7 Quick Takes – Vol. 58

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

seven quick takes friday 2

Hello again, world! In the interest of maintaining some level of presence around here, I’m jumping back on the bandwagon of these short weekly posts. Here goes!

1.

Life lately: classes, work, eating, sleeping (sort of), events, etc. It’s been pretty normal around here! Summer plans are being made, and it already feels like graduation is getting close with only a year left here. But we’re going to make the most of it!

2.

Speaking of school, my favorite class this semester is Great Catholic Thinkers on Fulton Sheen. It’s hard to describe his awesomeness. My term paper is on suffering through his understanding, which I picked because of so many current events on the issue. People are afraid of suffering, but in the 10+ pages the paper will end up being, I am showing how it’s a beautiful part of life. Two of my favorite quotes?

“No human being has a choice of whether he will go through life with or without suffering, because this is to a great extent beyond his control. But each one has this choice: Will the suffering open on a Cross and therefore see the joy beyond, or will it be closed to the Cross and therefore be the beginning of hell on earth.”

And:

Which will you sacrifice- - Fulton Sheen

Speaking of Sheen, you can find some of my favorite quotes I’ve made into graphics over on Pinterest!

3.

And Happy Easter! This year I went to the vigil Mass for the third time in my life. Like always, it was amazing. My favorite part is when the lights come on as we sing. SO BEAUTIFUL! I dressed up and went with a couple friends.EditedEaster

 

4.

Then Sunday evening we had a potluck with many people who stayed on campus. It was fun! We decorated and got flowers and colored while hanging out before eating. We are so looking forward to being able to have people over to our apartment next year where we’ll have our own kitchen.

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5.

Here are a few interesting things I’ve read lately:

Birth Control May Alter The Structure Of A Woman’s Brain

– A bit surprising to see something like this on Huffington Post! It’s good to see that more people are realizing that while we don’t have hard facts on everything hormonal contraception does, there are many reasons to be hugely wary of using it on a purely biological level.

Gay Woman Who Donated $20 to Christian-Owned Indiana Pizzeria Reveals Why She Took Bold Stand

– Quite interesting . . . how nice if more people took more of her stance on this! I’ve been seeing people point out that those who are making a stink about these situations are not necessarily people with homosexual tendencies themselves. Often it’s those who consider themselves “allies”. If these allies realized what many homosexual people believe, they wouldn’t have as much a reason to create the hubbub. Many of these people understand what discrimination is like, so it makes sense to me that they wouldn’t want that to happen to other people. It’s not true across the board of course, but so nice to see this underrepresented opinion.

The Truth About Communion In The Hand While Standing

– This can be a touchy subject for some, but to me it’s quite simple: if we believe that the Eucharist is Jesus, then we would do what we can to be as reverent as possible. Can’t kneel for health reasons? Okay, hand it is. Have a highly contagious disease? Okay, hand it is. But otherwise, this is supposed to be an exception – not a norm. The widespread disrespect for the Eucharist is disturbing. But thankfully reverence for the sacred is making a comeback in the youth!

6.

Want to see a ridiculously cute video? Check this out.

You’re welcome.

7.

 Time to enjoy a lovely weekend, attend some fun events, and get homework done.  Oh! And today is my saint day because it’s St. Gemma’s Feast Day. Yay! If you’ve read any awesome articles this week, or have some thoughts on what I shared, let’s chat in the comment section below 🙂

See you again soon!

To Life,

 

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P.P.S. Check out more quick takes at This Ain’t the Lyceum!

NAS: Lent Check In

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

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We’re more than half way through Lent… how’s it going?! What did you decide to give up/take up? Did you make any spiritual goals? How have you grown thus far and how do you hope to make the most of the remainder of the season?

This Lent started with what I realize now were rather *ahem* ambitious goals. I hung them up as my “Lent 2015 Plan for Bossness” on the wall next to the sink where I brush my teeth. I even went so far as to type out a Lenten holy things to-do list for each specific day of the week. I printed them out, crossed things off for a week or so . . .

And now those little papers are sitting (untouched) in my stack of papers.

Figures, right?

Pretty much anyone who looked at my goals would know they were ridiculous. And I should have known it too. I did somewhere in the back of my head. God must have been chuckling a bit knowing instead of being a total boss at my epic plan, he would give me opportunities to be humbled.

To be honest, I was incredibly burnt out heading into spring break. Trying to be a boss at Lent and doing so many of my normal things at the same time can tire me out at times. And it did. In many ways.

From school I went home for about 24 hours because of a wonderfully generous offer to fly me back to meet people and make work connections. It was a lovely, packed, day. After that I took my first red-eye flight and then 3 more legs to New York to spend a week+ on a college student retreat and service work program run by the Sisters of Life outside of NYC at a retreat house.

And you know those times when you just know you’re where you’re supposed to be? This was one of them.

It felt pretty crazy to fly clear across the country by myself to spend 10 days with people I had never met. The flights were stressful because of some being delayed and having to sprint to make the next ones. I was so worn out that I ended up in tears at some point. On a plane. Thankfully I was able to pull myself together and made it to the lovely retreat house.

I was completely disconnected from the internet for the week (which was expected). And when I checked my phone at night, I gloriously didn’t have 20 texts to attend to. This time was truly a gift I was more than happy to take advantage of.

It was beautiful to have time to forget about homework and remind myself of what is important in life. We helped at many places around NYC, including a place for the homeless and one of their convents where pregnant moms stay with them. We went to Mass and did liturgy of the hours with the sisters each day. And a holy hour most days.

That time in adoration was calming and refreshing. I needed it. During the 1.5 day long of silence (as a retreat), I seriously spent 6 out of like 21 hours in the presence of JESUS. Oh yeah! And I was so struck during that time how much God loves me. Personally. As Laura.

Throughout the week, the sisters and the talks just kept affirming the worth of the human person. And so many times people touched on our worth for who we are (children of God created in his image), not what we do. We need to be more, not do more, they said. And that’s probably when God chuckled again and I got another serving of humble pie.

It was fabulous.

I’ve written on those topics and put much of my time into affirming other people. But over this break I realized how essential it is to maintain this level of contentedness within myself. After all, we can’t give what we don’t have, right? I had been going into debt trying to give what I didn’t have. So…

I just sat there and basked in Jesus’ love. It’s pretty amazing, folks, how he loves us unconditionally. It was one of those times where I was reminded how faith is an encounter with Jesus, not just something in my head. To know I am loved put a smile on my face.

And now, looking at Lent, it seems like a total failure because I haven’t done everything I said I would. But you know what has happened? One of those times of conversion of heart. I could have just floated on clouds when it clicked how much I am loved. If I could whistle, I might have done that going down the hall to bed. But I can’t whistle. So scratch that.

This Lent has had its ups and downs. And I am so thankful for both. What a glorious thing it is to know more deeply God’s love!

To Life,

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P.P.S. Go say hi and thank you for hosting to Morgan & Jen!

To know I am loved

~ Laura ~ 3 Comments

When things go right, when things go wrong, knowing I am loved by you changes the way I live. It puts a smile on my face, and peace in my soul. It keeps my heart beating.

Knowing I am loved by you, I can close my eyes in your presence and be sure you are still there. You dry my tears but let them fall when they need to. You make me want to love better.

I can speak to you for hours as I sit with you or as I fall asleep. Sometimes we talk because I’m mad, other times because I want to sit and hear your voice. You’ve heard it all and love me still.

Whether I look at the stars, or into someone’s eyes, I am constantly reminded of your glory. No matter where I am, you are with me. Every step of the way.

In everything you do and are, you remind me of my worth because of who I am, not because of what I do. Nothing I do can change your unconditional love. And no words can properly communicate the contentedness your love gives.

Whatever life throws at me, I am confident that I can not only survive, but also thrive, because you are here. Always and everywhere by my side. Success doesn’t depend on my strength alone, which is a wonderful thing. I would fail on my own. You are always there. I just have to acknowledge that in the way I live. And I can’t help but smile and be grateful for your love, because I do not deserve it.

When human words fail, all I have to do is look to your face as you hang on the cross to know that I am loved.

Thank you for loving me.

To Life,

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NAS: Spiritual Writings

~ Laura ~ 4 Comments

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What are some of your favorite or go-to books, devotionals or even blogs that help encourage you in your spiritual life?

Finally participating with Jen and Morgan again! This seemed like a great time to share spiritual books and such as Lent begins.

Books I’ve Read

Books I Will Eventually Read

There are so many more on my shelf, it’s kind of ridiculous. But so exciting too! I just love learning more about my faith. Right now for my Great Catholic Thinkers class, we’re working on Three to Get Married which is blowing my mind. Seriously. You don’t have to be married or engaged to read it. It talks about the nature of love and oh my gosh. I can’t stop fangirling over it. Go order it! We finished Peace of Soul a bit ago in that class which had some incredible points as well – a good read for Lent.

Reading gets so much more exciting after Christmas!

 

Otherwise, I don’t visit blogs or websites regularly for spiritual reading. I do read articles as they come up, and then will pin the best of what I read to my faith board. Lots of good quotes go on there too 🙂

What are some of your favorite books? Articles?

To Life,

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Lose yourself to find yourself

~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

Hear alarm.

Groan.

Do I have to do this again?

Get up.

Chug coffee.

Lament bad news going around the web.

Work or classes.

Eat.

Answer emails.

Check in on social media.

Crawl into bed wondering where the day went.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

 

Sound too familiar? Don’t worry, it does to me too.

So much of the time we go about our lives going through the motions. I look back on some days and wonder what I did. Did I create meaningful memories? Did I stop and smell the alfalfa – enjoy the sunshine, spend time in prayer, and ask good questions of the people I came in contact with?

To be honest, the answers to those questions are not always great.

Sometimes I could have handled conversations much more graciously. I could have been more thoughtful. And for me, it comes down the choices I make. Did I choose to think about other people’s needs before my own? Or was I so focused on powering through my day that I didn’t notice a couple people I said “hi” to really weren’t doing okay?

Especially in the US, we talk about college being a time to “find yourself”. So I should be focusing on myself and living everyday focused on myself, right?

Well, no.

Lose Yourself to Find Yourself

From my (oh so extensive) experience, this is mind-blowingly true. When I focus on myself, I become selfish, because I’m thinking only about myself. But when I reach beyond myself and ask how I can impact other people for the common good, we’re all left a little better. You are doing better because who doesn’t appreciate being paid attention to. And I’m doing better because helping people builds relationships and makes me appreciate the awesomeness of our differences.

So this Lent, and in life in general, I want to do a better job paying attention to the needs of others. I’m going to step outside myself, and serve other people. Not because people I know are charity cases, but because the world would be better off if we lost ourselves in service more often. If we crucified our desires by asking what we could do for others, how much better off would we be? Because when we take that step, we know people better and can identify with people more easily. We see ourselves in common struggles, and become more fully who we were made to be by walking other people’s journeys with them.

That’s what compassion is, after all – to suffer with someone. To walk beside you and go through things with you as we navigate whatever life throws at us. So can I pray for anything specific for you this Lent? Do you need a coffee date so I can listen to whatever is going on in your life? Would a handwritten note mean a lot to you? Can I call you? Do you want to chat over Facebook or emails?

I would love to give my time to you.

Because our lives are better when they are lived for something bigger than ourselves.

Let’s make an effort to extend ourselves more often, to reach beyond our personal desires into the needs of our communities. Because guess what? It’s there where our true colors will shine through, where our character will be tested, and our greatest traits will be forged.

Are you willing to step beyond yourself to make that happen? Let’s do this together!

To Life,

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