{SQT} On Words, Madness, Blankets, Baking, and Fighting the Good Fight

It seems that Quick Takes are already off to a sporadic start here. C'est la vie...and so it goes. Here is a quick recap of my heart and home over the last week (or so).

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My Word of the Year: I don't usually surrender to making resolutions, and though I have seen people adopt a word for the year, it wasn't something I had ever done...until now. Read all about it (plus a few other things) here.

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Cartoon by David Pope as shared on Twitter (@davpope)

Je suis Charlie: The world continues to go mad. Continues, because let's face it, the madness has been among us since the first drop of blood was spilled after the fall. I appreciated the response of artists following the attack at Charlie Hebdo in Paris. It just goes to show the vital part art can play in the expression of ideas and healing of hearts (and in the proclamation of the Gospel message, though that isn't quite at play here). 

The #jesuischarlie tag has become widespread in showing solidarity throughout webland, and I seem to not be the only one who has read that as Jesus is Charlie. A woman in my prayer & fasting e-group sent this reflection after her similar mistake.

When the media was showing the signs 'Je Suis" CharlieI kept seeing in the first two words Je Suis   JESUS  then when I looked at it I saw JESUS  ISThen when you learn that those two words in French translate to I AMIt gives me Faith and Hope of His everlasting Covenant  right?

He is, and always will be, the great I AM.

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Eternal Rest Grant Unto Them: This week also marks the anniversaries of both of our father's passing. My dad passed away 18 years ago and the Hubs' father passed two years ago. You would think after 18 years I'd have some wisdom to offer him, but there really are never any words. For both of us, we have children who will never know their grandfathers. We have mothers who still grieve in their own ways. We ourselves continue to make an attempt at grieving while still carrying on with life with small children. One day perhaps we will figure it out, but I have a feeling we will keep muddling along and grabbing onto Jesus to lift us up and dust us off as we do it poorly. Maybe we can at least hope to be able to have audible words to attach to the thoughts and feelings. 

In the meantime, we continue to pray for our fathers' souls, so that one day maybe our children will know them and we might aspire to see them again in the heavenly kingdom. Your prayers are appreciated always!

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Brrr! It's Cold In Here: (no Toros in the atmosphere - just cold) There isn't much of a story to go with that. I just wanted to share that picture because...well...HELLO...he's adorable! There's a similar picture of G in the window from past winters too. I will have to dig that out and do a side by side one day. Today is not that day. Now that I've been speaking of cold...I guess there may be a sad story to go with it. 

On New Year's Day, a man froze to death on a front porch in Pontiac, Michigan (which is in the northern metro Detroit area). There is now an effort underway to get warm items to the homeless who may not be able to make it to a shelter or warming center. Faith@Work in Troy is collecting items. I know we have more than enough blankets and winter gear at our home. Perhaps you'll join me (if you're local) in clearing out some excess and helping those whose lives may depend on things that are currently warming your closets instead of your bodies. Here is the official word from Faith@Work. 

PROJECT MICKIEJoin us as we collect freshly laundered blankets, hats and gloves in honor of Mickie Roquemore. Mickie is the gentleman who froze to death on a front porch in Pontiac, on New Years Day. Let us bring good out of the tragic loss of his life and let us honor his memory by helping others.Please drop your blankets, hats, gloves at Faith @ Work. We will work with other organizations like Song & Spirit to make certain they get to those on the streets.

Spread the word and pray for the homeless.

Faith @ Work, 1977 E. Wattles, Troy, MI   48085   248-250-9216

If you are local and cannot make it to Troy, please contact me if you have items you would like to donate and I will work with you to find a way to get them to those who need them. 

If you are not in the local area, please consider contacting agencies that work with the homeless or ministries that have outreach to those who are not making it into a warm place on these deathly cold nights. Here's a great chance to love selflessly and serve joyfully and allow others to live with dignity.

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Breaking Bread...Not Bad! My adventure into baking our own bread began by my mistakenly buying "light" bread at the store. I have a sensitivity to any artificial sweeteners (as in they make me ill), so I happened to read the label a little more closely before I opened it. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Holy moly. I know, I know. I have read all the articles, heard all your voices. Natural is the way to go. Make your own foods. But y'all...I'm lazy, dontcha know?

Combine this reading exercise with the fact that my stand mixer now sits in the kitchen finally and has been seducing me with its shiny ways, gently calling my name...and I decided to bake my own bread. Nevermind that the yeast packets I'd gotten when I first had the idea were well "expired." I know about those dates too...scams, right? Thank goodness for the joys of social media! I posted the packets on Instagram and called out to the lovely ladies who actually are not lazy and bake your own bread. With their help, I figured out that dates on some packages are in fact a scam and got to Holly Homemakering it up. Add to this the scones I made on Sunday (because, hello, Downton Abbey is back), and I am now a domestic goddess in the making. It may be a very slow making, but here I go! 

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In the Shop: I've taken a bit of a break over the holiday, slacker that I am. I am about to take things back to full speed again with some new products and more of the mugs. Stay tuned as these start to be completed. If you want to follow along, you can find the shop on a separate Instagram page.

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Fighting the Good Fight: It seems like the holidays were filled with not the best of news. Cancer, death, you know, not the things that make your sing fa-la-la-la-la. Here are a few people who could use your help as they fight the good fight.

The Lenaburgs: Many of you know Mary and her dear Courtney, who went home to the Lord a few days after Christmas. While their immediate needs are met, there are approximately still about $27,000 in medical bills to be paid off, and if we could offer them a even little extra so their hearts and minds can rest and not have to think about provision at this time, wouldn't that be the best thing ever? If you feel called to donate, you can donate via PayPal or GoFundMe. While I only know Mary through her blog, her witness of selfless, unconditional, sacrificial love has impacted me deeply. Prayers for peace and healing as they grieve their beautiful daughter.

The Allors: Jaclyn is a friend of mine who was recently diagnosed with Stage 3 Uterine Cancer. Even after surgery, there is still a fight to be fought, and if anyone is gonna kick cancer's ugly butt, it is gonna be this lady! She is a fighter! Jaclyn has four children and piling medical bills, of course, so if you feel like you want to find out more about her or help them out, a friend has set up a GoFundMe in her honor.

The Coakleys: Paul and Ann are friends of Mary Wilkerson (of Let Love Be Sincere fame). Their story is just incredible in terms of the amount of fight they have had to bring. While their initial goals of fundraising have been met (praise God!), please go over to YouCaring or GoFundMe to read more and give more if you feel called, or simply add them to your prayers. They are fighting one heck of a fight.


That's all for this week. Now let's get out there and love 'em all like Jesus!

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Worship Wednesday {vol. 8}: Hands and Feet, Audio Adrenaline

Happy May!

This weekend we saw a little video recapping a mission to Haiti, and this Audio Adrenaline song was used in the background. (Interestingly enough, the former lead singer's family has a mission in Haiti called Hands and Feet. I have no idea if the person who put the video together knew that.) I had forgotten how much I loved this song and this whole album (do the kids these days still call it that?). May will be the launch of my monthly features on the Works of Mercy, tomorrow to be exact, so I thought this was the perfect song to kick off the series!

“Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” St. Teresa of Avila

Can I get an Amen? No? Ok, then just sing along...

7QT: The Week in Review

Not that I'm complaining, but it's Friday again already? 

1) Lessons from Veggie Tales: "For a thankful heart is a happy heart." While we were in the land of Dora for the last year or so (yes, I'm THAT mom that let her kid who wasn't 2 watch television, and probably way more than she should - reference #2 before commenting please), we have now entered the land of Veggie Tales. Can I tell you how much infinitely more sane I feel? Of course, this means I go to work belting "I'm so blue-hoo-hoo, blue-hoo-hoo, blue-hoo-hoo, hooooo," but not only can I stomach the stories more, they often will hit home for me with quite a punch. Scripture is the living Word of God, whether on paper or with cartoon vegetables, after all. At this point we are slightly obsessed with Madame Blueberry (be thankful for what you have and do not always want more "things") and Dave and the Giant Pickle (no matter how "little" you think you are, with God all things are possible). Hmmm, well played, Lord, well played. Use my 2 year old's viewing choices to get your message across. A gentle spring wind would work too.

2) Guilt is sometimes healthy, but we should be in the business of building up, not tearing down and condemning. Confession time: I kind of went off on a rant in a comment to one of my friends on Facebook because of a link she posted to a blog article ranting about Rachel Martin's post, Dear Mom on her iPhone. I deleted it after I woke up fully. While I still believe everything I wrote, I realized I just did exactly what I was chiding the author of the article for doing - ranting when something struck a nerve. Let's face it, that's generally when we rant. Here's the thing - I do believe we need to let go of excessive mom-guilt. Can we qualify it as that, though? Excessive guilt is damaging. A healthy dose of Jiminy Cricket in our ear and on our heart - maybe not so damaging. Guilt can be an indicator that something is askew, and sometimes that is exactly what we need to hear, as long as it is dealt with encouragement and not condemnation. With the blog in question, Rachel convicted me that something needed to change, but knowing her writing, I know she did it with the utmost love and encouragement, not condemnation. If you don't read her regularly, perhaps you didn't know that. Did I feel guilt? Oh heck yeah. Did it change the way I do things? Absolutely. Do I sit and lament about how awful I am if I fall back into old patterns with iPhone use? Not as much. I just dust myself off, get back up, and start over. Like any addiction or bad-habit, it takes time to modify behavior. We all have our issues and challenges - why not acknowledge them and then help and encourage one another to overcome those struggles? It seems while there is an awful lot of unnecessary mom-guilt inducing judgment out there, to react by saying no guilt is good just reinforces the "I'm okay, you're okay" culture which is, like, not okay, okay? (hee hee) There is right and there is wrong, and we need to acknowledge that in our own lives so we can pass it on to our children.

Clearly, these are NOT the Pope's shoes

3) Pope shoes: There has been much ado about Pope Francis since news of his election. Most of it is a breath of fresh air, but some of it is making people nervous. Remind you of anyone else? A certain carpenter, perhaps? Pope Francis has been on the job about a week and is shaking things up! Praise God! Jumping out of the Popemobile to bless someone, greeting all Massgoers after Mass, and now...celebrating Holy Thursday Mass at a juvenile detention center with prisoners. The Holy Father will be presenting a challenge to us all, much like that carpenter from Nazareth. Are we too tied to pomp and circumstance (not that all of it is a bad thing, but are we attached)? Does the fact that he's not wearing red shoes shake your faith? It really shouldn't. I'm quite excited to see what the Holy Spirit has in store for the Church. In essentials, I dare say she will never change, mostly because God already told us that. Not much of a dare, I suppose. With all the hoopla surrounding Pope Francis, there is one strain of commentary that has been troubling me, especially as I was praying last night. While we are in love with our new Holy Father as well we should be, some are using it as an opportunity to make snide commentary about the "policies" or "style" of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. I don't think that the Holy Father in any way would desire his new style to create any hostility or lack of charity to our former Pope. The kicker for me last night, though I hardly think that Benedict is on the interwebs, was wondering what it felt like to hear all that about yourself when all you did was serve God according to His will and not your own. Having laid down his life for the Church, to have the churchgoers insinuating that somehow he was less holy and less humble due to the red shoes (which are not Prada - please give that a rest) or formal attire of Pope's past...how hurtful would that be? So, please, be in love with Pope Francis for being what God has called him to be, compare even if you must, but do so with charity in realization that the man you are comparing him with also laid down his life in service for you, regardless of whether you liked his style or not. Thank you kindly.

4) Simplifying isn't always simple. It takes oodles of time. I am learning to be happy with baby steps, so the purging could take a few seasons. I'm actually okay with that. I told you there was a lot of healing and deliverance last weekend! Of course, if someone wanted to find us a couple of days where we didn't have other obligations and would take the kids so we could focus on a room or two with great intensity, I wouldn't mind. :)

5) Oh, Google, what are you doing? Really, is it necessary to dump Google Reader? Well, I guess I am glad I use Feedly, since it seems that is what you'll be using to help us transition to a Google-Readerless world. I'd been searching for an app that would let me read seamlessly on my iDevice, and I finally found my heart's desire with Feedly, mostly. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't store old posts, but I can get to the blog's website pretty stinking easily to find them on there. Yeah, it's really not a downer at all. So far I'm pleased. How about you? Any suggestions for other apps?

6) My new favorite blog: Catholic and Loving It. The Hubbers had been telling me for quite some time that I would enjoy it, but I never quite got into following blogs until recently. Once again, he was right. I love it. Written by Mark Shea (who I've referenced before with his book, The Work of Mercy), the writing is quirky and sarcastic, but charitable and wise. I pretty much am nodding my head in agreement while trying not to laugh and wake any sleeping children. Love. So go. Check it out if you haven't. Now. Do it. Do it now.

7) I heart sleep. I'm not sure that really is a shocker to anyone, especially moms of littles. I still think it is worth saying out loud sometimes. This past weekend I got to sleep without the interruption of babies or cats for TWO FULL NIGHTS! That's TWO nights of 6+ hours of sleep! To top it off, Baby J even slept through the night for the first time in way too long and I got ONE MORE night of 5+ hours of sleep! Oh, slumber, dear friend, how sweet to see you again. Lest you think I brag, we were back to some wee hour waking last night. Still, we are moving in the right direction and I will take it for now. Plus, I know I have the potential for yet one more night of 6+ hours as we head to another conference this weekend.

And now for a little humor...

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The Pope is Heading to Prison?

Sherry Weddell posted on Facebook, "Pope Francis will spend Holy Thursday in prison." She is quite right, and quite adept at getting your attention! The Holy Father will be celebrating the Mass with prisoners at a juvenile detention center. It is no longer business as usual at the Vatican, though I hardly think we can feign surprise at this point. Not a church of and for the poor, huh? I have a feeling much is about to change in the public image of the Church with the Holy Father getting his own hands and feet dirty for Jesus (and in example of Christ for us). [Insert the Catholic Lenten "A" Word here. Not the one that rhymes with Mass. The one that rhymes with BalletMooYa.]

Here's the article from Vatican News:

Pope Francis to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass at juvenile prison

(Vatican Radio) It was announced by the Holy See Press Office on Thursday that Pope Francis will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the juvenile prison 'Casal del Marmo' in Rome, the same facility visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates the institution of the Eucharist, also features the rite of the washing of the feet. In his ministry as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio used to celebrate the Mass in a prison, hospital or hospice for poor and marginalized people. The other Holy Week celebrations are expected to follow the schedule already released by the Office for Liturgical Celebrations.

Read more at The Deacon's Bench...