7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 18

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

You have something to look forward to.

Not only will you get the annual meditations and beautiful traditions and scriptures of Lent, but you will also see a new series with Julie and Trista.  

What does it mean to be a woman in the Church? 

Keep an eye out on Fat Tuesday. 

*2*

Many of you are joining me from Conversion Diary (Hello to those who are new!), so it's likely you're Catholic, blogging, and ready to mingle in this cyber-Community we are developing!

The Venerable John Paul II pointed out the need for the New Evangelism and social media is a spectacular, effective, and cheap way to be a part of this movement. A new resource has popped up to help you make the most of the new media and your Catholic (or non-Catholic Christian) faith. Drum roll please...

(I don't own the rights)

New Media Catholic!

and on Facebook

and on Twitter as @NewMediaCathlic

Give it a look-see.

*3*

If you noticed... good job!

If not, let me point your attention to... exactly where you're looking. I changed the design of my blog because, apparently, a dark background is a turn-off for blog readers. I think it's cool, but I'm bending to the will of the people. I'd love some feedback!

I also bought and redirected this to my own domain. Soon I will have a less "Blogger" layout... if only I could physically paint or draw these designs. I'm not very handy with the digital art.

*4*

You may find this hard to believe (you shouldn't), but I only miss the dorky stuff about college:

(I don't own the rights)

*I have yet to meet another person who enjoys finals week (um, excuse me. At what other point in your life will you have ONE purpose: surviving while studying? College kids complain, but their lives are easy). 

*Academic writing. I had the formula down pat and I liked trying to create a new thesis statement. 

*The enclosing feeling of standing between two library shelves, the books on which haven't budged in 5 years.

However, I do miss looking forward to spring break.

*5*

My skin smells like chlorine and it might as well be crack-cocaine.

After a 3 month hiatus from the pool, I swam this week. It wasn't a long swim, but it was beautiful and helped me clear my head. As I've mentioned before, my natural state is in the water. I need to avoid forgetting that again.

When I got home, I went through my old photos of when I swam in the Beijing Olympics. I hope you enjoy them:

Overlooking my turf.

Getting mentally prepared.

You have to relax sometimes when you're kicking butt.

Ahh what a satisfying world championship.

*6*

You may have seen this post about my weekend with teens preparing for Confirmation. I'm curious about what YOU were thinking on the retreat prior to your own Confirmation. If you went on a Confirmation retreat, tell me about your experience!

*7*

This little boy was born in LA, adopted by Filipinos, and grew up in the Philippines.








It goes to show you that color ain't no thang.

Jars, cell reception, and confirmations

Teens can smell fear. Your high school science teacher will tell you it's snakes or bees, or something, but they're just trying to convince themselves that your teenage sensors don't go off like a heat-seeking missile whenever Mrs. Biology shows a sign of anxiety in front of a class of tenth graders.

A few weeks ago my youth minister friend asked me to join a group of about eighty sixteen-year-old confirmation candidates for their weekend retreat. I admit, I entered the weekend hoping it would help me discern whether I could work with teens on a regular basis. I was selfish, hoping the effects would pour into me.

I heard a lot of the Bieb this weekend (I don't own rights)

A week before the retreat my friend (call him Luke) asked me to give a talk about Theology of the Body during a session where the girls and boys would be separated.

Luke gave me a few guidelines, put a lot of faith in me and in God for guiding me, and ZIP. He let the reigns pull right out of his hands.

Luke had to handle more than one crisis over the weekend, such is the life of a youth minister, so everything flowed naturally throughout the retreat. Some of the kids might disagree as there was not a cell phone reception bar to be found anywhere on this campground. They weren't supposed to have phones anyway, which was a sincere shock to the system for many.

The kids were "stuffed," "emptied," "recycled," they "filled others," (witnessed Jesus) "empty Himself," "filled themselves" and (will hopefully soon) "overflow." Each of these phrases headlined each adults' speech that weekend, tying into the idea of the glass Mason jar each teen received. The teens and adults filled the individual Mason jars with affirmations over the weekend.

My talk, "recycled," was all over the place. I really enjoy teaching (pigs are flying somewhere over Oklahoma) and speaking in "public" like this, so I was ready to get the talk started... the girls weren't exactly ready yet.

I asked a few questions in the first ten minutes of my talk. WHOOSH, did you feel that? Oh, that was the silence knocking the air out of my lungs. Teenagers don't want to be wrong, but more so I think they want to avoid being right, especially when it comes to a topic like sex.

"What is the first thing you expect to hear when you hear some lady is going to talk to you about Theology of the Body," I said after a brief explanation of what TOB is. WHOOSH.

Eventually someone said "sex" so I moved on to explain that TOB is really a total encapsulation of our Faith: Love, true, pure Love. Because I'm kind of quirky and weird, I threw in some strange jokes, which died a quick, but lingering death. Argh, girls, throw me a bone.


THEN I hit gold. "I know the answer to this question, but I'm going to ask it anyway: Who knows the lyrics to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream?"

Excited and a little giddy, they proceeded to sing it for me!

"You think I'm pretty without any make-up on...

let's go all the way tonight. 

No regrets, just love. 

We can dance until we die. 

You and I will be young forever."

I repeated the offensive line, "let's go all the way tonight" and asked in a light way, "Does that sound romantic to you? I mean, if you think about it, some beautiful woman, Katy Perry, is singing this. If a guy was singing this, would it be at all romantic? Let's go all the way tonight? He'd be a creep. Someone should arrest that guy."

They loosened up, I played the Boyce Avenue version that sings "Let's just talk all through the night" instead of Ms. Perry's To Catch a Predator line.

To the sounds of crescendo-ing "Awwwwwwwws," I asked them about the difference. The consensus was that guys like that don't exist. There aren't guys out there who would only want to talk and wouldn't want to make out or more, they said.

It's hard to hear, "That's not true," when you're a single sixteen-year-old watching other girls get attention from guys in your grade. I told them about a personal experience where a guy offered only a handshake at the end of the first two dates. Resounding Awwwwwwwwww commenced again.

This opened a lot of discussion about when the two sexes use each other (women: "money," men: "sandwiches" --> real answers), why they do, how to prevent ourselves from using men, and how to prevent situations where men can use women.

"I'm going to let you in on a secret," I said. "Women have the control in the relationship. Let the guy chase you and you get to choose if he can catch you, if you two will date, how far you will go physically, and how you will be treated. When something happens that is not to your liking, you get to end it."

If these girls walked away with anything, I hope they walked away knowing it is NOT worth it to settle. Why settle with a significant other when you don't settle with your friends? You don't settle with your clothing choice, for crying out loud. Why settle for someone who isn't offering you the true, pure love that God gives to you in abundance without cost?

I summed up with a quote they'd heard the night before, "There's nothing you can do, will do, or have done that will make God love you less." God wants to redeem us. "Recycle."

Though I don't remember every discussion question I asked or every answer I received, I remember seeing some genuine interest and a few light bulbs go off. Praise God for that! I'm going to pray for each of those girls and I would like to ask you to join me.

I love 1st graders! Week 16

I have been traveling for about two weeks at this point and I'm sorry to say I'm a little strapped for inspiration on this one...my next post will explain some of that.

The major theme tonight was:

Greatest Commandment: 
You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind and love your neighbors as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

As members of God's community, God's people we should treat everyone we meet with Love.

The thing that jumped out at me tonight was the major learning difference in first graders and tenth graders. I spent this weekend as a chaperon at a confirmation retreat for a local Catholic Church.

At one point tonight we made a chart of the talents that God gave us. We learned that we can use these talents to help and better others, like when we use our math skills to help someone who has questions. The chart was on the chalk board and the kids were bouncing to answer.

This weekend, because social norm ruled the cool factor, there was little bouncing. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get an answer out of these kids. I adored the weekend overall, but this stark difference in 9 years of school was loud tonight.

Conveniently, as I was reminded of this discrepancy in attitudes, I was also charged with teaching the first graders a valuable, pertinent lesson: Love everyone, even if they sit there, pretending to be grumpy. Love everyone, even if they are too cool to sing during praise and worship sessions. Love everyone, even if they are jumping up and down to answer your questions, though you've told them four times to sit on his or her bottom and wait patiently.

Simple? Yep. Not easy, but simple.

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 17

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

"Boys will be boys."

Personally, I think this is the worst phrase in the English language. It makes me want to say it with an annoyed voice with my finger turning my nose up to look like a pig snout, "Boys will be boyyyyyys."

Girls will be girls isn't a phrase because girls are expected to be ladies. Gentle ladies who don't tread on toes. I don't want to tread on toes, but why do we give boys the excuses that are tethered to this phrase?

Men and women are different. This is not a feminist rant. It's a rant because the phrase immediately recalls the social teaching that males are basically expected to lose their virginity before they are married because "boys will be boys." It also gives little boys an excuse to be terrors because "boys will be boys." NO! They should be human beings, children of God, brothers in Christ. They shouldn't get this kind of excuse.

<rant/>

*2*

I have been on more airplanes than I know. I love the subtleties of traveling like the cheap thinness of the printed boarding pass, the efforts to make miserable airport workers smile, and the attempt to speed my way through airport security like a pro.

But I still panic inside during take-off.

Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is with thee...

*3*

Do you notice that whenever a TV show or movie features an unexpected pregnancy, the writers RARELY plot that the mother has an abortion? No, I don't think it's evidence of more pro-life writers making their way through Hollywood. These writers are only going for drama and a new life opens new responsibilities for their characters.

With the exception of Private Practice, which apparently makes pro-abortion (I'll go so far as to say anti-life because of euthanasia themes) episodes very frequently, TV shows tend to keep the babies. Even pro-choice, super-feminist Miranda chose life for her unexpected baby on Sex in the City.

Remember that these writers consider the alternative: "Can I write in an abortion without losing some of my audience?" or "If I write in an abortion, how will it affect my character?"

Even if the writer is pro-choice, he or she knows the reality is the character won't emerge from the clinic unscathed. Any bending to the pro-life movement (showing signs of depression, breast cancer, or emotional health issues) will be admitting too much.

*4*

Liesl, you'll love this (or you'll already know about it...). Jason Evert joined substitute host Patrick Madrid on Catholic Answers on Valentine's Day to talk about the book he and his wife wrote, How to Find Your Soulmate Without Losing Your Soul. I mentioned last week that I ordered this book and that I'd soon review it.

Their talk was very affirming (both of my book purchase and my faith in the need for more Theology of the Body in our society). You can listen to it here.

If you don't know about it already, visit their website, http://chastity.com. You can buy the hardback book for $24.95 today, or you can wait and buy an $80 case of 40 books (yep, $2/book) and give them out at will! What a great evangelism tool!

*5*

We need a word for...

Screenshot of a YouTube video

The successful delusion when you have convinced yourself you might actually meet a favorite music band. In my case: Boyce Avenue. To further the delusion, I'm sending them Rosary Army-style bracelets.

Someone, please slap me in the face.

*6*

I went to Las Vegas for work this week (yes, for work) and I have a lot of reasons to be grateful:

* I lost a total of $13, but I made up for it by ordering a couple free drinks.

(I don't own the rights)

* I have a spectacular boss and work team. We really are a work family.

* We stayed at the Venetian. Super swankified and well-rested, heck yes.

* Though I'm sure many of the women (and men) probably thought I looked like a librarian, I felt pretty darn classy. I tried my best to hold to Rebecca at Modestia's standards, but I know my fashion sense fell short. Modesty, however, stuck with me. Thanks, Rebecca!

* Patrick Madrid's book, 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know, was a fantastic read on the trip to Vegas.

* Mass at the airport might be my new favorite location for Mass (excluding Vatican City) because it is so intimate and the community feels so specifically strong.
* Though my plane home was canceled because of a mechanical error, the good people of United put me on a plane a few hours late, put me in a really nice hotel (for 3 hours) and then flew me home at the crack of dawn. I'm also grateful for a bed to sleep in tonight at my new bedtime (6:45pm).

*7*

One more reason to be grateful:

Whatever whim that God sent through my heart/mind a few months ago that manifested itself into this blog has been grand a blessing on my life. I have met so many beautiful people through it, though I have not actually "met" them (yet). You know who you are.

If you want to make me even happier to be in this blog world, making new friends, email me. :D Have a great weekend! 

Review: 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know

A few weeks ago I mentioned Patrick Madrid's book, 150 Bible Verses Every Catholic Should Know (Servant Books, 2008), in a post detailing the species and diameter of wood wedged in my eye.

My webcam took this... pretty rough, eh?

The short version of this review: Madrid does an excellent job of placing 150 verses of Sacred Scripture in front of you and simply explaining the meaning and significance of the verses. He moves from Old to New Testament in each chapter, lest we forget the importance of our Jewish roots. Simply put, this book makes you hunger for reading the Bible more often.

The long review would be an extensive look at Scared Scripture itself, because, after all, that is what he's sharing. It is not a work of apologetics meant to defend the Faith but a small abridged Bible with commentary.

Madrid explicitly states in the introduction that A) he had a hard time leaving out some verses and B) this book only "scratches the surface" of what is available in Sacred Scripture. Catholics hear Scripture every time we celebrate the Mass, but most of us don't spend a lot of time reading the Bible on our own (guilty). We should try to change this.

Catholics have the advantage of hearing consistent teachings, as preserved by the Church and passed on from Jesus and His apostles. This means we can go to a Catholic Church in any state or country and hear the same Gospel and readings along with the teachings of the Catechism (presuming it is in a language we can understand).

This doesn't mean "that's it." That is not your only responsibility: there is a lot to be discovered (or rediscovered) in Jesus Christ in your life. How else can you pass on the passion for His Love than to learn more about it?

Google poetry: Gak squish

Simcha Fischer is hysterical. So funny, I am not going to defile the hilarity with an exclamation point. You'll just have to figure it out for yourself.

Every once in a while she gathers all the search engine entries that bring people to her blog and creates a poem. I'm a copy-cat. I hope you enjoy it:

Gak squish

god bless the man that can hold his own

hairy tush

alladin cartoon sex pics

fat dude

fat dude

fat dude

dan eldon journey

meet me in st louis spring

disney world aladdin stuff
"richmond accent" ugly

fat guy in bathing suit

The Jeweler's Shop

stupid kid laugh

dan eldon book pages

taj mahal prayer

white zombie eye sense

you're welcome in 6 languages

 

KAROL WOJTYLA The Jeweler's Shop

anne of green gables movie gilbert

priest with the eucharist

sign of the cross

eucharist

one hundred years of solitude and the holy trinity

fat man in the bathtub

fat man in the bathtub

visual diaries

robin williams genie

fat computer guy

eye has not seen

dan eldon

dan eldon

dan eldon

startling the day arranged

dan eldon travel journal

church collecting candy for easter

robin williams as the genie in aladdin

magic eye taj mahal

fat computer guy

(I do not own the rights)

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 16

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

Last week I told you about Patty and Phil who are looking to adopt and are printing their advertisements in many Virginia and university newspapers. Thank you, faithful readers, for clicking on the link to their website.

The attention provoked Patty, of Patty and Phil, to email me. In our exchange, it became even more clear how driven and called this couple is to adopt a new member of their practicing Catholic family (what are the odds?!). If you're new to this blog, check out Patty and Phil.

Even if you are not currently pregnant or in the situation that so many young women are in at this time, visiting the website will drive more traffic and may introduce this couple to the woman who can make their expanding family hopes come true.

You're reading this for a reason, so take it a step further and click.

Their daughter helped decorate the website!

*2*

My mom emailed this to me this week:

"Perhaps we, at times, see God as a kind of rival. Perhaps we too are blind to His signs, deaf to His words, because we believe that He puts limitations on our lives and does not allow us to dispose of our existence as we wish. When we see God in this way we end up feeling dissatisfied and discontented, because we do not allow ourselves to be guided by the One Who is the foundation of all things, We must remove all idea of rivalry from our minds and hearts, the idea that giving space to God is a limit to the self. We must open ourselves to the certainty that God is omnipotent love which takes away nothing, which threatens nothing. Quite the contrary, He is the only One capable of offering us the chance to live a full life and to experience true joy." 

-Homily, Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Vatican Basilica, 6 Jan 2011

*3*

Last Friday, my mom and I went to a fundraiser for the Catholic, all-girls school alma mater we share (I'm a third generation alumnae, whoop whoop!). It was fun and I enjoyed getting dressed up. I saw a lot of people I knew and met more that my mom grew up with in Catholic Richmond (it's a very small world and I'm related to half of it, making dating difficult).

There was a photo booth with a professional photographer snap*snap*snapping away. When he set up the picture (he put my mom on a little stool, I'm not that short), I thought he was going to make us do the classic prom picture with my back to my mom... thank goodness, he had more sense than that. 

Look at my beautiful mom! Yes, we got the "you could be sisters!" comment.

 *4*

If this was 1951, I would probably be a female failure. Good thing it's not 1951... because I'm not a cook. I'd like to get better (and not because I'm a woman. Because I'm someone who eats food) and I love the idea of being creative with food. A GUY told me about a book, Ratios, that teaches you the basics of flavor combination and the chemistry behind cooking.

I haven't gotten it yet, but I will soon.

*5*

In our Monday CCD class, I told the kids that Jesus was arrested and one boy said, "No He wasn't!" I proceeded to tell him, essentially, "Yes, huh." 

I told them why He was arrested and that the people who arrested Him hurt Him and then hung Him on the cross. The one girl who is the source of MANY of my post catalysts says, "But that's really mean. Why did they do that?" It was the cutest, sweetest little thing I've ever seen. She was so concerned for Jesus and how unfairly He was treated. 

Basically, I told her that the people didn't believe Him and they didn't like what He was saying and she said, again, "But that's so mean. Just because they didn't like what He was saying?" 

This girl asks the best questions that bring up a lot of thoughts. Just because they didn't like what He was saying, they killed Him. And He went through with it. 

"We love because he first loved us." -1 John 4:19

*6*

I don't own the rights.

I bought Jason and Christalina Evert's new book, How to Find Your Soulmate, and I'll soon write a review. I trust these co-writers of my Theology of the Body textbook will do justice to the teachings of the Church. I'm interested in doing God's will, no matter what that is...

However, I'm very excited to hear the Evert's explanation of how women called to marriage can transcend this secular world and find who God knows is best for them.

*7*

After a Twitter conversation with the lovely Julie Robison on Wednesday, I determined for the 2,546,541st time in my life that I over think things routinely.

I talked to my wise sister, Christine, who told me to pray the Hail Holy Queen every time I'm starting to over think. "It is less familiar, so it will be less automatic than the Hail Mary," she said.

It will also be good to use an already existing prayer for these moments. Otherwise, my prayers sound more like, "MARY, WHAT THE HECK?! Help me!"

Theology of the Body, Week 5

Truth and freedom: this is the chapter I should turn to every time someone says, "You teach Theology of the What? Isn't that just a bunch of rules? Wouldn't you rather be free?"

I'm often tempted to write these TOB posts from a slightly secular perspective so as not to turn off any non-theist readers. If you will just bear with me, push through the little cartoon flags labeled "annoying" that pop up, it will be five to ten minutes of your life. The words won't bite.

We often confuse independence with freedom. We were created for freedom, true freedom that we get to choose because of the gift of free will. "It is for FREEDOM that Christ set you free." Galatians 5:1

Rules

Does freedom mean no rules? Are we free if we throw off every rule we can recall, ignore any guilt that creeps in (because it is just a result of a conservative society anyway, right?), ignore how often we lie to keep up the lifestyle we want to live, and call ourselves "liberated?"

If you believe in God or if you do not, I guarantee those guilt pangs crop up occasionally, faint as they may be. Maybe it happens when you change the bedsheets, maybe when you realize you saw that rushed trip to the store for condoms as an "emergency," or maybe it's when you finally have to sleep alone one night after several nights with your significant other or several insignificant others.

"Freedom is not the ability to do anything we want. Rather, freedom is the ability to live responsibly the truth of our relationships with God and with others." - JP2

I often hear the argument, "Wow, that's great. You're waiting for marriage, I admire that. I just don't believe it's right for me." Right for you versus right for me?

Okay, so if I walk up to you and slap you in the face for no reason and say, "It felt right to me," how does that argument hold up? If I hired a guy to come into your house while you're sitting at the breakfast table with a bowl of Frosted Flakes to tie you up and steal your flatscreen... it felt right to me, so you shouldn't have a problem with it. How is that argument sounding right now?

Objective truth exists. Sometimes it feels inconvenient to us, so we "change the rules" or throw them off all together.

In a speech he gave to college men, the Venerable John Paul II said:

"I feel that I must make God's Truth and will fit into my perspective, and my concern is whether or not they are convenient for me. If it is convenient or helpful to me, well and good, but if not, I refuse it and leave. There is the temptation to place myself above Christ, especially when he asks something of me. Maybe this temptation to follow our own inclinations and wishes to place ourselves beyond Christ is found particularly in the field of sexual morality because it is here that Christ makes demands on men."

It is so true that our society more often applies relative moralism to sexual topics than to anything like racism, murder, theft, etc. It extends to abortion, which abortion supporters say is not murder, perhaps because the baby in question is a result of a sexual act.

Deep in our hearts, there is a standard that sends out red flags and guilt. We try to ignore it because we worry following it is going to confine us or make us un-free.

The way to freedom is by desiring to do what is good. Your actions must line up with what is true in your heart. Your hearts must desire the good so the rest of our lives can be about doing what is good.

If freedom comes from desiring what is good and choosing it, happiness comes from those who do not need "the rules." Choose God above all else and your actions will lead you to happiness and freedom.

There is a reason you feel good after you help someone. When you use your free will to do what is good, you have tasted freedom. Attempt to release the internal constraints (selfishness, lust, pride, etc) that keep you from doing what is good. Train yourself in freedom.

Passions

Either you will control your passions or your passions will control you. Many of you may have heard the song that came out before I even knew what sex was, "Bad Touch" by Bloodhound Gang:

"You and me baby ain't nothin' but mammals / So let's do it like they do on the Discovery Channel."

Uh, do I have to comment on that?

If you're upset while reading this post, if you're thinking "but it would be so hard not to have sex so that can't be right," if you're wondering why someone like me who is sitting on her high horse thinks they can tell you that you're stuffing down the guilt... ask yourself why it's upsetting you. Why does it bother you to read this post?

Is sacrifice worth it if freedom is the goal? Any fear we feel when thinking about controlling our passions may be a sign that our hearts are seeking true freedom.