Hello again! It’s Friday. Did you survive this week? Because it was a little extremely cray cray if you ask me. Let’s take a deep breath, maybe a chill pill, and pull ourselves together. Linking up with Kelly & Co.

1. Donald Trump is our next president. Ever think that’d happen? The shock has worn off at this point, but I was dumbfounded on my couch watching the results unfold. I said from the beginning that Hillary was going to win, and for once I am a teensy bit glad to be wrong.

2. But, like most Americans, I’m not thrilled about Trump. I didn’t vote for him or Hillary, because they both seemed like dumb options. But I’m not going to protest or disrespect my country. He’s said crazy things that I wouldn’t ever defend. But I’m going to give him a chance to do some good. He might. He might not. But I’m going to be open-minded enough to give him the opportunity. He can’t just do the crazy things people are saying he will. We’re a democracy, not a monarchy.

3. Some people are losing their minds and blocking freeways and hurting people. This is obviously very constructive in unifying our country. All the rest I’ve gotta say about the protests is this:

4. This video (from a liberal Australian channel?) came up in my Facebook newsfeed, and I thought it made an important point.

Because you know what? We’re all going to disagree on something. That’s okay with me. I may believe you’re wrong about some life issue or gay marriage. And I’l be happy to talk about my beliefs. I hope that is you’re wrong about something you learn the truth, and vice versa. But that doesn’t change your humanity. Or mine. Opinions and beliefs are part of our identities. But they’re not what we are.

5. Okay, so where do we go from here? I would suggest one step at a time. People are always going to be disappointed and mad after an election. But hey. We’re America. We’ve been through some TOUGH times, and we’ll probably survive a Trump presidency. Let’s keep going to work, raising families, making dinner, reaching out to each other, and living each of our lives trying to make the world a better place.

6. Want a lighter topic? Here’s an article of mine up last week at Live Action News: Why abortion is wrong: the pro-life case. And I’m kidding. It’s not lighter. But it might be helpful if you’ve ever been stumped trying to have that conversation!

7. And now, I believe it’s appropriate to end with a prayer for our country. They’ll know we are Christians by our love, right? Let’s live up to that! And let’s remember in our prayers all the brave souls who have fought for our country since today is Veteran’s Day.

Almighty God,
bless our nation
and make it true
to the ideas of freedom and justice
and brotherhood for all who make it great.

Guard us from war,
from fire and wind,
from compromise, fear, confusion.

Be close to our president and our statesmen;
give them vision and courage,
as they ponder decisions affecting peace
and the future of the world.

Make me more deeply aware of my heritage;
realizing not only my rights
but also my duties
and responsibilities as a citizen.

Make this great land
and all its people
know clearly Your will,
that they may fulfill
the destiny ordained for us
in the salvation of the nations,
and the restoring of all things in Christ.

Amen

[source]

That’s it for now! What do you think? Need to de-stress after this week? Share your reaction in the comments below!

To Life,

 

 

P.S. Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin’ or by email.

 

Happy Fri-yay! Let’s join up with Kelly and all the other party people today.

1. Let’s just ignore the election, mmkay? At this point, I just look forward to it being over. Because you know what? There’s only so much I can control. And the president is not God and can’t quash my joie de vivre. Also, there’s this if you need some humor about it [rude language warning]. I read that when I was sitting in a coffee shop waiting for an oil change earlier today, and was laughing inappropriately loudly over my iced vanilla latte.

2. Want some cooking tips? My sister and I have been watching Food Network shows lately, and I feel like a genius putting some tips to good use: need to thicken a sauce? Cornstarch. Most people know that. But we also know it clumps up. THIS IS BECAUSE THE LIQUID IS ALREADY HOT. So, mix the cornstarch in a little bit of COLD water before adding it and no clumps. Whoa.

3. Another tip? If you add too much lemon juice to your dish, don’t despair! I accidentally added too much to a creamy lemon sauce for dinner this week, which tasted horribly tart. Do you know what? Add a sprinkle of baking soda and VIOLA. It apparently adjusts the pH level, taking away some of the acidic taste. It kind of fizzed for a little bit, but then went down and was completely saved. Thank you, Google, for saving my sauce.

4. Are you ready for Christmas music? I am, BUT I refuse to play it until the day after Thanksgiving. Gotta be liturgically correct. In preparation, I *MAY* have ordered Pentatonix’s new album after seeing this video. SO BEAUTIFUL.

4. I freaked out for a second this week, because all of a sudden I had a huge increase in “likes” on my Facebook page. I thought some sketchy spam activity was happening. But it turns out a story I wrote for Live Action News was making waves across the interwebs. It’s about a beautiful little girl named Coeli who was born at 25 weeks and lived, after doctors told her parents to let her die. Check it out! And if you’re a new fan, welcome! I’ll be posting more over there now.

5. Want another video? Here’s some priests rocking out while carpooling with a bishop. Yes, Catholics are not all dour old rule followers. We have loads of fun!

6. These are my kind of saints. [source]

 

7. With all the craziness out there, guys, I highly recommend going on hikes and getting off social media for the next week. Here’s a picture of a recent hike I went on. No filters whatsoever. Creation is soo gorgeous!

Have a great weekend everyone! Gotta go take some ciabatta rolls I made out of the oven for our housewarming tomorrow 🙂

To Life,

 

 

P.S. Connect with me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin’ or by email.