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Saying Buh-bye to 2020. Happy New Year!
I know we all know that just because today begins a new year, that all the troubles of this year will not be behind us — but still, there is always something so hopeful about entering into a new year. It’s kind of like the beginning of every school year, where hope is alive and I’m just sure that this will be the year that I “nail it” as a teacher and a mom and all the other titles I hold — but a few months in and I’m like “maybe next year”. Ha! And yet, we hope — well, at least, I do — and I believe that hope…
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Making Your House a Home This Christmas
“Try to put in the hearts of your children a love for home… to long to be with their families.” -Mother Teresa- Mother Teresa knew a lot about family and she knew a lot about poverty, and despite all the suffering she witnessed in Calcutta, she believed that the spiritual poverty of the Western World was far worse than the material poverty of Calcutta. She saw a sadness, a lack of belonging and a despair in the midst of the abundant monetary riches of the West. She saw it, and she called it out for what it was: a result of not feeling a sense of Home or belonging to…
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Shoutout to all the Catholic Women, Living the Lives they Were Meant to Live
I just love irony, how about you? I love it so much, that once upon a time, we gathered a bunch of young adults in the French Quarter of New Orleans to film a Chasity video. Talk about irony! Speaking of irony, I like to call this my “ironic homeschool mom outfit” — ironic because one of the cliches for an NFP-practicing, homeschooling-mom of 6 kids is that we all wear denim jumpers. Honestly, after wearing this around town for one day, I gotta say that I actually love it. Super comfy. Maybe they are on to something — whomever they are. I decided to take the stereotype even further…
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Being Great in the Little Things
This week we celebrated the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, a Saint our family has always felt close to over the years. Once upon a time, we even took a pilgrimage to Melaka, Malaysia, so we could visit his original burial site and walk the streets he walked on his way to the East. Not easy to get to, but let me tell you that in a predominantly Muslim country, the influence of St. Francis Xavier filled Melaka with a Catholic Spirit that is still alive and well today. Honestly, when you walk those streets, you know one thing: men and women who say “yes” to God leave a lasting…
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Advent is Coming!
Hello all, Advent is coming! I feel like this entire year has been an advent, in many ways — which is why I can only imagine that God is going to be pouring His grace into the hearts of His people in a special way this Advent. Today, I thought I’d share some posts from Advent past — very Dickens if you ask me — so click on the images below and it will bring you to the original posts with all the lovely images that go with them! Happy Thanksgiving, and may God bless our Advent!
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Not Too Late to Join in the Catholic Moms Summit!
Hello Everybody! I just wanted to let you know that it’s not too late to join in the Catholic Moms’ Summit! In my own talk, I’ll be sharing more about Theology of the Body and ways you can talk to your own kids and help them to navigate this sex-saturated world. I took my experiences as somebody who used to travel the country talking about Chastity — to having six kids of my own and finding myself terrified at the prospect! Ha, ha! I tried to share the things I have learned over 19 years of parenting, and I hope it’s helpful! There are over 80 talks available to everybody,…
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21 Years and Counting!
Today, John and I celebrate 21 years of marriage!💛 It’s strange how time can fly by and feel like it hasn’t has passed at all, all in the same breath. Marriage is often the extraordinary sprinkled in with the everyday things that fill our lives — it possesses the perplexing quality of being both exhilarating and downright frustrating — and often at the same time😂! John and I have had to fight through A LOT in our early years of marriage, but recently, we’ve discovered we worked through a lot of those things — or maybe it’s just that we’ve learned to accept that some things won’t change about the…
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Hooray for Awesome Priests Helping Us Form Our Conscience in Confusing Times
Hello everybody! Today, I thought I would share a few videos to help you break through all the confusion and allow your conscience to be formed by some amazing priests. Can I just say how grateful I am for the amazing priests that we have in our Church? Sometimes we tend to focus on the “bad ones” — but perhaps more fruitful is to pray for all our priests and to highlight the good ones, ya know? There are so many amazing priests I have encountered throughout the years, and I am so grateful for each and every one of them! They have helped to shape my conscience in the…
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What My Zombie Apocalypse Experience at the Mall Taught Me About Filling Our Lives With Jesus
Happy Friday Everybody! Recently, I found myself running for my life through an empty mall — but perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me take you back an hour before my run which, frankly, may have broken a few speed records in the “mom of 6 kids” category. Ha, ha! While trying to kill time before a pickup of one of my kids, I gave a call over to a local store which informed me the blazer I was interested in was on crazy discount — the only catch is I had 30 minutes before the mall closed and the sale ended! My love for bargains compelled me to…
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Speak the Truth in Love
You know, sometimes we can allow our fear of “offending” somebody get in the way of saying the very thing that we know will set them free. Why is that? If we’re being honest, sometimes it’s because we would rather be liked by somebody than to say that difficult thing that NEEDS to be said. Other times, we genuinely fear hurting somebody’s feelings so much so, that we remain silent — even though, deep down, we know they DESERVE the truth that will set them free. The third option, which is the least attractive, is that we simply don’t care about the souls of the people around us. I’m willing…
