“And I will put them in my mouth!”
St. Joseph patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!
Adam
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So the second installation of my book reviews is not necessarily written by a Catholic author or written to a Catholic audience, but I believe it’s message is appropriate for the faithful. The book is called “Last Child in the Woods (saving our children from nature-deficit disorder) by the 2008 Audubon Medal winner Richard Louv. The entire premise of the book is that in modern times, children spend way too much time indoors being entertained by electronics, tv, video games, and the like, and that this over-reliance on these things is stunting our childrens’ imagination and ability to think creatively. This is a phenomenon that I completely agree with and hope that I would be able to encourage Abigail to spend as much time outside as possible, although I would also argue that there is an appropriate place and time for household play as well. This is illustrated by Louv when he states, “The problem with computers isn’t computers–they’re just tools; the problem is that overdependence of them displaces other sources of education, from arts to nature.” This is a book that I finished with some difficulty. Much of the book reads like a manuscript that just summarizes Study X or Study Y from some highly unique environment where children are given the opportunity to have free play in a large field at school, or is about a town that spends crazy money planting gardens or whatnot. It was somewhat annoying to read about all these studies and it left me wondering if Mr. Louv did not just create an elaborate meta-analysis of nature play. Part of my cynicism must be due to the amount Click here to continue reading “Catholic Book Review (sort-of): Last Child in the Woods”Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! Your golf balls are marked with a monogrammatic cross
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam Mise en place is a French term that cooks use to describe the preparation of ingredients prior to use in recipes. Common tasks would include cutting up vegetables, preparing sauces, or breaking down certain cuts of meat. One of the sacrifices that Diana and I have found it necessary to make is the amount of times that we eat out per month. The amount of income that we would devote to this each month was too high and we are learning that we must change this practice. Now that we are settled in with Abigail and she is starting to put herself to sleep after minimal fussing, Diana has found it easier to get housework accomplished. One of the greatest things that she is able to do now (and God bless her for it!) is plan meals up to 2 weeks ahead and stick to that menu through the week. We were successfully able to buy groceries and, surprisingly enough, only eat the meals we planned, for the two weeks surrounding Abigails baptism. The feeling that I get knowing that the income I provide is going towards healthy and wholesome meals is very encouraging. The most interesting thing about this is that the amount of mise en place type activities that occur is phenomenal. Below is a sampling of the changes that we have made to accomodate more home cooked meals (saves a bunch of money too!): -Buying stalks of celery, bags of whole carrots, and whole big tomatoes and cutting them into salad topping size We are also Click here to continue reading “Mise en Place”Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! Sometimes I surprise even myself. For the past few years Diana has maintained some simple vegetable plants on her back porch. I believe she started out with just tomatoes, then added bell peppers last year. These plants have been very successful with the intense morning sun that they get on our back porch. This year, Diana and I brainstormed a better way to plant these veggies, as the pots just did not seem big enough and not the most effective way to grow these plants. Our solution was a planter box that would be deep and wide enough to plant several plants and fit on our back porch as well. Following a gracious gift of plywood and lumber from my Dad, I put the following together:  The materials
I used only my battery powered circular saw, drill, and some decking screws. The dimensions of the box are 60″x14″x16″ which we plan on filling with dirt and planting 3 cherry tomato plants and two red bell pepper plants. Also, we have a mint plant, 2 zucchini plants, and several flowers that are going to be put into
Click here to continue reading “Dad-chores: Vegetable Planter Box”My wife and I delivered our daughter, Abigail, two weeks ago today. She has been such a source of joy for us in her first two weeks! We are learning everyday what it means to sacrifice ourselves for her. We originally struggled with getting her to nurse effectively and had to pump and cup feed for a bit in the hospital. Now, she nurses well; almost too long, in fact! At her two week appointment, we learned that she has not gained any weight in the past week, despite growing almost two inches in length and her head growing a bit. We are trying not to make mountains out of mole hills, but this is an especially difficult time for my wife, who is beginning to doubt if she can provide for Abigail the way a mother should. I find myself missing them more and more each day when I go to work. I feel like I should be doing more to help the situation. The physical sacrifices that are being made make it more and more difficult to feel spiritually close to God, my wife, and my daughter. I pray that this situation resolves itself soon. St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us!  I apologize in advance for the length of this post!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam! I have begun to work on my lengthy list of books that I have started but not finished. The first in a hopefully continual series of books that I will review is Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church by HW Crocker III. This book serves as a history lesson of the Catholic church in historical terms. That is, it does not necessarily delve deep into the history of Church teaching and the development of Church doctrine; but rather, it illustrates how the Church has survived from the time of its inception to the present day. HW Crocker III does a fantastic job in my opinion of acknowledging the fact that the Church has seen some times of poor leadership and questionable decision making in its political and military sphere, but always keeps a sense that God protects His Church from doctrinial error and will always lead it through times of trouble. This point is best illustrated by Crocker as he chronicles the Church center moving from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to Rome, then to Avignon for a brief period, then back to Rome. There have been times where the papacy was hunted and papal states attacked, but despite these worldly attacks, the Church always survives. In reflecting on this book, I thought about the faithful citizens of the Church during such turbulent times as the Arian heresy and the rise of Protestantism. How hopeless must they have felt seeing such change and such a departure from the Truth in their neighbors. I liken it to the present day where we Click here to continue reading “Catholic Book Review — Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church”The 2009 March for Life is being streamed live. Very interesting to see the National Mall filled with pro-lifers after just a few days ago being filled with thousands of Obama supporters. I actually got chills watching some of this coverage. God bless those in Washington today and God bless all the unborn! St. Joseph patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us! Enjoy this transcendant version of the beautiful Christmas hymn, Oh Holy Night. Merry Christmas everyone! God bless! St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us! Crossposted at anewparacletes The Knights of Columbus have began running a new pro-life radio ad encouraging people to “vote pro-life”. I don’t know how to embed the audio so if you do, please educate me! Here is the link to the official press release from the Knights’ website with the mp3 St. Joseph, patron of families, champion of purity, and model of humility, pray for us! |
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