February Challenge Day 28: One Word

February 28, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Thank you, Bailey Jean, for hosting this challenge! It’s been a great opportunity to write more and get to know some of the ladies who have participated. Today’s final post is about one little word.

At the beginning of the year I saw lots of people talk about their word or theme for the year. I thought it was kind of silly, because who in the world is going to remember it for a whole year…but I liked the focus. Then I started seeing my one little word pop up everywhere and so now it’s my go-to word of the year:

Right now it’s easy to get caught up in doing the countless things on my to-do list. There are classes to go to and events to plan and things to straighten and laundry to do and people to call and things to write and so on . . . but are all those things really important at the end of the day? Not so much. And they don’t always bring peace. I’m not talking about the hippie kind of peace though. I’m talking about contentment in participating in God’s will, doing the right things, and prioritizing what’s most important. For me it’s about getting rid of distractions and focusing on what really is important.

That’s why I’ve made an effort to pray more. I’ve gotten rid of a huge amount of clothing. My binders are organized most of the time. But most of all I need to work on my internet usage, which takes up too much of my time. Lent is an awesome time to work on that, and I’m looking forward to growing in the ability to prioritize and focus on becoming the best version of myself, the person I am meant to be, and ultimately the life that brings internal peace and peace to those I come in contact with.

Here are the topics I wrote about during this month long challenge! Click here to read the posts.

February Challenge Day 27: Blogs I Enjoy

February 27, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Second to last day of this challenge! Here’s a list of blogs I enjoy in no particular order:

Catholic Sistas

They write about all sorts of things, some of which are not applicable to my life, but others that I really enjoy. It ranges from Catholic living to Pinterest inspiration to all sorts of thought provoking thing too. It’s awesome to read about people living the authentic Catholic life.

The Matt Walsh Blog

He definitely gets rather snarky sometimes, but there’s a lot of truth to his posts. It’s heavy reading, but entertaining and written in a way where you can actually finish a post about a pressing current issue.

Verily

Verily rocks because they focus on real people and are short and to the point. Their Pinterest pictures are awesome too.

The Contemplations of a Daughter

I don’t know how Bek and I found each others blogs, but it’s been fun commenting back and forth. It’s so much fun to connect with people in similar times of our lives!

Jumping in Puddles

Jen is a nurse who has a super cute godbaby. ‘Nuf said. She also started the Not Alone Series with Morgan (whose blog I also love to read!).

There are many others I read, but these are the ones I’ll usually read soon after they post something. Go check them out and tell me what you think!

Last day tomorrow! Look at everything I wrote about . . .

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February Challenge Day 26: Favorite Recipe

February 26, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 4 Comments

Okay, folks. This recipe is a little dangerous because it’s super easy and ridiculously good. Beware 🙂

For those of you who prefer a wordy recipe with words:

1 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Dash of vanilla

3 Tbsp. flour

1 egg yolk

Chocolate chips ’til yo momma tells you to stop pouring 🙂

For those of you who would prefer pictures and estimates, see below. I don’t measure anything anymore and definitely have learned ratios better from doing this lots of times. Be sure to do a little flour at a time because if you use too much it’s GROSS. Also be sure to not microwave too long or it will turn into a hockey puck.

Without further ado, here’s how to make the ultimate chocolate chip cookie in the microwave. Have a cup of milk ready!

DSCN6046 — Blurry vanilla is the best. Be generous.

DSCN6049 — Yolk only. Yes, I stirred with a plastic knife . . .

DSCN6052 — Chocolate. Use the whole bag if you want.

DSCN6055 — Stir. Consistency should be kind of like a thin hummus.

DSCN6056 — Microwave for 45-60 seconds depending on how gooey you want it.

February Challenge Day 25: Hello, past!

February 25, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 2 Comments

Linking up with Bailey Jean for the Blog Everyday in February Challenge and Jen for the 7 posts in 7 days challenge! Today’s prompt from the February challenge is a letter to my 16 year old self.

Dear 16 year old me,

Get excited! You have absolutely no idea what’s in store for your future. In fact, no one does. This time in your life is so exciting, and rightfully so. You are just discovering your love of the pro-life movement, and don’t let that go. Become good at what you’re passionate about. And keep at it. Doors will open that you could never have imagined when you’re open to God’s plan for your life.

Know that your friends are going to come and go, but your family and God are always there. Give a little more in your relationships with people and build them up. Pray more. Learn more about how you work and function and come up with ways to become a better version of yourself.

You know some of those bad habits you have? Work on them. Push yourself to become the best version of yourself, but don’t compare yourself with others. Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, and always try to be better than that.

Rise above what the world offers you, and always strive to learn more about your faith. Strive for excellence, because it’s what you’re made for. We’re all given talents and abilities, and it’s your job to put them to good use.

You’re young, and you’ve got a whole lifetime ahead of you. But don’t let that give you the license to put things off. Be proactive and never slack off. You’re made for more than that!

Find what your passions are. Pursue them. I know you’re just beginning that, and it’s so exciting. Isn’t it? Dream so big that what you accomplish in life will take more than just your little self to accomplish. Be part of something bigger than yourself. Looking back now, I am so excited for what the next few years will hold for you. And at not even 20 now, I still know there’s so much in store that I can’t even comprehend.

Your life is amazing. Everyone’s is. Live like it. Be the light to people around you and work on being better at things you’re good at and improving where you sometimes fail. Life is pretty awesome, huh? Live every day to its fullest and don’t forget to keep your intentions rooted in God as you pursue the life you’re meant to live.

Love,

Your not-much-older self 🙂

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February Challenge Day 24: Guest Post!

February 24, 2014June 25, 2014 ~ Laura ~ 1 Comment

Please welcome Natalie, a lovely nursing student at Franciscan University who blogs at Here I am, for this guest post!

Laura asked me to guest post and it was a wide open topic. Thankfully she then came up with the idea that both of us attend a passionately Catholic school, her at Benedictine and me at Franciscan. Well there you go, lets run with that. So I begin here…Advice to Ladies at a Passionately Catholic College.

First, I speak with no authority. Heck, I don’t even have my diploma yet (so close). In addition I transferred to this here University after going to another less than passionately Catholic school for a semester. Secondly, what is a passionately Catholic school anyway? I use the term due to Franciscan’s admission’s coined term “Academically Excellent. Passionately Catholic” (Which had previous been “academically challenging”. You can see where the problems laid.) Passionately Catholic means we know Truth, and we know that Truth is contained in the Catholic Church, the Church established by Christ. The University-it’s goals and daily life-reflect this passion. You can learn more about the mission of Franciscan University here but from a student’s perspective, Franciscan runs this school with the purpose developing mature men and woman who know the Truth and are in the world living and breathing the Truth. Because of this our everyday life is filled with prayer, holy men and woman, and challenges to break away from complacency.

Now after all that formal introduction I present before you Advice to Ladies at a Passionately Catholic College.

1. GO TO MASS! Here at Franciscan we have three daily masses on campus not counting the local parishes’ daily Mass. Go to at least one weekday Mass and I promise you your life will be changed. There are two things in my life that I think greatly affect who I am today. The first is the day I was baptized. I was only a few months old but I was forever then called a child of God. Secondly, the gradual devotion the Lord has grown in me for daily Mass. I by no means go everyday but typically go at least two or three days during the week. Make time for Mass and the Lord will abundantly bless you. Just do it.

2. Form relationships. If you are at a passionately Catholic college you are surrounded by men and woman who are striving for holiness. These are the people you want around you for the rest of your life. Nurture these relationships and I am confident they will abundantly bless you in life.

3. Take awesome classes. I have a Theology minor for no other reason than to have one. I have been gifted the opportunity to take awesome classes-Mariology, Angeology, Christian Marriage, Lives of the Saints- with some world known professors. If you have that opportunity, enrich your mind even if it has nothing to do with your aspired career.

4. Struggle, feel lost. Just because you are at a passionately Catholic school doesn’t mean everything is always going to be a smooth road. Sometimes it is is even harder because you are drawn to relativism. You will struggle with your faith, you will fill distant from Christ, your prayer life will have ebbs and flows. It is going to happen, it just depends what you do with it. If you are at a passionately Catholic school you are being nurtured in God who is good. You will thus be held accountable for knowing what good is. “To whom much is given, much is expected.”

This one is specifically for any Frannies…..

Join a Household. The sisterhood is irreplaceable. It comes with daily struggles and sacrifices but in the end you have, if you are as lucky as me, 100s of sisters praying and sacrificing for you.

Well there you go ladies. I know this is just skimming the surface but I really stand behind all of it. Our faith is a beautiful, dynamic thing that fills every aspect of our life. It needs nurturing and if you are blessed enough to attend a passionately Catholic college, then you have so many resources available to you. I love comments and emails so if you are at a passionately Catholic school or planning on attending one I would love to hear from you.

Natalie blogs @ Here I Am a little bit about alot of things. These lots of things include the awesomeness of being Catholic, nursing school (including #chroniclesofnightshift), life as a student at Franciscan University, running, and life of a single lady. She also admits to a chronic problem of blog link ups . . . and there is no cure in sight. Take a look at her sweet place on the internet and leave her some love in the comments!