Catholics Who Dare, Reviews, Chicken Day, Purging, Friendship, Pie and Glory

Join us at 7-Quick Takes Friday!

1) I really admire people who defend their faith with a cool sense of humor. Erin McCole-Cupp does that and she has written one of the best reviews I have ever read of one of the best books I have ever read. See her review of Dena Hunt’s new book, The Lion’s Heart. http://erinmccolecupp.com/2014/06/25/wwrw-the-lions-heart-by-dena-h...;

2) I am also reading three other books by Catholic authors and becoming more and more impressed with the high quality of writing out there. I stayed up way past my bedtime reading Passport by Christopher Blunt. A great romance story that is a lot more than just romance. It is told from a man’s point of view and the honesty level in this book is astonishing! I can’t wait to get back to it. And I am just starting a new book (not out yet) called, Stay with Me which is also a great read, wonderful details and seriously funny. I am also on the first few pages of a science fiction story called Ad Limina – a Novella of Catholics in Space. It looks interesting – a new perspective on the future. Well, I am never bored!

3) Chicken Day approaches…and I am really glad. With the price of grain these day these will be the most expensive birds we ever raised. My daughter also informed me that they are the meanest. They have an attitude problem and a habit of pecking her which will make the deed much more bearable. Like I said, I’m a chicken myself when it comes to these things, but meat on the table is still rather important. At least this way my kids know where their food comes from, they know the work and sacrifice it takes to produce a meal, and they sure as heck don’t throw away their food in a fit of pickiness.

4) Purging is a good thing, especially if you can purge your garage of all that junk which has turned getting into the van a threat to the health and well being of your kids. I hate to throw anything away, I always think, well maybe some day…but the fact is, stuff has been laying around for years attracting all sorts of little critters who love to invite their friends over for critter parties. You don’t know about critter parties? Well, perhaps you’re not up late enough to hear them, or you don’t dig deep enough to see them. We once had a possum join the cats for a midnight snack – all sitting around the feed bowls munching away happily. Very ecumenical but rather expensive when the mice joined in. What were the cats thinking?

5) I have been able to reconnect with some friends this summer and it has been a real joy to do so. The funny thing is that years have passed since we sat down and really talked but once we caught up on the ages of our kids (I can’t keep mine straight anyway) we found we were still on the same page in terms of our struggles and joys. But it is a nice relief to realize that my fears and anxieties are not so strange and that others have endured the same.

6) Pie. Yep,any pie. Pie is a perfectly legitimate way to put fruit into your kids’ diet. My middle kids went out and picked bowls of raspberries this week and I was rather at a loss. But then the idea of pie was floated and suddenly pie became a food group. There was more fruit and juice than crust – though I must say the crust was nice and crisp – but in my opinion pie is really just another way to glorify God. After all, He created the berries and the intelligence to invent pie.

7) Glory is one of those words that can send shivers down my spine. (No, not gory!) Glory – as in Glory of God. I spend way to much time thinking about what needs to be done and how I’ve messed up,(OK, so it helps to actually look at the mail before you throw it away) and not nearly enough time admiring the Glory of God all around me. It is in seeing His glory that I remember the best in myself – the realization that He created me, that He put me on this earth for a reason, that He loves me, that we can have a real relationship – If I remember Him and love Him back. Really love Him. And that means seeing Him for who He is. Now that’s pretty Glorious.