Good stuff I found yesterday:

The Best Walking Playlists

Wallking for weight loss playlist

and one more goodie:

Homeschooling families should love this article:

Here’s a sample:

I wish that as I was growing up, the role of wife and mother had been more fully present as a respectable and important option that also needs time and training, not just an afterthought that automatically tacks on to a career. Much of the skill set I acquired in university is not very useful in the home. Although I know how to write legal briefs, I wish I knew how to sew, play family songs on the piano and cook without a cookbook, and even that I was more familiar with caring for little ones and for a busy household. All the chores I was protected from in order to enable me to study as I was growing up – maybe I should have done them after all,
including some babysitting. I want to give these experiences to my daughter, so that she will be better equipped not just for a career, but also for motherhood.

Aren’t you glad we didn’t shield you from all those chores?

Here are some Father's Day ideas for your favorite Dad:

• Gillian Welch's cd Revival
• St. Philip Neri - A Portrait
• Mystic Monk Iced Coffee Blend

That's all for now.  Candy, Ding Dongs, and golf balls are alwys welcome as well!

Wonder

“Ideas lead to idols; only wondering leads to knowing.” --St. Gregory of Nyssa

I just saw this on my facebook page:

Faith in God includes faith in his timing

                              ~~~Neal A. Maxwell

Thanks to Dana Kopff.

I found this at Egregious Twaddle, via Happy Catholic, who sent me there:

Praying

It doesn't have to be
the blue iris, it could be
weeds in a vacant lot, or a few
small stones; just
pay attention, then patch

a few words together and don't try
to make them elaborate, this isn't
a contest but the doorway

into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice may speak.

Joanne at Egregious twaddle tells us that this poem is "from Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver. This is from her 2006 collection, Thirst, and a big H/T to Julie at Happy Catholic, who posted it some time ago."

Today's Quote

Courtesy of Happy Catholic:

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.

Henry Van Dyke

From Archbishop Charles Chaput

This is good stuff:

The great Green Bay Packer theologian, Vince Lombardi, liked to say that real glory consists in getting knocked flat on the ground, again and again and again, and getting back up – just one more time than the other guy. That’s real glory. And there’s no better metaphor for the Christian life. Don’t give up. Your prolife witness gives glory to God. Be the best Catholics you can be. Pour your love for Jesus Christ into building and struggling for a culture of life. By your words and by your actions, be an apostle to your friends and colleagues. Speak up for what you believe. Love the Church. Defend her teaching. Trust in God. Believe in the Gospel. And don’t be afraid. Fear is beneath your dignity as sons and daughters of the God of life.

You can read his whole talk at the link above.

Lenten reading suggestion

The Imitation of Christ

I was reading along in The Imitation of Christ, thinking, “Boy, this is just not speaking to me.  It seems like so much pious prattle.”  The very next thing I read was this:

“At times you will be forsaken by God, at times troubled by those about you and, what is worse, you will often grow weary of yourself. You cannot escape, you cannot be relieved by any remedy or comfort but must bear with it as long as God wills. For He wishes you to learn to bear trial without consolation, to submit yourself wholly to Him that you may become more humble through suffering. No one understands the passion of Christ so thoroughly or heartily as the man whose lot it is to suffer the like himself.”  (Book 2 Chapter 12, THE ROYAL ROAD OF THE HOLY CROSS)

Further on in the same chapter he says, “The cross, therefore, is always ready; it awaits you everywhere. No matter where you may go, you cannot escape it, for wherever you go you take yourself with you and shall always find yourself. Turn where you will -- above, below, without, or within -- you will find a cross in everything, and everywhere you must have patience if you would have peace within and merit an eternal crown.”

How does he do this?  How does he know me so well?    A few days earlier, I was reading along, my mind wandering, when this jumped out at me:

“The devil does not sleep, nor is the flesh yet dead; therefore, you must never cease your preparation for battle, because on the right and on the left are enemies who never rest.”   ((Book 2 Chapter 9, WANTING NO SHARE IN COMFORT).

If you are looking for some Lenten reading, try a chapter a day.  Sometimes the chapter seem like a collection of brief sayings, sometimes they are extended reflections on a theme.  Most are short, a page or two, and they are aimed at common folk like us.  You don’t need to be a monk or a scholar to profit from this.  There is a reason this is the second best-selling book of all time, after the Bible!  You can find an online version here.

Tough way to get a beer

Birthday Greetings!

Happy 18th birthday, Caroline!

Declare

I finished reading Declare by Tim Powers a couple of days ago.  It is a meaty novel, long, a slow read for me, but one I could not walk away from.  At first it seems to be simply a novel of intrigue, and this it is, quite well.  But it adds an element of the supernatural, and does it so well that it does not feel like a fantasy novel, or anything of the sort.  It becomes believable.  I found myself thinking, Maybe that could really be what happened.  It could even be considered a Catholic novel.  I recommend it  highly.

Just do it...

Writing is not a performance, but a generosity.
                                        ---Brenda Uehland, If You Want to Write

Bearing with the faults of others...

From Book One of the Imitation of Christ, the 16th Chapter, Bearing with the Faults of Others:

Until God ordains otherwise, a man ought to bear patiently whatever he cannot correct in himself and others. Consider it better thus—perhaps to try your patience and to test you, for without such patience and trial your merits are of little account. Nevertheless, under such difficulties you should pray that God will consent to help you bear them calmly. …


If all were perfect, what should we have to suffer from others for God’s sake? But God has so ordained, that we may learn to bear with one another’s burdens, for there is no man without fault, no man without burden, no man sufficient to himself nor wise enough. Hence we must support one another, console one another, mutually help, counsel, and advise, for the measure of every man’s virtue is best revealed in time of adversity—adversity does not weaken a man but rather shows what he is.

I was touched by how compassionate this advice is, and by the admonition to be patient with yourself as well as others.

Words of Wisdom

From Riparians at the Gate (courtesy of Happy Catholic, of course!)

Girls, even if you aren’t super gorgeous, guys are THAT interested in you, just because you are a girl. You! Yes, you! You don’t need to “sell” yourself. You don’t need to put your every asset on display. Be a kind, friendly person who cares about others. That’s what real men are looking for in a wife.

As a former single guy, I can vouch for this

And, just so you know:
ri·par·i·an   /rɪˈpɛəriən, raɪ-/ Show Spelled[ri-pair-ee-uhn, rahy-]
adjective

1. of, pertaining to, or situated or dwelling on the bank of a river or other body of water: riparian villas.

Warfare to the last breath...

"The brethren also asked [Abba Agathon], 'Amongst all good works, which is the virtue that requires the greatest effort?' He answered, 'Forgive me, but I think there is no labour greater than that of prayer to God. For every time a [person] wants to pray, his enemies, the demons, want to prevent him, for they know that it is only by turning him from prayer that they can hinder his journey. Whatever good work a [person] undertakes, if [she] perseveres in it, [she] will attain rest. But prayer is warfare to the last breath.'" The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Alphabetical Collection (Cistercian Publications, 1975), pp. 21-22.

True dat!

Today's Comic

The Imitation of Christ

I have a new resolution:  I am going to read The Imitation of Christ, a chapter a day.  Ihave made several attempts to read this classic but have never succeeded in getting very far.  I am too, impatient, I think.  It isn't meant to be read like C. S. Lewis or Frank Sheed, chapters at a time.  I believe it is meant to be read slowly, a little at a time, to give our souls time to marinate in its wisdom.  Or so I hope!  Here are two quotes I like from Chapter One, "Imitating Christ and Despising All Vanities on Earth":

I would rather feel contrition than know how to define it. For what would it profit us to know the whole Bible by heart and the principles of all the philosophers if we live without grace and the love of God?

It is vanity to wish for long-life and care little for a well-spent life.

Happy Monday, y'all!

Another good quote from Happy Catholic

Well Said: Do you worry or do you watch for God?


From my quote journal.

When you find yourself facing an issue in your life, the purpose or reason or good thing that might come out of it being completely hidden from you -- what do you do? Do you worry and fret, become preoccupied with the problem? Do you ignore it or avoid it? Do you complain about it, do you want to run away from it? Or do you see it as a situation in which you might be able to experience the power and grace of God at work? Do you watch for the work of God that is to be done in this situation?                                                          ...Father John Yates

Jule at Happy Catholic has a real knack for finding great quotes, and luckily for us she shares them.  This one struck me because I've often thought that our job, so to speak, no matter what situation we are in, is to be an instance of God's love, compassion, caring, and mercy.  So if we are in a place of suffering, show compassion to those around us.  If we are in a place of joy, enjoy and give thanks.  If we are in a place of struggle, pray for guidance and the grace to endure faithfully.  And if we are in a place of tedium, especially, remember to do our duty as if we are doing it for the Lord.  Because we are.

Faithfully

For all you Journey fans out there!

Lyrics

Journey lyrics - Faithfully lyrics

"The Lord is my strength and my shield"

Julie over at Happy Catholic posted one of my favorite quotes last Saturday. I had it on my cubby wall for years until the recent move:

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations,

That's where the card I had on my wall ended.  Julie's version is better.  It continues:

and say continually; "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in Him and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me and I in Him."

St. Francis de Sales