7 Quick Takes About "Contemporary Sainthood," "Losing Nothing of Ourselves," & Other Fantastic Ideas

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"Contemporary Sainthood"
I just listened to a very inspiring Lighthouse Catholic Media talk entitled "Contemporary Sainthood" by Mark Hart. Although he is addressing an audience of teens, the message applies to anyone aged teen and above.  In the first talk (it's a double feature), Mark Hart contends that if we are constantly bitter, angry, or bored, it could be due to our lives not being in line with our call to be saints.  He shares ideas regarding how to "unleash" the power to becoming a saint, as well as a profound insight from Pope Benedict XVI that I want to remember always:

 "You were not designed for comfort; you were designed for greatness." 

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We Lose Nothing of Ourselves
In my most recent post, I reflected on ideas for increasing simplicity, appreciating beauty, and finding truth.  I shared some thoughts on Jesus's call for us to give to others, without a calculation of whether or not we will get some type of return on our "investment":

"...we are called to love, help, and be kind even to those for whom it is difficult to love, help, and be kind.  This can be very difficult.  It requires a firm foundation in identity, a knowledge that we are loved immensely by God, maturity, humility, and the understanding that if our gift is not reciprocated or even if it is rejected, we have not lost anything of ourselves.  Nothing is lost when you attempt to give genuine love to others.  Love is multiplied no matter the response."

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Not the Right Season
With having a toddler, I am not able to volunteer at my older son's elementary school during school hours.  I was able to do that quite often before my younger son was born, so it doesn't bother me too much.  However, when I do feel a tad bit guilty that I'm not willing to find a daytime sitter so I can help with lunch duty or room parties, I think of this helpful post from Kathryn at Team Whitaker.

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"Listening Room"
I absolutely love the tone of this post from Nell of Whole Parenting Family.  Her idea of making it known to your child that you are listening to him or her is such a tender, yet firm approach to parenting a sensitive child.  I just love the idea of a "listening room," where he knows you have heard him, and he also learns to hopefully hear you.   The entire post is helpful, because it reinforces that you need to have a plan of what you will do when your child begins to melt down.  For me, a plan = less yelling.

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"Little Moment Parenting"
Another blog post that I really appreciate is one by Bonnie Engstrom of A Knotted Life, in which she explains why she has decided to go from "Big Picture Parenting" to focusing more on the day-to-day opportunities. Very enlightening.

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Skyview App
As part of my older son's scouting activities, we visited a nearby planetarium and learned interesting tidbits about the constellations, the stars, the planets and more.  With this newfound appreciation for outer space, I decided to download the free app, SkyView.  It's a lot of fun to hold my phone up to the night sky and find constellations, names of stars, planets, the international space station, and information about the moon.  It's a great app, and it's FREE!

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Scarf Tying Tutorial
Some international co-workers of my husband visited the U.S. over the summer, and they brought a gift for me.  I was surprised and delighted; that was really thoughtful of them!  They gave me a scarf (for fashion, not warmth).  Well, it has some beautiful what-I-would-call fall colors, so I decided to give it a try on Sunday.  I figured I could find a nice how-to guide online regarding how to wear it, and I found this video, which I really liked.  Since there are only eight main examples, I didn't feel too overwhelmed, which was important to me since I'm a newbie.




Thanks for hosting, Jen!  For more Quick Takes, go to ConversionDiary.com!

7 QT about an inspiring book, a life-changing quote, and some thoughts about choice

1. I have been reading Clare's Costly Cookie to my son, and we have both really enjoyed it.  The author is very skilled at teaching children how to talk to God and how to examine their consciences.  I think this is a great book to read to children who will be receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation and First Communion for the first time and older children, too.  I have found it to be helpful in planting the seed of desire for confession and adoration in my own heart, as well.  I highly recommend this book.  You can order it from Holy Heroes.

2. My 9 tips for sewing on Cub Scouts patches post is up now.
If you find yourself procrastinating with sewing on new patches, you may find my tips helpful.  I have gone from being quite anxious about sewing them on to feeling much more confident.

3. Have you ever tried the Lumosity games?  For a while, I had a habit of playing them four or five nights a week on my phone.  I think they were really helpful with improving my attention, memory, and mental computation skills.  

4. With the 40 Days for Life Campaign going on right now, I decided to listen to a Lighthouse Catholic Media talk by Lila Rose this week.  It was riveting and challenging.  At the end of her talk, there was a bonus segment by Matt Smith from his talk "God of My Future."  This excerpt had many great nuggets of truth, as well as a C.S. Lewis quote that I can't stop thinking about:

  “For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity.”― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

Wow.

I have always struggled with being fully present.  So many times in my life when I am not happy with what is going on, I just escape to the past or a probable future in my mind.  What a waste.  I know I'm not the only person who has trouble with embracing the moment, especially when it is not a desirable situation.  Hearing Matt Smith expound on C.S. Lewis's quote gave me a new way to look at living more fully in the present.

5. I have really been enjoying a round of philosophical emails about life with one of my friends.  She and I have different viewpoints and faith backgrounds, but I have to say that she is one of my dearest friends, and my life is enriched because of her.  The way she thinks and sees the world challenges me to more fully understand why I believe what I do.  I once saw Sister Helena Burns speak, and I remember her mentioning that she had a close friend who was of a different faith background than she (perhaps agnostic or atheist--I'm not sure), and someone who tired of this friend's comments on Sister's Facebook page suggested that the friend be blocked.  Sister Helena replied with a resounding "Never!"  That made a strong impression on me, and I have to say that I count my blessings often that this friend of mine is in my life.

6. Not too long ago, I watched a TED talk by Barry Schwartz called The paradox of choice.  It was a fascinating talk, and one thing he said really made me think.  He said that he assigns about 20% less work to his university students now than he used to.  The reason for this is because students' minds are more occupied than the minds of past generations.  He said it is due to students having more choices to make in life, such as whether or not they will get married now or later or have children, etc.  In the past, people just got married and had children at a set time in their lives and didn't deliberate over these questions regarding "when" or even "if".  Very interesting.  I know I have struggled with an over abundance of choices before.  For example, upon returning to the U.S. after living abroad for nine months, I found the cracker aisle in Wal-mart to be quite overwhelming.   

7. I need to remember to stress to my son that Halloween is really "All Hallow's Eve."  Perhaps I will get out our Saints books and try to read some throughout the month of November.  Speaking of Saints and All Saints' Day, Bonnie at A Knotted Life has some great ideas for celebrating this time of the year.  Happy Halloween!

Thanks for hosting, Jen!  For more Quick Takes, go to Conversion Diary.