Reading Catholic

Reading Catholic and catholic

Random Thoughts

Renewal, and Books {Lent Book Series}

by

I had the great good fortune last weekend to go to the University of Notre Dame for a Catholic women’s blogging conference.

I have been scheduled and registered to attend at least three other blogging conferences in past years, but one thing or and another and another forced me to cancel plans.

So I was super grateful when local friend Bonnie of A Knotted Life invited me to attend, and even more grateful that I got a chance to ride along with Bonnie and Katie of Look to Him and Be Radiant.

I wish I could say this Lent has been all about renewal, but instead it’s more like the Lent you are given. Those are often the most fruitful Lents, but at the time it can feel like hard, hard work.

The opportunity to be with other Catholic women for an entire day, pray with them, learn from them, and just enjoy fellowship and great food, was a gift and a grace.

I must confess I enjoyed being the oldest at the conference, often by several decades.  But best is that I was the learner, and I’m still soaking up super helpful and encouraging presentations by Nell of Whole Parenting Family and Rhonda Ortiz of Real Housekeeping. I also loved the general conversations and input by the other bloggers, and getting to visit the Grotto, however briefly, and eat dinner with the group at this delicious restaurant.

As shared here before, I’ve been in blogging burnout, off and on, for several years.  I hoped the conference would help inspire and encourage.  It’s done that and more–here’s hoping that will be reflected here a Reading Catholic in coming months.  Baby steps.

No one will be surprised to learn that I spent much of my time in conversations with the other women suggesting … books.    And so, as part of the Mid-Lent Reset, I’m going to share books chosen specifically for the Catholic Women’s Blogging Conference.FullSizeRender

Some books are ones I individually recommended to women last weekend, and others struck me (on a scan of several bookshelves)  as apropos of last weekend’s the group.  I wanted to pick a range of non-obvious books perhaps off the radar of younger women, but are worthwhile reads.

Ralph McInerny’s memoir is a good fit since the conference was at the University of Notre Dame, and he was a longtime professor there. I wrote about it briefly here (and talk about what he thought about my chocolate cake).

This one just jumped out at me. So good.  Here’s my review. 

I’m only about halfway through this one–one of my sisters suggested it, and I am in tears about every other page. I want to be a Jesuit when I grow up.  Very good Lenten reading.

It turns out this book was updated several years ago as G-Dog and the Homeboys: Father Greg Boyle and the Gangs of East Los Angeles.  Adding that to the TBR list.

I mentioned this book as several “background reading” ideas to one of the bloggers who’s working on  a book. I’m not sure if her book plans are public, so I won’t name her or the topic, but I am very excited to read and review it when it does come out. Here’s my review of Gawande’s book.

Mary Eberstadt wrote what is one of the best, if not the best, retellings of C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. I re-read  The Loser Letters a few months back when my older teen was reading it, and I still loved it.   I reviewed the book here and interviewed Mary Eberstadt here.
I read this book in late 2013 or early 2014, and my younger teen and I did a modified version of her “seven” during last year’s Lent (seven foods, seven articles of clothing, etc.).  I was reminded that I still have not written about this terrific book and its impact on us yet when our family recently discovered re-runs of her home renovation show on HGTV.  Someday…

Best Books of Last Year and 2015 Reading Resolutions (Better Late Than Never Edition)

by

At long last, I’m finally getting to my “Reading Catholic”-favorite books of 2014, and my bookish resolutions post for 2015. I found it a helpful exercise last year, and the year before that, so here goes again..

“Short but sweet” and “finished is better than perfect,” is my mantra for this.   Thus, no images of books, but the links will take you to more detailed information about each book.

Best book I reviewed in 2014:

Gay and Catholic:

In my review, I called Eve Tushnet’s spiritual memoir a “must-read,” and several months later, I believe that even more.  Well worth reading and pondering.

It seems like every year, the best or most important book absolutely jumps out at me (like Sherry Weddell’s Forming Intentional Disciples in 2013,).  I wonder if that will be true every year.

Other extra-worthwhile books of 2014:

The three memoirs I reviewed in June 2014: Catholic by Choice by Richard Cole, Girl at the End of the World by Elizabeth Esther, and Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler.

I also thoroughly enjoyed The American Catholic Almanac by Emily Stimpson, because I love history, and I love Emily Stimpson, a veteran author with local roots.  Did you know she has a new food blog called The Catholic Table? It’s lovely, just like her.

Now for some reading resolutions:

1.  continue to “get more opinions”

I hope to continue the {Lent Book Series} (check out here to see last year’s great writing and book ideas).

I’d also love to see other times of having guest posts by author and especially local readers/writers.

2. better organize Reading Catholic reviews.

adding this on from last year’s resolutions since this didn’t happen very often.

3. write monthly posts on the “backlist”

ditto #2 here.

I’m going to stick with those three this year, and work at progress in all three areas.

I have enjoyed reading others’ posts on favorite books of 2014, and reading/writing goals for 2015.  (Here is just one, from a local Catholic). Many of these were motivating to me in getting this done.

Finally, let me just share some random thoughts since it’s been so long since I’ve posted here.  I have noticed this up on various places and devices:

Ayn Rand Reviews Children’s Movies, The New Yorker.  Please be sure you’re not drinking or eating anything while you read this.   I don’t subscribe to The New Yorker, even though I grew up in a house that did, because I just have too much to read, but it’s convenient to have a sister who does, and who will share good articles.

The Real Roots of Mid-Life Crisis, The Atlantic Monthly.  I do subscribe to The Atlantic Monthly in print, but I’m usually way behind on this, thus, sharing this months later. According to this article (and many others on similar research), I should be in my unhappiest decade.  I wouldn’t agree with that–for instance, wild horses couldn’t drag me back to my teens or 20s–but I agree 50s are “not my favorite,” and let’s leave it at that.

My take-away from this article? If I can just hang on to my 60s, things will get better, and continue to get better.  So that’s good.

How Many Times a Day Do You Check Your Phone?  Perpetual Adoration blog.  Harry Williams is a local Catholic, and several times in the last few months I’ve found an article of his that is a must-share. I can’t recall if I ever shared this one on Father John Hardon called “Writing and the Spiritual Life,” .  If you’ve not seen this one, please,  take a minute to read and/or bookmark this one, too.

Did you do a best of 2014 post? Do you have reading or writing resolutions for 2015?

 

 

Venerable Solanus Casey, pray for us.

by

Today’s Feast–maybe it’s not a feast yet, since he’s only Venerable.  But anyway, it is that of Venerable Father Solanus Casey, a Detroit Franciscan,  doorkeeper, and holy man of God.

When I visited family in Michigan back in 2008 or 2009 (my husband had to stay at home for work), I took my then very-young kids the see the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit.  I can’t find any photos of our time there at the moment, but it was quite moving.  There is a church there, as well as a small museum about his life as a Capuchin Franciscan.  You can read this small biography of this humble, simple soul.  He died in 1957.

I have several books about him that I purchased at the Center’s gift shop, but none can be located.  What could be found? A coloring book about his life–no kidding!  Somehow there’s something appropriate about that since he was such a simple man.

Fortunately, the coloring book includes a page full of “sayings of Father Solanus Casey.”  Because I’m home today with a sick child, I had the chance to make several “edits” with quotes from the page:

Solanus1

Solanus Casey

This one turned out a little fuzzy.  I think I need to take a class in how to design and produce edits quickly and well. Does anyone know of a place to do that? I just don’t have the time to play around with it too much.  But this works.

Solanus Casey greatness

Here’s another version of that one:

Solanus Casey greatness2Do you have a preference?

I’ve just added to my calendar the private Novena beginning November 30. recommended by the Solanus Casey Center this year. November 30 is also the beginning of the St. Andrew Christmas Novena. The more, the merrier, novena-wise, since it’s Advent.

I also see that EWTN will air a Mass from the Solanus Casey Center on Sunday, November 23–the 144th anniversary of Fr. Casey’s birth.

Are you at all familiar with Father Solanus Casey? If you’re not, I hope you’ll explore some of the links and ask him for something special this year.

Just a Little Bit Fitbit Obsessive {Christmas is Coming}

by


How do I love my Fitbit One? Let me count the ways:

*I’m a numbers gal, and love having the feedback of knowing what I’ve accomplished step-wise.

*the Fitbit One tracks your floors as well as your steps. Our laundry is in the basement, so I get a lot of floors.

*Some of my stats in my year and nearly five months of Fitbit use:

*More than 6,000,000 steps.

*More than 10,000 floors (that’s a lot of laundry!)

*It’s just plain fun and geeky for me to know all these things about my activity.

If you’re obsessive about your Fitbit or other tracking device (like the UP by Jawbone), you know why I love mine so much. If you’re not, you can make fun of us, until you get one for a gift and become one of us. Christmas is coming, after all!

The Fitbit one tracks the quality of you sleep as well, but you need to remember to turn in on sleep mode during sleep, and then wake it up again in the morning.  I forgot a few times, and my morning run didn’t get counted, so of course I learned never to do that again.  But I wish it would recognize it automatically, since I do like how it recognizes how often you stir or get up in the night.

What about the new Fitbit Surge? Is it worth waiting for?  I’m not interested in it, since I feel like I have a good thing going with the One. What are your thoughts?

My husband’s first Fitbit was a Zip (pictured below), but it was a little too simple, and also a little glitchy in synchronizing with your phone. So when he lost it, I got him a Fitbit One and he’s been very happy with it.
We are huge fans of the comic strip Zits at our house, and I loved how earlier this month that the comic strip had a weeklong series about the Fitbit. Here’s the first in the series:

content.php
So,  you may be wondering what Fitbit has to do with all things Catholic and books.   You know I gave up my Fitbit for Lent?  I didn’t get much sympathy among normal folk, but fellow Fitbit obsessives were really impressed with my sacrifice.  It made for an interesting Lent (it wasn’t the only thing I gave up, but, all joking aside, it was really difficult.).

Several weeks back, I was at a Friday evening soccer game for my 11-year-old, which involved walking a fair amount  to and from the parking lot.  I realized only part way through the game that I had left my Fitbit home to charge up, and the following text exchange ensued: (just before this, my husband Joseph had asked if he should bring me the Fitbit):

IMG_8114

Now, in case anyone is thinking we were being serious, we weren’t.  It was all in good fun, and shows we can laugh at ourselves.  Or mostly, laugh at me.

But I don’t mind, because I have many, many steps to go before I sleep.

(Note: I’m not sponsored in any way by Fitbit–how I wish I were!–but the links in this post click through to my affiliate link at Amazon.  That means if you order your Fitbit or Jawbone or three or five for your loved ones, your price is the same, but I receive a small amount back. Christmas is coming, after all!)

De-Clutter-ish September {random thoughts}

by

Linking up with Jen at Conversion Diary for her 7 Quick Takes.  Seven is a nice way to organize!

Loyal readers will recall how I started a Facebook group to help give up sugar during August (thus, the creative name Sugar-Free August).  I really, really loved the accountability and the support the small group of people gave each other in health goals.  So for September, I started a FB group called “De-Clutter September” for support in trying to complete some house projects, as well as just generally de-clutter.

While the De-Clutter group has been great and good fun, I have not been very good about de-cluttering.  And it’s the last day of September today.

Perhaps it was a bad idea to want to tackle home projects in a month when I’ve driven thousands of miles for … so many things. Not a lot of time at home.

Perhaps I need to re-frame, and really consider all I have accomplished, even with a busy school schedule, tons of appointments, sick kids, and other life complications.

I’m also looking forward to October.  My birthday is this month, and I love my birthday.  My monthly goal is going to make an effort to see people in real life, especially grown-ups (husband, mom friends, etc.).    Maybe I can call it IRL (in real life) Social October? Maybe I should have done that for September, as Social September sounds better.

Anyway, here are seven links for de-cluttering, in case you need a little boost.  I’ll be continuing my de-cluttering projects through October, as my page-long list of to-dos only has two out of 18 things crossed out.  Not much commentary, so I can get back to de-cluttering.

1.  Flylady

The de-cluttering godmother of us all. I said I wanted her “crisis cleaning” this month, but that never happened.

2. 15 Clutter Busting Routines for Any Family

I find Becoming Minimalist very encouraging in trying to live with less.   But I had to laugh at #13, “always leave room in your coat closet.” I wish I had a coat closet. If I had a coat closet, I would try to leave room in it, I promise.

3. The Benefits of a Messy House at Momastery

“But as I lay down to sleep, I remembered this passage from Thoreau’s Walden: “I say beware of all enterprises that require new clothes and not a new wearer of the clothes.” Walden reminds me that when I feel lacking- I don’t need new things, I need new eyes with which to see the things I already have. So when I woke up this morning, I walked into my kitchen wearing fresh perspectacles. Here’s what I saw.”

Of all these articles, a must-read for anyone, de-cluttering or not.

4. Throw Everything Out 

The friend who shared this on Facebook said she was conflicted because of the colorful language in here. But it is funny, even if most of the advice is completely unrealistic for family life.

On De-Clutter September, this article inspired many of us to clean off the surfaces of our fridge and post (lovely!) bare fridges.  So it had a good effect.

5. Habit Change Is Easiest When People Move House or Undergo Some Life Transition

It wouldn’t be a random thoughts post from me without something from Gretchen Rubin, I’m starting to think.  But this is really good.  Shaking things up can really help.  I think this is why I like re-arranging rooms.

6. Habits: the Secret for Smooth and Easy Days? at Simply Convivial

This is so worth reading as well.

“Good habits do not make life smooth & easy.”

” And just because (creating good habits) is hard and never-ending does not mean we are doing something wrong or are failing in our efforts.”

Amen.

7. 52 Week To an Organized Home

One of my sisters shared this with me, and I’m bookmarking here so I can refer back to it.  Maybe I need a year-long challenge rather than a month-long one?  Some good ideas here.

What are you reading or encountering online these days?

More importantly, do you have any de-cluttering tips for me? 😉

 

{Twitterature} The Harvey Girls Edition

by

Joining with Modern Mrs. Darcy‘s monthly Twitterature link-up of short reviews of current reads.

I’m not sure what piqued our interest in the Harvey Girls at our house.  Let’s just call it the joys of homeschooling, that we can explore interests in-depth when something strikes our fancy.  I have to say it’s mostly the younger teen and me who are interested in the subject.  The 11-year-old son does not have the same obsession.

The “Harvey Girls” were waitresses (but much more than that) in Fred Harvey’s 19th and early 20th century empire of railroad-stop restaurant/hotels.  Businessman Fred Harvey made a fortune serving fresh and wholesome food efficiently with well-trained staff, to railroad travelers, at a time when none of that was  common.

So we’ve been reading an assortment of books about the Harvey Girls.

The Harvey Girls: Women Who Civilized the West by Juddi Morris s ideal for middle-grade on up readers.  It’s a wonderful mix of oral history, short chapters and charming photographs and vignettes.

When Molly Was a Harvey Girl by Frances M. Wood. This middle-grade novel is based on the experiences of Wood’s great-grandmother as a Harvey girl, and tells the story of two sisters who work as Harvey girls in New Mexico.    I kind of sped-read it, but both my teens enjoyed it.

Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Build a Railroad Hospitality Empire that Civilized the Wild West by Stephen Fried.  This is adult non-fiction, and it’s really well-done.  Much more extensive than the juvenile books.

I took notes on this book, and even made an edit of “Fundamentals” that was posted in Fred Harvey restaurants and shops for staff to follow.

picmonkey_image-3

I’m not a great creator of edits yet, but I’m honing my skills, and I enjoy it. Next time I’ll work on making the text bigger–I had a lot of trouble with that in this because there is so much text.  I’m sure there’s a way to do it.  Practice makes, if not perfect, then better.

We also DVRd the 1946 movie The Harvey Girls, with Judy Garland.


The Harvey Girls seemed to me a lot like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, in both music and choreography.  Turns out the lyricist was a  the same for both films.  It was a fun Saturday evening watch.

What are you reading?