Author: Maria

Posted on

The Triple B Blog Tour!

bbbHere’s a book challenge to get you thinking about some themes important to me, and, indeed, important to many of us — the dignity, gifts, and mission of women.

My dear friend, Pat Gohn, just released her first book, Blessed, Beautiful, and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood.

I promise you, you’re going to want to pick up a copy of this book for yourself, and an extra copy to give away to a woman you love: maybe your sister, your daughter, or your best friend.

Pat is a wonderful writer…a real wordsmith with a gift for clear thinking, easy communication, and distilling complex themes into easy to digest thoughts. That’s reason enough to reach for the book, but the truth is that Pat has the heart of a catechist — she loves Jesus and wants you to love him, too!

She shares her faith journey with us like a beloved friend, a sister in Christ, and a spiritual mother.

I know you’ll love the book, but remember I said Pat is a catechist? Let her introduce you to the beauty of the book in her words and her voice as she explains a fun way to dig deeply into the book. Join me and nine other bloggers as we host a bodacious blog tour over the next ten days and give away copies of the book, too. Think of it as a do-it-yourself retreat!

Listen to the audio clip embedded below, and then go to Pat’s blog for more information on Ten Bodacious Basics…Ten Minutes at a Time!

[gigya src=”http://boos.audioboo.fm/swf/fullsize_player.swf” flashvars=”mp3=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1324514-blog-tour-for-blessed-beautiful-bodacious.mp3%3Fsource%3Dwordpress&mp3Author=PatGohn&mp3LinkURL=http%3A%2F%2Faudioboo.fm%2Fboos%2F1324514-blog-tour-for-blessed-beautiful-bodacious&mp3Time=06.42pm+11+Apr+2013&mp3Title=Blog+Tour+for+%22Blessed%2C+Beautiful%2C+%26+Bodacious%22″ width=”400″ height=”160″ allowFullScreen=”true” wmode=”transparent”]

Posted on

Laughter

letter_l_erteLaughter.

It’s one of my favorite things.

I love to laugh, and I love people who laugh…loudly, robustly, from all the way inside their souls.

Yeah. That’s the right way to laugh.

Yesterday I had the opportunity to laugh, and boy, it was abundant.

We had a work in-service day, and I attended a drumming therapy session. I was pretty skeptical about it. I thought it was going to be one of those sharing circles, you know what I’m talking about — getting close to nature and all that bunk.

Well, let me take it back —  I don’t really think it’s bunk. That kind of deep sharing has a place in our lives. I’m just not sure the workplace environment is the place for it. At least, not for me.

But I went anyway, on the advice of a colleague with a fun spirit and a good sense of humor. At least if we were going to suffer, it was going to be entertaining.

Boy was I wrong. That was the most fun I’d had at work. Ever.

Here’s me, trying out a pretty djembe drum:

551545_10151603459655953_1188751669_n

There’s nothing like laughter to generate laughter. I don’t know if it was the physical act of drumming that was therapeutic, or the joy that came from having a good time, but I think today, the day after, I’m still enjoying the benefits of spending an hour beating on a drumhead and laughing.

What makes you laugh from all the way inside your soul?

 

Posted on

Kindness

kKindness.

I have this quotation scrawled across the top of my gradebook as a reminder:

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting their own hard battle.”

It’s one of my favorite quotes, sometimes attributed to Plato, sometimes to Seneca, possibly correctly attributed to Ian Maclaren. Let me just say, who cares? I know, my English teacher sensibilities just imploded — it happens.

I like it because it’s a simple message. Be kind.

Be kind because you don’t know how the person you’re interacting with needs a kind word. A smile. A gentle touch.

Because most of us face our battles quietly; it doesn’t matter if we do so out of bravery, or stoic strength, or possibly even shame. The bottom line is that we all face battles.

I’d venture to say that those combative souls we encounter need the most kindness. Just a thought.

Love on purpose. Encourage intentionally.

Be kind.

 

 

Pin It on Pinterest