I recently joined the Book Review Team for CatholicMom.com. Here is my first review. It is a teen novel for girls in middle school and older. Click on the picture below to read my review of Glitter Girl.
Month: January 2014
A Response to Feminism’s Clarion Call to Be “Self-Made”
I saw yet another article condemning stay-at-home moms as second class citizens. Quite frankly, the author is not worth the link in on my blog. She is worth prayers, but not a link. The argument is always the same: The self-made, individualist, materialistic, selfish woman is the REAL woman of the 21st Century. Let’s call a spade a spade shall we? Anyone who trumpets themselves as the center of the universe is struggling with selfishness. How do I know? Mainly, because like all people, I have to battle my own selfish nature. The biggest difference is that I know that my family will tear it right out of me, while rugged individualism will leave me selfish and alone.
I am not condemning women who choose to work. My mom worked part of the time we were growing up, as did most of the women in my family. No, rather, I would say that we must always prioritize properly. It is family and then career. Part of the reason I decided to stay home is because, when I enjoy my work, I am a workaholic of the worst kind. My family would suffer as my aspirations took precedence over them. I worked for 12 years before I got married. I was a workaholic. I cannot believe the hours I pulled while I was in the Navy.
What exactly does it mean to be a “self-made” woman? To own a lot of things? Make a lot of money? Promiscuity? Childlessness? Being alone? I am not sure what this phrase even means, but I hear it a lot. I think of myself as pretty “self-made”. I chose to marry my husband. I opted to stay home with our daughter. I am choosing to stay home to school her because, yes, I think that I can do better than the public schools and I assure you my daughter’s test scores will reflect that fact. This is not arrogance. It is the truth. I choose to serve my family over myself. Is it hard? You bet. I fail daily, but it is my choice. I decided that others are more important than little old me.
Let me think back to my “glorious” single days of my Twenties. I worked a lot. I had multiple careers including stints that a lot of 20 year olds could only dream of. I lived in Europe and traveled. I saw the back-stabbing, self-centered, corruption up close interning on Capitol Hill at The Heritage Foundation. I did everything that I wanted to do, but it was never enough. Why? Because “I” am never enough. I am not the center of the universe. God called me back to Him during Holy Week of 2009 and there I have stayed.
So if being a “successful” and “self-made” woman means selling my soul and my family, then I would rather keep my soul. I know what real priorities look like. There is nothing that I can buy, no men that I can date, no salary that I can make, that would take away the joy I have received in my husband and daughter. I truly feel sorry for the woman who cannot experience that joy. So you can berate women like me all you want, but we know the real secret to happiness: sacrificial love.
Small Success Thursday: Protecting Our Children Edition
It is Small Success Thursday over at CatholicMom.com. Come share this week’s small successes with us.
Dear Daughters: A Letter to Girls, Teens, and Young Women in Their Dating Years
*A note to moms and dads: Some of this may be hard to read or understand, but this is the reality of what our daughters are facing. Things have changed drastically since we were teens.
Dear Daughters,
*There will be a letter to sons coming very soon.
March for Life 2014
Today marks the 41st Anniversary of Roe v Wade. Nearly 56 millions babies have been murdered since then. Unfortunately we could not make it to DC for the March. I will begin a Rosary at noon when the March will kick off. Today is a day of prayer and fasting for American Catholics. Let us pray and go about bringing a Culture of Life to the world.
Book Giveaway: Scott Hahn’s Understanding “Our Father”
Don’t forget to enter for the first ever Book Giveaway on Holiness in Motherhood. Have you ever wanted to learn more about the Scriptural basis of the “Our Father”? Then this is the book for you. Details and how to enter can be found here.
This is a private giveaway. Dr. Hahn and his publishers have never heard of me. Pax.
Friday’s Fast from the Internet
On Fridays I fast from the Internet. It is a great way to offer up the day to religious liberty, the dignity of the human person, and the conversion of souls. Think about joining me for an Internet free Friday.
Small Success Thursday: Book Giveaway Edition
Good morning! It is Small Success Thursday once again over at CatholicMom.com. Come on over and share this week’s successes with us so we can cheer each other on.
I count the fact that I got out of bed at 6am this morning to pray Lauds and write as a big success. Our daughter will not stay in her bed all night, so my husband and I have not had a full night of sleep in a couple of months. No matter how many times we move her, she always comes back into our room. I can barely remember picking her up to put her in the bed.
Speaking of my daughter, she is now showing little interest in TV and wants to play more. She prefers music, to the TV. This is a wonderful shift. She loves music and dances around the house. She asks me to dance with her multiple times a day. It is a good workout for me too! She continues to amaze me on a daily basis. So that is a small success for Michaela!
Here are some of my successes for the week, including my first ever Book Giveaway:
1. A couple of weeks ago my husband and I dropped close to $100 (a big deal for us) buying containers to organize our daughter’s room. After Christmas her room looked like it had exploded. I went through her toys and separated them by genre and then stowed them in a chest in her room. This week I have managed to teach her to bring out one tote at a time to play with. We got rid of our living room coffee table, so she can play on the floor. After she is done with a tote, she cleans it up and we put it back in her room. Both my living room and her bedroom have managed to stay neat all week. Yay for organization!
2. I got all of my CatholicMom Gospel Reflections for the next six months written and sent off to the editors. This is a great accomplishment given how busy things have been. Gospel Reflections are not something that I can write while my toddler is climbing all over me. My husband watched her and I went to the library to write for a few hours. It’s my first time writing reflections on the Gospels, so be gentle when you read them. It was a little out of my comfort zone at first, but isn’t that where God calls us to go?!
3. I have decided to do my first book giveaway on my blog. This is your first chance to enter. When a good book is given away, it is a success in my book. See what I did there. I have a brand new, shiny copy of Dr. Scott Hahn’s, Understanding “Our Father”: Biblical Reflections on the Lord’s Prayer, to give away. This is my own personal copy that I want to share with you. Dr. Hahn and his publishers have never heard of me, so this is a private giveaway. All you need to do is Like Holiness in Motherhood on Facebook and @holinessnmthrhd on Twitter. Then write a comment below listing your favorite spiritual autobiography or theology book. If you wrote about your small success include a link to the post with your favorite book. Then, presto! You are entered. I will announce a winner by 12pm EST on Wednesday, January 22, 2014.
