living on bedrock is that there are numerous fossils. This is one of the fossils embedded in our bedrock driveway.

photo copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

3. A Subtle Grace Update

This week, I researched Victoria guns and revolvers that would have been available in the late 1890′s. I don’t like guns, never have, but I found this research interesting. I watched a few videos on youtube and was amazed that many of the Victorian guns in existence today are still working.

4.Intersex Fish

Great article by Simcha Fisher called “So Long and Thanks for all the Intersex Fish,” about the impact that chemical contraception has on fish and an organic company who does not want to pay for their employees’ contraceptives.

5. Recipe – Banana Oat Cookies

I recently found this recipe on Pinterest. It is a no wheat, no sugar, no milk products, no eggs recipe. I made these the other night and they were right delicious out of the oven. They became rubbery as they cooled. But still very tasty. And…I do admit I added about two tsp of sugar to the mix because it needed a wee bit. Also, I baked them slightly longer than the recipe calls for.

Banana Oat Cookies:

Three mashed bananas (ripe)

1/3 cup applesauce (no added sugar)

2 cups oats (I used quick cooking)

1/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

(I added two teaspoons of sugar)

Drop on ungreased cookie sheet and flatten. Bake in pre-heated oven 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

6. Reading Shelf (Children’s Books)

The Locket’s Secret by K. Kelley Hayne

St. Francis and Brother Duck by Jay Stoeckl, SFO

Stout Hearts and Whizzing Biscuits (A Patria Story) by Daniel McInerny

7. Laundry Cartoon (Classic Cartoon)

image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Growing Up in God’s Image Free Today Through Thursday

Growing Up in God’s Image by Carolyn Smith is FREE today through Thursday on Kindle.

GROWING UP IN GOD’S IMAGE (A New Approach to the Facts of Life Talk) makes it easy for families to approach the topic of sexuality — mom to daughter, father to son, parent to child — especially for that first big talk on the facts of life. This book is about the beauty of growing up as a young woman or a young man. For teens, it provides positive answers through an understanding of sexuality as God intended from the moment He created it and when He later gave it to us as a sacrament through Jesus. For young and old couples alike, it gives a new appreciation of their own sacramental marriages. It is about family and the restoration of family life and love. It is about God’s plan for us. GROWING UP IN GOD’S IMAGE provides parents with gender specific sections, “How to Talk with Your Daughter” and “How to Talk with Your Son.” Both Carolyn and Jim (Carolyn’s husband who contributed the section for boys) provide actual words parents can use in this very important conversation. GROWING UP IN GOD’S IMAGE is an invaluable resource for parents wanting to give their children more than just a biology lesson.

Reviews:

“This book guides parents to gradually expand a child’s understanding of life beginning with how the love of family reflects the love of God. Teaching the facts of life fully demands including the spiritual. Caroline does a beautiful job explaining the physical changes that occur during puberty while including the responsibility to be true to God’s plan and purpose for our bodies. The life lessons are presented in clear language and will enrich not just the children, but the parents also reading this book as an aid.” Patti Maguire Armstrong, author

“Courageous, timely and beautifully sensitive. In a time when our children are bombarded by all the wrong messages about their bodies, here is a wonderful guide for parents to talk to their children about Godliness, their bodies and sex.” – Donna Piscitelli, children’s author.

“A useful guidebook for parents and a resource that’s sure to strengthen your family. Discard the dread of “the talk” and embrace the beauty of a faith-based approach. My copy’s sure to be dog-eared and passed along!” – Sarah Reinhard, author of Catholic Family Fun and SnoringScholar.com

“Smith has created a terrific resource….as I read this book, my overriding thought was how well it illustrates the deep roots and far-flung implications of Church teaching on marital sexuality.”

Kathleen Basi, author

“I thank Carolyn J. Smith for thoughtfully and prayerfully compiling a resource that will help parents in explaining the facts of life to their children by placing it within the context of our Faith and the Theology of the Body. Growing Up in God’s Image is a wonderful tool for any parent and I look forward to recommending it to the readers who visit our site.” Lisa M. Hendey, Founder and Editor of CatholicMom.com and author of A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms

“Growing Up in God’s Image should be in the parenting toolbox of every Catholic parent of tweens and teens to help guide those important and nerve- wracking conversations on human sexuality.” Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur, writer

To read an excerpt, click here.

To download the Kindle book for FREE, click here.

A Garden of Visible Prayer (Margaret’s Day!)

Some of Margaret’s author friends have gotten together to promote “Margaret’s Day” at Amazon. Would you consider purchasing this book at Amazon? The link is here and below.

Have you ever wandered outside and wished you could find a place to just sit and pray, a garden space to find solace in the demands of today’s world? Do you desire to create a garden space that will help meet your spiritual needs? Have you wanted to create a memorial garden and not known how to begin?

A Garden of Visible Prayer shows you how to develop a contemplative outdoor space in a creative and systematic manner. Whether you are a new gardener or an old hand, wanting to create a public or a private retreat area, this book will guide you in a step-by-step approach to discern what leads you, personally, to a deeper sense of spirituality and then how to take that information to create your own outdoor space for prayer.

This book is unlike the beautiful glossy garden books that leave you hungry for a lovely landscape or the inspirational books on developing your faith that do not meet your need to experience prayer in nature. A Garden of Visible Prayer helps you feed both hungers for natural beauty and spiritual insight.

Set up in a systematic approach, this book breaks into three easily understandable units to create an outdoor retreat: discern, design, and development. In the discerning process you will establish what elements in a garden lead you to become quiet and introspective, fostering spiritual growth. The next section guides you in designing your prayer space; where to locate it, where to place the features you have chosen and how to select plants. There is also a section on Catholic traditions in the garden at the end of the book. The final chapters on development tell you how to install your garden based on your design.

Gardens are places of growth, not only for plants but for our souls as well. Creating an outdoor spiritual sanctuary, no matter how small, is now within every gardener’s reach.

(With thanks to the author for providing this summary!)

This is an ideal book for Mother’s Day or for the gardener in your life! It is currently reduced in price! Please consider purchasing a copy from Amazon!

The Book of Jotham – Review

My latest review for CatholicFiction.net:

The Book of Jotham is a unique and beautifully moving account of a mentally challenged man (Jotham) who becomes one of Jesus’s followers. What makes this book so unusual is that it’s written in the second person and is a fictional story of this man’s relationship with Jesus and the apostles. The narrative from Jotham’s point of view is filled with sentence fragments and (what appear to be) simple thoughts. I initially wondered whether it might be difficult to read, but I was pleasantly surprised. The writing style actually had a poetic feel to it.

The author takes us into what most people perceive as the “simple” mind of a handicapped person. Jotham is described as “big as a house, stupid as a donkey.” His mind, and the minds of other mentally handicapped persons, are not simple at all. At first glance, his thoughts seem to be simple, but they can also be complex, honest and insightful. The reader can bond easily with Jotham because Jotham sees truth more clearly than any supposedly normal intelligent man. It takes a tremendous amount of skill for an author to create a character like Jotham.

At the beginning of the story, Jotham tries to understand his mother’s death. The reader sees her death as “light fading away.” He leaves home and, because of his disability, is ridiculed. He eventually meets Jesus (the new light). I enjoyed experiencing the miracle of the loaves and fishes through Jotham’s eyes. Through this imperfect young man, we can see the light in Jesus’ disciples. But we can see darkness (in Judas and others) as well. The relationship between Jotham and Judas is extremely well done; the scene between these two characters after the crucifixion is particularly compelling.

I was easily drawn into the story. The characters are mostly ones with whom we are already acquainted: Jesus, the Blessed Mother, Mary Magdalene, Peter, Thomas, Judas. I especially enjoyed the moving interactions between Jesus and Jotham.

As a teenager, I volunteered at a local school for mentally disabled children, most of whom had Down Syndrome. Because of my short stature, I was assigned to the small children and babies. The toddlers were easy to love, often difficult to discipline, but I enjoyed caring for them because each had a gentle disposition. In this same way, Arthur Powers creates a thoroughly believable character in Jotham that readers will easily come to love.

It is ironic that in our wounded world, beautiful souls like Jotham are often aborted before birth. And yet these imperfect human beings have great potential for love, perhaps more than most “normal” human beings.

Brilliant character studies, interesting setting descriptions and beautiful writing all make The Book of Jotham an excellent and worthwhile read. It may be short (can be read in a couple of hours), but it is filled with well-developed characters and poetic prose. Although the story of Jesus and his apostles has been told and retold numerous times through Scripture, tradition, movies, books, plays and documentaries, this is a beautifully refreshing and unique version. I highly recommend this novella, which is only $2.99 on Kindle.

Sunday Snippets – April 13

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

It’s that time again for Catholic bloggers to meet at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets.

Here are my posts for the week:

Unique Marketing Opportunity – CWG Booth

A Garden of Visible Prayer Review

7 Quick Takes Friday

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 67

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Camp Patton (filling in for Jen at Conversion Diary) for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

1. It’s Not Spring Yet

Overnight we got a mixture of ice pellets and snow and the kids are enjoying yet another snow day. We’re happy about the snow day but not so happy about the snow and ice pellets. Spring, where are you?

2. Featured on Five-Star Books

My bestselling novel, Stealing Jenny, was recently featured on Five Star Books, along with an interview of the author (me!)

3. Prayers for Jen and Baby Boy

Congratulations to Jennifer Fulwiler (and her husband and family) on the birth of her baby boy, born on Monday. He’s having problems breathing…please pray for both Mom and Baby.

4. A Garden of Visible Prayer – Margaret Realy

A great Spring book! Check it out at Amazon and please consider purchasing this book on Monday, April 15th, which a group of her Catholic writer friends have deemed “Margaret’s Day!” We’d love to see this book be a bestseller on Amazon. This is an ideal gift for the gardener in your life!

5. Beautiful Marriage Video

Check out my friend, Elizabeth’s, beautiful marriage video:

6. Reading Shelf

The Rose Ring by Anne Faye

A Hunger in the Heart by Kaye Park Hinckley

7. “Hope for Dad” Classic Family Life Cartoon

Image copyright James and Ellen Hrkach

Copyright 2013 Ellen Gable Hrkach

A Garden of Visible Prayer Review

The approach of spring is an excellent time to think of gardening. One of the projects on my bucket list is to create a beautiful flower garden in my “sacred space” near the statue of Our Lady in the forest adjoining our home. As my children were growing, then as I began writing fiction, this project has been pushed down on my priority list time and again. Realy’s book has given me a renewed enthusiasm to set aside time this spring to begin to work on my sacred space.

“A Garden of Visible Prayer” begins with a beautiful St. Teresa of Avila quote, “A beginner must think of herself as one setting out to make a garden in which her Beloved Lord is to take His delight.” Wow.

The author describes this book as a “step-by-step approach to help guide you in creating a meaningful sacred space – a place you can step into, close at hand, matched to what brings you, personally to inner quietness.”

Each chapter begins with an inspiring, relevant quote and instructions and information the beginning gardener would need. Black and white photographs help to illustrate each chapter. Some of the most relevant chapters include: Defining the Garden, Memorial Gardens, Collecting Ideas, Prayer Garden Location, Site Assessment, Our Senses, Basic Building Blocks of Design, Plant Selection, Preparation and Installation. I particularly enjoyed the section on “Seating,” and the story of the older man who kept a chair next to his bed.

I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to create a beautiful sacred space in which our Beloved Lord can “take His delight.”

Here are a few other reviewer comments:

“Long time gardener and author, Margaret Rose Realy believes that solace and the gentle voice of God can be heard in a garden. Take a walk with her within the pages of her beautifully crafted unique book, A Garden of Visible Prayer as she descriptively guides you every step of the way to create your own personal retreat space, incorporating a variety of elements, which will lead you to prayer. Even with meager means or a small space, by following the steps in this book, your end result will be a distinctive and beautiful setting in which you can bask in God’s creation and where you may very well hear His voice telling you to, “Be still and know that I am God.” Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle is a Catholic speaker and author of numerous books and EWTN TV host.

“Many books can show you how to design a garden that pleases the eye and ensures good plant growth, but few books help you create a garden that promotes your spiritual growth. Margaret begins by giving you tools to determine the spiritual aspects that you want in your garden as well as the sensual and physical characteristics that influence site, plant and accessory selection. She then provides practical design techniques, pointers on plant selection, soils and media, containers and tips on planting trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals. This book is useful for anyone designing a new garden but invaluable for those of us looking to create a space for meditation, contemplation and prayer.” Dean M. Krauskopf, Ph.D., Extension Education Emeritus, Michigan State University Cooperative Extension Service

Unique Marketing Opportunity – CWG Booth

Are you a member of the Catholic Writers Guild? Have you written a book?

If so, you may want to take advantage of a unique marketing opportunity (see below):

Every year at the Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show, the Catholic Writers Guild organizes a booth which displays members’ books. Wholesalers, bookstore owners and other attendees can see, page through and even read excerpts of displayed books. This is a well-attended event so it presents a unique opportunity for CWG members.

It’s time again to gather books for the booth. You don’t need to attend the conference or trade show to have your book displayed. As you can see from the photo, it’s an extensive booth (usually taking up three to four booth spaces).

This year’s trade show (and simultaneous Catholic Writers Conference) is August 7-9, 2013 in Somerset, New Jersey. To take advantage of this great marketing opportunity, your book must be pre-approved!

We are representing the Guild and its mission, so books must be approved to ensure they conform to Catholic principles. The books do not need to be exclusively Catholic, but they do need to be free of any philosophies or elements that are contrary to Catholic beliefs. We also look for a minimum standard of quality of writing. Because we have so many members and because we anticipate a high number of requests, we have a few rules. Please read them carefully, as we will not be making exceptions:

1. If your book has been approved for the booth in 2011 or 2012, it is still approved for this year. (We probably still have the copy you sent us, plus any ordering information.)

2. If your book has been rejected in the past, it will not be considered again unless there have been significant rewrites.

3. If your book has the
4. If your book has not been approved, you can either submit it to the SOA committee (link above) or submit it for screening by July 1, 2013.

5. Books scheduled to be published after July 1st can be submitted digitally before this date (if approved, a hard copy must be made available for display).

If you are able to attend the conference, there are additional opportunities to take part in author signings and readings at the booth.

For more information, please leave a comment below or contact me: fullquiverpublishing(at)gmail.com.

Sunday Snippets – April 7

Image copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers for Sunday Snippets at RAnn’s Place where we share posts from the previous week.

Happy Easter! Only one post this week:

7 Quick Takes Friday – Volume 65