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!