January Roundup and Updates
news, updates, link to my January articles
As we finish out January, I am sharing the links to my articles that appeared this month: One on laundry, one on keeping kids Catholic.
But before that, I’ve been busy at work on two other projects that I’m excited to announce. And next week I’ll be in Boston for the Catholicmom.com writers retreat at the Holy Cross Family Ministries retreat center there and I’m very looking forward to being inspired and meeting other writers in person. Now for the announcements:
Mothers of Young Children Retreat.
This has been on my heart for years and now it’s finally coming to fruition. I will be leading this day retreat with Fr. Ryan O’Neil, my spiritual director, who has guided me so gently and wisely in my vocation. Mothers with really young children (I’m saying 5 and under) are tired, tapped out, and in need of a retreat. But they are the least likely to go away for a weekend, so this day is for them (or you!). If you are in the Denver area, and know a mom who needs this, please share!
RMCHEC- Rocky Mountain Catholic Home Educator’s Conference July 18-19
This local homeschool conference is one of the last few independent Catholic homeschool conferences in the country and has been going on for a good 20 years I believe. This year I’m the new person in charge, and the learning curve is steep! But I know it will be so rewarding. More info will be arriving on the website in the next two months at RMCHEC.org
And now for the links!
Loads of Laundry and Gratitude on Catholicmom.com
“The only things in life that are certain are death and taxes. But there’s one other thing: laundry. “Laundry and death and taxes, in no certain order,” I would grumble as I threw another load in. As our family grew, so did our piles of laundry. The soiled clothes kept on coming while the clean baskets begged to be put away.
Then I heard the anecdote of a village in which all the women experienced a sudden outbreak of depression and at first no one could figure out why. In the end, the problem was that each house had installed washing machines. Now the women no longer went down to the river to wash their clothes together, turning a communal outing into a lonely chore. Whether it’s a true story or not, I envied the shared laundry-washing experience, so maybe I was just lonely, or tired, or both. Definitely both.
Then one day I said to myself as I switched loads, “It just takes up time I could spend on other things.”
I spent months pondering what “other things” I intended?”
Read the rest here at https://www.catholicmom.com/articles/loads-of-laundry-and-gratitude
And while I delighted at her protest that she would never skip Mass, the thought of her unknown future was a sobering reality.
Plenty of proverbial ink has been spilled attempting to explain how to keep your kids Catholic. While our children have free will, there are some things parents can do to stack the deck, so to speak, especially through our own example and witness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a short, excellent section on the duties of parents, which I highly encourage everyone to read (CCC 2221-2231). I will summarize a few points below.
Overall, I think it all boils down to two words: conversion and repentance. . .
Read the rest at https://denvercatholic.org/keeping-your-kids-catholic/