Plan Now for a Peaceful Advent

Plan Now for a Peaceful Advent

November is such a beautiful month of gracious generosity and humble gratitude. Thanksgiving Day, which happens to be one of my favorite holidays, is two weeks from today. I am striving to keep this month of November slow, peaceful and focused on my blessings. I am striving to “just say no” to the commercialism and shopping season that seem to begin earlier and earlier each year. Without overlooking the importance of Thanksgiving, I also have come to realize that when…

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You are Enough

You are Enough

  My husband left for a business trip Sunday afternoon. It was disappointing that our weekend got cut short, but thankfully, this is not the norm. As my children and I made certain that everything was in order for an early Monday morning—uniforms washed, baths taken, homework completed—I braced myself for three hectic days as a solo mom. Monday came and went with a busy, but uneventful schedule. The kids were playing so nicely in the living room, that I decided…

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Don’t Ask More Than God Does

Don’t Ask More Than God Does

For awhile now, it has felt like I have been carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders. At least my little corner of it. As a wife, as a mother of six children, as a homemaker, I have realized that I put an incredible amount of pressure on myself to do it all. And to do it all really, really well. Do you do this, too? There is this unspoken, unwritten expectation that I put upon myself that…

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Summer: Surviving With Mom’s Sanity Intact

Summer: Surviving With Mom’s Sanity Intact

Each year, as summer vacation descends upon my family, I get a bit nervous about the next three months. I’m the type of mom who appreciates the routine and predictability that the school year offers—early mornings, early bedtimes and a chunk of time in-between to stay caught up on my responsibilities, while my children focus their attention on learning in their classrooms. For some, the relaxed nature of summer is an opportunity to not be too busy. The slower pace…

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7 Quick Takes :: How Mary Became My Queen, My Mother

7 Quick Takes :: How Mary Became My Queen, My Mother

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said of Mary, “She existed in the Divine Mind as an Eternal Thought before there were any mothers. She is the Mother of mothers, she is the world’s first love.” #1 Slow beginnings My first real encounter with Mary was through the quiet actions of my grandma, who had a beautiful devotion to Our Blessed Mother and who also happened to be named Mary. She had a simple white statue of the Blessed Mother outside…

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Five Simple Ways to Invite Mary Into Your Heart, Your Home, Your Family

Five Simple Ways to Invite Mary Into Your Heart, Your Home, Your Family

One of the last things Jesus did before he died was give us His mother Mary to be our mother. From the Gospel of John, “‘Woman, behold your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (19:26-27). Jesus’ final words not only pertained to Mary and John, they also included me and you and all of humanity. “Jesus Christ, after having given us all he could give,…

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The Lord’s Gaze

The Lord’s Gaze

Today’s Gospel reading (John 4:5-42) is one of my favorites. I didn’t realize it was, until I heard our pastor read it today at Mass. Many emotions and memories flooded me, as I heard of gentle Jesus meeting this Woman at the Well. I remembered how this Bible story reminds me of the sacrament of Confession. Jesus meets the woman where she’s at, and He loves her, even with all her failings and shortcomings. Like the Woman at the Well,…

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Three Lessons I Learned While Learning to Run

Three Lessons I Learned While Learning to Run

It’s 6 p.m., and I am running around the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on my family’s dinner. I ask Anna to set the table and Olivia to fill the water glasses. As I call my family to dinner, I fill up my water bottle and lace up my running shoes. I call out to my family, “Save some for me!” And I head out the door. I am very much in favor of family dinner, and I strive to…

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Change of Attitude, Change of Heart

Change of Attitude, Change of Heart

This time of year is very full. It is busy, as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday next week and as we anticipate the Advent and Christmas seasons. The world tells us we are already behind in our Christmas shopping, but we haven’t even sliced the turkey yet! In the liturgical calendar, we are experiencing a time of fullness, too. We are coming to the close of the month when we honor the holy souls. Tomorrow is also the last Sunday…

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