A friend of mine mentioned that she is reading the e-book Simplifying Your Domestic Church: A Spiritual Journal to Help Declutter, Organize and Systemize the Home. I was interested in it because with another little one coming into the house, I’ve been trying to declutter and make more room, but there is room for so much more improvement!
I downloaded the ebook this morning and have started reading it. Each chapter has pages of practical tips on different areas. (ie. organizing, managing your time, money budgeting etc.) There is a page of self-examining questions. (ie. Do I have a hard time detaching from this of this world?) Then there is a page of saint quotes/scripture for each day of the week and a blank page for your notes. Some of the tips are geared towards a homeschooling family but I was able to adjust them to our own schooling situation. The book totals 110 pages and you can print it out or just read from your computer.
To learn more about the book, the author and her apostolate Project Nazareth check out this article. You can order the book at Catholic Heritage Curricula.
Category Archives: books
E-Book: Simplifying Your Domestic Church
7 Quick Takes Friday – 7/11/09
I’ve been running around all day and now that I am home I have no energy to even get out of my chair. So I thought I’d give the quick take Friday thing a try.
*** 1 ***
I just received my order of Pampered Chef items. I am looking forward to trying them out. I especially want to make the mini-quiches we had at the cooking party. I have to laugh at the recipe since it lists all their products within it, but regardless, they were delicious.
*** 2 ***
My mom is flying up from Southern California on Sunday and she will spend a week with us to help me with some pre-baby things – finishing the nursery (which is a corner of our bedroom), wash the baby clothes, do some bigger chore housework etc. Most of all I just love having her around and hearing her laughter. I can’t wait! (And as I think more about the upcoming labor, it is also comforting to know that if she could handle nine labors, I can surely handle my third.)
*** 3 ***
I was looking at a friend’s photos of their trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and it made me miss not going there more often. So I finally bought an annual pass for the whole family. Bella has been excited to see the new Sea Horse exhibit and I know Andrew will love the hands on kid’s zone. Hopefully I can take my mom while she is here.
*** 4 ***
What I Am Reading: I took a break from my Agatha Christy novels when I borrowed a copy of Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. I had started it but never got to finish. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend it!
*** 5 ***
What I Am Watching: I love old B&W movies and am leery to watch remakes of the old classics. Case in point – I rented the new version of The Women and it was so bad I couldn’t finish it. Don’t even bother. Rent the 1939 version with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford. It’s an interesting (and at times heartbreaking and at times humorous) view of female cattiness, marital infidelity, forgiveness and the “bad guy” getting his (hers) in the end.
*** 6 ***
What I Am Listening To: Matt Kearney’s City of Black and White. Loving this disc right now.
*** 7 ***
Brian will be home in a few minute so I have to keep this last one short. He works so hard for us and even when he is tired he’ll help me out with the kids or cleaning the shower or scrubbing toilets because it is hard for me to bend over with my growing belly and he doesn’t want me smelling cleaner fumes. Sometimes I forget that it’s all the little things he does that says he loves me. So tonight I have one of his favorite meals and the kids are going to bed early so we can have a little one-on-one time after a long and busy week.
Have a blessed night and weekend yourself!
Kid’s Catholic Fiction: Olivia and the Little Way
A friend told me about this book and it looks great.
Fifth grader Olivia Thomas has moved to a new school in a new state, and is eager to make friends! Her best friend quickly becomes someone she has never seen — St. Thérèse of Lisieux.
Follow Olivia’s trials as she tries to fit in at St. Michael’s School. With the help of her grandmother, she learns about the “Little Way” of serving God and how it can change everything!
Nancy Carabio Belanger’s touching book, targeted toward girls and boys age 8-13, is beautifully illustrated by Sandra Casali LewAllen.
It was recommended by Rachel Watkins (of the Little Flowers Girls” Club) and it is worth checking out. It is avaiable at Amazon or directly from LittleFlowerBook.com.
New Catholic Teen Book Series
This morning I came upon a new book called Catholic, Reluctant. It is the first book of the new Catholic teen fiction series John Paul 2 High. The author “Christian M.Frank” is actually a team of young Catholics writing the books together. How cool is that? Check out the website johnpaul2high.com and then order your copy at amazon!
Catholic Summer Reading Program
A friend forwarded this link for the Catholic Summer Reading Program. There is a program for adults and kids. The kid’s page has a reading sheet they can color and write the names of 12 books they’ve read. They mail it in and receive a prize. There is a list of recommended books for grades kindergarten to 6th. So even your young ones can participate.
For the adults, they took a list of 64 possible books, then chose a top 10 for summer reading. Of the original 64 books, I must admit that Brian has many of them (and I mean many of them!) He is a total book lover! (Note to Brian: We’re out of bookshelf space, Sweetie!)
Here are some books I see sitting on his desk right now:
Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know by Meg Meeker
God Alone: A Spiritual Biography of Blessed Rafael Arnaiz Baron by Gonzalo Maria Fernandez
Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life: A Practical Guide to Prayer for Active People by Robert J. Spitzer
Treatise on the Love of God by St. Francis de Sales
A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World by Carl Anderson
A Life with Karol: My Forty-Year Friendship with the Man Who Became Pope by Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz
I enjoy reading but I tend to read only one or two at a time – one “educational” and one fiction or biography. My current reads (plus those next in line):
Passport by Christopher Blunt. (A new Catholic novel)
Spiritual Progress: Becoming the Christian You Want to Be by Thomas D. Williams
How to Raise Good Catholic Children by Mary Reed Newland
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza
(Andrew loves books as much as his dad, although he prefers eating them to reading them!)