Timehop Tuesday!

The other day, I mentioned an app that my one of my brothers introduced me to, called "Timehop." It's been fun to look at my old Facebook and Twitter posts and see what was on my mind a year ago (or two), to the day! And so I present to you a new series of blog posts: Timehop Tuesday! Although it may be slightly egocentric (because I'm telling you about other things I once told you... I, I, I...), I still think it will be kind of fun. Over the week, I'll save my favorite old posts and tweets, and (as you probably figured out), share them with you every Tuesday!

Soooo... what did I say over this past week, a year ago? First prize definitely goes to this little Twitter gem:

I remember that so well! What a triumphant, satisfying, happy day! It's the little things, man. And at that point, it was still Pope Benedict XVI! We had no idea that Pope Francis was to come, a few months later... he was still chilling out as Cardinal Bergoglio in Argentina (okay, so maybe he wasn't just chilling...).

By the way, for anyone who is interested, you can get Vatican flags for pretty cheap on Amazon! Perfect for all of your Catholic decorating needs.

In future weeks, I'll hopefully have more than one little "timehop" to share with you. But that's all for now... happy Tuesday!

In Gratitude

Today, I am just very thankful that Jesus lets me talk to him about everything, with complete honesty. That's "all."

Male and Female He Created Them (and I'm the second one, so let's talk about that)

Sometimes, when you're Catholic, you get excited by things that most people think are really weird. And yesterday, I discovered one of them! I was alive (in the womb) when Blessed John Paul II wrote Mulieris Dignitatem: On the Dignity and Vocation of Women! I'm not going to lie, that makes me feel pretty special. He was writing it to me - little pre-birth me - I just didn't know it yet! But even at that point in my life, God had given me the dignity and vocation of womanhood... and he saw that it was good.

Next, I learned that JPII wrote that apostolic letter at the conclusion of the Marian year he had declared, so bonus points... I was alive during the Marian year, too! #happyCatholicgirlsigh. So I read Mulieris Dignitatem, and then, in a bit of google searching... I discovered his Letter to Women in 1995! #doublehiphiphooray #moreJPIIismorebetter

I'll be totally honest: I can't always handle reading about "Catholic womanhood." It's kind of a touchy subject, yes? Mention the Catholic Church + women, and you'll get all sorts of crazy reactions... both outside the Church and in. From debates about skirts to stay-at-home moms to people telling me I'm a beautiful princess and I don't need makeup or whatever, it's not always my favorite topic.

 (Plus, saying "femininity" is like trying to say "anemone.")

But this is JPII we're talking about here. My Papa! And it's so, so good. So it's not really true that I don't like reading "girl stuff"; whenever I find something that actually speaks to my feminine heart in a real and genuine way, I truly do love to soak it in! It's the counterfeits that make me grumpy.

In honor of these glorious discoveries, and in honor of Saturday (Mary's day!), I present to you a list of some of my favorite books, talks and blogs on being authentically feminine. I promise, none of these are the "girl power," man-bashing type, because I despise that attitude (tension between men and women is a product of the fall, fo' sho'). I also promise that they are not the type that are going to make you feel horrible about yourself and like you're not really feminine, because you don't wear skirts every day/you work outside the home/you have short hair/fill-in-the-blank with your pet peeve here. It's not a complete list by any means; I'm probably forgetting lots of other soul-enriching goodness that I would also recommend to you. (Feel free to comment with your own favorites!)

Books:
~ The World's First Love: Mary, Mother of God by Ven. Fulton J. Sheen
~ The Catholic Girl's Survival Guide for the Single Years by Emily Stimpson
~ Woman in Love by Katie Hartfiel
~ My Sisters the Saints by Colleen Carroll Campbell
~ Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter (edited by Hallie Lord)
~ Men, Women and the Mystery of Love by Edward Sri (basically, the easier-to-chew version of Love and Responsibility)
~ Story of a Soul by St. Therese (my favorite!! I had to include her. If you want to read the words of a woman who was truly in love with Jesus Christ as her spouse, then read it.)

Talks:
~ Why Do Women Do That? by Lisa Cotter (this is actually a talk given to men, but I found it super helpful in understanding myself!)
~ The Ache of Singlehood and Dating by Jackie Francois (I'm sorry that the sound quality isn't the greatest on this video... but watch it anyway! Basically, anything Jackie says is gold. She and her fiance have a blog, too!)

Blogs:
~ The Evangelista by Christina Grace
~ Verily (by the staff of the Verily magazine)
~ Worthy of Agape by Amanda Mortus (she also just published a book on the same topic!)
~ Seraphic Singles by Dorothy Cummings

I'll be totally upfront, in that several of those appeal mainly to single young women. But hey, that's what I am at the moment, so that's what I like.

I'm kind of excited about my next related read; I'm about to dive into the essays of Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross)! I'll let you know how it goes...

And last but not least, I'll leave you with two lovely, thought-provoking, potentially tear-jerking quotes from our Polish Papa:

"Thank you, every woman, for the simple fact of being a woman! Through the insight which is so much a part of your womanhood you enrich the world's understanding and help to make human relations more honest and authentic." -Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women, 1995

Therefore the Church gives thanks for each and every woman: for mothers, for sisters, for wives; for women consecrated to God in virginity; for women dedicated to the many human beings who await the gratuitous love of another person; for women who watch over the human persons in the family, which is the fundamental sign of the human community; for women who work professionally, and who at times are burdened by a great social responsibility; for "perfect" women and for "weak" women - for all women as they have come forth from the heart of God in all the beauty and richness of their femininity; as they have been embraced by his eternal love; as, together with men, they are pilgrims on this earth, which is the temporal "homeland" of all people and is transformed sometimes into a "valley of tears"; as they assume, together with men, a common responsibility for the destiny of humanity according to daily necessities and according to that definitive destiny which the human family has in God himself, in the bosom of the ineffable Trinity." -Mulieris Dignitatem

Faith and Applesauce

There are certain foods I really like: whipped cream, Greek yogurt, pasta, etc. Having favorite foods puts me in the normal human being category, which feels nice from time to time (because single, female, Catholic youth minister living in a small town in Ohio isn't much of a common denominator these days). Anyway, one of these fine edibles I enjoy happens to be applesauce. No sugar added applesauce, to be precise. Blame it on my family (we typically made and canned 6-8 bushels worth every year when I was growing up) or blame it on the fact that it's readily available at Walmart and goes so nicely with many different meals... however you look at it, I just really like the stuff!

On the other hand, it's not like I walk around with it in my purse and eat it all day long. I don't hang posters of it on my walls, or wax eloquent on the wonders of this mushed up fruit. So imagine my surprise when one of my friends recently told me that he is currently addicted to eating applesauce... and it's all my fault.

My reaction: "What did I even do? All I did was eat it for dinner one night in front of you!"

Apparently that's all it took.

I was pondering this tonight, whilst making my own dinner (which, by the way, did not include applesauce). Was it really that attractive that, after merely one look, he had to go to the store and get some for himself? I didn't have to rant on and on about the merits of applesauce, come up with convincing arguments for it, or even ask him if he wanted some. Hmm, I thought. So weird. But I couldn't deny what had happened - he's been eating applesauce for days now, ever since he saw me with it just that one time.

And so I submit to you yet another real-life analogy about how we must be witnesses of Christ, before anyone is going to listen to the words we have to say. I know, it can be a tired discussion in Catholic circles, and it's easy to say "Yeah, yeah, we already know that. Witnesses before teachers, Paul VI, blah blah blah. We got it."

I fully admit it: this is just another little blog post reminding you to live like Christ. But the reason it's a bit cliche is because it's true. I don't really want to go into all the caveats right now (for instance, that we must also preach Christ with our words, and not rarely, by any means). Let's just keep it simple and suffice it to say this: I could talk about applesauce all day and no one would care. But the hook was seeing me eat it, and dare I say, seeing me enjoy eating it.

I have no hidden twist to share with you, no extra-special insight that has eluded the Pope or that will convert the nation overnight. I just humbly submit to you one simple, little reminder, and that is this: be fully, passionately, joyfully Catholic. Be filled with life, love and holiness, and see what happens! The Holy Spirit likes to surprise us and use us to bear fruit (applesauce pun definitely intended), even when we aren't expecting it.

Back

So, I'm back; I must say, I very much enjoyed going under the radar for a few days! I turned off my phone while in Canada, mainly to avoid roaming charges. It turned out to be a much-needed vacation! Even after I got back into the U.S. this afternoon, I decided to continue ignoring messages, just for the day. I'll resurface in the morning, (hopefully) refreshed and ready to go!

On a random note, one of my brothers told me today that I should get an app called "Timehop." It tells you what you put on Facebook/Twitter a year ago on this day (and two years, three, four, etc.). I just checked it out, and I was actually more interested than I thought I would be! Last year, on this day, my Facebook status was: 

"All that's in my head is in Your hands

If it's in my head, it's in Your hands"

-Switchfoot 

Not bad, my 23-year-old self... not bad. 

7 Quick Takes Friday - Road Trip Edition!

I'm sort of a road trippin' expert. I mentioned yesterday all of the traveling I've already done this summer - and let's be honest, this has pretty much been my lifestyle for the last few years. I think I can trace it back to the summer of 2009, to be exact.

The scene: a theater in northeast Ohio, after watching the latest Harry Potter movie for a high school friend's birthday.

The problem: nobody waited for me to follow them to my friend's house for the rest of the party, like they were supposed to. Also, I had no cell phone at the time. Essentially, I was stranded.

I stood at a crossroads. Go home... or trek boldly forward into the unknown?

For this story to make sense, you have to know that I had just gotten back from a travel abroad semester in Austria; ergo, the spirit of adventure was still lingering in my soul. With chutzpah, I decided to attempt to find Lauren's house, even though I truly didn't know where I was going. But I had navigated Europe! In foreign languages! America was a piece of cake.

To this day, I'm not going to lie, I'm still very proud of myself. In short, I drove to the city where she lived, stopped at the least sketchy-looking gas station I could find and asked for directions to her street. I had been to her house once before, so I knew what it looked like, at the very least. Things got a little tricky when I got to the street and didn't recognize anything; but I discovered that it's one of those streets with multiple legs that zig-zag down other streets.

And, to everyone's surprise, I pulled into her driveway shortly thereafter... with a very satisfying feeling of personal accomplishment, I might add (if you haven't noticed).

So that was my first foray into the exciting world of independent navigation. I believe the second was getting myself into downtown Pittsburgh for a friend's court case (that's another story in itself; let me just say that she is pretty much a pro-life saint, was definitely unjustly accused, and a fabulous, elderly, Irish judge laughed her opponent out of court with some awesome common sense). I believe that was my first time in the exciting world of city parking garages...

I could go on and on. Basically, since getting my taste of freely traveling to and fro, I've never been the same. I love the feeling of actually going somewhere... almost as much as I love the feeling of finally getting somewhere. In this crazy world (do I sound like I'm from the pioneer times yet?), most of my friends don't live anywhere near me, and it's such a joy to be able to solve this problem by simply hopping in my car and investing some time (and gas money... eek). At this point in my life and vocational discernment, traveling is still very much an option - so carpe highway!

Unfortunately, it's much too easy to spend half the day in the car and realize that all I've done is listen to the same 5 songs on the radio, over... and over... and over... and over. For hours. So I've come up with a list of ways to make your road trips (or even your 20 minute drives!) actually help you become the person God created you to be!

(This is quite a lot of build-up for what I'm actually going to be telling you... sorry about that.)

1. Turn off the radio and be silent.

This can be unbelievably difficult, even for those of us who really like Jesus and prayer time. Over one five-day stretch this summer, I actually spent 30+ hours in the car... and probably took about 1 hour of that to be quiet. The rest was spent listening to the radio, on the phone, etc. But car time, like shower time, is prime prayer time. So just do it.

2. Listen to a Fr. Mike Schmitz homily!

Getting a bit stir-crazy from the silence, but still want something good for your soul? Download some homilies from Fr. Mike Schmitz (they're all free podcasts on iTunes!) to listen to on the way! Alternately, you could listen to a Lighthouse CD talk, or a spiritual classic that has been read aloud and recorded (again, check iTunes, or YouTube, or your local library).

3. Actually take that rosary off of your rear view mirror and pray it!

It ain't just a cool Catholic accessory. If you're going to sport it, you better actually use it sometimes. To be honest, I've only recently come to that conviction. And believe me... even if you have to force yourself to get started, you'll never regret the time you spent on it afterwards.

4.  Pray for people who are stranded on the side of the road.

Another variation on this: pray for the other people who are driving around you, and for those in the cities you're passing by. They'll never know you did it... but it's going to make a great story-time in heaven!

5. Take advantage of your rest stops!

Yes, please use the bathroom and get snacks. But what I really mean by this is that you should always be ready for an evangelization moment! Not in a weird way - just be nice and friendly to the cashier, willing to chat with the people around you, smile, and try not to look like death and act like a grumpy ogre. You never know who you're going to meet and the kind of conversations that others will strike up with you! (I'm friends with the types of people who will pray over random strangers in parking lots, if the opportunity strikes... believe me, it happens!).

6. Appreciate the beauty!

If you're driving through somewhere naturally beautiful, soak it up! And thank Jesus for it, too. We could all be more sensitive to and appreciative of beauty. It's healing (as I wrote about here).

7. Praise and worship music.

Because nothing says "I'm dedicating this road trip to you, Jesus" like surrendering your heart to him while singing "Great I Am" at the top of your lungs. Plus, no one can hear you or judge you! (Safety tip: do not close your eyes in prayer, raise both hands in the air, or rest in the Spirit. Just don't do it... the Holy Spirit is not calling you to that, I promise.)

And there you have it! 7 tips for a holy car ride. It's basically Catholic common sense, but sometimes we need to hear it, right?

I'm headed off on another one of these trips over the next few days, so I'll probably retreat from the blogosphere again for a bit. Just an FYI. Cheerio!

(Apparently I get really chatty when I haven't blogged in two months... I'll try for some shorter posts soon!)

Not sure what to call this one...

Rather than make excuses for why I haven't blogged in nearly two months (brokenlaptopcoughcough), I would just like to point out, isn't my new blog design pretty? Yay for pretty!

Today I am sleep-deprived and I'd just like to give you a hoshglosh of things... we can focus later, yes?

So for one, I stumbled on this picture today:

Why yes, I used to be cool. (Read: clearly, I was never cool.) To the people who know my family: doesn't Timmy look SO young? This was taken in fall '09, when he was 12. Random things I'm noticing, here... like this was back when I was still wearing my claddagh ring from Ireland, before it starting breaking. I was nervous that it was going to break all the way, so I took it off with the intention of fixing it... still haven't done that! And I was also sporting my MOS medal and JPII crucifix, before they (and probably that chain) got old and changed colors. Cheap metal for sure, but I loved them.

Currently, I'm procrastinating. I need to go get muffins or something for our youth group, since I challenged them to the 7am morning Mass! (David, cue the muffin joke.) I'm kind of a slacker tonight, though, because I usually make them homemade bakery... too sleepy, though. Besides, my bananas are wayyyy past gone (this is unfortunate, because it's the second thing I've had to throw out this month; it was my goal to waste no food whatsoever in July).

This has been another summer on the go for me! I've been to northeast Ohio multiple times, twice to southern Indiana, once to York, PA (with a quick side trip to Steubenville), to Kelley's Island, and to Missouri! This weekend will involve Sandusky, another jaunt to Steubie, and then... Sunday through Tuesday in Canada! Despite all this running around (some for work, some personal), Canada will be the first real vacation time I've taken this summer. So I'm quite excited for the land of maple leaves and mounties!

You know, this always happens to me: I never realize how ridiculous all of my plans sound until I tell other people. Hmm.

I think we're overdue for some book recommendations: recently, I would have to say Under the Mantle by Fr. Don Calloway and My Sisters the Saints by Colleen Carroll Campell were both outstanding! For the ministry people, I also really liked Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries. As far as fiction goes, I picked up a copy of The Wizard of Oz in a used bookstore; I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. The back story on this is that I've been a Fr. Michael Schmitz homily addict this summer (you may think I'm exaggerating... I am not). In one of his homilies, he pulled a story from the novel that I thought was quite profound, and not in the movie at all, so I was intrigued. I'll let you know.

Oh, and I have to say, I highly, highly recommend a children's book called The Day the Crayons Quit. It's hilarious! Next time you're in a bookstore, go to the children's section and find it. Pull up a chair and revel in the brilliance (preferably reading it out loud).

Speaking of childhood, you know what happened to me today? I found my DVD of The Little Mermaid - it has been lost for years and I never had any hope of seeing it again! On the downside, my adult self has so many issues with the messages in the movie (for instance, when your 16 year old child falls in "love" with a complete stranger and decides to move to a different habitat and become a different species, you shouldn't be worried). But on the upside, I like to sing all the songs because they make me happy (shallow much?).

Well, time for Walmart/calling my best childhood friend for her birthday (it will work out perfectly with the time zones. Usually I hate time zones, but sometimes it works to one's advantage).

Up next: some things I've learned from road tripping this summer!