My Scribbler's Heart Archives - Page 72 of 80

Small Success Thursday

Published by CAstfalk on 07/02/2015

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

Baked, baked, and baked some more. I killed my hand mixer, and my oven is liable to rebel from extreme overuse. It started with chocolate chip cookies and snickerdoodles for the junior high youth ministry. I suspected their energy levels might be depleted after zip lining and rolling around in an OGO ball.

I moved on to blueberry muffins and gingerbread cake for an upcoming blog post featuring more recipes from Stay With Me. Next came banana bread (see #3). And finally, I baked six-dozen heart-shaped beauties for the cookie table at my niece’s wedding next week. What? You don’t know what a cookie table is? I dare you to Google “Pittsburgh wedding cookie tables,” look at the images, and not salivate.

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Patient Much? The Mindset of Endurance

Published by CAstfalk on 06/29/2015

In my Catholic grade school, we played what was known simply as “The Religion Game.” Short explanation: it involved a person guessing a religious terms using clues provided by teammates. One of the vocabulary terms committed to memory was ejaculation.

Ejaculation: a short prayer meant to be memorized and repeated throughout the day

In those pre-pubescent days, before its utterance would elicit a round of giggles and snickers, this five-syllable word had the potential to propel a team into the winner’s circle. In the ensuing years, the use of these little prayers fell by the wayside.

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Top 10 Tuesday: 10 Things My Dad Taught Me (Without Saying A Word)

Published by CAstfalk on 06/23/2015

Working hard for your family is honorable. My dad leased a Gulf gas station/service station for decades. He worked ten-hour days, six days a week for many years. Then tended to “book work” when he was home. He didn’t harbor any great any ambitions or wallow in his lot in life (although he always wanted to be a trolley conductor). It is simply what he did to provide for his wife and children.
Mom and Dad celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary in 2004.
Volunteer. Give your time freely in service to others. I never realized the extent to which my dad’s life was marked by service until the priest spoke about it at his funeral Mass. From his Navy service during World War II to being a parish usher, bingo volunteer, a lifelong member of the Rennerdale Volunteer Fire Department, and helping out at one of his favorite places – the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum – my dad happily served.
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May I Fast For You? Send Me Your Petitions.

Published by CAstfalk on 06/22/2015

Some day I’m going to write about weight and weight loss and a slew of related issues. There’s even a novel along those themes that has been percolating in the back of my brain for a while. I’ve established the main characters and formulated an idea of what makes them tick.

I’m not going to write about either of those things just yet, but I would like to bring meaning to the ever-present fasting in my life by inviting you to send me your petitions. I’m not doing a bread and water fast or any kind of wacky diet, but losing weight requires a whole lot of fasting. Fasting from certain foods and portion sizes, obviously, but also fasting from enjoyable sedentary pursuits so that I can increase my activity, fasting from self-defeating thinking, fasting from bad habits and ineffective coping mechanisms, and fasting from instant gratification.

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Stay With Me, A Prayer by St. Pio of Pietrelcina

Published by CAstfalk on 06/21/2015

I recently came across this prayer by St. Pio of Pietrelcina. It has no title, but it could be called “Stay With Me.” Stay With…

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Seven Quick Takes Friday

Published by CAstfalk on 06/19/2015

Slacker Mom Edition

Since I’ve gone from one kid to four, I’ve slacked in a multitude of ways. Obviously, the number of small people for whose welfare I’m responsible for has something to do with it. There’s also the fact that we’ve got a mix of genders and ages, ratcheting up the variety of interests and activities. Not to mention I’m old and tired.

The fact is, you cannot parent two children the same way. They may have the same parents, genes, and home, but their birth order is different. In some ways, being the mom of one or two is a different animal than parenting three or more. (It’s also easier in my opinion.) The kids have built-in playmates and companions and demand less individual attention. The best analogy my weary brain can come up with is mom’s role shifting from instructor to conductor.

(Just to be clear, these are the MOTHERING areas in which I’ve slacked. I’ve slacked in many other ways as well, but I prefer to maintain an aura of mystique around at least some of my shortcomings.)

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Relevant Fiction Reviews: Love, War, and Sacrifice

Published by CAstfalk on 06/15/2015

Occasionally, I’ll be sharing some of my reviews here, under Relevant Fiction Reviews. I don’t review every book I read. Not even close. So these are hand-picked selections that I either loved or struck a chord with me. Maybe some time I’ll even sneak in a little nonfiction. Three of my recent reviews follow, all very different books but with similar themes.

I read two novels in one weekend, both of which dealt with the suffering endured by Iraqi and Afghanistan war vets. Both are, at their essence, love stories. One was a romance, the other was literary fiction. In both, the protagonist struggles with PTSD and the age-old question of how a loving God can allow evil. In both, we learn God’s love can heal our hurts. (A longer version of my review of Wounded Healer will appear at CatholicFiction.net.)

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Small Success Thursday

Published by CAstfalk on 06/11/2015

Why small success? Because that’s the only kind I know! Even the big ones come in small steps. Here’s my paltry offering for the week.

I sorted through the end-of-school-year stuff. When my school-aged children returned from their last day of school with bulging backpacks, I sorted through their, ahem, stuff. Instead of piling it all somewhere to deal with “later,” I immediately funneled their art tools, projects, notebooks, and supplies into either the trash, the recycling bin, or an appropriate drawer. Some stuff came home barely used, so that should cut down on needed supplies for next school year.

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Category: My Scribbler’s Heart

Ejaculation: a short prayer meant to be memorized and repeated throughout the day

Slacker Mom Edition