{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
{This Moment}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
7 Quick Takes Friday – On Monday
I just -knew- this post wasn’t going to happen on Friday!
1.
I have planted a million seeds! OK, I’ll admit that’s an exaggeration. But I have planted many of them! And many of the many are sprouting! It’s strange to believe how much excitement I get out of seeing little sprouts! The seeds that seem most keen to grow are my sunflowers. They are making progress like I didn’t expect. I think the seeds that I’m most hoping to have success with are the strawberries. And get this – even though they’re a weed, according to the instructions on the package, they’re the most fickle of all of my seeds. Oh how I love home grown strawberries!
2.
This week is going to be busy. I am having my THINKfast retreat this week, and I’m expecting a lot of teens to come out for it! It’s exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. There’s a lot to do, and as always, it always seems like there’s too few hours/days to do it. Asking for prayers that it goes well!
3.
Cheese making is next on my list of things to do. Inspired by Josee and her desire to attempt cheese making, and also based on her book recommendation (Artisan Cheese Making at Home), Andy and I will be venturing into cheese making this year. I’m not sure how far we’ll get with it, but I’m excited at the prospects. I’ll be honest, while reading the book, I definitely felt like it’s one of those crafts that is calling to me. My problem is that there is a lot of that happening (ex. Bread making, body care product making, laundry soap making, garden food/herb making, wine making, etc). Is it wrong that it feels so good to be doing it, though? Even if I complain along the way?
4.
Our main home computer is nearly back to its normal self. While I was away on conference Andy informed me that our hard drive died. While putting a kink in our skyping abilities, we are thankful that it was still covered under warranty. It’s now taken nearly a week to receive the hard drive, transfer the files, double check all files are present and not corrupted, and wipe the previous drive to send back to the manufacturer. I’ll be thrilled to be back to my regular compy soon. Not to mention how much I miss listening to music.
5.
Spencer is more of an avid reader than Andy and I combined. While it doesn’t actually mean much to put Andy in with the equation, I am continually perplexed at how much Spencer wants to have books read to him. While I love that he loves it so much, I must admit that I am tired of hearing myself read the same books over and over again. Yes, we do frequent the library. Those books seem to get read nearly as much as his regular books on our shelves. Maybe God will bless us with a person who is ever so fond of reading the same books over and over again.
6.
It’s raining and cold out. I miss my sunshine.
7.
Our kitchen is a disaster. I’m going to make a small attempt at it in a moment, but I doubt it’ll stem the tide. *sigh*. Can one ever win?
7 Quick Takes Friday
1.
It’s lovely to be back in Ottawa! I’m so thankful to be here, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the things that I missed (poutine!)(buses!). I miss my boys, and I’m sorry that they can’t be here with me. I think they’d enjoy it just as much as I am. My conference starts tonight and I’m looking forward to it being a busy weekend. It’s been great visiting with people I’ve missed!
2.
Providence seems to have struck again. I hadn’t been planning on doing any specific reading for Lent, but I randomly came across the title of an ebook while just looking for good books. So, I downloaded it from the library and have been reading it on this trip. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It’s called The Rite: The Making of A Modern Exorcist, by Matt Baglio. I just finished it last night and am now working through some of the footnotes. I did a few searches prior to for Catholic reviews of the book, and all the ones I came across were positive about the book. I can see why. This book has been very well written, well documented and researched. The premise is about a priest who travels to Rome, initially for his Sabbatical, then also to attend a course meant to teach those priests selected to become exorcists in their diocese. While taking the course, he also finds an exorcist mentor to be with to learn from his practical experiences.
I feel that there have been 2 main things that this book has opened my eyes to:
1) evil is more than just a general force at work in this world, that there are evil beings of an unseen order that apply themselves to the physical world, sometimes in the form of demonic possession.
2) that prayer, what most of us often simply see as our way to communicate with God, is the force which prevents evil and demons from maintaining its hold on a person or on things. Prayer.
I’m very impressed with the research that went into this book from believers and non-believers alike. I finish with a quote from one of the reviews on amazon, and this quoted quote echoes the message of the book:
Those who doubt the existence of evil and the Devil are reminded in “The Rite” to be mindful of French poet Charles Baudelaire’s philosophic proclamation – “the Devil had finally convinced the world that he no longer existed.”
3.
It rained yesterday. I did not appreciate the rain, even if it was warm. I think I’ve concluded that I’d prefer snow at this time of the year than rain. It’s just so messy.
4.
I am hoping to get some more stocks from the Le Grain de Ble store that is across from St. Paul University. They have an amazing stock of hard to find items (herbs and stuff) that I’m more appreciative of since moving to Saskatoon where there are no stores like this one.
5.
I think I’m gonna have poutine again for lunch today 
6.
I’m also hoping to wander down Bank street to enjoy the scenery. I love all the unique little stores that line the street; I miss the character of this city. I’m still trying to find what the character is of Saskatoon.
7.
Kat and Marc’s dog really stinks in the morning. Marc’s just tried to open a window unsuccessfully. I think I should make getting ready to leave a priority so that I can escape the stench.
For more Quick Takes, check out Jen’s blog http://www.conversiondiary.com/
