— 1 —   This Week’s Post:   List of Posts by Category  A number of readers have asked me to create a list of posts by category.  This list gives you an opportunity to search for relevant posts by category and series. 

— 2 —   Favorite Things:  I am nutty for Coconut.  Oh, no, not the flakes.  I would rather eat dirt than eat the flakes.  Instead, I am talking about Coconut Manna or Coconut Butter!  Oh my.  Put it on some toast and enjoy a healthy and delicious treat.  Take a peek at the ingredients.  I mean, ingredient.  There is only one.  Oh, and it is low in sugar and provides healthy fiber.  And, the fat is great for your skin. 

Speaking of skin, I am now putting Coconut Oil on my face at night and under my makeup in the morning.  You do not need much because it just melts with the warmth of your skin.  I know it sounds like I walk around all slimy but it really doesn’t feel that way.  My bloggy friend Morgan confirmed for me that it is a wise product to use.  I also used the Coconut Oil on my hair and scalp last weekend as a pre-conditioner.  I was afraid it would not wash out easily.  But it did.  I have added Coconut Oil to my baked goods and it makes them taste extra yummy. I am hooked.

 — 3 —   Spotlight on: This week’s spotlight is on Hallie Lord from Moxiewife for her post called Your Love Story is Not Over.  There was a specific paragraph that really hit home for me because I think it describes the idea of Superabundance perfectly.  Superabundance, which I have defined as “fruit” resulting from a Chaste marriage, allows us to see our spouse with eyes of love. This is the paragraph:

“…But then one day, it’s like God lifted the blinders from my eyes, and said, “See! Do you see this man? Aren’t you in awe of his skill? Of the way he carries this team? And protects you on the field? And doesn’t he look cute in his uniform?” (Not that the latter was news to me.)

So, you look, and at long last you see. And he sees. You see each other with all the love, charity, and affection that God always intended. (Or a good portion more of it anyway.) And you win at the championship game of love….”

— 4 — Ruthie Dean:  Her latest article titled, When God Gives Her a Husband and You Are Still Single, was a good reminder that we need to keep our eyes fixed on our Lord.  In it, she concludes:

“…I don’t know why some women find husbands and others remain single. I don’t know why God healed her family, but not your own. I don’t know why your growing baby has a deformity. But I do know that we miss the panoramic, expansive view of grace if we are focused on everyone else’s story…”

— 5 —  Dating Wisdom:  Did you see the post by Theresa Thomas called Teenage Dating for Girls?  In it, she outlines the wisdom she uses in her household when it comes to dating.  She has 9 children, six of which are girls.  I just love how she emphasize that these are the principles that her family embraces.  She is not asking anyone to agree with her.  She is responding to parents who have asked for her dating wisdom.  Since I have a son, I pray that he surrounds himself with girls who have parents with these principles.  Thank you, Theresa!

— 6 —   Pink:  I could not agree more with This.

 — 7 — Pope Francis:   I don’t like change. His words were meant just for me. 

“…Newness always makes us a bit fearful, because we feel more secure if we have everything under control, if we are the ones who build, programme and plan our lives in accordance with our own ideas, our own comfort, our own preferences. This is also the case when it comes to God. Often we follow him, we accept him, but only up to a certain point. It is hard to abandon ourselves to him with complete trust, allowing the Holy Spirit to be the soul and guide of our lives in our every decision. We fear that God may force us to strike out on new paths and leave behind our all too narrow, closed and selfish horizons in order to become open to his own. 

Yet throughout the history of salvation, whenever God reveals himself, he brings newness – God always brings newness -, and demands our complete trust: Noah, mocked by all, builds an ark and is saved (Gn 6-8); Abram leaves his land with only a promise in hand (Gn 12); Moses stands up to the might of Pharaoh and leads his people to freedom (Ex 3-14); the apostles, huddled fearfully in the Upper Room, go forth with courage to proclaim the Gospel (Acts 2).

This is not a question of novelty for novelty’s sake, the search for something new to relieve our boredom, as is so often the case in our own day. The newness which God brings into our life is something that actually brings fulfilment, that gives true joy, true serenity, because God loves us and desires only our good. Let us ask ourselves today: Are we open to “God’s surprises”? Or are we closed and fearful before the newness of the Holy Spirit? Do we have the courage to strike out along the new paths which God’s newness sets before us, or do we resist, barricaded in transient structures which have lost their capacity for openness to what is new?…”  (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

God love and bless you!

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