7 Quick Takes: Info on Ordination, Lino’s Visit, Charism Workshop, Speaking Gigs & More!

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Tap tap tap ... is this thing on? Let me interrupt our blogging radio silence to share these very important details. 1. Diaconate Ordination! Joel's deacon stole and invites for ordination arrived two weeks ago. The invites still sit in the box, so it seems we need an office assistant to even get them addressed and out in the mail. If you want to attend but are waiting for the official invite, please don't wait on us to get our act together. The ordination Mass is open to the public, so … [Read more...]

Take 5 with Jon Erwin

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Take 5 with Jon Erwin - FB

Filmmaker Jon Erwin discusses his new movie Moms' Night Out With its title Moms' Night Out, one might think this movie is just for the girls. To that I say, in my best Lee Corso ESPN College Game Day voice, "Not so fast!" But don't take my word for it; hear it from the director and co-writer yourself in the video here. I am honored to share my interview with filmmaker Jon Erwin about his new movie, Moms' Night Out. Last summer I had the opportunity to spend a day on the movie set. Now I'm … [Read more...]

Stewardship: Natural Easter Egg Dyes

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My word for the year is Stewardship. One place where that word is really coming alive is in our kitchen. The 40 Days of Soups experiment we just completed grew out of my desire to become a better steward of my family's nutrition. It's working! It's working! And maybe one day soon I'll find some margin to write about that ... working on becoming a better steward of how I use my time, too. But first, let me wrap up my Easter post from last week. During Lent, I spotted a few recipes for natural … [Read more...]

7QT: 2 Days Late and Several Dollars Short

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It's two days late and several dollars short of anything worth value, but hey, here's another round of 7 Quick Takes Friday Sunday. --- 1 --- Flashback, May 2011 --- riding donkeys in Lindos, Greece to get to the top of the city and tour the acropolis during our Footsteps of St. Paul pilgrimage. Why do I share this photo here and now? Well I found a way to weave our donkey riding experience into a post about Palm Sunday and my favorite Lent/Easter children's book for a guest blog post over … [Read more...]

Take 5 with Chris Stefanick

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Ready for some fun? Time for another Take 5! Today we welcome Chris Stefanick --- a husband, father, speaker and writer, and founder of the nonprofit ministry Real Life Catholic. Chris and I chat about his latest project with Ascension Press called "Chosen: Your Journey Toward Confirmation," a preparation program for those receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. It's great stuff. As in Father Robert Barron's Catholicism-esque really great stuff. I hope you'll take the time to acquaint … [Read more...]

7 Quick Takes: Too Much Feasting?

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St.Joseph Day Collage

--- 1 --- I received an email early this morning that read, "Blessed Feast of St. Benedict!" Yay. St. Benedict is my man. Party on, Schmidts! Wait, what? I thought his feast day is July 11. So I turn to my favorite monks' website and learn there are actually two feasts of St. Benedict on the calendar for Benedictines. On March 21, they celebrate the Transitus of St. Benedict, meaning his death or passing from this life to eternal life. This is the day the Church traditionally celebrates saints' … [Read more...]

7 Quick Takes: Not Just Soups

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Blessing Cup

--- 1 --- Who knew Catholic radio could be so delicious? It's been a fun week with great opportunities to plug our ongoing Soup & Stories series. Matt Swaim interviewed me for the Son Rise Morning Show on Monday. He's a smart interviewer, and we had a great chat. Full podcast of Monday's show is available here. Today I'm on Around the Table with Jeff Young (The Catholic Foodie) and Monsignor Christopher Nalty. It's broadcast on Catholic Community Radio for New Orleans/Baton Rouge/Gulf … [Read more...]

My 2014 Spiritual Board of Directors

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Spiritual Board of Directors

A few years back I had a role in a musical based on the life of Blessed Pope John Paul II. The show's composer wanted to assemble a “board of directors,” a group of trusted individuals to oversee and advise the project. But there was a twist. All board members needed to be saints. So with cast members’ suggestions, the writer/composer assembled his board — a few Polish saints, some well-known evangelizers, a few musicians and voilà. We had our very own intercessory board … [Read more...]

I am Cheating Again: A combined {phfr} and 7 Quick Takes

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As I sat down to the laptop and started to draft another edition of {pretty, happy, funny, real} I realized I had quite a few photos I wanted to share. Then I thought, Well, it's been several weeks since posting a 7 Quick Takes, so let's churn out one of those again. (Yes, hyperlinks ALWAYS appear in my thought bubbles.) Then I saw Dwija from House Unseen combined her {phfr} and 7QTs into one post here. If she can do it, so can I, right? And if memory serves, I've done it once before and didn't … [Read more...]

Through Our Lens: Love

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Advent - Christmas Porch Lights

What's the Friday Photo Challenge word for the day? Here's a clue. How about an "all-things-we-LOVE-right-now-at-DasHausSchmidt" 7 Quick Takes? --- 1 --- As crazy challenging and exhausting the adjustment to three has been for me, I’m encouraged daily to see the genuine interest Lucy and Jude take in their new baby sister. It started at the hospital when a thoughtful nurse suggested waiting to give Lydia her first bath until her older siblings were available to help, which they were … [Read more...]