Each week, I try to find and share a delicious and healthier recipe we made and liked (or want to make), a podcast/album/song I’m loving, non-toxic/clean-living finds because I know this kind of switch can be overwhelming, an article (or two) that made me think, and a poll question just for fun.
Okay, so I have to admit that I was not ready for the whole potty training experience of two weeks ago, and I decided to postpone until I could have my husband’s help over a weekend for the first couple of days. I was just too anxious about the whole thing and doing all the wrong things. I was worried I was going to somehow ruin him forever and realized I was definitely spiraling, thus the training break. Hence, my spring break did not end up being spent entirely at home, and I feel much more peaceful about beginning (again) the whole potty training thing this upcoming weekend.
In other news, I have had the great privilege to spend the past two weekends enriching my faith in some capacity. Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend a retreat (I’m working on a piece right now that will share some of the fruits of that experience) that was incredibly life-giving and rejuvenating. This weekend, I was able to attend the Oklahoma Catholic Women’s Conference, and we had some powerful speakers this year at the event. My favorite speaker is a Sister of Life, and her talk encompassed the idea that it is only within the context of finding ourselves deeply rooted in our identity in and belovedness by God that we are able to live bravely. She laid out a series of practical principles that can guide our prayer and work in living bravely with Christ: 1. “dismiss not desire nor detours in one’s life” (God uses both whether we’re able to see it or not); 2. “forge friendships” (we are not meant to live in isolation); and 3. “don’t waste the wait” (God does his deepest work as we wait and ponder).
Another profound point Sister Mary Grace made during her talk is that “Christ does not give the cross without himself upon it.” In other words, we never suffer alone. She shared a powerful story of healing a painful memory by taking it to prayer and seeing Christ embrace and pull her closer to himself as she relived the memory, thus illustrating that Christ redeems and makes new all things when we invite him into those places. She challenged us to ask where Jesus was when looking at healing from our own painful memories. During the Lenten and Easter seasons, it is particularly appropriate to reflect on this reality that Jesus “can bring glory out of every gloomy story,” beginning with his own resurrection. It is in that fact - that Christ rose from the dead in victory - on which we should base our hope, not as a nice dream or wish for a different set of circumstances; rather, that it is the exact circumstances in which we find ourselves that God is actively working to bring about our salvation and redemption.
It is hard to believe that Lent is officially halfway over! I pray it has been a fruitful season for you thus far.
I mentioned above that I was fortunate enough to attend a retreat last weekend. I had never attended a silent retreat before, but this one was only three days in length, and it was structured really well. I was reminded while on retreat how much the Benedictine charism appeals to me. Growing up, my family would go on retreat at a Benedictine abbey in Oklahoma, so for me, going to a Benedictine abbey is like coming home, I think. I highly recommend going on retreat if you’ve never had the opportunity. The one I attended is for both Catholics and non-Catholics and is Scripturally-based (and although it is Benedictine, you do not need to be familiar with their charism to attend :)). Here is the information for the women’s retreats, and here is the information for the men’s.
Next week begins Passiontide, traditionally the time in the Catholic church when the statues and crucifixes are covered in preparation for Christ’s passion and death. Here is a lovely playlist for Passiontide and Holy Week.
There are always many vendors at a conference like the one I attended this weekend. One of the vendors present is actually a company I’ve been buying from since December. My mom got my son some diaper cream and soap from this company for Christmas last year, and the diaper cream is the best natural/non-toxic cream I’ve found! The soap is also really mild and soothing. I also love that they are a small family-owned company here in Oklahoma and that their products are really beautiful. While not exactly local to my area, I still feel like I’m buying local since they are just a matter of hours away.
I recently searched for a picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane since the Lenten devotional I’m using is a meditation on the agony in the garden. I stumbled across this artist on Etsy, and I absolutely love his work. I love how the golden tones in the garden seem to show both that Jesus in not alone (the Bible tells us that angels ministered to him during his agony) and that the glory of his redemptive work will be astounding. I also purchased the same artist’s print of Jesus leaving the tomb to display for the Easter season.
I have a confession to make. I have been in a cooking rut. I have felt pretty exhausted recently, and I think that’s playing into it. Thus, we’ve been eating some quicker, easy meals, like the Old El Paso Enchiladas! I use the Siete enchilada sauce and add Siete refried beans to the meat for some added fiber.
This sweet water bottle for kids is on sale right now, and I’m definitely grabbing it for Joseph’s Easter basket. P.S. MERIDETH10 at checkout will save you an additional 10% off your total.
Last week’s poll results: 25% of respondents are getting pie, 25% are getting ice cream, 25% are getting cookies, and the last 25% are getting cake! I will honestly eat any of these quite happily, but my favorite is ice cream. You can find this week’s poll question below:
That’s all, folks! Thanks for reading, and please let me know in the comments which of the items above was your favorite.
Thank you for sharing those powerful themes from your retreat. I found that helpful!