Abundant Living: Couples Living the Gift of Natural Family Planning
This is Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness week. In its honor, we are rounding up posts previously published here over the last five years and highlighting one each day.
Parenthood
10 Things I Love About Daddy
Dr. Meg Meeker says, “Dads: You are your daughter’s first love.” That’s certainly true for a five-year-old girl hanging around these parts. My daughter Lucy and I were making homemade cards for Father’s Day last week, and I asked her to tell me ten things she loved about her daddy. Here is what she said. 1. … [Read more…]
The Das Schmidt Haus Baby Name Game
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.
An ancient history professor went to the hospital to be with his wife as she gave birth to their first child. While the baby was born, the professor’s expression never changed. The child was put in the arms of his mother. Still the professor’s countenance never changed. The family moved from the delivery room to the post delivery room. Still the man’s face didn’t change; it remained bland. A nurse noticed this and asked him to go into the hall while they examined the baby.
In the hall she asked the professor, thoughtfully, “What name will you give the baby?” He replied, “Theophilus.”
The Das Schmidt Haus Man of the Year
Today, Time Magazine named Pope Francis their 2013 Person of the Year.
Also today, the little inhabitants of Das Schmidt Haus name their daddy the 2013 Man of the Year.
A Day of Holy Distractions
A day of holy distractions for us here at Das Schmidt Haus! Meet the newest edition to our family, Lydia Ann, and head on over to CatholicStand.com to read our latest post titled Holy Distraction: The Case for Sacred Art & Architecture.
Is it Ever Too Late for Natural Family Planning?
So as long as we seem to be on something of a roll, there’s one more topic we’re feeling called to specifically address. It’s one that comes up all the time in social situations. It goes something like this …
Why didn’t anyone tell us about natural family planning when we were younger? Now that we’re done having kids, what are we supposed to do?
Well, what does it mean to be “done having kids”? From our experience in conversing with couples, this essentially is one of three different scenarios. We flesh them out (yes, flesh seems the proper word here).
Why Don’t We Want More Children?
According to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average size of the American household has decreased by about one person. American culture is definitely voting for the smaller family and material wellbeing over the riches of multiple children. If any culture can materially afford big families, it is ours. Even from an economic point of view, the United States is powerful not because of its standard of living or its natural resources, but because of its greatest resource: people.
The medieval theologians and philosophers, in talking about God, say: Goodness diffuses itself, it wants to be shared by many. If our culture is so good, then why don’t we want to have more children and share it with them?
Trusting God or Grasping for Control?
Today’s Mass readings are excellent reflection material for contemplating how much we really trust God rather than ourselves. Do we grumble about our circumstances, like the Israelites in the First Reading, or are we the “rich soil” of Jesus’s parable in the Gospel Reading? With these texts as a backdrop, we take up a couple scenarios which challenge us to trust in God’s will for us rather than in our ability to control our circumstances.
Despoiling God’s Plan for Sexuality
Day 3 in our weeklong series on natural family planning. Since the sexual revolution drew its sword and despoiled sexual intimacy of its life-giving purpose, are we really happier and freer, or have we become slaves to our own pleasures? Have our relationships become better or worse? Do men and women respect each other more or less? The fruit of the sexual revolution is decidedly rotten, straight from the devil.
Dumping Contraception for Natural Family Planning
“Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.” Leaving behind contraception to begin natural family planning (NFP) can be a bit like this. It can be easier to cling to familiar ways than to leave them for something new and uncertain, no matter what the promise. Let’s try to clear up a couple common fears and misconceptions about NFP.