Well, the fire of zeal for me is something along the lines of a smoldering birthday candle, but I am definitely pumped.
I spent the last four days doing a 20+ hour round trip in the car in order to attend a one-day event in Boston, and it was worth it! Mom's Day Out, a first-time effort by Faith&Family Live! and Faith&Family magazine was an incredibly worthwhile event. It had been years since I'd attended any kind of Catholic conference. I'd forgotten how much fun these were, and more important, how necessary. Women, even the most introverted among us (me) need to spend time with one another with NO voices in the background asking when is dinner and did-you-do-the-wash-yet-I'm-out-of-socks and who will drive me to play practice tonight?
We need to share our struggles, our successes, and our stories about children who poop in the bathtub.
We need to hear riveting talks that inspire us to go forward in our lives with courage, a sense of humor, and delight in the Lord.
We need door prizes.
We need to pray together.
Not necessarily in that order.
The hightlight of this conference for me was that not a single mother asked "So, what do you use for eighth grade language arts?" Plenty of homeschoolers were there, but thankfully, homeschooling was not theobssession focus.
Because this event was for committed, orthodox Catholic women from many situations. The entire range of family size, educational choices, and employment (or lack of) choices was there. I love this experience because it reminds me that the "remnant" of the faithful is not so tiny as it sometimes seems.
I've come home from this event with a list of new things to try and new things to do. Knowing from a long history that I am a living example of the stony ground where the seed springs up then quickly dies back--I'm both glad and scared that I've told some of my resolutions to people who will hold me accountable. "So, Daria, how is that plan to start a Bible study going?" is going to start appearing in my e-mail soon. That will be an invaluable help to my flagging zeal.
Now--down from the mountain and back to real life.
I spent the last four days doing a 20+ hour round trip in the car in order to attend a one-day event in Boston, and it was worth it! Mom's Day Out, a first-time effort by Faith&Family Live! and Faith&Family magazine was an incredibly worthwhile event. It had been years since I'd attended any kind of Catholic conference. I'd forgotten how much fun these were, and more important, how necessary. Women, even the most introverted among us (me) need to spend time with one another with NO voices in the background asking when is dinner and did-you-do-the-wash-yet-I'm-out-of-socks and who will drive me to play practice tonight?
We need to share our struggles, our successes, and our stories about children who poop in the bathtub.
We need to hear riveting talks that inspire us to go forward in our lives with courage, a sense of humor, and delight in the Lord.
We need door prizes.
We need to pray together.
Not necessarily in that order.
The hightlight of this conference for me was that not a single mother asked "So, what do you use for eighth grade language arts?" Plenty of homeschoolers were there, but thankfully, homeschooling was not the
Because this event was for committed, orthodox Catholic women from many situations. The entire range of family size, educational choices, and employment (or lack of) choices was there. I love this experience because it reminds me that the "remnant" of the faithful is not so tiny as it sometimes seems.
I've come home from this event with a list of new things to try and new things to do. Knowing from a long history that I am a living example of the stony ground where the seed springs up then quickly dies back--I'm both glad and scared that I've told some of my resolutions to people who will hold me accountable. "So, Daria, how is that plan to start a Bible study going?" is going to start appearing in my e-mail soon. That will be an invaluable help to my flagging zeal.
Now--down from the mountain and back to real life.
