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The Importance of Community
Today I head off to spend time with friends from College. It’s been about 3 years since our last reunion, and a lot has happened since that time. I mean, basically the world came to a screeching halt — and these women were some of the voices that kept me hopeful, kept me laughing and reminded me just how important friendship is in our lives. Maybe this last year has taught you that, too. I hope that it has, because we were not meant to do this life on our own. We were meant to be part of a family, and beyond that, we were meant to be part of…
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Why You Need to Get to Know Joan of Arc
I have a long history with Joan of Arc — one that goes all the way back to my 8th grade confirmation and choosing her for my patron Saint. Funny story: I almost didn’t choose her, based solely on her name. I had secretly preferred the name “Lauren” to my own for most of my early life, and so I actually contemplated choosing St. Lawrence and requesting to shorten the name to “Lauren” so that my lifelong dream of being named Lauren could finally come true! Seriously, kids are so funny! Turns out, I really do like St. Lawrence and his final words “this side is done, you can turn…
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The Sacred Heart of Jesus and Consoling the Heart of Jesus
“Behold this Heart which has so loved men that It spared nothing, even going so far as to exhaust and consume Itself, to prove to them Its love. And in return I receive from the greater part of men nothing but ingratitude, by the contempt, irreverence, sacrileges and coldness with which they treat Me in this Sacrament of Love. But what is still more painful to Me is that even souls consecrated to Me are acting in this way.” ~Revelations of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque~ The revelations of Jesus to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque contained beautiful truths about His Sacred Heart and the unfathomable Love contained within it.…
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The Grace of the Sacrament of Marriage, Why It Matters & How it Can Get You Through Anything.
Did you know it is National Marriage Week? Well, neither did I 😂 — until a good friend of mine reminded me — so in honor of that, I thought I’d share two reflections I shared over on Instagram on the Sacrament of Marriage…I hope they bless you and remind you how beautiful this call to marriage truly is! The picture below was taken on our honeymoon, and John and I still love to tell our kids about the fact that we were so broke in those early days that John sold his champagne-colored Cadillac so we could go on a honeymoon. Our budget was so tight that we ate…
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Join Us for the Caritas Conference: Equipping Women in the War on Femininity
Hello Everybody! I hope you are well! I am currently attacking the Christmas decorations that are STILL up! I can no longer arribute my failure to put away the stockings, wreaths and Nativity set as a nod to the fact that the Christmas Season traditionally lasted until February 2nd. It’s time! I wanted to invite you to an amazing conference happening March 19-21st. It is called the Caritas Conference, and you can sign up for free. You can join in for all or whatever portion you choose. Also, might I suggest grabbing some women and gathering for a little watch party and discussions. It’s so important that women understand the…
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The March for Life and a Call To Speak the Truth in Love
I’ve shared before that my mother is one of the founders of the March for Life. She was a “stay-at-home” mom, pregnant with her 4th child (me), when she traveled to DC to meet with 6 people to decide what to do about the one year anniversary of Roe V. Wade. Little did she, or anybody at that meeting, know that they would become the founding members of the largest human rights march in the history of the world. Let it be known, this March was founded on Love — love for all people of every race, creed and ability — and that Love is what makes it different from…
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Hope and Healing After an Abortion
Did you know that no matter what you’ve done in this life, that Jesus still loves you and wants to forgive you? But here is the thing. You have to acknowledge your sins and then ask for forgiveness. Today is a day we remember the men, women and children who have been hurt by a CHOICE. We pray for them and acknowledge they have been wounded deeply — so deeply that they can’t be healed by any doctor here on earth. The only One who can heal these wounds of profound sadness, regret, self-loathing and despair is Jesus. Only Jesus! So go to Him. Seek his forgiveness and begin to…
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Don’t Cancel People…Love Them!
Let me say this right up front, I have “cancelled” people in my life before — so I completely get it! I get the frustration, the anger the absolutely mystifying behavior that makes you want to “cancel” somebody — to write them off, to give up hope and try to forget they exist — I get it! But here is the thing: WE DON’T CANCEL PEOPLE. WE LOVE THEM! At least, we try to love them, the best we can. If you claim to be a Christian or anybody of good will in this world, you have to see that cancelling somebody is wrong. We cancel THINGS: like subscriptions or…
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The Busy Mom’s (and Dad’s) Guide to Prayer.
Happy New Year, everybody! I just wanted to share a podcast I was on recently with Christine of Catholic Mama Podcast, talking about learning to pray as a Mom (or a Dad!). Believe it or not, it’s way different than praying as a single person in so many ways — at least, it’s different because you need to learn to be flexible and to go with the punches. Seriously, couldn’t resist this picture below when I was thinking of praying as a mom. We came upon it in Florence, and at the time I was breastfeeding a 6 month old across Italy. I took one look at this picture and…
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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…
