A friend forwarded me this link and I had to share it! A study in England showed that the symptothermal method of Natural Family Planning (meaning a method where a woman watches for fertility in both temperatire and cervical mucus) is “highly effective”. The effectiveness is comparable to that of the pill. I just wanted to put this out there since a common argument I hear from opponents of NFP is that it is not effective in preventing pregnancy.

So as I always say, “Be educated.” Read this article and know how to respond when people ask you questions about NFP or even criticize you use of it.

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Ok, I know I’ve been quiet for a while now.  I could make excuses but I won’t.  I feel really bad about it actually because I know so many of you really enjoy relating to my posts and I really want you to feel like there’s someone out there who understands!  So I resolve therefore to sin no more and post!

My husband has been nagging me to get on the puter and post, and frankly, I’ve just been in sort of a rut and been lazy.

DH and I have put our family on a master schedule and are bound to stick to it in an effort to be more effective and efficient.  Included on this schedule is my time to spend with you all, blogging and answering contact forms (which I love to do BTW).

Let’s see… I thought I’d take a moment to share a couple God-moments since they are SO very uplifting and encouraging.  I wish I could say that I am at the point in my spiritual journey where I have total faith in God without needing His constant consolations through so-called “God-moments” but I’m not there yet, so I thought I’d share them!  #1 - I’ve really been struggling lately with jealousy.  Yes, I’ll admit it, as hard as that is.  I struggle with being jealousy of other mother’s with their nicer cars and their nicer houses.  They have bigger diamonds and porcelain tiles floors.  It’s so difficult for me not to be jealous.  Praise God for my DH who sympathizes with me and reminds me that Christ calls us to Him first in tithing and after that, we save for our future and the future of our children.  It is a healthy and holy thing to be generous and live within your means… (or at least that’s what my husband trys to tell me when I start to talk about how I need a new car that costs way too much!)  Anyways… I happen to be really focusing one day last week on how so-n-so has this and she has that, and how I don’t and how well that’s not fair, etc.  That evening, Chris had gotten a free dinner out from a grateful client, so he took me out to dinner like a wonderful husband would so I didn’t have to cook dinner that evening.  After dinner, Chris asked the waiter to bring him a $50 gift card.  I asked him, “Oh, who are you getting the gift card for?”  He shrugged it off and told me not to worry about it.  I figured he needed it for something and said nothing.  Finally the waiter came back with the gift card, and Chris instructed him to give it anonymously to a couple that was sitting a few yards away from us who were dressed in fatigues and were obviously serving in the military.  I was moved to tears by the generousity my husband had shown.  He didn’t know those soldiers, and they hadn’t even noticed us, much less done anything for us.  He simply wanted to extend to them a thanks for their service to our country for our freedom.  Chris asked no credit or thanks for his gift.  In fact, he didn’t want them to know who had sent it.  But the look on their faces, the pure surprise and joy, was priceless.  It was worth so much more than that $50.  Just like that, my petty jealous seemed so irrational and selfish.

Story #2 - I spent yet another Wednesday morning being drilled on the teachings of the Catholic Church (especially on contraceptive, but not limited to) by my “Catholic accountability” group made up of about 5 other women who were on my CRHP formation team.  Somehow or some way I always end up having to defend the faith or at least communicate it at these meetings.  I feel like I’m always “on the spot” and my answers are not normally taken so well.  So there I was really getting the questions/objections thrown at me by several other women and I have to defend the Church’s teachings right on the spot.  Not my cup of tea, really.  Nonetheless, I feel a burden on my heart to attend these meetings in hopes that my witness to the truth will plant a seed here and there in these women’s souls.  This last Wednesday was especially difficult.  There were many question asked and lots of objections to my answers.  Anyways, I left and felt so discouraged.  I just felt like I hadn’t spoken the truth effectively and persuasively enough.  I felt like I totally let down Christ by not being able to defend the Church adequately and in the same breath, alienated these women from the Church.  Basically I was feeling like I had failed Christ and failed His people as well.  Then I turned on Relevant Radio.  Father Corapi was on, and he said something to the effect of this: “There will come a time from the men will be separated from the boys, when you will not be able to stand on teh fence any longed.  You will have to decide whether you are for Christ and speak the Truth, or against Him.  There will be no middle ground.  It’s a very difficult thing I know and Christ knew, for He said, ‘Let those who have ears hear, and those who have eyes, see.’  He was speaking about spiritual eyes and spiritual ears. So speak the Truth, and it will set you free.”  I just bawled like a little baby.  What a beautiful grace and beautiful consolation from Our Lord.  It was His reassure that I was meant to be there to speak the truth in that time and place.  What a grace.

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God is so good!! Tonight Michael and I went on a long bike ride and when we got back, Michael needed to go number two really badly. He wasn’t real excited about sitting on the toilet, but I persuaded him by saying, “We can add a star to your chart if you put your poo-poo in the potty.” I walked away to let him have some privacy and told him to let him know when there was some poo-poo in the potty. Sure enough in a couple of minutes, he asked me to come over. I looked to find a huge dump in the toilet! Yeppee! My prayers have been answered. Praise God! I’m sure now we are on our way to being almost done with potty training!

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Good morning everyone. I’m just relaxing this Sunday morning and cooking breakfast. I’m really tired though. I stayed up way too late scrapbooking.

Other news… well, I’m reading Christopher West’s Good News about Sex & Marriage which has been an awesome read so far. It has a well written foundational chapter to begin to explain the reasons behind Catholic teaching on sex & marriage. The subsequent chapters are Q&A which makes for an easy-to-understand and follow book. I highly recommend it if you have questions about the Church’s teaching on marriage and sexuality or you’re like me and get asked about it by all your friends.

More later… off to take a shower before church!

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We’re going to a Round Rock Express babeball game tonight as a family.  Hopefully it won’t rain on us.  We try to make time for these types of fun family outings at least a couple times a month.  It really renews our family and brings us closer together to time spend going out and having fun.  There’s lots of things you can do together, and they don’t have to cost a lot of money.  Here’s some ideas of varying price ranges that we’ve done:

1. Sporting events:  College is cheaper than pro (most of the time) and we try to avoid teams that have rowdy/rude/drunken fans.
2. Park/picnic
3. Swimming pool
4. Theme Park:  We buy two year passes to Sea World in San Antonio.  It seems to give us the best value.  We just relax and only stay as long as the kids want to.
5. Golf range: Michael loves golf.  Enough said.
6. Catholic conferences:  These are more of a weekend event, but they have activities for the kids to enjoy while you get to go to talks on the faith.  Everyone has a great time and learns about Jesus!
7. Trip to the mall:  When it’s hot, the mall is a great choice for a fun afternoon outing.  Most malls nowadays have a children’s play area where they can have a great time.  And it’s totally free!
8. Thomas Day:  In October we’re going to a “Day with Thomas“.  The kids get to ride the train and do other cool activities.  It’s really neat if your kids love Thomas like mine.

The point is spend time doing fund things with your family.  I’d love to hear some other ideas…. free feel to post a comment with more ideas!

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Lately, I’ve been listening more to Relevant Radio, a national Catholic radio broadcast that is station 970 AM in Austin. I find myself preferring it lately over music which is really the first time in my life I can say I prefer talk radio over music. I really enjoy the various shows that have. They are very informative and solid Catholic teachings. I’ve been listening to a show called the Inner Life lately. It’s really neat talk show on various topics from spirituality to marriage and family to daily living in a secular world. It seems like whenever you need to hear something (like an answer to prayer), I turn on the radio, and there’s the answer! It’s beautiful. I love those little God moments.

Anyways, I highly recommend it. I have to say it has provided many God-moments for me lately and much encouragement in the faith. As an added bonus, it provides for great conversation starters with your kids and spouse! Or it just might plant a seed or two in the souls in your vehicle.

Give God lots to ways to talk to you today!!! Don’t forget to keep praying the rosary! Remember Our Lady has promised she will give you everything you ask in your prayer of the Holy Rosary!

God love you.

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Boy, life has been craziness.  I’ve been trying to focus on my four year old over the last couple of days to get him potty trained.  I’m using a reward system with a chart up in his bathroom to get him an incentive to not have accidents.  It’s hard to say if it’s working yet or not.  He still soils his pants and has number one accidents daily.  I’m doing tons of laundry, and he must be potty-trained for school this fall… so I’m getting a little anxious and frustrated.  I’m open to suggestions if anyone has any!  We’ve been trying to potty train on and off for about two years, so I’m ready for solutions!  To top that off, our employee was out on Monday, my husband had a dentist appointment today, so basically we’ve been a man short for the last two days.  Craziness!  I’m just trying to stay a float if you know what I mean!  

I gave Anna, my baby, sweet potatoes yesterday.  Boy that’s a winner.  She loves them, and they are so easy to make.  Just put them in the oven like a baked potato on 400 for about 35-45 minutes.  Use a fork to check for doneness.  Make sure they are really soft but not burnt.  Let cool, spoon out the meat, and blend!  Easy!  

I’m getting up early tomorrow to go to my CRHP accountability group.   This week we are discussing the second chapter from “The 7 Secrets of the Eucharist.”  So far it’s a really good read, and it’s very informative.  If you looking to drive deeper into the church’s teaching on the Eucharist, I’d highly recommend it.  It has good solid teaching (at least the part of it I’ve read so far) and it quotes good, solid sources such as the Diary of St. Faustina and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  

On another note, my four year old is going to a Protestant vacation bible school this week.  I normally wouldn’t do that, but I know the school/church well since he has attended preschool there for two years.  He is very comfortable there because he knows the other kids and the teachers so it works out best (he’s really shy).  I sat in on the last 15 minutes or so of the hour and a half session today.  Interesting, I have to say.  They were very enthusiastic about teaching the kids about Jesus’s love for us and really got the kids involved which is more than I can say for some of the Catholic programs I’ve seen (some not all!)  But I admit it lacked substance besides that.  Maybe it’s because I only saw 15 minutes.  Nevertheless, my son has a great time and comes home excited about God which is always a good thing.  But the moral of the story is that I am 100% grateful for many blessings and depth of the Catholic faith.  It’s really like a diamond with many facets.

Well, that’s all for now.  God love you. 

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To all my sister mothers in the world, many blessings and grace be yours this Mother’s day.

God love you.

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I can’t even begin to say what a huge difference Christian music has made in my life. Here in Austin we have several good Christian radio stations. Klove and The River are both great sources of encouragement as I’m driving around running errands and taking the kiddos to this and that. It’s such a great feeling to hear positive music and to hear your kids singing with the praise of the lyrics. I think it’s a great lesson for them to worship and pray unceasingly. I can also say that there have been many times I’ve gotten in the car and been so frustrated or angry and Christian music helped me to turn those emotions into thanksgiving. I encourage you to find something positive to listen to in your car and see the difference it makes in your life and the life of your family. Just think it’s going to be harder for your kids and spouse to complain or angue with Alleluias in the background!

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I recently just completed a CRHP formation experience through my parish in Austin, Texas. For those of you who don’t know, CRHP (pronounced “chirp”) sounds for Christ Renews His Parish. It is a retreat renewal experience program given on the parish level. It begins with the renewal weekend and continues with a team formation in preparation for giving the next renewal weekend. Opinions of this program vary widely amongst my Catholic friends. Having been through the whole nine yards, I thought I’d put in my two cents.

There are generally two camps in regards to feelings towards CRHP. One group loves it and swears by every word of the CRHP formation book. I think some people in on this side of fence fail to see CRHP for what it is, a parish program. It’s not the only way to conversion, grace, or salvation. It’s just a means to an end, all be it a solid, biblical, sacrament-centered means, but a means to an end nonetheless. The other group of people see CRHP as a parish program for developing cliques, those are with the CRHP group and those who are not. I agree that the strong bond and friendships that are developed as a result of experiencing the formation portion of CRHP can appear to be exclusive to the parish community. It’s hard for this not to happen due to the nature of a group of people putting on a emotional and spiritual retreat.

As for my viewpoint, it’s tough to say. I definitely see CRHP for what it is, a parish program. It isn’t a “must-have” in every parish or in every Catholic’s life. Many people have come to Christ without it. On the other hand, CRHP is very centered on the sacraments especially that of the Eucharist and Reconcialition which is the sign of a solid program. I have seen it produce many good fruits, and Christ tells us in Scripture that we can judge a tree by its fruit. CRHP also focuses on Scripture and incorporating the Word into the renewal weekend as well as formation. I think that is a great way to bring Catholics back to a love for Scripture. Overall CRHP is a positive Catholic program that can be useful in bringing a desire for the sacraments and Scripture into a parish. It is helpful to keep in kind that it isn’t a perfect program in that it is run by imperfect human persons, so just be prepared.

Feel free to add your own comments and experiences! I’m curious to hear what others have to say about CRHP.

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