Today, my post-partum mommy brain brings you 7 very random thoughts…
I’m counting down the days for the Behold Conference in Peoria, Illinois in a few weeks. Behold is a conference on the dignity and vocation of women, and the 2012 theme is “From the Heart of God.” I love this statement by Bonnie Engstrom, Behold Associate Director:
To my knowledge there is nothing else like Behold. We are Catholic, unabashedly orthodox but open to women who are not practicing the Catholic faith . . . we are for all women, no matter if they are married, single, or consecrated; no matter how many kids they do or do not have; no matter how many candles on their birthday cakes.”
Much has been written about how to help siblings adjust to a new baby in the family. I must admit I had some concerns about how our three-year-old would adjust. Then I saw this masterpiece she completed, and my concerns quickly disappeared.
What we have learned since bringing Jude home two weeks ago is it’s never too early to begin talking Theology of the Body principles. (For those of you not familiar with the term Theology of the Body, in a nutshell, it is Blessed John Paul II’s teaching on love, life, and human sexuality). Between breast feeding and the obvious anatomical differences with her little brother, we’ve already encountered some interesting questions. It feels like we should be more prepared, but with any given moment, we’re just not sure what question might get asked. We try to treat questions seriously without giving more information than is really needed. But we’ll see how this works — and if you have good suggestions for us, we are willing to entertain your ideas!
I subscribe to the The Magnificat and given the artwork and reflections are so sacred and inspiring, it pains me to recycle the monthly issues. So I was especially excited to stumble upon a terrific idea for repurposing the magazine’s artwork. Check out this family prayer jar at Brooke Taylor’s blog.
brookesbabypage.blogspot.com
As Brooke writes, “It’s a simple way to remember those we have promised to pray for. We just took a mason jar, cut out a few web gloss holy pictures, and taped them to the jar. The images are from Magnifikid! We cut out a few dozen paper hearts and write down our prayer intentions. Each evening at dinner we pull out a heart, read our intention and keep that person, family, or group on our heart in prayer until the next day.”
Great idea, Brooke!
“All God asks us to do is open up our doors.”
Has this ever happened to you? While visiting a new city, you stumble upon a beautiful, majestic church. You are excited to step inside, observe the art and architecture, and spend some time in quiet prayer. You go to open the door and find it is . . . locked.
This was the scenario for St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Indianapolis — hundreds of people walked by the church on an hourly basis yet they couldn’t get inside given doors were locked during “off hours.” So the priest decided to make some changes, and this 2-minute video demonstrates the positive results of his decision. Not only do I find this video applicable to churches, but it got me thinking about the doors that need to be unlocked in my life, both figuratively and literally. What doors is Jesus asking me to open?
I spotted a nice idea for homemade Valentine cards that incorporates scripture and Saint Valentine himself. On one side of the card, the text of John 3:16 is typed out in a heart shape with letters aligned to show the word “Valentine” down the center of the heart. Then on the back, you can create a pseudo prayer card with a short story about Saint Valentine.
Hat Tip: Ministry to Children & Smart Martha
A highlight of our week was interviewing Emilio Estevez to promote the February 21 DVD and Blu-ray release of The Way, a film he wrote, produced, and directed. Thanks much to The Maximus Group for having confidence in us and arranging the interview. Emilio was very gracious, and without giving away too much, let’s just say the interview will definitely have a strong pro-life message. We are excited to share it with you soon — please stop back on Tuesday, February 21 to read the interview. Head’s up: we will also be giving away some special prizes that day.
And finally, some Friday humor for you:
As Travis Bickle would say, “You talkin’ to me?”
Have a great weekend! For more Quick Takes, visit Betty Beguiles!
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February 10th, 2012 
What a sweet little girl you have on your hands there! I feel like Christopher West needs to come out with “TOtB for Kids”. It is hard to know just how much truthful information to give, isn’t it?
Hope you and Jude are well!
Hey Ruth Ann! What a great idea – TOB for kids! I know a few folks attending some trainings at the institute later this year, I will tell them to plant the seed.
I think it’s important to note two things regarding QT #7. First, there really isn’t that much difference between the playpen and the kennel when you study them closely. Second, the kennel with the door open is far more respectful of the child’s dignity, because she can come and go as she pleases…kind of like a pet door. Just look how happy she is!
She is very happy, dear. Looks like we’re doing something right, kennel or not!
I think pregnancy & postpartum is a terrific opportunity to start teaching ToB. I’ve thought about taking on a “teaching sexuality to our kids” book project myself–but I think I need to wait a few years till I am a little farther into the process.
You’re a tease. Here I thought I’d missed the big interview. But I have it on my calendar now.
If you wrote a TOB book for kids, Kathleen, I would buy it! Pray about that – I think it’s certainly an area for exploration.
And sorry to tease; just doing my best to drive traffic to our site.
Hope to meet you at Behold!
Absolutely, Marie. Let’s make sure we meet and greet! Thanks for dropping by.