![Gathering Intentions for Labor & Delivery]()
by Catherine | Mar 25, 2016 | Faith
I had my 39-week OBGYN appointment yesterday, and it looks like Baby will be making his/her appearance any day now. The plan is to go into labor, arrive at the hospital with time to spare for an epidural, have an uncomplicated labor/delivery, and avoid a c-section. At least that’s my plan! Yet, the longer I’m at this motherhood thing, the more I’m seeing that I need to worry less about my plans and be open to whatever His are.
So, keeping that in mind, I have a favor to ask: Can I bring you with me into the delivery room?
Remember my weekly “put it to work” series where I asked for your prayer intentions on the blog? Let’s consider this a special Labor & Delivery Edition of “Put It To Work”! I’m gathering intentions that I can write down and pray over by name as I labor. Regardless of how things go, I want to put my labor and delivery to work. My hope is that I’ll be able to remember that there’s a much bigger Body of Christ outside of my hospital room that needs prayer. (See, even there I’m assuming I’ll deliver in a hospital bed and not in the car!)
What intentions can I write down and pray for on your behalf? Don’t be shy! Big or small, immediate or remote, I want to hear about them and bring them with me. Thank you in advance for entrusting me with them, and thank you for your prayers for me and Baby in these days to come.
![Gathering Intentions for Labor & Delivery]()
by Catherine | Mar 25, 2016 | Faith
I had my 39-week OBGYN appointment yesterday, and it looks like Baby will be making his/her appearance any day now. The plan is to go into labor, arrive at the hospital with time to spare for an epidural, have an uncomplicated labor/delivery, and avoid a c-section. At least that’s my plan! Yet, the longer I’m at this motherhood thing, the more I’m seeing that I need to worry less about my plans and be open to whatever His are.
So, keeping that in mind, I have a favor to ask: Can I bring you with me into the delivery room?
Remember my weekly “put it to work” series where I asked for your prayer intentions on the blog? Let’s consider this a special Labor & Delivery Edition of “Put It To Work”! I’m gathering intentions that I can write down and pray over by name as I labor. Regardless of how things go, I want to put my labor and delivery to work. My hope is that I’ll be able to remember that there’s a much bigger Body of Christ outside of my hospital room that needs prayer. (See, even there I’m assuming I’ll deliver in a hospital bed and not in the car!)
What intentions can I write down and pray for on your behalf? Don’t be shy! Big or small, immediate or remote, I want to hear about them and bring them with me. Thank you in advance for entrusting me with them, and thank you for your prayers for me and Baby in these days to come.
![A New Beginning]()
by Catherine | Feb 10, 2016 | Faith, Family
“A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”
Welp, party people, it’s officially Lent. With my Lenten game plan in place, today feels a little like a mini New Year full of hope, energy, and the promise of a new life. The theme of waiting is constant in my mind as my belly gets bigger and we await Baby’s arrival. (I’m due 3/31, and Easter is 3/27 this year.)
At 33 weeks, I’m already in all-out nesting mode. The receiving blankets and burp cloths are ready!
Our parish gave out copies of Matthew Kelly’s Rediscover Jesus: An Invitation. The book’s cover is purple, so it’s a perfect choice for Lent! It doesn’t hurt that purple is my favorite color, too. The book is broken into 40 quick, easy-to-read chapters that invite us into a deeper relationship with Jesus. I read chapter one this afternoon, and I’m already loving the book.
Each chapter ends with a Point to Ponder, a Verse to Live, a Question to Consider, and a short Prayer. Here’s the end of chapter one:
I’m so grateful to Fr. Mike Schmitz and his homily last Sunday for first planting the seed that this Lent needs to be about the HOW instead of the WHAT. After taking it to prayer, I started to realize that nearing the end of pregnancy as we enter into Lent is perfect timing for where I am spiritually. I don’t know about you, but Lent always seems to come exactly when I’m needing it the most. It’s as if God is sending me a not-so-subtle message that it’s time for me to slow down, take stock of where I am, and reevaluate how I’m going about this life He’s given me. This year, He’s saying, “Here’s your chance, Catherine. Begin again.”
Begin again.
In a little more than a month (God-willing), I will get the chance to begin again as a mother to our new baby. I’ll get to start with all of the wisdom I’ve gained since I first became a mother 6 years ago. No doubt I will still make mistakes on a daily (or hourly!) basis, but I’m learning that the wise mother finds new beginnings many times throughout the day.
One of the greatest gifts my spiritual director has given me is the reminder that God, the Father of Mercy, the same Father who ran to the prodigal when He still saw him off in a distance, never tires of forgiving me. I’m the one who tires of embarrassingly bringing the same laundry list of sins to confession month after month. I’m the one who kicks myself when I’m stuck in a cycle of the same sin.
My spiritual director has helped me to see that spiritual growth happens when I allow myself to be released from my sins and actually believe the words of absolution I hear in confession. When I acknowledge my mistakes, when I’m sorry for them, when I ask for forgiveness, and I actually believe I’m forgiven, then I allow myself to begin again.
Mike Hernon from the Messy Parenting Podcast, talks often about “failing fast.” When we face failure, we’re able to move through it faster when we accept it as part of the messiness of life, ask for forgiveness when necessary, and move on. Wallowing in failure or ruminating over where we went wrong doesn’t help us to move on to our next success. It leaves us licking our wounds and stuck in the past. That’s exactly what I used to do as a mom. While drifting off to sleep, I’d look back on each day, kicking myself for all of the ways I had screwed up.
I was too hard on them.
I yelled.
I was impatient.
I didn’t get down on the ground and play enough.
I should have read another story.
I shouldn’t have rushed them.
And the list went on, and on, and on.
The Accuser was so good at getting me to review my mental list of all of the ways I had screwed up as I drifted off to sleep. It was a really rotten way to end the day. It left me defeated, depressed, and unmotivated to get up to face the next morning.
Since starting spiritual direction, I’m learning that my beautiful little children are just about as merciful (praise God!) as the Father of Mercy Himself. They wake up each morning without the baggage of yesterday. They don’t hold grudges. They’re just ready for breakfast and a big hug! I once heard a holy priest say that one of the best gifts we can give our spouse is the gift of a bad memory. I’m learning through the kiddos that a bad memory truly is a beautiful thing! Their ability to move past my mistakes helps me to see that I need to be able to move past them, too. They give me the opportunity to begin again, and again, and again, and again… With each new morning, new meal, after naps, I get the chance to reset the day.
So, the HOW of my Lent is being aware of all of these new beginnings in my day-to-day living. In addition to my Lenten game plan that I blogged about, I’m spending some time each morning and evening working on questions from the 5-minute journal that I first heard on Adventures in Imperfect Living: Using the 5-Minute Journal. After listening to Greg and Jennifer talk about how they use the journal, I adopted their format. Each morning, I write these three things:
- 3 things I’m grateful for
- 3 things that would make today great that I can do (or choose not to do) that are in my control
- Daily affirmation — sentence written in present tense about myself
In the evening, I write about these two things:
- 3 amazing things that happened today
- What I could have made better today
Reflecting on those things everyday is helping me to keep a positive outlook on things around here, find opportunities for growth, affirm myself, and literally count my blessings.
Walt just woke up from his nap, so I better get going and get on with our new beginning this afternoon!
How are you beginning again this Lent?
![Lent 2016: It's Not the What; It's the How]()
by Catherine | Feb 9, 2016 | Faith, Family
With varying level of success each day, I’ve been praying this Novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for Lent to help me discern what God is asking me as we prepare for Easter. Despite my inability to be faithful in praying it each day, it’s bearing a lot of spiritual fruit and helping me to realize that I need to change my approach to Lent 2016 compared to previous years. After a lot of prayer, reading Pope Francis’ book, The Name of God is Mercy, and listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz, my theme for Lent 2016 is: It’s Not the What; It’s the How.
Last Sunday, Fr. Mike Schmitz continued his fantastic homily series about work with, “Everybody’s Working: Not What, But How.” It was a very timely and on point reminder for me as a pregnant (33 weeks) stay-at-home mama with three littles that this is probably not the chapter of life to take on a bunch of Lenten mortifications; instead, I need to reexamine how I’m approaching this vocation and all of its daily duties.
With that in mind, I examined my vocation in light of the three words:
- Fast
- Pray
- Give
I’m sharing my Lenten game plan below in the hopes that it will hold me more accountable and that we can work on our HOWS together this Lent.
Here’s what I’m feeling called to do this year:
Fast
- From Digital Distraction: Make my smart phone a dumb phone. Delete e-mail, apps, and Internet. Only use the phone to call, text, listen to podcasts, and find directions or emergency information.
- From Exhaustion: Monday through Friday be in bed at 9:30, lights out at 10 p.m.
- From Groggy Morning Mommy: Get up half an hour before the kids Monday through Friday for quiet prayer time. (Get up an hour before the kids on mornings that Philip has to leave early so that I can shower, too.)
- From Hangry Mommy: Eat a high protein breakfast and mid-afternoon snack
- From TV with Philip: Limit ourselves to one hour one weeknight per week
Pray
- Attend Tuesday morning Mass
- Spiritually “adopt” a loved one and offer all of my Lenten sacrifices for him/her (especially the discomforts of pregnancy)
- Family Stations of the Cross in the family room after dinner on Thursdays (Fridays don’t work with our schedule this year)
- Lectio Divina (fancy term for praying with scripture) with the daily Gospel reading during morning prayer before kids wake up
Give
- Reading streak: Read-aloud time with the kids at least 10 minutes each day. (Sidenote: Our read-aloud time is bringing big blessings. Do yourself a favor, and check out The Read-Aloud Revival.)
- Family Sacrifice beans jar
- Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy: Starting this week and continuing throughout the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, choose one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy each week. Discuss this work of mercy as a family at dinner, sharing examples of how we lived or witnessed this work of mercy in action each day. Add images and words related to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy around our pantry door to create our family’s own “Holy Door” for the jubilee year. (Isn’t that door idea great? All of the credit goes to my friend, Allison!) The book Divine Mercy for Moms is going to be my manual.
- Lights Out Night: Select one weeknight each week of Lent to go without electricity from the time dinner is served until bed. Give each other focused attention for the evening. We’ve done this before, and I wrote about the experience here.
- Healthy Mama: Walk for 30 minutes 3 times a week.
What’s Your Lenten Game Plan?
That’s what I’m doing. What’s your Lenten game plan? I’d love to hear all about it! I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to start working on the how of my vocation instead of my usual what for Lent.
![Lent 2016: It’s Not the What; It’s the How]()
by Catherine | Feb 9, 2016 | Faith, Family
With varying level of success each day, I’ve been praying this Novena to the Holy Spirit in preparation for Lent to help me discern what God is asking me as we prepare for Easter. Despite my inability to be faithful in praying it each day, it’s bearing a lot of spiritual fruit and helping me to realize that I need to change my approach to Lent 2016 compared to previous years. After a lot of prayer, reading Pope Francis’ book, The Name of God is Mercy, and listening to Fr. Mike Schmitz, my theme for Lent 2016 is: It’s Not the What; It’s the How.
Last Sunday, Fr. Mike Schmitz continued his fantastic homily series about work with, “Everybody’s Working: Not What, But How.” It was a very timely and on point reminder for me as a pregnant (33 weeks) stay-at-home mama with three littles that this is probably not the chapter of life to take on a bunch of Lenten mortifications; instead, I need to reexamine how I’m approaching this vocation and all of its daily duties.
With that in mind, I examined my vocation in light of the three words:
- Fast
- Pray
- Give
I’m sharing my Lenten game plan below in the hopes that it will hold me more accountable and that we can work on our HOWS together this Lent.
Here’s what I’m feeling called to do this year:
Fast
- From Digital Distraction: Make my smart phone a dumb phone. Delete e-mail, apps, and Internet. Only use the phone to call, text, listen to podcasts, and find directions or emergency information.
- From Exhaustion: Monday through Friday be in bed at 9:30, lights out at 10 p.m.
- From Groggy Morning Mommy: Get up half an hour before the kids Monday through Friday for quiet prayer time. (Get up an hour before the kids on mornings that Philip has to leave early so that I can shower, too.)
- From Hangry Mommy: Eat a high protein breakfast and mid-afternoon snack
- From TV with Philip: Limit ourselves to one hour one weeknight per week
Pray
- Attend Tuesday morning Mass
- Spiritually “adopt” a loved one and offer all of my Lenten sacrifices for him/her (especially the discomforts of pregnancy)
- Family Stations of the Cross in the family room after dinner on Thursdays (Fridays don’t work with our schedule this year)
- Lectio Divina (fancy term for praying with scripture) with the daily Gospel reading during morning prayer before kids wake up
Give
- Reading streak: Read-aloud time with the kids at least 10 minutes each day. (Sidenote: Our read-aloud time is bringing big blessings. Do yourself a favor, and check out The Read-Aloud Revival.)
- Family Sacrifice beans jar
- Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy: Starting this week and continuing throughout the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, choose one of the corporal or spiritual works of mercy each week. Discuss this work of mercy as a family at dinner, sharing examples of how we lived or witnessed this work of mercy in action each day. Add images and words related to the corporal and spiritual works of mercy around our pantry door to create our family’s own “Holy Door” for the jubilee year. (Isn’t that door idea great? All of the credit goes to my friend, Allison!) The book Divine Mercy for Moms is going to be my manual.
- Lights Out Night: Select one weeknight each week of Lent to go without electricity from the time dinner is served until bed. Give each other focused attention for the evening. We’ve done this before, and I wrote about the experience here.
- Healthy Mama: Walk for 30 minutes 3 times a week.
What’s Your Lenten Game Plan?
That’s what I’m doing. What’s your Lenten game plan? I’d love to hear all about it! I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to start working on the how of my vocation instead of my usual what for Lent.
![Remembering Thérèse]()
by Catherine | Nov 29, 2015 | Faith, Family
November 5th marked the 3-year anniversary of the day our Baby Thérèse went to heaven. That day, we wanted to do a few special things to remember and honor our family’s little saint.
First, we took a family trip to the cemetery where Thérèse is buried. We arrived just as the sun was beginning to go down.
To our pleasant surprise, the cemetery had recently redone the area dedicated to babies. It was absolutely beautiful!
Before leaving their roses behind, each of the 3 kids gave Thérèse little updates on what’s new in their worlds. We’re not sure what Harry said, but his face was very animated, and he used a lot of hand gestures! Afterward, we said a few prayers together as a family.
Leaving their roses at the statue of St. Rachel weeping for her children.
We wanted to start a new tradition this year that would both honor Thérèse and celebrate life. We were inspired by our friends who have a similar tradition to honor their daughter. We looked at the birth records in the newspaper to find out who had the first baby girl born on November 5th. I asked my very talented friend Rakhi to create a beautiful custom print of a quote from St. Thérèse of Lisieux with a pink rose border. (Check out Rakhi’s Etsy shop, Signs of Love by RakstarDesigns!)
We put the print in a beautiful frame and mailed it to the family with a card assuring them of our prayers. I like to imagine the print in the baby’s nursery as a reminder that we have countless opportunities to love and serve each other. Hopefully Thérèse is somehow blessing that family the way she has blessed ours.
We love you and carry you with us everyday, Thérèse.
St. Thérèse, pray for us!
