I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let’s try not to get too crazy with Black Friday, which is now Thursday shopping. It is a time to enjoy family and friends. God bless.
Why I Like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson
I decided to write something a little more light-hearted today. It is pouring rain and we are expecting snow tonight, and truth be told, these long dark nights are not for me. I need light and lots of it. So for those of you who struggle with depression, I feel your pain, and you are in my prayers.
So, today I am going to write about why I like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. My daughter and I were watching The Game Plan this morning which is a cute movie about a pro-football player who finds out he has a daughter. I think that Dwayne Johnson is fun to watch in movies, and not because he is an attractive man. He seems like a guy who does not take himself too seriously. He seems laid back and open to diverse roles. He can be shooting bad guys in one movie, is the Tooth Fairy in another, and then is body slamming someone on national television.


Truth-be-told I had not seen many of his recent action movies. Rated “R” movies are just too gruesomely violent these days for me to stomach. So my husband knows if it is an action flick with an “R” rating, I won’t watch it. Some of the action movies I have seen him in were entertaining, though. And who could forget The Scorpion King?! (she says with a chuckle)
As a mom and as a woman it is endearing for me to see a tough guy who is willing to do kids movies. He is clearly comfortable with his career and who he is, and in Hollywood that is a rare find. Perhaps that is a little bit of what I saw with the guys I served with in the military. They were tough soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, but were great fathers, brothers, husbands, and sons. Some of them even watch Disney movies. Shhh, don’t tell anyone.

I honestly do not care for many of the actors in Hollywood. I am an Anglophile. Most of my favorite actors and actresses are British (Emma Thompson, Christian Bale, Michael Cain, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Richard Armitage (North and South is so good!), and a lot more). I think that they demand more from their actors and are diverse in their roles and mediums. Plus, I miss the accent (I was blessed to live in England for 14 months).
The point is that Dwayne Johnson may not be an Academy Award winning actor, but he is entertaining to watch. What does that even mean these days?! Like the Nobel Peace Prize, it is all politics. The next time Dwayne Johnson does a kids movie, you will find me sitting back and enjoying. Life is too serious as it is, so it is nice to see someone who is successful and not so worried about their image.
Preparing for Advent: Waiting in Joyful Hope
Growing up in my family home, we were ready to celebrate Christmas the day after Thanksgiving, just like the rest of America. Advent was something we did at Mass on Sunday with the lighting of the Advent wreath. It was not something that we did at home. It was not something we lived. Then I got married 3.5 years ago, and I began meeting godly women who try to live out the liturgical year over the secular calendar. I started to pay attention to the movements and rhythms of the Church and discovered what I had been missing.
Jesus Christ Leading Us Into the Deep
” Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone.Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.During the fourth watch of the night,* he came toward them, walking on the sea.When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I;* do not be afraid.”Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith,* why did you doubt?”After they got into the boat, the wind died down.Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”Matthew 14:22-33
A lot of the spiritual life is about being led out into the deep. I was thinking about St. Peter walking out on the waves as I prayed my Rosary Sunday evening. I was thinking about it because I lack the courage to step out of the boat a lot of the time. To be led deeper into God, towards God. It takes great courage. It is something that a lot of us intentionally avoid.
7 Quick Takes for this Gray and Occasionally Sunny November Day
Today I am linked up over at Jennifer Fulwiler’s Conversion Diary for 7 Quick Takes. Join us with your quick takes for the week here:
Wherein I Rant About the Treatment of Priests by Some Members of the Laity
There is something that is going on in many Catholic parishes that I find disturbing. It is something that I have noticed the more I get involved in the Church. It is an utter lack of Christian charity towards our priests by some members of the laity. Priests are attacked for pretty much everything that they do. They are scrutinized constantly. The Mass is too long, it is too short, the Homily is too long, the priest preached on orthodoxy, the priest preached on contraception, divorce, abortion, or gay marriage in line with what the Catholic Church actually teaches, there should be women on the altar during Holy Thursday even though it is a liturgical violation, the priest does not use gender neutral speech, the priest takes too long with the Eucharist, he uses the Eucharistic Prayers I or IV which are too long, he is asking too much of the altar servers, he is not friendly enough, he is too friendly, he is changing things, he is too young, he is too old. Are you getting the picture? If they are a Catholic priest, every aspect of them has been examined and criticized by someone. This is especially prevalent for the new orthodox priests coming out of the seminary.
It’s Small Success Thursday at CatholicMom.com 11-21-2013
Once again it is Small Success Thursday over at CatholicMom.com. Have you thought about some of your successes for the week? Share them with us here. Here are three of mine:
Tips to Help Your Writing
In the past few months I have really increased my writing. I try to write every single day, even if it is just gibberish in a notebook. Writing, like all art forms requires practice. It also needs inspiration. I am working on a novel right now and it has evolved in the last few weeks. More and more characters are appearing in my mind, and the story, while still the same as what it started as, is developing more layers. I think that part of those developments come from my taking a step back for a few days.
The Fruits of Giving Up Facebook
Yesterday my daughter and I went for a drive because it was a beautiful autumn day. The sky was bright blue and there was not a cloud in sight. So we drove to see my husband at work. He works about 25 minutes from our home. When I got there my husband said that he already had noticed a change in my focus and attitude in the time that I have been away from Facebook. He thanked me for finally walking away.
Some Honesty About NFP
Okay, I am just going to be honest here, sometimes having to use NFP sucks. I don’t mean because I want to use contraception. Quite the opposite. I know how contraception has hurt marriages, our culture, women, pretty much everybody. Our culture just cannot see it, but the Church has predicted the disastrous results we see before us, for decades. My husband and I do not want any part in the contraceptive culture. So don’t misunderstanding my venting.