I'm 23...and I don't have it together

I feel so old. It's okay, you can laugh and roll your eyes all you want-I know I sound a bit ridiculous. Yet, regardless of how silly this may be, as I sprang out of bed on Thursday morning, eager to begin celebrating my birthday, my new state of being-at 23 years of age-made me feel older. Seriously, though, the next time I celebrate a birthday where my age is a palindromic number, I'll be 33 years old! (though that is how old Jesus was at His crucifixion, so it's a pretty epic age) Anyway, I headed off to Mass with my husband (best present ever=attending Mass & receiving the Eucharist with my husband), I was feeling older and wiser, and was ready to think. The Gospel reading particularly stood out at me, and my thoughts on it began to germinate throughout the entire day. So, I want to share a couple of those scattered thoughts with you, as well as my recent ice cream discovery! 

Changing our perspectives for Valentine's Day

Hi, everyone! Happy feast of the Conversion of St. Paul! St. Paul is super cool, and I love reflecting on his words in the New Testament. Sometime, I might will have to blog about him. In the meantime, I'd like to talk about Valentine's Day. 

Wait. Hello??? It's January. Why are you talking about Valentine's Day? 

My friend, in case you haven't noticed, I want to inform you that people love preparing for holidays way in advance. So for weeks, Valentine's Day candy and decor has been abundant in the store. And yes, I have begun to see social media posts about Valentine's Day. So, I think it's high time to discuss this annual celebration, especially how we view it.

High School Lessons & a Cool Modern Saint

Happy Wednesday, everyone!
I'm in the midst of writing an article and trying to be somewhat productive in other areas (hello, Northanger Abbey and childbirth books!), so I don't have much time to hop on the blog and share my rambles of thoughts with y'all today. But, in case you want to waste time reading blog posts (or want to hear my rambles anyway), here are a couple of recent places where I can be found: 

"When Chastity Gets Frustrating," at Chastity Project.

"Praying with the Bones of St. Charbel," at Catholic 365.

I hope that you all have a lovely, splendid, and fabulous day! 

When God hit me with a brick (Or, How I keep learning that we're all different)

Hey there! I'm linking up with the ladies at Tuesday Talk  to share with y'all how God hit me with a brick this weekend. My "big event" this weekend was a TEC retreat here in Oklahoma: a weekend-long retreat geared towards young adults that emphasizes the Paschal Mystery, encountering Christ, and developing deeper community among the participants. While these retreats are Catholic, a huge diversity of people come: lapsed Catholics, non-Catholics, devout Catholics...you name it, they've all come to TEC at some point, and it's really awesome. Months ago, a friend asked me if I would serve on the weekend, but I declined, because I had a suspicion that I would probably get pregnant, and didn't know if I'd be up to serving the weekend. Weeks ago, this friend asked me if I would consider coming for one day to help out with stuff. Since it was only a day, and I'm an "acts of service" kind of girl, I agreed. 

As I spent Saturday doing whatever was needed for this retreat, I started to question myself a little bit. "Man, I feel kind of  bad I only signed up for today. I feel pretty good and energetic right now, and I could probably last the entire weekend!" Yes, I was zonked out as I drove home and climbed into bed after an 18-hour day, but I still had that nagging feeling of maybe I should have signed up to stay and serve longer. The next morning I drug myself out of bed and hauled myself to 11 a.m. Mass with nausea and a headache, and it hit me: This is why I only served for one day. As I sat in the pew, praying and listening to the readings, I thought about how different each person is. And wouldn't you know, the Second Reading at Mass hit me like a brick: 

Why This Catholic Loves Firefly

There's this show called Firefly. It's  basically a space-western about a group of individuals who fly around in a ship named Serenity and try to evade the government's grasp, steal to make a living, and not die. The fact that many Catholics-myself included-love Firefly can seem weird at first. I mean, if you take a quick glance at the show, there are a lot of rather questionable elements that jump out. Across the 11 aired episodes (and 3 unaired episodes), there are sprinklings of sex scenes, nudity, and bad language (although most of it comes in a form of Chinese); furthermore, the"heroes" of the story are a bunch of crooks. So why exactly are so many Catholics enamored with this show? I honestly can't tell you the answer to this, because I can't speak for every Catholic Firefly fan out there. But, what I can tell you is why I love Firefly. I'd like to give you a better answer than "Firefly is wonderful because...Joss Whedon!" (though Joss Whedon is awesome) so in no particular order, here are some elements that I find particularly meaningful in Firefly:

How Flannery O'Connor Helps Me in Pregnancy (and some pregnancy FAQs)

Hello, everyone! I hope that you are having a splendid day. When I first announced my pregnancy, I was bound and determined to not let pregnancy news take over my social media presence...but then I discovered that many people have really been enjoying the pregnancy updates, so if you're one of those people-here you go! (if you're not one of those people, well, I promise that I won't let this turn into a pregnancy blog-I have other posts in the works!) Today, I'd like to reference the beloved Southern author, Flannery O'Connor. She was born in 1925 and died in 1964, so Flannery lived a short life-but made a huge impact. Her novels and short stories continue to be read and discussed by many people, and if you haven't looked into her work, I encourage you to do so. Several months back, I picked up a biography of Flannery in the library and figured that I should read it. I'm not a dedicated, hardcore O'Connor fan, but I enjoy her work, and I think she is a fascinating person (she had peacocks! How cool is that?). Little did I know that Flannery O'Connor-who never married or had children-would provide inspiration on motherhood and help me in my pregnancy. 

On the Bookshelf: A sprinkling of historical fiction, suspense, and some randomness

Hello, everyone! I want to share some of my latest literature findings. Y'all may have picked up that I like reading a variety of genres and books, and this post definitely shows that haha. So, without further ado, let's talk books! 

College may not be for you-and that is OK!

Hello, everyone! I've been a bit absent from the blog lately in the whirlwind of trying to get back on track with housework and writing projects. But, I have some fun posts floating in my head (or in my drafts folder) that I will eventually get to! Today is a topic very near and dear to my heart: college. I attended an awesome college, where I learned awesome things and grew academically, really soared in my faith life, developed incredible friendships, and, I have to mention-I met and married my wonderful husband. 

Yet, as much as I love college, I think it's important that we critically examine how we portray college to others, especially to high school upperclassmen. I'm only 22; high school was not that long ago, and I can very clearly remember the push and drive that many students, parents, and teachers had for college. There was this unspoken vibe that if you didn't have a college picked out by graduation, you were slacking off. Furthermore, if you didn't want to work in the fast food industry for the rest of your life, college was the answer to your future. However, there are some big problems with the belief that College is for Everyone.

A Solemnity, Bargain DVDs, and Books! (7 Quick Takes)

Happy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God!!!!! I have to be honest: I always care way more about this solemnity than the fact that it's also apparently New Years Day. Nothing against the new calendar year or anything, but really. Mary being the Mother of God is way more legit than another year going by, in my opinion. But I'm just weird like that. So for the rest of y'all who happily party up the new calendar year, Happy New Year! I decided to link up with Kelly for some 7 Quick Takes today, because...why not? It's a great way to share random snippets from my life down here in in the land of red dirt & ice (I've been finding that Oklahoma apparently doesn't get snow, it just gets ice-which makes me feel like I'm living in Frozen, which is actually kind of exciting).