Posts

Always bless me goodnight

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Right above the stairway door in my childhood home, there sits to this day a bottle of Holy Water. Every night as we filed up the stairs for bed, my dad would take it down and bless each one of us on our way up. At about 12 years old I was not as diligent about my nightly blessing, and I began to have horrible nightmares. Call it coincidence, but I call it grace, as soon as I started making sure I got a blessing before I went to bed, the nightmares stopped. For all my daily experiences with parental blessing, the scene in The Sound of Music  where Maria is about to walk down the aisle and Mother Superior blesses her always bothered me. Then at a friends wedding, the priest asked us all to bless the couple and I thought that was plain weird. I don't have the power to confer blessings. We have priests for this sort of thing! Well, it turns out I was wrong. We can bless our people, especially our children. We should bless people, and especially our children. And I found s

All the sheeple need is a Good Shepherd

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Two things in life are certain: death and taxes. Two things in an internet comment section are certain:  Godwin's Law  and people calling their opponents "sheeple". "American Sniper" has a line where Chris Kyle's dad talks about sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves. He says that all people are either sheep, sheepdogs or wolves. I'm not a sheepdog by any stretch of the imagination, and I hope to heaven I'm not a wolf. So I guess that makes me a sheep. I think I am okay with that. "Sheeple" is always meant in a derogatory fashion, but I can't see how there is anything wrong with being a sheep. I love sheep, raised them in 4H for years. They are delicious, they keep you warm, they sound cute (usually), and to the point of this post, they are very easily led. The Bible thinks quite highly of sheep too. Certainly likes them better than goats, anyhow (Matthew 25:32-33). Heaven is going to be chockablock full of sheep. The problem arises wh

Life isn't a slow cooker, it is war

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My favorite kitchen appliance is the crockpot. I can do all my dinner prep at noon, just open the lid at 6pm and voila! A pleasant and flavorful meal! (I hear the instant-pot is even better. Husband, if you are reading, take this as a hint.) Set it and forget it, man. Not having to spend the hour leading up to dinner in what often becomes a mad rush is a welcome break from the magnificent insanity that is family life. This past year, I have also done some early prep for my marriage. I've run across some exceptional marriage blogs ( Sheila Gregorie's is my favorite) and speakers (Dr. Laura, hey hey!) and I figured that I would get all the harsh realities out of the way here at the beginning. I think my unconscious goal was to be a low-key marriage expert by the time 2018 rolled around, so I could just slow cook all my wealth of wisdom until the next crisis hit. Don't laugh, I'm a millenial. I'm allowed to be ridiculous every now and then, right? I'

The Nashville Statement

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Early this week, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW)  published The Nashville Statement , laying out a biblical understanding of gender and sexuality. It is fairly straightforward, fourteen short articles affirming positives about God's design for us as men and women, and denying the misunderstandings (can we bring back the word heresy?) brought about by militant feminism and the Sexual Revolution. Particularly refreshing to me was the way that the writers included all disordered expressions of sexuality. Article II says, "We deny that any affections, desires or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality." There's more to the attack on marriage and sexuality than it just being between one man and woman, and I appreciate that this was acknowledged. Whatever our personal struggles may be, sexually, we are all held to the same standard: Are you married? No? Then don

Encouragement for Large Families

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"Two in diapers? You need to put a tv in your bedroom." It was almost a month ago, but that comment still gets my blood boiling. It had been a horrible Sunday, and the church was the last place I had expected to hear it; plus I didn't think two kids was all that extreme. Complaining to my mom about it, I was told a story of when she brought her third child, and first girl, to Mass the first time. A woman came up to her saying how nice it was that she had been able to complete her family and was now done. So it doesn't matter where you are, unfortunately. A young woman visibly living out God's call to be fruitful and multiply is almost unavoidably beset upon with smart comments. Praise God, I have a family and in-laws that will never tire of babies, but that is definitely the exception. Parents freak out when their adult children make what they perceive to be "unwise reproductive choices". Strangers glare at you when you hold up the grocery lin

Treat your husband like a child

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My husband and I celebrate our third anniversary next week. Traditionally, this is the leather anniversary. The reason being that this year, the couple begins to see how tough their marriage is and how their marriage will stand up to trials. One lesson that I have learned in three years that I believe will help my husband and I through the rest of the trials in our lives together, is that resentment can be incredibly destructive, and that it is vital not to keep score of wrongs. A few days ago, my husband did something that upset me. It wasn't out of animosity; it was simply that we had a miscommunication about priorities. We discussed it, and we both apologized; but yet, I let myself be bent out of shape for most of the day before coming to a stunning realization: I don't brood for hours when my sons annoy me.  I don't hold a grudge when they stomp on my feet, bite while nursing, throw their food, unfold the laundry, or just throw a fit over nothing. With

Unpopular opinion: Michelle Carter got a fair sentence

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My unpopular opinion of the day: Michelle Carter was fairly sentenced, and perhaps shouldn't serve any time at all. https://peopledotcom.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/michelle-carter19.jpg?w=2000&h=1333 You probably don't know her by name, but I guarantee you have heard her story. She is the girl from Massachusetts who was convicted of manslaughter for texting her boyfriend as he killed himself, encouraging, and even demanding, that he complete his attempt.  The prosecution and media presented her as an attention whore who wanted to be the poor girl who's boyfriend killed himself. She just wanted all eyes on her.  Even Matt Walsh, who I generally admire for his calculation and insight had these harsh words to say:  Screenshot from Facebook I heard her story and also thought she was a terrible person. I laughed at memes criticizing her appearance. I ranted about her sentence; it was nowhere near harsh enough.  Then a friend posted this artic