Category: My Life

My Bookshelf – November 2017

~ Laura ~ 13 Comments

My reading preferences have evolved over time, and I have to say that working in Acquisitions for a reputable publishing company has only raised the bar (significantly) for what I consider a good book. But it is just so delightful to have time right now to read more.

I read Catholic non-fiction, conversion stories, random cultural issues (especially abortion, womanhood, marriage, and other controversial things), memoirs, and am now diving into classic fiction. I skipped a lot of literature in high school and didn’t soak in what I actually did read, so it’s been interesting going back to some of those classic titles – anyone else wonder why some things qualify as must read classics? Yeah, me too. Anyway.

Without further ado, here are 7 titles I’m working on or have finished reading recently. I’m linking up with Kelly for some Friday quick takes!

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1. The Power of Silence by Cardinal Robert Sarah
I may be a bit biased about this one, but it is truly a timeless book I think everyone should read. So many of us are missing real connecting-with-God kind of silence in our lives, aren’t we? This is interview style with numbered paragraphs that are mostly stand alone. And that’s a good thing, because some of them could leave you pondering for a week. I’m not done with this, but have enjoyed reading a paragraph or two before bed. Available here.

2. Primal Loss: The Now-Adult Children of Divorce Speak, edited by Leila Miller
This is my cultural read right now, and it is sobering to say the least. Leila asked the same questions of about 70 people who were children when their parents divorced, then made it into this book. The individuals are anonymous, and show the raw depth of their pain as children, which is completely ignored in the popular narrative of divorce being a positive step for happier parents. It makes me so, so, grateful to come from an intact family, as well as grandparents who have stayed married for going on 57 years. I picked this up because I wanted to understand the real life impact of divorce. Whether you find solidarity because of a similar experience, know people who are considering divorce (or have yourself), or just want to understand the impact, I highly recommend this. It is a necessary part of the conversation when we’re talking about the sanctity of marriage, and is incredibly compelling. Available here.

3. My Antonia by Willa Cather
I don’t know how much of a classic this is considered to be, but I enjoyed it. It’s one of those books that follows a character through a period of his/her life instead of being driven by plot – very similar in that way to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which I also read recently. It wasn’t overly descriptive (good, because I would have put it down), but successfully paints a picture of the life of people who had immigrated to the prairies. I love learning about periods of history in this way, and found this to be an easy, enjoyable, read. Available here.

4. Characters of the Reformation by Hilaire Belloc
This seemed appropriate to read with the recent 500th anniversary of Martin Luther nailing his 95 theses. Honestly, the title sounds boring to me. But I was surprised by how easy to get through this is – it’s not overly historic or biographical feeling. After a good introduction to this time period, it profiles the key figures in the Protestant takeover of England, which I knew little about. You might know about Martin Luther, but did you know that without what happened in England, Protestantism probably wouldn’t exist as it does today? I’m not done yet, but highly recommend it as a good starting place to learn about the Reformation. Available here.

5. Unseen by Sara Haggerty
The tagline of this one was quite intriguing to me: “The Gift of Being Hidden in a World That Loves to Be Noticed”. What an interesting topic. But honestly, I’ve been underwhelmed by this one. I had seen it everywhere, and picked it up on recommendation. But it is quite repetitive and is lacking a depth I expected of a book on this topic. I mean, it’s not terrible, but I think the ideas could have been condensed down to maybe 20 pages. Other people might enjoy it more than me, though – I usually feel that non-Catholic Christian books lack a depth I want in something about God. Available here.

6. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
This first part of her autobiography follows Maya’s life up through her late teenage years. I really didn’t know much about her life, and wow did she experience a lot. It was interesting, and sad at parts, reading the story of a black woman who grew up when Maya did. It’s one of those books where the subject is very different from me, and I read to understand them better. I would not hand this to young kids without discussing it, because of some mature content (some a bit graphic). Available here.

7. Surprised by Life, edited by Patrick Madrid
Conversion stories are some of my favorites to read. I just love to see how God is always after us, and the door is always open for us to find our way home. I’ve read Patrick Madrid’s other similar titles Surprised by Truth, which are collections of people’s conversion to Catholicism. This book, though, is about conversions specifically related to the Catholic Church’s moral position on life issues. Those are some of the toughest issues for many Catholics to accept. But they are also what draws some Catholics in. I highly recommend this and the Surprised by Truth books. All them are available here.

If you want to stay up to date on what I’m reading, head over to Goodreads, which I keep mostly current. What’s on your bookshelf? I’m always open to suggestions!

To Life,

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P.S. None of these are affiliate links. I just want to share what I’ve been reading.

Growing an Attitude of Gratitude

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

For me, gratitude is much more than going around the table at Thanksgiving to list a couple things (though that’s neat!). It is the choice to say that even if I’m in a hard place, God is good. He does not abandon us. It’s saying “thank you God for all I have” instead of “God, why don’t I have everything I want?”.

Want to know a little way I’ve grown in gratitude? Head over to Everyday Ediths to learn about the little way I forced myself to be more thankful.

Growing in silence

~ Laura ~ 10 Comments

It’s been a quiet year since graduating college. And if you told me in the months leading up to graduation what life would look like now, I don’t know that I would have believed you. It’s not because life is crazy, but because honestly, life has been status quo and at times mundane.

In college, my schedule was packed most of the time: classes, weekly meetings of different sorts, babysitting, event planning, group leading, spontaneous adventures and everyday living with people, etc. The funny thing is: none of that comes with you after graduation. I knew that. But now I’ve lived it too.

I started a new job, moved, and found a parish. But I’m not super busy anymore.

It’s weird.

As someone who was so used to being busy, it was and still is strange to come home from work and have nothing that absolutely must be done. It’s freeing in a way: I’ve read so much, explored creative things, gotten a bike, taken group exercise classes, killed some plants and kept others alive. But it’s also terrible. I feel a responsibility to spend my time well and give back to the world, which is easier said than done – because hello, where do you start?

When you graduate and are starting life all over again, having a world of possibilities is empowering but also frustrating. Yes, the sky’s the limit. But where do you start? I’ve tried out lots of things and have met great people since graduating. But it’s just different. And I haven’t found exactly the things to commit to yet.

I’m learning to be okay with that.

This is a time not everyone gets in their life, and really I am grateful to breath in the stillness of hikes and read and cook and work on myself. I count it as an accomplishment that I’ve grown comfortable being by myself (in a healthy way) and finding new things to try out. People say kids need to be bored to spark their creativity and imagination – is it true for adults too? Seems like it. I’ve been thinking and writing so many posts in my head to share. Maybe one day I’ll remember to!

My faith is so important to me, and the gospel from last Sunday had me thinking: it was the story of the seeds sown in different areas and how you need fertile ground for seeds to grow and thrive. Do I hear and understand God’s word and take action because of it? Do I nurture and prioritize the most important things in life? Yes, I know the power of God’s love at the capacity I can understand it right now. Have I let that soak into every part of me and radically change the way I live?

. . . a challenging question for us all to ask.

I have no idea what life will bring, but I do know the future is in the hands of a God who’s got my back.

There’s so much I could write and rage about, but really – what else matters? I mean, there’s a lot that matters and we can’t be apathetic. But this time is giving me space to read and learn and grow and seek and find what’s really most important in life. It’s been the perfect time to read Cardinal Sarah’s book The Power of Silence. He Says:

“Without noise, man is feverish, lost. Noise gives him security, like a drug on which he has become dependent. With its festive appearance, noise is a whirlwind that avoids facing itself. Agitation becomes a tranquilizer, a sedative, a morphine pump . . .this noise is a dangerous, deceptive, medicine, a diabolic lie that helps man avoid confronting himself”

Did you need a truth bomb? Because Cardinal Sarah has you covered. I want to come back to that thought and really challenge myself to use this time well: confronting what needs to be, giving how I can, working hard, and finding God in the stillness that can be so annoying.

Have you experienced a season of life like this? I’d love to hear about it!

To Life,

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7QT, Vol. 66: Jury duty, summer, and adulting

~ Laura ~ 7 Comments

Time for some quick takes on this Friday afternoon! Head over to Kelly’s place for more.

1. This week I served jury duty. I was on standby the night before. Then when I checked back, I had 1:30 to report downtown. We all sat in a giant room (at least 200 people), and then I was one of 84 people called into a courtroom to start the jury selection process. The charge was read to us, and we filled out a questionnaire about related past experiences of ours. The next day, I was one of 24 called up to the jury box to begin questioning. It was a loooooong day. And I was SHOCKED at the number of people who had difficulty following instructions. I had to come in for a third day, and was thankful to be excused then. It was fascinating to see part of the process, but I have a trip coming up and it would have been too much time away from work.

2. Speaking of, I’ve officially been at my job for a year! It was quite the experience ending up where I am, but it’s good to be here. It’s not what I expected, and who knows what the future holds. But I’m thankful to be gainfully employed.

3. In other adulting news, my sister and I have been thinking of starting an Etsy shop with greeting cards and prints. We’re experimenting with watercolor and calligraphy. Anyone have a favorite quote or type of card you’d like but can’t find?

4. Have any favorite summer recipes? This salad is the bomb diggity. This lemon ice is refreshing and light and originally from an American Girl cookbook.

5. Did you see that video preview yesterday from The Center for Medical Progress? Well, a judge ordered it to be removed from YouTube. Ask me more about it if you want to hear a rant/rage. I have no patience or tolerance for killing babies, profiting off of it, and then people trying to cover their butts. NOT. GONNA. HAPPEN.

6. In better news, this is an interesting article about the boom in young Catholic women starting initiatives and organizations. I’ve noticed this trend, and am grateful for so many fellow young Catholic women living out their faith and fulfilling needs of our world hungering for our authentic witness. I do honestly wonder if guys have the same wealth of resources, though. Hmm. Any thoughts on that?

7. Lastly, Happy Memorial Day. Let’s give special thanks this weekend for those who have given their lives for our country.

That’s it for now! What have you been up to lately? Have any thoughts on my takes?

To Life,

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Judging people vs ideas

~ Laura ~ 6 Comments

We hear it in the media, our cultural sensitivity training, and even from the Pope: who am I to judge?

Tolerance, open-mindedness, and understanding of people with different beliefs is the anthem of the correct, the battle cry of those fighting for the love and acceptance we all long for (right?).

But there’s something about this 100% acceptance rate that bothers me: we forget to differentiate between people and ideas.

We can probably agree that the appropriate attitude toward people is love. Sometimes love challenges and confronts, because it cares for the good of the other, right? It can call people out and change us. Love doesn’t stay the same. Think about a marriage or good friendship. Do you stay on the same level forever? No. The relationship grows and stretches with highs and lows. And that’s beautiful. We sacrifice and do hard things when we love people. We accept and love people because they are people, whether or not we agree with what they think and believe.

Now, we might disagree on how to handle ideas. I think we have a major problem when we treat ideas the same way as people. Ideas are concepts that we should examine, not accept because of what they are. We need to think deeply about and ask ourselves if it is true. Ideas can be wrong or disordered or stupid, and it’s okay to recognize that. Many people, I think, have lost this distinction, and assume that if you hold a disagreeing belief you must be the thing that is stupid, not your idea.

I recently made the mistake of entering a comment box regarding the redirection of funds away from Planned Parenthood. I replied to some (false and stupid) ideas in the comment section with facts and sources, explaining my belief and backing it up. I had to laugh at some point about the replies, because they were absurd.

For example, people assumed I was a mean-spirited Republican who voted for Trump, just trying to defend my stupid political affiliation. I am not a Republican and did not vote for Trump. But even if I did, that wouldn’t make me stupid. It’s the same concept about how we tell kids nowadays “that was a bad choice” and not “you are bad”. There’s a difference.

According to those people, I am an “embarrassment to intelligent women” because I have a belief different than theirs. But that thought out position of mine is on an issue I have researched and continue to read about extensively. I’m happy to talk about it. And I understand why people think differently. So let’s talk about and see what’s right.

When we put up walls between us and people we disagree with, we can’t talk about the issue we’re facing. We’re not going to get anywhere except our own heads, which are already filled with ideas we think are right. But what if we’re not right? If our idea is wrong, and we believe things that aren’t true, we’re never going to realize that if we stay stuck in a bubble. And doesn’t that matter?

I will listen to you and your story. I will love you and try to understand you. I might call you out if you have a stupid idea too. And you know what? I hate being told I’m wrong, but I’d want to know. It’s important to judge whether or not our ideas are right, or we’ll be stuck in our own heads forever.

Who am I to judge?

I’m a person who wants to know the truth.

So I’m going to keep researching and judging ideas in order to reach the truth.

Recognizing truth and providing evidence to support your belief isn’t an accusation of your being stupid. It’s an invitation into debate and truth-seeking that is only possible if we admit we might be wrong.

May we all increase our ability to admit that.

To Life,

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P. P.S. Have you been judged to be a stupid person because of a belief? Did you do that to someone else? Please share in the comments and let’s chat! Even if we disagree 😉