Surgery

Sorry to have had so few posts.  I will be having surgery tomorrow, so I will not be writing again for a few more weeks.  Thanks for hanging in there with me till I'm back on my feet.  See you on the other side. God bless!

FEARLESS FRIDAY: Prayers for Vocations

This week the world lost a great man, my uncle, Kevin. He was a Franciscan Friar, a very accomplished and most beloved man.  Here is his obituary.  This is the website for Graymoor.

Br. Kevin Goss, SA

Since cultivating vocations was part of his long list of accomplishments, I wish to pray for vocations today. 

Prayer for Vocations


Heavenly Father, bless your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, deacons, brothers and sisters. Give those you have called to the married state and those you have chosen to live as single persons in the world, the special graces that their lives require. Form us all in the likeness of your Son so that in him, with him and through him we may love you more deeply and serve you more faithfully, always and everywhere. With Mary we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

~Vocations Committee, Supreme Council, Knights of Columbus

And I would also like to remember the sick and suffering today:
(In no particular order)
Suzanna, Mary, Debbie, Jacob, Jeanette, Jennifer, and all those suffering with the loss of a loved one, caregivers of the sick, and all those unmentioned here, but who it is in our hearts to pray for.

If you are sick, I ask you to consider this prayer, an offering of your sickness for vocations:

Dear Lord, here is a new day you have given me in which to love you and to help others to love you. Above all things, help me to love and accept your holy will. Lord Jesus, in giving me this cross of my illness, it was your desire to bring me nearer to you Divine Heart. I want to bring others also to know you better, to love you more, and for this I know that good and holy priests are necessary; so I will offer my cross, united with yours, for vocations to the holy priesthood. Amen.


Teach me, O Lord, to do your will, for you are my God. Keep me, Lord, as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. O Lord, remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us. Amen.

And lastly, a prayer for those we love who are sick or suffering in any way today:


A Fervent Prayer For The Sick and Suffering


O Almighty Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. The same Lord that so loves His children as to lay His life down for them. The same Lord that rose from the dead on the third day, and Ascended into Heaven. The same Lord that spoke the word and the Centurion’s Servant was immediately healed. The same Lord that restored sight to the blind; cleansed lepers, cured the halt and lame. The same Lord that with a word rebuked the seas and they were calm. The same Lord that raised Lazarus from the dead. The same Lord that has been given all power both in Heaven and on earth, do Thou, the same Lord visit and heal Thy servant, (__name__), from the afflictions that they are now suffering. Strengthen our faith like that of the Roman Centurion, so that we may ask for this healing with the same faith, trust, and hope that Thy servant, (__name__) will be healed in the same manner that the Centurion’s servant was restored to health. O Holy physician of our souls and bodies, hear this fervent prayer for Thy servant (__name__), and grant this request as we hold this, Thy servant up before Thy glorious Throne. We ask this in the victorious and Holy Name of our Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ.
AMEN.

This post is linked to Fearless Friday.

A NEW ATTITUDE

I have been rather ill lately.  Lots of medical issues to attend to, multiple doctor's appointments, new medications sending me into a bit of a tailspin.  I am holding my own and I am on my way to feeling better.  Hopefully sooner rather than later, but either way I'm sure I am on the right track!

Thankfully, I had submitted this article to CMO a while back! Hop on over and check it out, and leave me some comments...I love comments!  The article is called A New Attitude and it is about my own struggles to learn my lessons in this life.  I hope you enjoy it.

And lastly, though it is not yet Fearless Friday, I will give you a preview of one of my intentions:  Yesterday the world lost a great man, a Franciscan Friar, and someone very dear to my heart.  Please remember in your prayers Brother Kevin Goss, S.A.  I love you, Uncle Kevin, and I miss you already.

Indigo Impression: Lookbooks and FashionIndie Event

Indigo Impression: Lookbooks and FashionIndie Event

Check out this sweetheart, and go vote for her so she can win her gift card! :) She's a real cutie patootie!

A story of a mother's love...sort of!

A friend of mine, on FB, reminded me today about this great story, which has been made into a picture book.

This is a great book about love.  When an infant hippo was abandoned, the tortoise took care of him. It is just the sweetest story ever, even more intriguing because it is true.  Click on the book cover, it is a link to the Amazon page, and you can look inside to see a little of their story.

OMIGOODNESS

Well!  Imagine my surprise when I looked at my blog this evening and found some *ahem* rather questionable ads floating around my page!  YIKES!  I am sorry if any of these ads were offensive to anyone, I think I have fixed the problem, now for it to kick in. 

I had decided to give adsense a try.  I'm not ready to write it off yet, because I want to give it a fair try, but I WILL NOT have objectionable/questionable ads running.  I had no idea they were.  If it is not easily fixed (I think I've done it) the adsense will go away.

Again, I apologize and I hope that you will not have any surprises when you check in :/. I wish someone had told me!!!

SUPER DEAL Today and Tomorrow only!!

In today's world we are all so busy, yet we need to eat!  Makes me think of Twilight and how inconvenient it always was for Bella to have to eat on her and Edward's adventures ;-).  I am constantly trying to make menu planning easier.  When I did this regularly, years ago, we saved a lot of money, and we ate much better than we do today.  Now that my husband is working, I am planning to get back into the menu planning.  It works better with a budget, but it is soooo time consuming.

There is a service out there, Menu Planning Central, that I have just signed up for on the recommendation of a friend. Go check it out, today and tomorrow is their once-a-year sale. If you think you could benefit from this service, this will be your best savings. Watch their video, on the link I provided, to see their service explained.



With Menu Planning Central they offer menus with recipes and shopping lists.  You can plan out your menus up to 30 days in advance, or on a day to day basis.  I have been searching for my old menu planning forms I used to photocopy, now I can just do it all at my computer.  There are features to customize for food preferences or food allergies. I'm really very excited!!


I noticed that you could try her service for 14 days (after choosing a package) and if you are dissatisfied she will refund your money, in full, within that first two-week period.

Also of interest is the fact that you can try the service for 30 days and then transfer over to the one-time payment instead of the monthly fee. I know if I like this as much as I expect to, I will transfer over when my tax refund comes along.  This is a really great time of the year to take advantage of this service.

Incidentally, I was not paid and I was not asked to mention this.  I was just excited about the service and the savings and wanted to pass it on to you! <3

A Book Review: The Great Divorce, by Ilyon Woo

I could not put it down.

This book blew me away.

feminism noun

/ˈfem.ɪ.nɪ.zəm/ n [U]

the belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power and opportunities as men and be treated in the same way, or the set of activities intended to achieve this state.

I never understood feminism. It is odd, I know, for a woman of my age who was born in the 1960s, to say this. I was spoon-fed the doctrines of feminism. But I never understood it. Until I read Shirley, written by Charlotte Bronte, you could say I had missed the point of the feminist movement. (If you have not read that book, you well should, especially if you are a feminist.) And now, The Great Divorce, by Ilyon Woo, has been added to the list of must-reads for all young women.

Today women have equal footing under the law. It was not so in the 1800s. At that time, women and children were considered property (yes, property!) of the head of the household. When a woman married she was considered to be "civilly dead," or essentially, her rights as an individual ceased to exist under the law. This meant her earning potential was minimal, her credit and reputation was dependent upon her husband's support, and she could only regain her civil status in three ways. The first, and most usual, was through the death of her husband. The second, and likely the second most common way, was if her husband was jailed. And lastly, in a very rare occurrence, if the wife was granted a divorce. This was extremely rare, and in New York State, where our story unfolds, the only grounds was for adultery. There was a partial divorce (divorce of bed and board) which could be awarded in certain circumstances, but that was also rare, and did not restore a woman to her full status in the eyes of the law.

The Great Divorce tells the story of a woman, Eunice Chapman, who in the early 1800s took on New York State, her husband, and the Shaker Community to gain custody of her three children. It is a true story, and it was pieced together by Ilyon Woo through extensive research. Woo delved into newspaper articles, personal diaries, Shaker records, and some Legislative papers from NYS government, but most had been lost in a fire.

Eunice Chapman had married her husband, James, when both were older than average for the times. She was 26 and he was 41 years old. He was a widower with a child, she was a beautiful, petite woman on the verge of spinsterhood, and her family was in a financial crisis. It was not a marriage made in heaven. They had three children in five years, but James liked to drink. As their homelife deteriorated, James was more and more in the taverns, and eventually left Eunice outright. Because he abandoned her, she had no legal recourse (it was not grounds for divorce) and she ended up losing everything. The book describes how she survived a winter with barely enough food for her children and no fuel with which to keep them warm. She was an outcast in her church because abandoned women "must have done something to deserve it" and the book describes the circumstances Eunice and her children lived in after James left.

While he was gone, James found the Shakers. The Shaker Community was known for taking in anyone who needed shelter, and by anyone's standards, they offered a great arrangement. If you wanted to become a Believer, you would renounce your worldly possessions, make a confession to the elders, and commit to their lifestyle, then you could live among the Shakers as part of their community. They worked hard, held themselves to extremely high standards, were perfectionists of sorts, and they were celibate. If you could live with their rules and their schedules you were provided with very nice accommodations, an excellent and regular diet of high protein meals and delicious foods, and warm clothing. You did not earn an income in dollars and cents, but you would want for nothing at all. James wanted to join.

Because James was married, the Shakers required him to take care of his wife and children before he could join. The Shakers wanted James to bring his wife and children back, to become Believers. Short of that, he would have to provide for them. If he could not do this, they would not accept him. Well, that was in theory. In practicality, he was a strong man who could work hard, and he was needed. Therefore, when Eunice could not buy into the Shaker philosophy of religion, the community allowed her to take her children and go. But, without a divorce she was not free, and she kept going to see James, and ask him for financial support. Eventually, James and a Shaker Brother, kidnapped the three children and left Eunice to her own devices.

This book recounts the true story of a diminutive woman who took on the world to recover her children when she had no legal rights, and women who were in her situation were, more often than not, seen as crazed, wild women who deserved the circumstances they found themselves in. It is a page-turner that someone should make into a movie, it is so very shocking.

Woo does an excellent job at telling all sides of the story. She pieces together the story of James and what led him to the Shakers. She tells of the Shakers, their lifestyle, their thought processes, and how they waged their side of the battle. Woo goes into the heart of a mother, and describes the lengths that Eunice went to, and the suffering she endured in her fight to regain custody. I read the 416 pages, barely taking time to sleep, ignoring all responsibilities, to read Eunice's story. I could not put it down. All sides were clever in their actions, Eunice was cunning. We often wonder what we can endure, how we could overcome in the face of great adversity. Woo shows us what one woman can do. And, throughout the entire book, you just are not sure how it will all resolve. The story is told in a very readable style, logically laid out, background is filled in just where it needs to be, and the characters are fully developed. No small task when everyone died in the 1800s.

I am not a feminist, I do not believe in divorce, this book should have no interest for me. I read it on the recommendation of one of my library patrons. This book moved me, it is on my short list of favorite books. I will recommend this book to everyone. It is just that good. My question is what will Ilyon Woo follow this book up with? I cannot wait to see what is next!

This is a 416-page book, released in August 2010, by Atlantic Monthly Press. It is a non-fiction work.

This post will be linked to Book Blogger Hop and It is Monday, What Are You Reading.

It's here, it's here!

and I cannot wait to read it.  I've waited for months for this to come to the library. I hope it is as good as I expected!! 

The Great Divorce by Ilyon Woo.  Stay tuned for my review. 

Meanwhile, here is a link to her blog and a little teaser about the book.

News from the Vatican today.

It seems like there was quite a lot coming out of the Vatican today that interested me!

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Men and women have a natural right to marry, but that does not mean they have a right to a Catholic wedding, Pope Benedict XVI said.

Read more here.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI invited Christians to join online social networks in order to spread the Gospel through digital media and discover "an entirely new world of potential friendships."

Read more here.