Our Lady of Fatima 100 years of stories, prayers, and devotions {A Book Review}

This summer I committed to spending less time on social media and my phone and more time reading books.  Kindle is usually my best friend but for this book I wanted to real deal.  I chose to read Our Lady of Fatima 100 years of stories, prayers, and devotions before the others in my pile because I thought I knew most things about the Fatima Apparition.  I was wrong.  This book captured my heart within the first couple of pages and I struggled to put it down until it was finished.  I carried the book around with me with pens for underlining the parts that jumped out at me.  Really I could have dipped the whole book in a bucket of highlighter and called it a day.  

My favorite part of the book is how it is laid out.  It has personal testimonies, history, prayers, and personal reflections.  At the end of the book there are more prayers and instructions on praying the Rosary.   I wrote notes in my journal as I read the book and marveled at how the message of Our Lady is truly timeless.  Donna-Marie points out the words of St. John Paul II from his homily from May 13, 1982    "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15) , the first words that the Messiah addressed to humanity is the same message that Our Lady gave to the children at Fatima and remains the same message to the world today.  So if you're looking for something to ignite your prayer life and warm your soul definitely pick up a copy of this book.  Don't forget some pens for underlining.  

Dear High School Girls (You're Worth More)

Dear high school girls in bikinis standing on the corner advertising for a car wash - I'm totally not judging you but you're worth more than that.  I just want to tell you that because our culture won't.  Magazine covers and billboards won't tell you that.  Sure you're cute and young now but you won't always be young.  Age and time catches us all and if we base our worth on outward appearance then when things start to go south (literally) we may be left feeling discouraged and worthless.  You don't need to use your body to sell things, to interest people, or to catch a boyfriend or husband.  I know, I know - I'm old and have birthed 13 kids so you may think I am just jealous but I'm not.  I was once young and skinny and unscathed.  I based my worth on how I looked.  I had a mixed up sense of worth.  Part of it is that God has written it on all of our hearts (those who are believers and those who aren't) the desire to love and be loved.  We get confused because our culture tends to equate sex with love and like Samuel we look for outward signs to determine a person's worth but the Bible says this :"But the Lord said to Samuel,“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at the things people look at.  People look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. " (Samuel 16:7) The Lord looks at the heart.  And so does anyone else worth your trouble.  If you catch a guy who values only your body then he is objectifying you and he will objectify others as well.  I'll say it again - louder this time - YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THAT.  

I also want to tell you that while we shouldn't live in fear we should live smart.  There are people out there who want to go a step further and exploit you.  They don't see your face or your heart and they only see your body.  They want to play on your insecurities and convince you that you're not worth anything except for what your body can offer them.  They are wrong.  They are liars.  Even if you feel alone, even if you have made mistakes (and who hasn't?) there are people in your life who love you and can help you.  

I'm not debating bikinis or the like here but only want to say that when we use our body to sell things we are sending a clear sign to the buyer that we are OK being used and objectified as a means to an end.  Only that's not love.  That's use.  St. John Paul II said this “A person's rightful due is to be treated as an object of love, not as an object for use. "   Your rightful due is to be treated as an object of love.  Put your name at the beginning of that sentence - I, (your name) have a rightful due to be treated as an object of love.   Those women in the magazines, the ones all us women are competing with subconsciously or otherwise,  they aren't real.  I mean, they ARE real but they are super photoshopped.  Those women in porn - none of them really want to be there.  Human trafficking is modern slavery and that's where most of those women come from.  The men who think they are finding love in those women are finding addiction and loneliness - not love.  We all struggle through life dealing with feelings of inadequacy.  Let's face it - being a girl can be downright brutal at times.  But that's not what God intended.  And I guarantee if you spend as much time (or more) primping on the inside as you do on the outside (this old mom included) you will radiate a joy that no one can resist.  So jump around with your car wash signs in your shorts and a tshirt because anyone who wants just a car wash won't be able to resist your giggles, smiles, and JOY.   

In closing, take this from where it came from, the heart of a person who found her worth in things that didn't last, who was redeemed by a God Who lasts forever, and who cares about YOU even if I've never met you.  I'm midway through a lifelong struggle with body image and self worth.  You're young, build up your insides now, accept your outside for what it is, and be blessed.

Sincerely with Love and Respect,
Me

Longing for Heaven

I remember the summer days stretching out before me when I was younger.  Waiting from June to July and July to August.  Then waiting for back to school, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  Waiting.  Always waiting.  The time in the summer seemed endless.  In the days before iPhones and the internet I spent my time reading and rereading Little House on the Prairie books and thumbing through Teen Beat Magazine.  I can remember thinking when I was older it wouldn't seem so endless.  Then I got older and it was endless just in a different way.  Endless laundry, dishes, cleaning, and cooking.  Endless planning of birthdays, graduations, the next school year.  This morning in prayer what (once again) dawned on me is that all of this does have an end.  And that longing in my heart isn't for the crisp fall leaves, the snow quietly falling, the birds chirping, or the longer days of summer.  The longing in my heart is for Heaven alone.  Some days I think I was better suited to be a cloister but that's not where God put me.  He put me here among these wild, crazy, precious, joyful, and wise people who teach me something new each and every day.

Lately I've been pouring all of my extra time into learning and copying scripture, reading, decluttering my home, mind, and heart.  I so desperately need to have clear spaces to hear God's voice so I can lead these children to the next right thing.  Each morning's Bible readings fill me with hope as I navigate these unknown waters trusting that even though I don't know what is next - God does.

I was recently given the opportunity to read and review (here on my blog) several new Catholic books.  I'm excited to be able to promote many different types of books from authors I am pleased to support.  I have missed writing as it is something that brings me joy knowing full well that I'm no Ann Voskamp but I am who God made me to be.  Or at least I'm trying to be.

On that note my Instant Pot has arrived and the girls are begging me to open it so I am off to do that.