7 Quick Takes Friday

— 1 —

I like how Leila Miller over at Little Catholic Bubble once referred to her 7 Quick Takes as “7 Late Takes.” I’m stealing this because I’m so late that I’ve missed the past several weeks, each time attempting to get one put together but failing miserably every time.

 — 2 —

So if you were looking for some ideas on what to sacrifice for Lent, I give you exhibit A from my son, who fell out of bed the other night and continued sleeping on the floor. I definitely consider this and any form of snoozing on a hard surface an act of penance. This is why I don’t camp… unless it’s in a cabin.

— 3 —

That same night, we checked on our daughter, who had climbed out of her crib and crawled under it, where she proceeded to also fall asleep.

I have no explanation for this except that the cats and her pacifiers can often be found in this region, so perhaps she was looking for one or the other when the Sandman lured her into Dreamland.

— 4 —

Speaking of Dreamland, I have a dream that one day I will be organized and have the perfect, spotless, ordered home that others will envy admire like I do with some friends. One thing I have considered doing during Lent is FlyLady’s 40 Bags in 40 Days challenge. So far, I have managed to gather enough items to fill one trash bag, and we did have the City come and pick up a bunch of old closet doors that were sitting on our side yard for several months awhile now.

And perhaps the best clean-up success story for this week is that I got all the Christmas decorations down from our front yard, and a landscaper pulled all our weeds and blew away all the dead leaves that had accumulated on our grounds. This of course made our front yard presentable, but it made my sons upset because they had enjoyed romping in the leaves every time we came home from somewhere.

— 5 —

I just had to share an inspirational story. A couple weeks ago, my husband and I presented God’s Plan for a Joy-filled Marriage to about 30 engaged and convalidating couples. Normally we split the day’s talks with our awesome friends, Fr. John Lankeit, and Mike and Sharon Phelan, but the latter were committed to another presentation that day, so we were the only married couple. What started out as a stressful day with four talks ended on a beautiful note later that week when we received an email from the priest who would be presiding over a couple’s Church wedding.

He indicated that this couple entered our class with some reservations but had returned to him with nothing but positive things to say about the life-changing experience they encountered. As a result, they are now trying to raise the funds to reverse her tubal ligation. Because, as the priest pointed out, the insurance company is happy to pay for her to unplug her fertility, but isn’t willing to repair it to working order. Ah, “health care” in a secularly governed world.

If you feel called to help this couple in their courageous act of faith, please contact me and I will put you in touch directly with the priest who is handling their marriage preparation. What a great witness to the power of Truth reaching the heart of a couple who just hadn’t heard it before.

— 6 —

And now, a word from Bishop Fulton Sheen.

And that is why as we sadly bid farewell to our faithful Pope Benedict XVI while anticipating the selection of the next Successor of Peter, there is one thing we can count on, my friends. Thank God (literally), that the Holy Spirit guides the Church started by Christ – not the media, or the government, or cafeteria or dissident Catholics, who think their relativist views (“gates of hell”) will somehow override 2000 years of tradition. They just don’t understand who is in charge.

— 7 —

And finally, in honor of my entering my 34th week of pregnancy, here’s a fun little video I came across that just might make you chuckle  – whether you’re currently with child or not. I’m not sure what I was pleased by more – the woman gobbling up the box of Jr. Mints, my personal favorite treat, or the reference to Tums sitting by the bed. Enjoy.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!