Ellen Gable's Blog, page 99

Sunday Snippets – September 22

Image 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.

Because of several deadlines, I was only able to post once this week:

7 Quick Takes Friday – September 22 Leave a comment at this post to be entered to win a print copy of Growing Up in God’s Image: A New Approach to the Facts of Life Talk which made it to #2 in Religious Education books earlier this week.

7 Quick Takes Friday – September 21

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

It’s a dreary, cool, rainy Friday here in Ontario. I haven’t posted to my blog this week because I was working with four different deadlines.

Here are my Quick Takes for this week:

1. Growing Up in God’s Image Made it #3 This Week!

Growing Up in God’s Image:A New Approach to the Facts of Life Talk, my company’s newest book on how to talk to your kids about sex, reached #3 in all “Religious Education” print books this week and has been in the top ten in several categories on Kindle. I’m giving away one free print copy! To be entered, leave a comment below before September 28th! For more information, to read an excerpt and reviews, check out the book’s website.

2. Angela’s Song

Full Quiver’s upcoming release is called Angela’s Song by AnnMarie Creedon. I’ve been working hard on the final edits and the manuscript is now at the printer. I’m also working on the Kindle edition and it should be ready in time for the October 7 release date. For more information, check out the novel’s website.

3. Interesting Article on Waiting Until Marriage to Have Sex

Waiting Till the Wedding Night: Getting Married the Right Way Excellent opinion piece by a news journalist regarding his decision to wait until marriage to have sex.

“Let me preface this column by saying this: my wife…and I not only waited sexually in every way (no, we didn’t pull the Bill Clinton and technically avoid “sex” sex,) but we didn’t shack up as live-ins and most importantly, we courted each other in a way that was consistent with our publicly professed values. We did it right…“

4. Another Great Article on Pre-Marital Chasity

The Journey Towards Marriage- Relationships before marriage from the perspective of a newly engaged couple On September 8, 2012, the feast of the Nativity of Our Lady, His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Imre of Habsburg-Lorraine married Miss Kathleen Walker at St. Mary’s Church in Washington, DC. This is an excellent article by the royal couple on marriage preparation and their decision to wait until marriage to have sex.

“We decided that the relationship we are building will one-day be sealed by the gift of our sexuality, a gift protected and nurtured by the knowledge that we have already made a final commitment in the freedom that comes from knowing that sexual intimacy takes place in a permanent, respectful and loving friendship. The limitation of sexual activities to marriage is thus not to be understood as interdiction, but rather as a positive option, in which two persons are able and willing to give themselves to each other, and even to sacrifice for the good of the other.”

5. Why Do Catholic Women Reject Their Own Church’s Teaching on Contraception?

Why Do Catholic Women Reject their Church’s Teachings on Contraception: Now We Know Excellent post from LifeSiteNews on why many Catholic women do not follow Church teaching on birth control and the importance of priests giving homilies about the Church’s teachings on sexuality.

“The latter can be deduced from the fact that 72 per cent of women surveyed said they rely mainly on the homily at Sunday Mass for learning about the faith, and yet just 15 per cent of that group fully accept the Church’s teaching on sex and reproduction. The weekly Mass homily, the authors say, “seems to represent a lost opportunity when it comes to conscience formation on the contraception issue.”

6. Books I’m Reading and Reviewing

I’ve got a huge pile of books waiting to be reviewed, but here are three I will be reviewing over the next few weeks:

Sarah Reinhard’s “A Catholic Mother’s Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism.” Look for my review on October 14 and I’ll be giving away not one, but TWO copies of this wonderful book.

Better by the Dozen Plus Two by James and Kathleen Littleton

Bread Upon the Water by Deanna Klingel

7. “Cease Fire”

I’d like to end today’s Quick Takes with one of our classic cartoons (2007):

Don’t forget! If you want to be entered to win a free print copy of Growing Up in God’s Image, leave a comment below!

Cartoon copyright Full Quiver Publishing/ James and Ellen Hrkach

Sunday Snippets – September 16

Image 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.

Here are my posts:

Theology of the Body in a Nutshell

7 Quick Takes – More Conference Highlights

“Fools, Liars, Cheaters and Other Bible Heroes” Book Review

Stealing Jenny Photo Endorsement #2

Networking and the CWCL

Theology of the Body in a Nutshell

My latest columns at Amazing Catechists and Catholic Mom gives a thumbnail of the Theology of the Body:

If we look at the four components of God’s love for us (free, total, faithful, fruitful) and compare God’s love to marital love, we can discover how to live the Sacrament of marriage as the ultimate expression of spousal love.

Free: We need to be able love our spouse freely. If we ask for conditions, that’s not love. If we force our spouse to do something, that’s not love. If we cannot say no to our sexual urges, then we are not free.

Total: The love for our spouse must be total. We can’t say, “Well, I’ll give you everything, honey, except for my fertility.” Total means total. (Re: CCC 1643).

Faithful: Obviously, faithfulness means we must only have intercourse with our spouse and no other. But if we want to be truly faithful to our spouse, we must be faithful in word, action and thought.

Fruitful: Marital relations must be fruitful, open to children, each and every time. That doesn’t mean we will conceive (or want to conceive) a child with every marital embrace. It just means we need to be open.

Birth control, in fact, destroys all four of the essential components (free, total, faithful, fruitful). Birth control violates not only God’s plan in fruitfulness, but it also encourages an “I can’t say no” mentality to sex. When an action, device, medication or operation is purposefully used to remove fertility, a couple cannot give themselves totally, no matter how much they love each other. Contraception says, “I give all of myself to my spouse – except my fertility.”

Natural Family Planning allows a couple to love each other as God loves: freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully. Couples using NFP chart the wife’s cycle and, if avoiding pregnancy, they abstain in the fertile time. If they are planning a pregnancy, they engage in relations during the fertile time. They are not using devices; they are fully giving of themselves and they are open to children with each and every act of marital relations.

NFP allows us to love our spouse as God loves us: freely, with no reservation, faithfully and open to children. Marriage can be a holy vocation when a couple loves as God loves: freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully.

Want to live the highest expression of your marital love? Use NFP and be open to life.

For more information about the Theology of the Body:

http://thetheologyofthebody.com

For more information on NFP:

www.ccli.org

www.woomb.org

www.creightonmodel.com

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Conference Highlights Part II

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Camp Patton for 7 Quick Takes Friday (Jen is busy filming a television show).

Today I’d like to share more highlights from the Conference in Dallas, Texas. (Here is Part 1 of the Conference Highlights).

1. Teresa Tomeo

I had a great chat with Teresa Tomeo during the book signing for her new book, Wrapped Up: God’s Ten Gifts for Women.

2. Pat Gohn

Pat Gohn is one of my favorite podcasters! She has a beautiful speaking voice and an enthusiastic sense of humor! This photo was taken at the CWG Booth.

3. Amazing Authors Part 1

Authors T. M. Wallace, Ann Frailey and AnnMarie Creedon were some of the many volunteers helping out at the CWG Booth.

4. With Author Gerard Webster (and his wife, Anne)

Someone I always look forward to seeing at the annual conference is Gerard “Jerry” Webster, award-winning author. He always puts a smile on my face and is just a fun person to be around.

5. Amazing Authors Part 2!

We were blessed to have many volunteers helping out at the booth, as well as wonderful Catholic writers. Ann Lewis (award-winning author and president of the CWG, in the middle of the group) organized the conference. It was my first time meeting Rebecca Frech, blogger and mother of seven (far left). Author Karen Kelly Boyce is always a delight and booth volunteers Barbara Patterson (far right) and Kelly McClintock (in front) helped make the booth a success. It was also great meeting author Erin McCole-Cupp and writer Donna Doherty (in second photo below – along with AnnMarie Creedon).

6. Hotel was Cool!

The Arlington Sheraton was definitely a beautiful place to stay, very state-of-the-art and posh.

7. Dallas

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to do any sightseeing in Dallas (like the Texas School Book Depository…) but I did get to see Dallas from the sky and spent a lot of time at the DFW Airport!

For more quick takes, visit Camp Patton!

Text and photos copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

“Fools, Liars, Cheaters and Other Bible Heroes” by Barbara Hosbach

“Saints are sinners who kept on going.” As I was reading Barbara Hosbach’s new book, I was reminded of this quote by Robert Louis Stevenson. “Fools, Liars, Cheaters and Other Bible Heros” is a delightful book that tells the stories of biblical characters who all responded to God’s call. With a title like that, whose interest wouldn’t be piqued?

From the book blurb: Fools. Liars. Cheaters. Who would expect the likes of these to be invited to the heavenly banquet? But in his parable comparing the kingdom of God to a wedding feast, Jesus tells us that the king invited “both good and bad” (Matthew 22:10). He not only invited people with social standing, but the poor, the disabled, and anybody else his servants could find (see Luke 14:21, 23). Quite an assortment of guests!

This is a great read for anyone interested in learning more about the characters of the Bible, first from the Old Testament: the lesser known Mephibosheth, Naaman, Rahab, Gideon and the better known Rebecca, Leah, Miriam, Ruth and Esther (to name a few). From the New Testament, we hear more about the not-so-well-known Man at the Pool, Mary mother of John Mark, Lydia and Priscilla, again to name just a few. My favorites were the lesser known characters, although I also learned something about the more famous Biblical personas.

Each chapter includes a story about a biblical character and is followed by questions for reflection and discussion.

Beautifully written, I highly recommend this unique and delightful book for those who want to learn more about the “fools, liars, cheaters and other bible heroes.”

This book is available on Amazon and through Franciscan Media.

Copyright 2012 Ellen Gable Hrkach

Stealing Jenny Photo Endorsement #2

My thanks to Deanna Klingel, author of young adult novels, for this photo endorsement of Stealing Jenny!

Networking and the Catholic Writers Conference Live

My latest post at the Catholic Writers Guild Blog talks about my experience at the Catholic Writers Conference Live held at the Arlington Convention Center just outside Dallas, Texas.

Sunday Snippets – September 8

Image 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.

Today is the Feast of Our Lady’s Nativity!

Here are my posts from the previous week:

7 Quick Takes Friday – Conference Highlights Seven photos and highlights from the huge Catholic conference I attended last week in Dallas.

Growing Up in God’s Image Excerpt An excerpt from Full Quiver Publishing’s newest book on how to talk to your kids about sex. It’s now available on Amazon. Anyone wishing to have a review copy, please email me at info(at)fullquiverpublishing.com

Stealing Jenny Photo Endorsement While I was at the conference, I enlisted some of my favorite Catholic authors to pose with my third novel, Stealing Jenny. Gerard Webster, author of Insight and The Soul Reader, gave this hilarious pose!

Copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach

7 Quick Takes Friday – Conference Highlights Part I

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at Jen’s Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes Friday.

I’m still “recuperating” from the Catholic Writers Conference/CNMC/Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show in Dallas last week. It was exhilarating and utterly amazing to meet and spend time with so many like-minded Catholics. I can’t wait to attend next year (despite the exhaustion I’m still feeling). However, before I get to the Quick Takes, I wanted to wish my second oldest son, Ben, a very Happy 23rd Birthday!

Today will be an all photo Quick Takes with cool photos from some famous and yet-to-be famous Catholics!

1. Jennifer Fulwiler

I’ve been wanting to meet Jennifer Fulwiler from Conversion Diary since I began reading her blog and participating in 7 Quick Takes last year. She’s one of the most entertaining bloggers I know. In the photo below, you’ll notice that we are both sitting. Something I didn’t know is that Jen is quite tall. Well, when I take photos with tall people, the only thing that usually shows up is my head. Hmmmm. Jen came up with the idea for the sitting photo. Thanks again, Jen!

2. Jeff Cavins

Okay, so Jeff is also tall, but at least some of my body got into this photo. He’s a great guy and he actually asked me for marketing advice. Cool.

3. Doug Keck from EWTN’s Bookmark

I had an opportunity to be interviewed by Doug Keck, host of EWTN’s Bookmark. He’s a great interviewer and a really nice guy.

4. Immaculee

I know this isn’t an actual picture with Immaculee, but I did get to meet her and asked someone to take a photo. Unfortunately, the photo was accidentally deleted, so I figured that this was the next best thing. Immaculee is also very tall, beautiful and downright saintly. If you haven’t already read her books, check them out at this link.

5. Author and Blogger Sarah Reinhard

Sarah is one of my favorite authors and bloggers. She’s funny, enthusiastic and just a great person to be around.

6. Val Bianco and AnnMarie Creedon

Val Bianco is the author of Sons of Cain, a Catholic thriller. He’s a big teddy bear of a guy! (If you haven’t read his book yet, I highly recommend it!) To his left is AnnMarie Creedon, author of Angela’s Song, Full Quiver’s soon-to-be-released Catholic novel.

7. Catholic Mom Contributor Photo

Lisa Hendey, founder of Catholic Mom, arranged for attending contributors to pose for a group photo. Lots of well-known Catholics in this photo! Which contributors can you recognize?

photo courtesy Lisa Hendey

Next week: Conference Highlights Part II.

For more Quick Takes, check out Conversion Diary.

Unless otherwise noted, photos and text copyright Ellen Gable Hrkach.