Spousal Speech

Always a good reminder, THIS ARTICLE, and sheds some light on the difference between"letting off steam" or being degrading towards your spouse.

To happier and holier marriages....

Post Promise

So, I'm not blog savvy, or consistant, or creative....BUT.... I do promise to garner some new writers and interesting posts for the coming year. I'm so often reminded of why we started this blog when I run into friends or women who are frieghtened at the thought of another child, don't understand nfp, who suffer from the affects of birth control, feel alone in their fight, or those who are trying their very hardest to be faithful to God.

For me, sometimes just getting on here and seeing all the faces of those striving to be open to life, knowing I'm not the only one, is encouraging in itself. So, I hope it can be the same for you!

If you know of some great nfp women who want to share their stories and thoughts...let me know!

Biggest Highlight of 2011 for me:

Avila Maria

Cheers and blessings for 2012!

Maria

Birth Control and Abortion

This is short video on the connection between birth control and abortion by Pastor Mark who is a popular evangelical preacher. Watch here. 

I know this is known in the Catholic circles that instruct Natural Family Planning, but it's good to know they are starting to talk about the issue in other Christian faiths as well.

I must confess, I didn't know until a couple years ago, that most birth control pills will actaully say "abortificiant" on the box! 

An old friend of mine shared this video on her facebook wall...and I had to share. I hope the word gets out there because so many women aren't told the real truth about birth control.

Best DYI Infant - Toddler Toy

A Fabric Squares Wipe Dispenser.

Yes. If you haven't already caught your curious 1 year old, or mommy playing 3 year old with all the wipes on the floor yet, you may.


I LUV when I find really simple projects like this, especially when a 1yr. old or 3 yr. old has fun with it...for hours. Nice.


What a genius idea for a fabric squares wipe dispenser....heck would make a great Christmas or birthday gift ; )

So for all those baby wipe swipers out there - this is for you!

For step by step how-to click here. 

Darkest Time of Parenting...

This article is a GOOD ONE! Ever heard the phrase "the tunnel of parenthood"? One More Soul recently posted on the perceptions of parenting and why so many choose to sterilize after two kids because of the sometimes brutal physical demands of parenting... and it hits the nail on the head! Short and sweet read - please take a peak at this article.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Six Reasons to Have Six Kids

This is a cute and clever post and you can read it here.

What have you DONE...

For your Marriage today?

I think Fulton Sheen nailed it when he said marriage goes through three stages: the blissful honeymoon moment, followed by a “crisis” moment that leads to a deeper and more satisfying intimacy.

Lately I've read two Catholic magazines that have asked this question, "What have you done for your marriage today?" Isn't that a refreshing change other than the same old grocery isle headings "New positions to make him crazy for you." or "Fives signs he's cheating."  Well let's chuck it up for Lucky, Vogue, Ladies Home Journal, Glamour, and all the bubble gum prints out there who are providing America with marriage failure techniques 

Last week, I found out a friend's marriage is in crisis because of marital infidelity. It struck my heart, I couldn't sleep that night because it troubled me deeply. Something like that effects so many people, not just the couple, but the whole church and society suffer with them.

Marriage truly takes so much work. I feel like I can't really give any advice - because I haven't been married that long. I look to my parents who celebrated 30 years in July and my grandparents who celebrated 72 YEARS two weeks ago. (Holy cow that's a long time.) Both of those marriages and many others I've seen seem to have much in common: They work on their marriages with as much passion as our work outs and as much  careful planning and investing as our bank accounts.

Truly, it is our life's greatest work, apart from working on our souls, and because we are held accountable for getting our spouses to Heaven.

The Helps...
I've been gathering and collecting some marriage resources as I've come across them:

1.  "40 Day Challenge"
During Lent, the Extrodinary Moms Network got facebook fans to join the "40 Day Challenge" It is a compelling project for spouses based on scripture and writings of the late Fulton Sheen. AWESOME!!

2. "Love Dare" Something similar from the somewhat cheesy but good message movie, Fire Proof. 

3. So I was in the dark that the U.S. Conference of Bishops made strengthening marriage a top priority for 2008-2011. I'm a little late in getting in on the memo, but there have been some great helps out there, one being this website: http://www.foryourmarriage.org/ 

4. Lastly, some small print publications have had some great articles on marriage as well. This is from LeCristo ,  with poignant and practical advice for marriage:

"...the work of dedicating time to Christ is no small task. On all sides intrudes the din of electronic gadgetry, leaving folks voice-mailed, text messaged and tweeted to numbness. No wonder so many people find it hard to have an interior life of prayer and reflection. Without the ability to be alone with one's thoughts, it is harder to lift one's mind to God during the course of a day. This presents a danger. For 'where people no longer perceive God.' Benedict XVI said in his Letter to Seminarians last year, 'life grows empty; nothing is ever enough.'


Imagine how much harder it is for spouses to find time for silence and for each other. The daily demands of supporting their families and maintaining a household could tax the stamina of a Navy SEAL. All the more reason why spouses need to disconnect from the world and spend quiet time together. And couples shouldn't feel guilty about making time for themselves. Ideally , not even children should claim all of their parents' time, to the point were mom and dad no longer have time for each other.


One of the most important witnesses that married people give to their children and to the world is precisely their dedication to each other. (Wise is the adage, by the way, that says the best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."


The union between spouses also has a profound theological value. Marriage witnesses to the relationship of Christ and his bride the Church. With good reason St. Paul exhorts husbands to "love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her to sanctify her" (Ephesians 5:25). The Apostle presses the point a few verses later when he writes that 'the two shall become one flesh. This is the great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Chruch' (vv 31-32).


We are used to thinking of religious and consecrated people and priests as a special witnesses to Christ. But married people too share this role, through the day-to-day unity they live.  Their witness helps to lift everyone around them. They can make their love incarnate, as it were, not only through their children but through the devotion and time they lavish on each other.


Strong marriages help to keep the awareness of God present in societies. Spouses can do their part by simply spending time with each other. It takes effort, but it is doable. It means turning off the TV and the cell phone and the computer and going a walk together. It means making time for a "date night" away from the kids. It means drawing the line on meddling in-laws. It means, in short, no feeling guilty about wasting time together.


Time has a way of standing still when two people in love spend time together. It is that suspension of time, so to speak, that gives the rest of us a glimpse into what eternity is like. and what it will be like to spend eternity with the God of love."  - Fr. Edward McIImail, LC


Simple, practical, and always good to hear! What are some things that you do with your spouse to "work" on your marriage?