Resource for Catholic Families

Today's Guest Post is by Brenda from The Tie That Binds Us.

Angie and I have been working together to create a resource for Catholic Homeschoolers like none other. It is a toolbar that sits at the top of your computer and guides you to some of the best Catholic sites and blogs available to Catholic families.

The toolbar itself has many components that are geared towards families, but it also has a huge homeschooling emphasis.

Take a look at all that you get when you download this resource:

• Family planning sites
• Sites on the sacraments and saints
• Web pages about the holidays and feasts
• Links to crafts for Catholic children
• Forums that you can join to meet other Catholic families
• A drop down menu dedicated to homeschooling - encouragement, curriculum reviews, email lists, suppliers, and magazines
• 50 Catholic blogs, plus more on the way!
• RSS feeds to daily readings, Catholic Icing, The Homeschool Classroom and more
• Email notification for all your email accounts
• A radio player that features Catholic radio stations plus your local ones too
• Weather updates

We are still adding sites daily to this free resource. If you download it and you would like to suggest an addition please email us @ hslifemedia@gmail.com

Did I mention that this resource is free?

To download this toolbar visit the page: http://catholichomeschoolingmoms.ourtoolbar.com/

Wait! There is a give-away!

Remember that pretty rosary that was at the top of this post? For your chance to win it you may leave a comment that you have downloaded the toolbar for a chance to win this beautiful rosary hand made by Angie. You may leave one comment (on the original post about The Catholic Family Toolbar at The Homeschool Classroom, comments on this post here at Catholic Mothers Online are closed) if you do any of the following:

• download the toolbar for one entry
• twitter about the toolbar for another entry
• blog about the toolbar for another entry
• leave 5 or more Catholic sites that are not included that should be on the toolbar for one entry

Entries will be closed on February 23rd.

Brenda can be found writing at The Tie That Binds Us.  She is also the founder of Curriculum Choice and Joyful Holidays, and co-founder of Homeschool Lifestyle Media.

Angie can be found writing at Many Little Blessings.  She is also the founder of Catholic Mothers Online and The Homeschool Classroom, as well as the co-founder of Homeschool Lifestyle Media.

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Thanks for Calling

Today's guest post is written by Holly from FALLING UPWARD.

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My daughter is 21 months old now and is developing a particular attachment to all the “tools” I use in my day-to-day life. It’s interesting to see how her little eyes perceive what things define a person.  My keys, shoes, purse and sunglasses spend more time donning her little mop-top self than my own. 

 

I’m somewhat ashamed to confess this next little slice of our life.  She thinks my phone is actually called a “Holly” and not a “Phone.”  I gather this comes from the fact that I work from home and during business hours am answering the phone, “Hello, this is Holly.”  Either way, she picks it up and carries it around, calling it her “Holly.”  When the phone rings, her eyes light up,  her mouth falls open and she starts running in circles with excitement screaming, “Holly, Holly, Holly!!!”  I’ve tried replacing my phone with her Elmo phone, but after one or two conversations with Elmo, she’s back to wanting the real deal.

 

In some ways, it’s flattering to see her put on my sunglasses, my shoes and pick up the keys while she’s tossing the diaper bag across her body and saying, “Ok, bye bye, see you.”  She always does so with a smile and then puckers up for a goodbye kiss.  I’m not sure if I should be proud of the fact I must always leave the house with a kiss and hug, or if I should feel shame over appearing so very happy while I am LEAVING my home!

 

Like so many things do, witnessing this everyday brings me to a spiritual reflection.  Is this how I appear in the eyes of God?  Trying so very hard to impress him with my faith and knowledge as I stumble around, trying my very best to imitate the example He gave me as the perfect mother: Mary? 

 

The thought that the amusement I get from the sight of my daughter doing these things could be similar to how God views my attempts at faith, piety and prayer makes me blush.  It also humbles me, and warms my heart.  Child-like joy in beautiful.  I guess it isn’t so bad to entertain the possibility I could still possess it.

 

However, I look in the eyes of God, I will continue to “put on” Christ, because that is what I believe He calls me to do.  The way in which I so seriously do it may be a bit off the mark, but just like my daughter, I will do it with the best of intentions – and a smile.

 

I must always answer the call.  Oftentimes, it’s Elmo, but sometimes, it’s God. 

 

Have you ever thought about how you look in the eyes of God?

Holly can be found blogging at FALLING UPWARD.

photo by LuRoGo ®

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Let Me Tell You One Thing About Order

Guest post from Leila at Like Mother, Like Daughter 

 
So last time when I talked about Order and Wonder, did you get a kind of anxiety attack, as if you thought I was saying that something like thisis what I had in mind?

Don't be silly. :)Order means first things first. So... yes, of course, stuff like making sure the kids are fed and keeping things neat and tidy.

{Long ago we had a next-door neighbor who would come over (he was about the age of my parents) and first thing neaten up all the reading material on my coffee table, which was a lot -- magazines, mail, books, everything just thrown on there.

Since it wasn't like thisI thought it wasn't worth making look nice. (Not that I like that ugly thing.)

But he would make tidy stacks of all my stuff, and then sit down and chat with me. (He was a funny guy.)

You know what -- it made my living room look instantly better!}

Anyway, I was going to tell you a very important step towards getting Order and Wonder for your home and family.

You are probably already doing this, but maybe you haven't quite realized how important it is and will be in the future for your life together.

If there were one thing I would tell a young family --

one thing I would tell a family that was having trouble --

one thing I would tell a family on the brink of splitting up --

one thing I would tell a family that was worried about the teens --

one practical thing I would tell any family --


Make Sundays a day of rest.And only the mother can really make this happen, week in and week out. Only the mother can make it possible for the crazy activities to stop, for the family to worship together, and for the family to sit down together for a meal. The father can want all these things, and ask for them, but if the mother doesn't make the practical effort, they won't happen.

And if the mother isn't enjoying herself, no one is.

Anyway, we don't have a blog called Like Father, Like Son. We're talking to YOU.

So yes, it's another thing you have to do! But it's the best thing.

Even if Dad has to work a shift on Sunday, even if the kids have soccer, even if there is so much laundry that if you missed this day you would never be found again under a mountain of dirty clothes, do something to make the day -- at some point-- a real day of the Lord.Now, some Sundays that might mean a real old-fashioned Sunday dinner after Church with plenty of relaxation in the form of reading the paper, visiting with extended family, and playing games.Some Sundays it might mean an early Mass with the day spent burning brush and enjoying the sunshine after a long winter.Not to mention any families that might have spent a recent Sunday this way, and enjoyed every moment of it! {Note our two-toned house? One side a year, baby :) }You might have roast beef; you might have leftovers. You might have friends over, you might be "just us". It might be brunch, it might be a late supper.

But you all sit down together, light a candle or two, and take a deep breath. (You might sit down on a blanket after a hike and have a picnic!)

Correct your children's manners during the week, and try not to do too much correcting at the Sunday meal!

Try to enjoy.You might spend the whole afternoon visiting Grandma at assisted living or helping neighbors build their porch.I don't care what you do. I don't care if you don't have nice china. I don't care if this has to happen at 7 am or 8 pm to happen at all. I don't care if it's just an hour out of the whole day.The point is to make this day a day different from the others. And if you prayerfully do this, however modestly and humbly (well, of course you should do it humbly, but you know what I mean, I hope!), you will see God's blessings showering on you and your family.

Things you have been anxious about will become peaceful. Together you will make calm decisions about things that have been troubling you.

I promise.

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Trust in the Promise of Your Meal Blessing

Today's Guest Post is by Katie from Kitchen Stewardship.
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Mary sat at Jesus's feet and listened to Him teach. Martha hurried around the kitchen preparing a meal. I want to be both at once! The tension between when to be quiet and prayerful and when to bustle around and do many things is difficult for me. I want to do it all!

Often we feel tension when trying to make good decisions in the kitchen. Organic food vs. budget, avoiding processed foods vs. time spent in the kitchen...That tension is the motivation for creating Kitchen Stewardship. I hate that feeling, and I want to help you break free of the worries and do your personal best to give your family and God the best you can, one baby step at a time.

I offer you one tiny step in the process of releasing worry and integrating prayer into your kitchen. Today's tip is for everyone who feels crunched by their food budget but wishes they could spend more on "clean" food.

The Tug of the Budget

We are not all able to give our families the very best, perhaps, because of financial limitations. Many single-income families struggle with food purchases, especially when trying to eat nutritious, safe food. Organic food is expensive. Stainless steel water bottles cost a lot more than plastic. Avoiding pesticides may mean you have to avoid eating out or taking a vacation. Healthy fats cost way more than shortening. Fruits and vegetables - even the standard ones - make a bigger dent in the food budget than potato chips and processed bread. Organic food is expensive. (Have I said that one already?) Buying grass-fed meat and healthy eggs can make you feel like you ought to get insurance for your frozen food in case of power outage. Natural supplements and dishwasher detergents get into double digits pretty quickly. And have I mentioned organic (and well-raised) food is expensive?

I don't want you to think "eating healthy" means "eating organic". It's far from that. But purchasing foods that have LESS added to them - fewer preservatives, fewer pesticides, fewer chemical fertilizers, less processing, less sugar, less high fructose corn syrup - always ends up costing you MORE in the end. It's an unfortunate irony.

There's no way around balancing a budget and buying healthy food. Either you find places to cut and buy the expensive stuff, or you do what you can and purchase less than your idea in many categories. What are those of us to do who have already made budget cuts, who desire organic spinach but must grab the 10/$10 bag of pesticide-laden stuff anyway?

How to Make Up for Less than Perfect?

My friend has a way to compensate. She knows she can't afford organic, pastured chicken, for example. When she serves run-of-the-mill storebought chicken that ate God-knows-what under miserable conditions, she begs our Lord to fill the gap. She prays the meal blessing with her family and adds a codicil in her head: "Lord, I know this isn't the ideal meal. Please bless this food. I trust you to make up the difference in nutrition for my family. Protect us from anything in this chicken that might harm us. May we be healthy anyway." It's about doing your best, and then trusting God to fill the space that lies between the resources you have and what you'd like to serve. God saved Daniel from hungry lions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from fire, and Peter from shackles in a prison. Don't you think He can protect your family from a few pesticides if only you ask? "Bless US, O Lord..." Ask, seek, knock. "And these Thy GIFTS..." God knows how to give His children good things! "From Thy bounty..." All our food is from our God. "Through Christ, Our Lord..." Jesus will provide.

Important to Remember...

One reminder: please don't look at this as an excuse to buy whatever you want and hope that God won't allow the consequences of your choices to harm you. We are instructed not to tempt or Father. We all know we shouldn't go jump off a tall building and expect God to catch us so we aren't at all injured. We can't be irresponsible with our choices. Our purchases still affect the world at large. We must be sure to do what we can to reduce our negative impact on the environment and give our families the best with the resources God has given us. Someday we'll be in Heaven, God willing, and we won't have to think about what to buy, how to prepare it, and if it's going to hurt us.

But in the meantime, since we live out of Eden, pray a meal blessing at every meal, and super-charge it with supplication for holy supplementation!

Katie blogs at Kitchen Stewardship about being good stewards of our time, money, family's nutrition and the environment, answering God's call in the kitchen and sharing tips to help you find the balance and integrate prayer into your cooking.





photo by United Nations Photo

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Our Prayers Are With The Barrett Family

Our prayers today are with the Barrett Family, who have just lost their 14 year old son Ryan to a drowning accident. (Here is a link to a local story about the accident. Here is another.)

Please keep their family in your prayers as well.

Tonight, our family lit two candles after Mass -- one for Ryan and his family, and another for all children and that especially when things are crazy in our household, that we never take for granted what a gift God has given us in our children.

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Sacred in the Ordinary

Today's guest post is by Judy from Daily Blessings and Ben Makes Ten

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Take a look around you...what do you see when you take in the panorama of your home?


If all that you see is the clutter, or the fingerprints, or the chipped paint and holes in the walls...LOOK AGAIN...Look....and SEE the SACRED.


If God is the center of your life, your marriage, your family, your home school...then by virtue of His Holy Presence, the items in your home become SACRED.


Take your bed, for instance. What were your thoughts when you made it this morning?


Did you really GIVE it any thought? Or, did you mindlessly tuck in the covers as you were already considering the five thousand things you needed to accomplish today? Well, then...consider this invitation: Tomorrow, when you make you bed, think of it as SACRED.


This place where you lie down each night next to the one with whom you have chosen to spend your life...this bed, where all of the worries and tasks of the day are laid to rest...this place of respite and relaxation...this place where God, the Creator allows you the grace of joining with Him in the creation of NEW LIFE...this place where quiet is shared, and warmth is given, where love is present...as you make your bed tomorrow, THINK OF YOUR SPOUSE...pray for him to have JOY and PEACE in his work that day...THANK GOD for him (even if things are not going well between you), treasure and cherish the hours that you spend here with one another...do not take it for granted...for it is a GIFT...and it is SACRED.


And what about your dining room table? Yes, it might be getting wobbly as the years wear on, the knicks and scratches show, and you are tired of explaining to toddlers that it is NOT a stage on which to stand and sing...but the next time you look at it...SEE the SACRED...this is your place of family unity...a place to break bread, such an intimate thing...a place to look into the eyes of those you love most in this world...a place to gather at the end of a busy day...to laugh, to share, to discuss, even to try to be heard over the endless chatter of Littles, a place to welcome guests, a place to serve and pamper, a place that reminds you that "things are good" in life...because you have food, you have family, and you have HOME...just a table? Or...something SACRED?


How many times a day do you use your water? How many of those times do you see it as SACRED...this fresh clean water, with which God has blessed you...to cleanse yourself, to nourish and refresh yourself, to clean the things around you, to cook, to water your plants, to bathe your babies, and even to play with in warm weather...The next time you go to wash your hands, or stop for a drink, say a prayer of thanks for your water...and SEE the SACRED.


Don't forget your SCHOOL...so easy for us to take for granted...or worse yet...to feel it as burdensome or something getting in the way...EMBRACE your school tomorrow...SEE in it the SACRED! God has allowed you to bring your children along-side you to teach, to influence, to share with, to nurture, to love...the books, the papers, the lesson plans, the assignments waiting to be graded...these are all reminders of HOW BLESSED YOU ARE to home school...these things are the font of learning in your home...they are the means by which you raise your children to know, love, and serve the Lord...they are the tools and instruments by which your children (and YOU) are enlightened, enriched, and challenged...you are FREE in your school to INVITE GOD into your classes...ordinary? NO! SACRED!


Family life is such a beautiful gift and blessing from God...His hand is upon you, and therefore all that is ORDINARY becomes EXTRAORDINARY...all that He has touched is SACRED!


Look around you with HIS EYES today...see your home anew! Give thanks for all that surrounds you and know that NOTHING is ordinary where GOD is present. See your home...and SEE the "SACRED" in it!


Judy is busy keeping up with the eight of ten blessings who are still at home with her, and you can visit her at
http://www.momoften.webs.com/ and http://benmakesten.blogspot.com/


photo by chynna67

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I do it for LIFE

Today's guest post was written by Dessi from Life with Small Blessings

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One afternoon, while I was sitting outside watching my last brain cell fly away hand in hand with my last nerve call, my neighbor came by. She sat beside me and asked me the most-asked question of the century. She asked me why I don't send my kids to school. Well, with no brain cells left it was a hard thing to deal with. So I began to tell her my recorded speech. "We like the time we have together...they learn better...we have a wonderful support group."

Satisfied, my neighbor then asked the second most common question: "Why do you have so many children? Don't you know how to prevent it?" Sadly, the second question is posed by many well-meaning NFP catholics. So she asked me why I do everything that I do...what a deep question for a mother of four little ones with another on the way. Here I want to introduce the daily life of our family of little ones. Please do not sue me if you experience any trauma after reading this.

I start the day half asleep, half awake. I don't believe I have slept an entire night in 7 1/2 years. Anyway, early in the morning I am awakened by the inhumane screeching sounds made by my two beautiful sons. They have found something to fight about even before they fully awaken...that is genious!

I, their loving mom, fly out of bed, glamorous as always and in a loving tone of voice explain to them that I have a personal connection with the Gypsies. At that point the boys decide that they enjoy their company far better than the Gypsies' and they go downstairs haunted by my beautiful visage. By the time I get my teeth brushed, my youngest is in frantic search of his human bottle. I scoop him on my lap to nurse, and after a few grunts he is satisfied.

Soon I hear tiny steps up, followed by whispers and warnings of this sort: "Thomas, be careful! She'll hear you!" Or "Peter, come with me. I'm scared she'll look at me!" My boys have ventured up in front of me. The fear of the Gypsies had given in to a basic human need - hunger. I set the table in a manner befitting an "I Love Lucy" episode. After all, I am still trying to catch some sleep. Somewhere in between, my precious daughter has gotten up and is now informing me that if she was a fairy she wouldn't have to do schoolwork. Love of learning is a force that drives my fairy to tears. The table is cleaned, the boys are playing and fighting at the same time, the baby is walking around with a huge blob of oatmeal on his head. (I figure that if oatmeal is good for your skin then it mush also be good for your hair.) Left to beautify himself, the baby wanders off to somewhere in his sister's room. Where I am afraid to say because we have lost a kid or two in that ever engulfing mess!

I give my daughter her school instructions and just in time, because now I have a fight to stop. I put the pasta drainer (helmet) on my head, pick up my biggest pot lid (shield) and a wooden spoon (sword), and go after the two gladiators. To all of you out there, I can survive a fight between a Spartan and a Persian better than one between two boys before the age of reason. While I am washing the baby and now lecturing the boys in a loud voice, my daughter is having major bodily function failure. Her eyes are rolling back, her hair is standing up, her body is convulsing, all from the pain of writing the letter "P". See, if I was a fairy mom I would just have to put some fairy dust on her. But being a Catholic mom I run for the Holy water. I think I might need a priest. Or maybe I could just send her to an old-fashioned Mennonite school to put the fear of God in her.

Unfortunately, at this time I am interrupted by the doorbell. A lady from St. Louis is here to offer me some magazines. I change my cave woman look on my face (reserved solely for my kids) to a nice smile. I asked if she had any titles like "How to Sell Your Children to the Gypsies" or "Did Fairies Go to School?" or "How to Sleep While Awake." But unfortunately after seeing all my blessings behind my back, she runs off.

Now is lunchtime and I just found out that Marco Polo is so boring and Nicolas needs a new diaper. While I change his diaper (which could be used as a lethal weapon in war), I try to explain that Marco Polo isn't boring and that learning is always fun. The boys are starving already, Maria's eyes are permanently stuck in the back of her head, and I am cooking mac & cheese with a baby attached to my hip. Lunch flies by quickly and I mean that literally. There is macaroni stuck on my ceiling and by now the baby is wearing his lunch on his lap as a kilt. The boys are done fighting over who can eat faster, and I am told for the 100th time that Marco Polo is just no fun. As I try to clear the table, Nicolas is ready for a nap. With a loving voice, I tell the children that if they wake him up I will lovingly give all their toys away and then I go lie down to nurse Nicolas.

And so goes my life until my husband comes home from work. He opens the door cautiously. After all, he knows the dangers that lie behind it. Lego pieces, blocks, paper, shoes, and toys are all weapons, lurking everywhere trying to trip us. I then serve the grand dinner - hot dogs! Now my daughter falls into a seizure because we are starving her. She doesn't like hot dogs...at least not today! While we ignore our starving child, my husband and I scarf down our first meal of the day. Let me tell you, we are both very fast eaters! Before the boys' or the baby's tantrum (or whatever), which is usually about 10 minutes into dinner, we are both done. Knowing my Balkan blood, my husband quickly removes the kids to the nearest outside yard or bathtub. I can't talk, I am exhausted, and I don't remember what I did that day. Did I feed them? School? By all the chaos lying around it's evident that I did a lot, and yet nothing at the same time.

So why do I do it? For the evenings when I can snuggle my children, see them, hug them, and realize that I am the richest most blessed woman in the world. i do it for their smiles and their sleepy eyes. I do it for life. That is it. That is the answer to all of my neighbor's questions. Life. Choose life...that you may live!

Today's guest post was written by Dessi from Life with Small Blessings

photo by derPlau

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Finding peace and contentment...in doing wash?

Today's guest post is by Theresa at Carmelite Mom.

I am always amazed at the endless baskets of wash despite the fact that two of my older children do their own wash. After my oldest called me from college several times his first year wondering how to do whites or darks and should he hang them up?...I decided it was time my other children learn this most basic life skill.

I was listening to a talk on John of the Cross by Susan Muto and she mentions an "epiphany" moment that her friend experienced while doing wash. She was sorting through endless piles of dirty socks from her hard-working husband and several teenage sons when she sighed and said "Is this all there is?" (pertaining to her life) She then heard an internal voice, a voice that leaves no doubt Who is speaking, that said "Yes, this is all there is...and it is enough." This moment was a turning point in her life and from then on she had great peace and did everything with great love.

This excerpt from the talk comes back to me now and then. It's always in the back of my mind. There are many days that my daily duties bring great peace and contentment and joy...then there are other days when the monotony threatens to suffocate me and I find myself asking "Is this all there is?" Do you ever find yourself asking the same thing? After two or three days of homeschooling, washing, running errands, running the children to activities, cooking dinner, bathing, teethbrushing, reading and all the other things that fill our days...does this thought ever cross your mind?

It is then that we need the powerful reminder to do everything with love. This is God's will for us...this very moment. Ascetism is closely associated with our daily duties. It is in monotony and dryness that God calls us to be even more faithful. It is easy to fulfill our duties when we are feeling at peace and content but is in the desert experience that we prove our love for God...and for our family. We experience the same exact thing in our prayer life. God draws us to prayer with consolations and feelings of peace and contentment, but then eventually leads us into the aridness of the desert, so as to prove our commitment, our faith, and most importantly, our love. We have to take our love and put it to the test of dailyness, of boredom, of frustration, of distasteful tasks that are almost beyond our strength.

So, when we ask ourselves "Is this all there is?" we can close our eyes and remember the words God spoke to that humble homemaker...and to all of us..."Yes, and it is enough."

In between reading, praying, organizing, working part-time, homeschooling her five year old and raising three teenagers...Theresa squeezes in some blogging at http://carmelitemom.blogspot.com

photo by Charlyn W

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