This is so neat and yours truly is linked up on the “Blogs” portion of the toolbar…so hurry on and get yours today: Catholic Gadget
There is “Blogs”, “Homeschooling”, Links, “Crafts” (which also give you Liturgical ideas), “Forums”, even a “Tools”, then you can customize and add your e-mail notifications and even the weather! Too neat not to pass up…so stop reading this and go get it! LOL!
Father Corapi is amazing! I’ve blogged about him in the past and I have almost all of his retreats and/or converences recorded on my DVR at home (I think I might have over 30 hours recorded!). I love both of these priests for many reasons but mainly because they tell it like it is! They are not afraid to speak up and truly preach the Gospel!! They, in my eyes, remind me the most of Christ! I’m certain there are tons of priests out there just like them, these are just the two that are my most favorite!
Father Corapi will be at a Conference in Cincinatti coming soon on July 17th. At this conference he will be speaking about something that will touch lots of nerves with people, secular and Church: social teachings of the Catholic Church. Father Euteneuer will emcee this event as well and I WANT TO BE THERE! So why is this conference stirring things up all over the place? Here is an article at the National Catholic Register by Danielle Bean (a great Catholic mother and wife – she’s got 8 kiddos and the editor of Faith and Family Magazine!) article on the whole situation.
Here’s some information on the conference:
So, as a family of six I felt (a couple of months ago) that I was drowning in laundry! When laundry day came, I wanted to run away as fast as I could! When I found myself doing laundry and about six months pregnant with number five – I freaked! So I did what a good mommy and housewife would do, first, I panicked, second I called for help from the “veterans” AKA mom friends with more kids than I!
To the rescue comes my friend Stephanie (mommy of SIX)! She taught me a system that works like a charm. I’ve been wanting to blog about her system since the first day she told me about it but I thought I’d give it a couple of months to try it out and see how it worked for me – it’s simply amazing! Then another friend of ours (Blogging Mama Liz) reported that she posted something on her blog about it a couple of weeks ago, so here it is: Stephanie’s Laundry System (for BIG, and not so big, families)! Thanks, Liz!
In my quest for a cool picture for this post, I found this cartoon about “the laundry monster” and I wanted to share it (oh how things change, lol):
“Everyday Blessings for Catholic Moms” is the new show on EWTN hosted by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle. I’ve blogged about her wonderful books on here in the past and wanted to share this news with you! You can read more about this great experience on her blog by clicking here. You can also read up on the show on Faith & Family Live, written by Lisa Henley (creator of CatholicMom.com and an author herself, The Handbook for Catholic Moms) by going here. I can’t wait to watch the show myself…her books are fascinating (I’m reading two right now: One with a local group of moms Domestic Church: Room by Room and the other Prayerfully Expecting on my own since I’m 7 weeks away from seeing our new baby!). She is such a great Catholic mother and woman!
Thanks, Donna-Marie, for your devotion and for guiding us in the beautiful vocation of motherhood.
We have a couple of friends who have ditched the TV from their homes…no, this is NOT a typo. They had consciously decided to get rid of the TV, well mainly cable and some the actual sets, from their lovely homes. In 2010, this is hard to believe! Personally, I’d love to do it if only I could get DH to agree with me 100% on this, lol! He’s about 75% of the way there…still working on him about it. Why would I want this for my home? Several reasons:
1. TV/Cable is a distraction for real wholesome family time.
2. It is a venue for the wrong kind of messages to my children (EVEN THE CARTOONS)!
3. It is addictive and keeps you from focusing on the things that matter most.
I’ve had days were we don’t turn the set on all days…the silence is lovely! Now, my friends who have opted for this lifestyle do watch movies. Some very limited kind, of course and no, they aren’t weird or dress or look weird, lol! They are very “normal” Catholics who are trying to keep the focus on their faith – that’s all.
The past week, one friend recommended a movie entitled The Robe…she saw it with her nine-year-old and they both loved it! It is from a very different perspective about the life and ministry and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the view and words of the Roman Soldier who cast lots to win Jesus’s robe. I really want to see it with my 12 year old! I think it would be a fantastic film to watch during Lent as well!
Last night I asked another friend to make a list of these kinds of movies so that I could share with other moms; and for my family as well of course. These are older Catholic movies that you could watch with your kids. Here is the list that my friend Dan compiled for me, he entitled it “The Best Catholic themed films that I have seen” [he has made specific comments]:
If you have other films you’d like to add to this list or if you have already seen any of these and you’d like to tell us about them, please feel free to leave a comment. Also, when I taught at a Catholic school in Florida, I always went to this website: http://usccb.org/movies/ to see what the Catholic US Bishops had to say about current films and TV shows. Of course, for newer films you can also visit: http://www.lukefilms.com/
If you have attended a home educating conference in the past, please leave us a comment of your experience at these conferences. Also, let us know why you would recommend that Catholic home educators attend these conference. By the way, a lot of these conferences are FREE of charge! 🙂 Who can resist that? LOL! Don’t forget, leave us a comment with your experiences.
There is a plethora of ideas and activities to work with your home schooled children via other Catholic Blogging Mamas throughout the net. Here is the line up of what I’ve found thus far (if you find other good sites to recommend, please post a comment on here withe link). Some of these overlap a little, be aware! 🙂 Here is the line up (hover over the name of the blog to click on the link):
Enjoy!
Here’s a link to Donna-Marie’s blog that posted a picture of our little group that is currently using her book, Domestic Church: Room by Room: http://viewdomesticchurch.blogspot.com/2010/01/domestic-church-study-group.html
When I started reading this book, I was so excited to share with our readers about it that I stopped in the middle and created a preview review of this amazing book.
Then I was off to finishing this book and couldn’t help it and just had to finish the book; I couldn’t put it down again! The author gives you an different view of the real Blessed Mother Teresa by sharing personal letters that she sent her as well as quoting her through various conversations they had over the phone or in person. I’ve always been drawn, from an early age, to service to others. I’ve gone to “extremes” and worked in soup kitchens or volunteered at orphanages in the past. Since starting my own family, I haven’t been able to do these “extreme” works of mercy and felt bad because of it. After reading this book I realized that as mothers, we have to server those around us and also that food isn’t always what others need. There are people around us all the time that need time, love and compassion, as well as our prayers! Starvation isn’t always related to food and nourishment, it also has to do with being and feeling wanted, needed, and loved! How many times do we treat someone in our own families poorly because they “bother us”?
On this note, I’ve gotten to meditating on the idea that those people that you and I might not like, Jesus and Mary LOVE them as much as he loves you and me! What a concept! If we keep this in mind every time we come across people in our own families that “drive us nuts”, “get on our nerves or under our skin”, just think, “but Jesus loves them, so why shouldn’t I?” I’m certain there are times when you and I do things that make you wonder who would love us after they knew our worse sins. The beautiful aspect of being Catholic is that our Lord gave us the amazing Sacrament of Reconciliation and since He loves us he forgives us, so why not do the same for those around us? As, the author states in her book, there is a Calcutta all over the world.
Another thing that stayed with me from this book is that we constantly make excuses for not serving others or doing more for our own faith. We say things like, “If only I had more money to share”, “If I had more time”, “If I had more energy”….we waste so much precious time with “Ifs” and not doing enough for our own family members! God has placed you were you are for a reason, he didn’t give you more money, time, energy, etc., because He has sent you what you need for the mission He wants you to endure!
This book has been a wake up call for me in so many aspects of my life as a mother, a wife, a sister, a daughter, etc.. Instead of waking up each morning and wishing I had more of this or that, now I wake up and ask, “Okay Lord, what do you need from me today?”
Thank you, Donna-Marie, for writing this marvelous book! It truly has been like a mini retreat for me; one which I will definitely turn to in a couple of months because this is the kind of book you’ll want to read again and again!
This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Mother Teresa and Me .
Soooo….I opened the book Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship by Donna-Marie Cooper-O’Boyle on Saturday morning and I COULD NOT put it down!!! I walked around with it all day, lol! Every second I could sit and read, I did (while watching my lovely 4 children, of course)…I got to Chapter 7! Stopped for the day and Sunday to let it all sink in, I have one word to describe how I feel after reading thus far, “WOW!” I also noticed something that was definitely from God, total inner peace…no matter how nutty things got with the kids, I was SUPER calm (not the way I normally handle things, lol). Hence, the kids reacted back the same way, it was so sweet and lovely to have this little interaction!