Happy Friday y'all! It's date night at Casa McCormick, which means dinner and prayer group for the Hubs and I. The kids get to spend the night with Nonna, which I'm currently being pestered about. "Let's go, let's go, let's go!" You'd think I make them sit around chained up breaking rocks or something. I don't. Honestly, I don't.
Here's what has been happening around the Casa and floating around my mind this week! Enjoy...or run away. Your call.
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Because I'm often working on photos or designs (or on Facebook, if we're keepin' it real) when I'm on my computer, every time Li'l G sees me on the laptop, she runs over and wants to "help" (read: push buttons) and see pictures. This Tuesday, I was working on my Advent Calendar scripture readings, and she ran over to see pictures, but with a special request. She wanted to see Pope Francis. I pulled up Google Images and showed her Pope Francis. Her reply? "Yup. Pope Francis." And off she went. I'm sure Papa Francis wants to see you too, little girl. One day, one day! Perhaps it is time to write our dear Holy Father a letter from Li'l G...-2-
I just recently read that Pope Francis will be making his first Apostolic Exhortation to close the Year of Faith, basically calling each of us to the duty to "go and make disciples." As CNS reports,
"This is a commitment the Church is called to take on. Believing means involving others in the joyful meeting with Christ. In his Exhortation, the Pope entrusts every baptised Catholic with the mission of becoming an evangeliser."
Way past time to roll up our sleeves and get to work! I love that he is focusing on the word mission first and then tying it into evangelization. Church nerd stuff, I know.
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Having worked in young adult and campus ministry for over ten years, I'm a little bit obsessed with virtual presence and current use of technology. I realize it isn't the end, but it is a powerful means. After years of lamenting how behind the times our Archdiocese was technologically, I was so excited to see these videos from the Office of Priestly Vocations sharing the discernment stories of our seminarians. Here is one below, and the rest are on the DetroitPriest channel on YouTube. Kudos, OPV, kudos.
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I can't even remember the first time I heard the whole "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" bit. While it is true that there are definite differences in communication styles, I am overall fairly opposed to generalizations. This little cartoon from Robot Hugs made me laugh pretty much out loud.
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| Visit their website to see the rest. Seriously. |
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November 22 is a day that lives in infamy. Ever since my 8th grade report, I've known it as the day JFK was assassinated. Who knew it was also the day C.S. Lewis passed? Not this girl, until now. So, in honor of him, here is one of my favorite quotes attributed to him. It sums up life these days, I think...
“Isn’t funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different…” C.S. Lewis
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Thanks to a Facebook tip from a friend, I recently found out that KLOVE is finally in the Detroit area. Awesomesauce! In case you're in the area and didn't know, it's on 106.3 FM. I had a blast driving home listening to some old (and new) tunes from concerts and festivals I've been to. Yeah, I looked a fool dancing around to Newsboys' "God's Not Dead," though I think I am finally on board with Michael Tait as the frontman. I know. I'm slow. It makes such a difference for me to listen to something that is "positive and encouraging" on my drives - definitely a mood shifter.
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Speaking of positive and encouraging KLOVE, I've only been listening for one day, and let's be real, less than two hours given my commute. In that short time, I've already heard about two incredible projects/resources. I haven't checked either of them out, but they sound like great initiatives. I'm going to share one right now that includes a slight rant on a subject that could be a little non-PC. Bullying. Now, I get that it is a problem. However, and this is where the rant gets dicey, I think we are creating a generation of children who have no coping skills with our overreaction to the problem. Some schools do not "allow" you to invite classmates to parties because others will be left out? No best friends because that makes others feel bad? Don't get me started on the trophies for everyone at tournaments because everyone is a winner. If that's the case, let's just cancel competition all together, give everyone an A and send them on their merry way. See how this might make people see me as a huge meanie pants?
Here's the thing. Childhood, adolescence and life in general is a little hard. It just is this side of heaven. Do we want a whole generation who has no idea how to struggle? I shudder to think of where that will lead us (and has already led to to a certain extent.) Enter the project I heard on KLOVE. They, too, acknowledge that it is a problem, and that kids are truly being hurt.
However...and this is a big however...the project they were advertising is called "We Are Empowered" - a whole project to build people up so it doesn't matter what a bully might say or do. We know that we are more than what people think of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you! From a gal who was bullied for being a nerd and a bit of a goody-two-shoes (I mean literally there was a girl who wanted to always fight me after school and I got my car window punched in), thank you. The teenage years are hard. Kids do dumb, mean things. Those hormones are raging and parents sometimes retain their former bullying ways for their kids to pick up. We are more than what people think of us. Now, physical threats? Yeah, kick those suckers out. This mental game? We have to teach our kids to guard their hearts and their minds to retain the image of God as the first and most vibrant image even in the midst of despair. Rant over. Sorry for the not-so-quick-take there.
That's enough ranting and rambling from me. Go visit Jennifer at Conversion Diary to see what everyone else has to say.
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