“Yes” like Mary

March 26, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

Yesterday we celebrated the feast of the Annunciation, and I am realizing how beautiful it is.

Mary was this young woman trying to follow God and then BOOM. An angel shows up and says she has found favor with God and that she has been chosen to be the Mother of God. Like, really? That’s crazy. She’s not married and is understandably a wee bit concerned about the whole having a baby out of wedlock thing.

But what does she do?

She doesn’t stand there in shock and tell the angel Gabriel to get lost. She accepts God’s plan for her life and in an instant becomes the most revered woman in the Catholic church.

It’s kind of crazy if you think about it: God has this plan for each of our lives. He knows us through and through because he made us. And it’s not like he’s some crazy dude telling us what to do and is ordering us around saying “Do this or else!”. We have free will and can make decisions in our lives. Be he has this crazy awesome plan that is for our good. Our Blessed Mother is such a beautiful reminder of what God can do with our lives when we say:

This song has seriously been on repeat over the last day around here, and I just can’t get over how beautiful it is:

“Everything inside me cries for order/Everything inside me wants to hide/…/I’ll hold you in the beginning/You will hold me in the end/Every moment in the middle/Make my heart your Bethlehem”

Dude.

*sigh*

It’s just so beautiful.

Jesus, help me to always remember to live my life as a reflection of your love and a witness to the beauty of your divine plan. As you reveal your plan for my life, help me live an authentically Catholic life that mirrors Mary’s “yes” to you in the everyday decisions I have to make.

How can you say “yes” to God?

Hippie Fail

March 23, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 3 Comments

Today marks the most recent installment of my hippie adventures.

In doing research on homemade items, I came across this compilation of hair care attempts. Cheap homemade stuff! Cool! I regularly use a bit of mousse in my hair to tame down frizziness and then a bit of spray gel to hold it in place. With short-ish hair it doesn’t take long, and in the mornings a couple sprays of water will restore my hair to a presentable condition. So I just use the products after showering.

Anyway, on to the adventure. I read that boiling flax seeds in water and straining it creates a gel. So naturally I went to search Walmart for flax seeds which was an adventure because wouldn’t you know? People in Atchison are not health nuts who have a high demand for this stuff. I did find it eventually near the flour.

So today I used the ratio prescribed. I boiled and simmered. The post I read had the picture below, which looked pretty legit.

Buuuuuut it doesn’t turn out the same if you use milled flax seeds. *AHEM* Want evidence?

“Straining” doesn’t work when it stays inside

Well, it was the consistency of snot like she said!

DSCN6249 — Ah, gel with flax particles. How natural!

It did not turn out so well. As you can see, it contains many small particles of flax which would probably not be a splendid thing to put in my hair. I’ll have to search Atchison for whole flax seeds, and in the meantime will have to figure out what to do with this milled stuff! I discovered that flax is also known as linseed (ever heard of linseed oil?) and tastes like walnuts. It’s a natural source of omega-3’s and other healthy stuff. Yay for trying new things!

Until next time.

7 Quick Takes – Vol. 51: Down Syndrome, Hippies, and Meditation

March 20, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 3 Comments

— 1 —

Happy World Down Syndrome Day!

You can read my post about it here, and here is my article about my brother Robert that I wrote last year.

— 2 —

Life is pretty awesome right now. I got back from my spring break mission trip last weekend and this week we’ve had lovely weather. My second christian moral life exam went fabulously. My laundry is done (now I just have to fold it . . .). I’ve been trying hard to stay on top of things and have cut back my computer usage rather a lot. It’s been glorious 🙂 Yoga started this week (it’s a quarter class, not semester) which has been fun. My balance is not the best, but it’s been neat to discover that I’m much stronger than I have been in the past. Time will tell how my opinion on yoga will pan out, but for now it feels like less intense pilates.

— 3 —

I never get tired of this video. Well, the song, not the video. The video is pretty weird.

— 4 —

This meditation based on Mother Teresa’s writing is super beautiful: “When you give Me your sins, you give Me the joy of being your Savior” Read it!

— 5 —

I’m back on the hippie bandwagon with the baking soda/apple cider vinegar shampoo/conditioner thing (total cost of probably a year’s supply? $1.52), homemade bodywash, and my detergent. I’m planning to try a weird sounding hair gel alternative soon. Any suggestions for what to try next? I’ve seen things for toothpaste and deodorant, but those seem a little more . . . interesting 😉

— 6 —

Want to be really nice? A family friend is helping me raise money to cover lost funds from taking an unpaid pro-life internship this summer! Go here to support me and share the link with your friends. Your support is much appreciated, and I’ll be updating you with stories here all throughout the summer!

— 7 —

Aaaaand now a random awesome video . . .

Have a lovely week! For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

World Down Syndrome Day 2014

March 20, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Happy World Down Syndrome Day 🙂

Today is the day we celebrate people who are just like you and me, except that they have 3 of their #21 chromosomes instead of 2, which gives them down syndrome (3/21, get it?!). This day always makes me think of my brother Robert.

What I always hear from people who have family members who are rocking a 3rd 21st chromosome is that being part of simply loving them brings so much joy to their lives. For some reason God gave most people with down syndrome (as far as I’ve seen and heard) the ability to love others unconditionally, being totally unaware or accepting of their flaws.The rest of us? We probably have to work harder at it. It’s so beautiful to see families loving and embracing their children with down syndrome because it turns out that having down syndrome isn’t the end of the world. As you’ll see in these videos, it is a blessing to so many people.

IDSC’s 2014 Video

Dear Future Mom [of a baby with DS]

IDSC’s 2013 Video

IDSC’s 2012 Video

In America over 90% of parents who are told their unborn child has down syndrome choose abortion. Remember to always thank parents for choosing LIFE, even when it isn’t 100% what you were expecting. After all, none of our lives are really “normal” and you never know what amazing things a person – down syndrome or not – is going to with the gift of their life.

No free contraception? We’re all going to die!

March 18, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Next week the supreme court will hear the case of Hobby Lobby vs. Sebelius, a case which could have a great impact on the direction of religious liberty in America. Here’s the official description of the issue:

“Whether the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (RFRA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb et seq., which provides that the government “shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion” unless that burden is the least restrictive means to further a compelling governmental interest, allows a for-profit corporation to deny its employees the health coverage of contraceptives to which the employees are otherwise entitled by federal law, based on the religious objections of the corporation’s owners.”

Hobby Lobby owners object to the use of contraception based on their religious beliefs, and they don’t want to be part of providing them to people. Simple enough, right?

Turns out some people aren’t okay with their access to free birth control being taken away.

*GASP*

No free contraception?!!?!?!?!?! It’s the end of the woooooooooooorld!

Sorry, this isn’t a funny issue 🙂 But how hard is it to understand that you’re not entitled to free contraception? Planned Parenthood is making a big deal about how this decision should be between you and your doctor, not your boss.

But guess what? If companies chose to not cover contraception in their insurance plan, you are still perfectly free to march yourself down to Walmart or Walgreens and buy yourself a lovely device or carcinogen. Yay!

You see, eliminating contraception from insurance plans doesn’t mean you can’t use it. It just means you have to be a grown up and pay for it. That should be common sense. And guess what? Many people agree. here’s one woman’s take on it:

“Medical insurance is for emergency visits and check-ups, and most contraception isn’t a medical necessity or required to maintain your health. Just because something is costly doesn’t mean you can cry foul, try and deem it a right, and demand that someone else (the deep, endless pockets of corporations or other taxpayers) pays for it.”

We don’t get actual life-saving medical care for free (think blood pressure medication or diabetes treatment), so why should we get contraception (a purely elective medication/device which halts the natural function of your body) at no cost?

Riddle me that, Planned Parenthood.