A good friend, a seasoned military officer, recently shared some information that gave me great pause. He mentioned there are certain recreational and motivational practices that are commonplace within the military yet quite contrary to the Catholic faith. I won’t get into the specifics, you can probably read between the lines. Our friend was deeply troubled and asked for our prayers.
Overtime he felt called by the Holy Spirit to speak up, so he brought his concerns to people in power. Much to his surprise, his commanding officer was receptive and helped changed the dynamics. Sometimes you just need that one drop to create the ripple.
That’s why I think ministries such as Frontline Faith are critical. Have you heard about this? The organization sends .mp3 players pre-loaded with prayers, inspirational talks, and much more to our spiritually-starved soldiers overseas. It is currently reported that two-thirds of our soldiers overseas consider themselves Catholic or Evangelical Christian, and Frontline Faith has a different .mp3 player for each. Head over to the website to learn more!
On the heels of the Fortnight for Freedom, we are kicking off a weekly series based upon the New York Times best-seller Indivisible by Dr. Jay Richards and James Robison.
Quite simply, this is the right book at the right time. In Indivisible, Richards and Robison tackle tough moral and political issues facing Christians today, including abortion, stem cell research, marriage, education, economics, health care, the environment, judicial activism, terrorism, free trade and more. Written to appeal to a broad spectrum of believers, Indivisible provides simple, clear arguments that Christians can use to support their beliefs in public settings.
This has been one of our favorite media items to promote. It’s a must read. We are hosting a big giveaway — head over here to learn how you can win a copy (and psst, we have a handful to give out!)
It’s become somewhat of an Independence Day tradition in our neighborhood to “house hop” with a few neighbors. Think of a progressive dinner, just modified a bit — backyards, lawn chairs, inflatable water slides, grills, etc. We start at one house for appetizers, head to another for grilling, and end up at yet another for dessert. Kid friendly, good drinks, great food, fellowship — it’s a fun tradition.
And the icing on the cake to our house hopping neighborhood party is we don’t have to go anywhere or fight traffic to watch fireworks. A great show can be seen from all of our backyard decks. If we ever place our house on the market, you can be sure “Watch fireworks from deck!” will be listed as a bonus on the seller sheet!
What are your Independence Day traditions?
Not the best photo. But you get the picture, right?
I made “garbage dip” for the party and promised my neighbors I would post the recipe. This is a new favorite brought into my family by way of my sister-in-law Amanda. I think it’s called garbage dip because you just keep throwing ingredients into the bowl until you achieve your desired consistency/taste.
Rather than list out quantities, the picture below shows how much I used of each item. The only thing missing is the tortilla chips. Every time I make this, it’s a party hit. Every time. Have fun “garbaging.”
Our daughter Lucy loves to cook and had been begging to bake something for several days. I found a recipe for sparkler cupcakes and thought she would enjoy making them for the party. She did (so did I), and they were a hit! One modification I highly recommend — the recipe calls for the sparklers to be made from candy coating disks. When we couldn’t find them in our local grocery store, the bakery manager convinced us to use almond bark instead. Do it!
For those keeping track, Lucy is now 3 years and 10 months old. Our little big man Jude is 5 months (wearing 12 months clothes!). Fun ages for both.
Lucy Ann
Jude Leonard
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
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July 6th, 2012 
Those cupcakes look fantastic, and that dip sounds tasty except for the olives. I am not an olive fan.
I can attest first-hand to the prevalence of Catholics in the military (especially the Navy, although I don’t know why). I’m an Air Force brat, and the Catholic presence was so significant at the bases where we lived that our chapel was always mostly Catholic, with maybe one mainline Protestant service around two or three Masses.
Hey Lindsay! Thanks for dropping by! You know, I don’t like black olives much either, but you can hardly taste them. You could also omit them without affecting the taste too much.
God bless your family. Thank you all for your service and commitment to protecting our freedoms!
For the dip, do just throw everything into a food processor? Or chop, so it’s chunky?
Ha! I could be a tad more specific, eh? I had intended to pin these to Pinterest and just link up to recipes, but I ran out of time. We are traveling in Wisconsin right now so not using my normal equipment, either!
In response to your question – yes, just chop everything up into chunks. Think bite-site servings that will work on a tortilla chip.
LOVE the new kiddo pics!! Awesome!!!
Hope to see you soon!!!
Have a great rest of the week!!
Sara
The Frontline Faith is doing a really great job. The mp3 players pre-recorded with prayers and the inspirational talks are a huge inspiration to those soldiers out there. By the way Kiddo is really cute.
Love the pics!
Those cupcakes look yummy! I am drooling for them. I love the Kiddo pics too. So cute