Summer Reading

My kids have Summer Reading assignments--and now, so do I.

Mine doesn't come with a test at the end, or a book report to write, or a poster to draw. It does, however, come with the promise of an intriguing online discussion.

That's because my Summer Reading is coming from the brand-new Lawn Chair Catechism series at Catholicmom.com.

We're reading Sherry Weddell's Forming Intentional Disciples:  The Path to Knowing and Following Jesus.

Learn how you can read along, or even join the discussion without reading the book. (Try THAT with your traditional Summer Reading assignment!) The series starts tomorrow, but you can still order the book at a deep discount--with free shipping--through June 6.

Find out more!

Limbo, Limbo, Limbo

Just trying to keep things normal here in my house, for my kids, and for my husband and myself, as we sit here in Oncology Limbo getting through a few more days until we have a better idea of what he's fighting and how the hospital plans to fight it.

For the record, he will be treated at one of the best cancer hospitals in the country; I was there for my non-cancer surgery 6 months ago and we are comforted by the first-hand knowledge of the wonderful care I received as a patient in that hospital.

I am comforted by relatives and friends alike who have showed us so much care and concern (and made offers to help that I know enough to accept--and will do so soon). Some of these people are fighting their own battles with cancer right now. But they have reached out anyway--that means so much. Other friends have beaten cancer in the past.

Today I received a lot of encouragement from Pat Gohn. We were supposed to be recording a conversation to be used in her Among Women podcast, "Midlife Madres" series. I don't know if Pat got anything she can use or not, but she knows how to listen and she knows what it's like to go through this kind of scary time. I am grateful for each and every minute we spent on the phone today.

As I told Pat at one point, I am wrestling right now. There will be many decisions to be made. There will be things I'll have to "outsource" to others, kids' games I'll miss, plans I'll need to lay aside. It's not so much a "why me?" kind of wrestling as it is a "how do I handle all of what we've got going on and keep our collective sanity relatively intact?"

I might look calm on the outside, but my unscientific research is showing that hot flashes increase exponentially along with one's stress levels. Every so often it reaches its peak and the hot flashes bring along impatience, anger and, yes, tears. Even when I try my hardest to keep that from happening. So yes, calm on the outside, but my stomach is in knots and I think those knots are extending to the rest of me, because my pain level is off the charts today.

But there's a rosary in my pocket, ever ready for a prayer or ten. I'm getting to daily Mass as much as possible. I'm thankful for the encouragement and advice I have received. And when this after-dinner cup of (decaffeinated) Irish tea doesn't cut it, like now, I'm glad there's a carton of chocolate-peanut-butter-cup ice cream in the freezer.

Guess What!

I totally forgot to talk about this, and I really should have said something TWO WEEKS AGO when it first happened, but I am one of a bunch of new contributors to the "Tech Talk" daily feature at CatholicMom.com!  (How cool is THAT?) 


I'll be writing every other Tuesday about techie topics that are near and dear to my heart as a Catholic, a mom, a Secular Franciscan, a parent of teenagers...


I never considered myself a "Techie," though I suppose the signs were all there.  My younger brother got a computer when I was in high school (a Radio Shack TRS-80, and if you're old enough to know what that is, you're close to my age).  I used that computer as much as he did, learning to write BASIC programs that would print my name 50 times and other useful things like that.  Senior year, I suffered through a half-year of trigonometry so I could enjoy a half-year computer class.  Never popular, I suddenly found myself in demand as students teamed up to work on projects and I was one of the few who knew how to make a computer print my name 50 times.


There wasn't much wiggle room in college for me to take electives, but I took Intro to BASIC as my math requirement (more making computers print my name 50 times) and found room for a one-credit course on computer applications in education.


After two years of teaching, my career path took a turn for the educational-software industry, where I was paid to break software and tell non-English-speaking programmers what I did to break it so they could make the software student-proof.  (I rocked at that job.)  Eventually I freelanced for that company as a software author, writing lesson "scripts."


Down the road, I learned about Internet message boards, blogging, Facebook, Twitter and more.  My husband (who's been a computer programmer since 1995) has kept me in gadgets starting with my very first Palm PDA up through a Kindle, iPad and iPhone.


I enjoy using technology in a variety of ways and look forward to sharing my favorite apps, websites and more, every other Tuesday at CatholicMom.com.  I also look forward to reading what the rest of the "Tech Talk" team shares, and am extremely grateful for this opportunity.


Today's feature is Digital Prayer, in which I talk about the apps you can use to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

Coming Soon: Catholic Media Promotion Day

Here's where I say that I hope you didn't give up facebook for Lent!

You see, Greg and Jennifer Willits of my favorite Catholic radio show, The Catholics Next Door on Sirius/XM radio, have proposed that next Tuesday, March 15, be dedicated to sharing our favorite Catholic media resources: blogs, podcasts, websites and more.

Visit the facebook page and "Like" it so you'll receive all the details. If you've got a blog, post about YOUR favorite Catholic media resources--but don't post that info until March 15. Here's the instructions:

On March 15, 2011, everyone with a blog, podcast, or Facebook page should list their favorite 3 blogs, 3 podcasts, 3 other media, 3 random Catholic things online, and their own projects. Then, post the link to your list on the Catholic Media Promotion Day facebook page on March 15th. Additionally, to help get the word out, press are asked to write articles and press releases for this day. Lastly, on March 15th, go to iTunes and leave at least 3 positive written reviews for various Catholic podcasts and 3 positive written reviews for Catholic mobile applications.

Spread the word--and share your favorites! It's not a contest, just a way to get the word out about some great Catholic new media resources.

And after you share them on Tuesday, keep on sharing them! Our parish bulletin prints a link each week, in a regular "Links of Faith" feature. Why not ask your pastor if you can supply a list of new media resources to be published in your parish bulletin and shared with your whole community?

Worth Reading

R.C. Mommy: Holding on for a hero: "To develop my Catholic identity, or to develop it in my family, requires intentional living. It is not enough to float through my life..."

I'd like to put one of those little sidebar thingies in my blog so I could just insert great links when I read them. Unfortunately, the only one I found requires Google Reader, and I use FeedDemon.

So I'll have to share this way for the moment.

Go and read Amy's post. Great food for thought, and an excellent book recommendation. I've read some of this book--but not enough of it--this was a good push in the right direction.

(Actually, when I clicked the "blog this" link on Amy's post, I wound up sharing this on my recipe blog. DUH...once again, a technology fail for me.)

It's the Little Things

I found this article "How to Practice Mortification without Outing Yourself as a Catholic" via Lisa, Franciscat, who posted it on facebook. It's got 5 suggestions for little ways to help you grow in your spiritual life, without being all obvious about it. After all, "when you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full." (Matthew 6:16)

You don't have to wait until Lent to fast--even from little things. This article is worth the read--and it's even got some humor in it.