Maybe I'll Actually Make It To 7 On This 7QT...

Lots of little ideas floating around today as I sit down to the computer...

- 1 -

Last week Kelly posted about spiritual books "too great to put down" and she mentioned that if we were offended that she didn't ask for our opinion that we would get our chance to share on our own blogs sometime this week. What a diplomatic move! (Ha! Isn't that what our blogs are for, anyway?) Well, I wasn't offended but I still do have a suggestion (or 2).

First up is Lauren F Winner's "Wearing God".

I had to post this picture from my Goodreads account because I wanted to be super honest: for a book that's supposed to be "too good to put down" it took me an AWFULLY long time to read it. But that is no fault of Winner's. It was actually an excellent, thought-provoking look at the names we use for God and what those names communicate to us about God's character. It was a book that I wanted to take notes on and read carefully, but last year was just not the year to do that; hence why it took so long to finish. The perfectionist in me kept saying "If you can't read it the way you want to, then maybe you shouldn't read it at all." But when December rolled around and I found myself at my parents with little to do, I said "Forget that! I'll read it anyway." And I'm glad I did. (I will go back and read it again though with a notebook in hand. I loved it that much.)

- 2 -

The other book that I would recommend for Lenten spiritual reading is a thin little thing that you could probably finish in a day (or 3).

This is so easy to blog about when I just do a screen capture! I don't even have to say anything more than what I said a year ago! (Laziness at its finest.)

- 3 -

Had a little chat last night on being Catholic and my friend brought up a very good point: when a lot of one's spiritual journey has been spent in the Charismatic/Evangelical camp, coming to Catholicism (with its more contemplative approach) can be quite hard. But also very rewarding. This certainly has been true for me. I'm (re)learning that everything we do in Mass is meant to foster reflection on the work that God has done for us and bring us to a place where we can respond to God with humble and contrite hearts. It takes some work to stay focused on that (especially with kids in tow)! But I find that as Sunday rolls around I'm almost "hungry" for Mass and, specifically, the Eucharist. It's the part I look forward to all week - and it's one of the reasons why I feel we made the right choice to return - why shouldn't I look forward to communing with Jesus in this very special, Real, way? He Is There, after all. (Thank you Jesus, for that!)

- 4 -

In a few days, Little Dude will be One year old!

"Hi Mom!"

If I'm being honest, I'm finding that I'm not as melancholy about it as I was when my little girl turned one. Maybe it's because as he's getting older things are getting easier (he's sleeping a little better... eating a little better... playing with his sister a little better), and that's just making me thankful! On the other hand, when he falls asleep while he's nursing and he's just nestled against me, I get a little teary eyed knowing that those moments are not going to last forever... ok, maybe I am a little emotional about it!

- 5 -

A look at my Evernote organization

OK, back to Liturgical living! What do you all do to organize your thoughts/ideas and stay on top of it? So far, I've circled all the days that we're going to observe in our free calendar from CRS (it was prettier than the free one from our church), I've got a little notebook going, and I'm also saving things in Evernote as I find them on the web. It feels like a pretty good system, but maybe you have some ideas to make it better?

- 6 -

Well, folks, the last piece of pumpkin pie has been consumed in this house. That means the holidays are offically OVER. No more pumpkin spice nuthin' till at LEAST September! (except that I do have one last jar of pumpkin to use in the freezer, so maybe I'll just make one more batch of pumpkin apple muffins before then... :) )

- 7 -

The 9 Days for Life is ending this weekend at the same time that I will be celebrating the imminent arrival of a couple babies! It just seems fitting to end this novena with a baby shower, don't you? (I love those kind of coincidences!)

Hey, look at that! I actually made it to 7! Find other folks to congratulate this week at This Ain't the Lyceum and thanks again to Kelly for the link up. :)