Trapped by Household Dolrums?

Have you ever watched a movie and wished that your life, too, could be as grand as the hero's life? That you could save the day, rescue the child, stop that disease, or be the woman whose man would fight to the death for her? Yeah, Hollywood perfection can really mess with your mind. The great struggles and the happy endings, the size 2 women and the men with broad shoulders and deep blue eyes make the average lives of Jane and John (or in my case, Jessica and Bill) seem less than incredible.

It's easy to fall into this feeling of small-ness. I have. But I don't like it. I know that there is something wrong with that type of thinking - that my life doesn't count for something. So, being me, I started researching to find a way out.

Did you know there is a Saint for Little Ways? Doesn't that sound nice? A Saint that lived a little life, followed her child-like heart and became a warrior for God all by doing her daily tasks with compassion. St. Therese of Lisieux is just such a Saint.

I need to take a serious lesson from her book (literally a book, Story of a Soul). During her time at the convent, she took all the smallest, most menial chores and did them happily. She was purposefully friendly to the sisters who were cruel. She prayed with a child's heart, maintaining that awe in Jesus that is usually found in the hearts of children who haven't been corrupted by the ways of the world.

Imagine how my household (and perhaps yours too) would change if I did the dishes day in and day out while smiling and singing? And that mountain of laundry? No problem! I'll do that and be thankful that I can provide my family with a mountain of clothing. Keeping the house clean would become a duty of honor, for what mother doesn't want to give her family a clean, safe and happy home? And when 5:00 rolls around, dinner would be ready. (Yeah, I'm laughing at that one. While I usually know what dinner is going to be, I have only rarely prepared it in a timely manner!)

So I'm challenging myself through the month of July (for starters) to look at the things that normally pull me down and change them to things I can do in thanksgiving to God for all He has given me. I remind my children to do things with a happy heart - and I need to remind my own heart to follow that rule as well. My children are learning to care for their things by doing laundry and dishes and vacuuming and they find an element of excitement in doing things that grown-ups do. Interesting. Why don't I feel that way anymore? Am I so blinded by my blessings that I can't see the beauty in the little ways of my life? What would happen if I returned my heart and mind to do things with the joy and passion of a child?

My life is not big. I'm a hero only to my children. My hero is my husband. I won't save the world, but I can save my family from the world. I probably won't ever be a size 2..or 4 or 6, but my husband loves me just the way I am. We wouldn't be appealing on the big screen, but I love our home videos of fun times with the kids. But I am hoping for a happy ending! I'll never give up on that!

The Grass Under Our Feet

The other day I took my kids to the park and had one of those rare moments of freedom and clarity that comes from taking in nature in the tiniest detail. Lying on my stomach, feeling the grass prickle my arms, I was delighted by the cool relief the green carpet offered from the sun. I wasn’t afraid of insects, just comforted by the fact that I was, essentially, prostrating myself before God in the middle of a park, enjoying the complete thrill of God’s creation in the summer sun.

It was then that I noticed the grass in detail. Every blade was different – different to the point that when the wind blew, only some of the blades moved. Only a few blades caught the wind, bending in a romantic dip with the invisible force and springing back up to be bent again as the dance continued. A few other blades shuddered for a second under the wind, but resumed their stock-still stance, unrelenting under a greater force. The majority of the grass was unmoved. Staunch. Resilient.

My mind cleared and perhaps God whispered in my ear, “Be a dancing blade of grass. Let my breath move you.”

I looked at my life, from my youth to today as I’m approaching 40. The years I spent resisting God led me to ruin: to deny who I was, to ignore the purpose and meaning of life. For months now, I have come to realize that I am quickly becoming one of “them” – those people who call on the Lord’s name in utter joy during moments when the rest of the world is happily living in ignorance (and when I’m around, slight irritation that I keep commenting on God’s wonders!) Call me a Christian, a devout Catholic, a bible thumper, soap-box preacher, born-again…it’s all true. My joy comes from the breath of God that waves over this earth and catches me as I lean toward him. Some folks find refuge in Him for a moment, but fear being called names, like 'do-gooder' or a 'Christian on a mission', and are quick to resume their own means of living and resist God’s love. Other ignore Him altogether and miss the great beauty of a life of love, knowledge, and wisdom.

All that from two minutes of quiet time! When God wants to speak, He certainly will. If we would give Him just a few minutes of our time each day, He will lead us – even to the point of speaking to us through the grass under our feet!

Book Recommendation

Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor, by Allen Hunt

Our parish, St. Therese in the north side of Lansing, MI, offers a plentiful array of resources for Catholics wishing to strengthen their faith and understanding of the One, True Church. Allen Hunt's book has been sitting on a display case for months before my husband finally picked it up...and he couldn't put it down. The next week, he purchased another copy for my mother and she loved it as well. So, I dove into Mr. Hunt's book and was captivated by his honest approach to the beauty and oneness of my faith.

If you are feeling lost in the Church, read Allen's book. If you face questions from non-Catholic friends about the Catholic faith, read his book. If you are a non-Catholic and you don't understand why Catholic's call the Church the ONE church, read it!

A note to Allen Hunt: Thank you for writing this book. I was born into the Catholic faith, but have recently opened my eyes to the true beauty of my Church. Your story has deepened my love for God, for Jesus, for the Holy Spirit in ways I was not expecting. I've been given the gift of tears and felt a true connection to Saint Padre Pio as I prayed the Rosary last night - and it lead me to drive to the adoration chapel in town and visit my Lord and Savior. The Appendices in the book are pulling me forward and I can't wait to discover what God has in store for me today! May God bless you, Allen Hunt!

Homeschooling Summer

A question keeps cropping up when I'm out and about with the kids: "Are you on summer vacation?" It's an innocent question and should be a simple thing to answer, but the girls turn to me dumbfounded. "How do I answer this?" their faces ask.

As a homeschooling family, we came to the conclusion that it is counter-productive to stop schooling for three whole months. Here's why: the summer between 3rd and 4th grade, my family traveled, played, swam and had a blast! We drove from El Paso, Texas to Grand Rapids, Michigan and visited family for 2 whole weeks. If the weather was nice, I was outside playing. If it wasn't, I was inside playing. And then school started. That first day, the teacher did a series of assessments on her new class: a spelling test of words I should know, a cursive sample, a read aloud section, a short quiz to test my reading comprehension. Before I began the first assignment, I picked up a pencil I it felt completely foreign in my hand. I couldn't remember how to form a capital "J" in cursive. I couldn't remember how to spell the word "your". To no surprise, I was put in the lower reading group.

I don't want that experience for my children for several reasons: 1) I felt stupid; 2) There are wonderful worlds in books to explore; 3) writing in a journal everyday is important in terms of the memories the girls record of their childhood and the treasure that will be for them in their adult life; and 4) a structured day benefits everyone.

Now before you start thinking that I'm a hard-nosed, academic driven mother with lofty dreams for her children, let me agree with that. Our summer is not completely filled with sprinklers and play dates, although those are definitely a part of the structure, we also plan time to read, to write letters to friends and family, to continue in our math books, and to read scripture and attend daily Mass together.

We call this our 'Summer Schedule'. Three days a week we do our History and Science readings. Every day we either go to Mass or read the daily readings together at the table. On Fridays we meet friends at a park. We have scheduled two weeks at two different VBS programs. We are camping and visiting family who live out of town. And we journal daily.

So I encourage you who have children; take them to the store and let them pick out a journal and a pen. Take them to the library once a week so they can participate in the summer reading program. Encourage them by your example to take time each day to read and write. But remember! Before you pick up that best-seller, spend 15 minutes reading a global best-seller: The Bible.

Now my children know how to answer the question: "Are you on summer vacation?" They say, "Yes. We homeschool and are reading really great books. We are doing a tour of parks and playgrounds in our county. And this week we are starting a daily Mass tour of the Catholic churches in Lansing. So far it's a great summer vacation!" (note: I did not coach them to add that last sentence. My children truly are enjoying the structure I'm providing, love the different schedule from the regular school year, and look forward to going to different Catholic churches for daily Mass.)