Hello! And happy Monday.

Is that too much pep for this early in the week?

Depends on how much coffee you’ve had, I suppose.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

I enjoyed going to one of the local church’s Fall Fest on Friday–it was super cute to see all the kids running around with their parents. It was cold but I enjoyed myself interacting with the kids at the arts and crafts table and chatting with the women who were helping out with me.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to a family event like that. It’s such a healthy and beautiful thing for the community, I think. It doesn’t really matter what stage of life you’re in.

Saturday a few friends and I made a Flannery O’Connor Pilgrimage to Savannah. A couple of us have been taking a mini course about her writing and we decided to end it with a fun day trip.

The four of us enjoyed going to her childhood home (I had been before and certainly recommend stopping by if you are in the area), visiting the Paris Market (another favorite) and going to Mass at the beautiful cathedral, Saint John the Baptist.

It was a fun day.

Yesterday was largely uneventful except I did go downtown in the evening (very unusual for me these days)! There was dancing so a few of us went, we took the introductory lesson and mostly chatted after that. I am such a bad dancer, any exposure to the activity is humbling and very good for me.

Ok and now for this week’s five!

1. Theology of Home
   I’ve been following this site for well over a year now. Carrie Gress has become an influential figure today in the discussion of feminism, Catholicism and the family. Theology of Home is a project she started and one I greatly appreciate. My favorite part is the ‘Daily Collection’ which I read, well, daily. She and her team find and post a collection of several links that can be about anything from recipes to pieces about politics or the culture. They also include a quote which is usually beautiful and inspiring. It’s a great resource for women who are looking for something a little more life-giving than much of the material that is out there today.
   
2. The Place We Find Ourselves–You need more than God
   This podcast is a much-needed breath of fresh air in the worlds of Christianity and psychology. Adam Young is a therapist who combines the two matters in a way that is both gentle and challenging. This episode particularly struck me as something I wish more Christians spoke about. It is a nod to our incarnational reality and all that comes with it, including the moments when you realize that you need things that are not just spiritual.
   
3. Muscular Christianity
   This is a great article my brother sent me. It is long so I found it a little daunting at first, but returned to it after a couple of days and am so glad I did. Honestly everyone in the Church needs to read this. The message is about men losing their place in the Church–which explains why the people we most associate with religion and Christianity are little old ladies (or LOL’s as I call them). We have dismissed and ignored the importance masculinity for too long, missing entire generations of men–especially young men. This is a huge loss. We need men to take an active role in church life. The faith will be lost without them. Even if you don’t agree with every aspect of the piece, I strongly encourage you to read and consider the main point being made–I think there’s a lot of truth in it and a really important call to action as well.
   
4. This song.
   My friend Elizabeth introduced us to it on the ride back from Savannah, it’s so cute! And sweet, and funny. I’m not one for rap music typically (shocking, I know). But this one is definitely worth a listen.
   
5. Veteran’s Day
   I am so grateful to be an American. Especially seeing what is going on in other parts of the world, particularly my place of birth, Venezuela–I can’t help but see what a blessing it is to live in this country. I have so much respect for the military–both past and present. They represent so many of the values our country was built on and are largely the reason we still are able to live them today. So, thank you to all who have served.

“Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom, for they’ve suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no better tribute than to protect what they have won for us.”

President Ronald Reagan