1.
Most of my "quick takes" today have links to other things, so here goes. Last week I stumbled across something really neat for Advent. It is put together by the family that runs the Holy Heroes website. When you sign up for their Advent Adventures you will receive an email each day of Advent (except Sundays) that will have a short video presentation, an audio clip of a decade of the rosary as well as other links to Advent puzzles, coloring pages and a little quiz. It is a great idea and very easy to use. We've managed to keep up with most of the pages this week. You can join any time in Advent - so it's not too late. There's even links to the days you've missed.
2.
Speaking of Advent, has anyone else noticed that the penitential side of Advent seems to be coming out more in recent years? Sometimes I think the trials we face during Advent are worse than in Lent! Oh well, as the saying goes, "Just offer it up". There certainly is enough to offer it up for!
3.
Last night Catholic author Regina Doman was on EWTN's "Life on the Rock". Congratulations to Regina on a fun and informative interview. We enjoyed listening to it through the internet since we don't have cable! Listening to the show reminded me that her books would make excellent Christmas gifts for those teens on your list that are so hard to buy for. And not just the girls, either...Check them out and help support a great family!
4.
Speaking of Christmas gifts - if you're looking for ideas for grab bags or co-workers or those hard to buy for adults in your family, consider buying some Mystic Monk coffee. It is very good coffee and buying it helps out the Monks in Wyoming who sell it (and me, too!) Click on this little logo here and check out their Christmas gift packs.
5.
Another great Christmas gift idea I found will help you with the girls in your life. I came across a lady in Pennsylvania that has been making and selling Catholic jewelry for a number of years. She has a wide variety of styles - all with a Catholic flavor. How cool is that? Click the banner below to check out her work and support another great Catholic business (and me, too. Thanks)!
6.
Alright, enough selling. How about a laugh? There's a country song by Taylor Swift called "Love Story" that we have all been enjoying lately. Naturally, when you listen to a song over and over, you tend to remember the words and sing parts of it throughout the day. (If you aren't familiar with the song and would like to be, you can check it out here). The song is about a boy and a girl named Romeo and Juliet who, as you probably guessed, are in love but Romeo has been told by Juliet's father to "stay away from Juliet". The other night, our five year old asked her sister to sing her that song about the father who told Romeo to stay away from Joliet. If you aren't from around Northern Illinois, you won't necessarily know that Joliet is a city in IL that is famous for its many prisons - think Blues Brothers and Stateville Maximum Security Prison. Maybe we could make our own version of the song!
7.
Alright, one last laugh. My sister-in-law, who has a son who would do something like this, sent this video to me this week. It's pretty cute!
Little Kid Is A Bad Liar - Watch more Entertainment
God Bless!
Laura Did your family catch Victoria's question on life on the rock last night? We no longer get EWTN, but we watched the show on our computer. Stay warm,today! Thank you very much for the shopping tips. God bless, Dolores
ReplyDeleteWe're fairly new to Advent in our family, having only converted to the Catholic church about a year ago, but we're trying to emphasize the penitential side of Advent along with the joy by giving something up as a family as we did in Lent.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to give some more thought to the whole "penitential Advent" thing -- I just love this time of year so much, I'd hate to relegate the joyfulness of it to a maximum of 12 days -- 12 days that nobody else even celebrates!!!
ReplyDeleteOne thing that strikes me immediately as a difference between Advent and Lent is the emphasis during Advent on Feast Days -- esp. St. Nicholas and St. Lucy, but also the Immaculate Conception, St. Juan Diego, OLGuadalupe. It's a such a rich time of feasting during the waiting, that I almost wonder how you could focus on sacrifice. Lent is a big build-up to the most deeply sad and even horrifying and yet the most gloriously joyful period in the Church year; but Advent seems to me to be mostly about joyful anticipation. Kind of like the difference between preparing for birth vs. preparing for death. Exactly like that, actually.
Just an immediate reaction. I'll definitely be thinking more on this, though! Thanks for such a thought-provoking "quick take"! :)