You Are Enough

Posted on July 8, 2014 by theveilofchastity

Maura Byrne from Made In His Image adds this tag line to all her blog posts:

P.S. You are enough

No matter what amazing topic I read on her site, that tag line is the most powerful to me. It always takes my breath away. I can see Maura’s sweet face and hear her gentle voice saying those words.

You Are Enough

I get emails from you girls asking what you can do to end the loneliness. You are experiencing doubt and wondering if you are good enough to be loved. The mounting rejection you experience is feeding those seeds of doubt.

You ask, “Is my prayer life ‘just right’?” You wonder if God is somehow displeased with you and you have a nagging belief that He is withholding the blessing of marriage from you. You want to know how you can identify this perceived displeasure and how you can prove to God that you are worthy of this blessing?

The hard thing is that you can’t. You cannot prove yourself worthy of any blessing. Right now, as you are, you are enough for God and for your future husband.

Both are True

Given the above, we are still called to examine our lives and our relationship with God. The Holy Spirit nudges us to draw near to Him which requires our cooperation.

This post may seem to have two conflicting messages: 1. You are enough and 2. Are you doing enough?

The truth of the first message is challenged every day by the world. You are assaulted with one comparison after another that leads you to believe that you are deficient and lacking in some way. You are neither. You, even with your imperfections, are enough for God and for your future husband.

The truth of the second message can be misconstrued into the idea that we earn our blessings. No, we cannot earn them but we can choose to orient our lives toward Him and do all that He commands.

All That God Commands

I am sweetly asking, “Are you doing all that He commands?” Are you orienting your life towards Him or are you living life oriented towards yourself and then wondering why you don’t have peace?

Most of the emails I receive lead me to believe that you are orienting yourself towards God and walking in His will. For those, my advice is always, “Continue what you are doing and wait upon the Lord.”

However, sometimes I am given the opportunity, although the girl is “enough”, to pinpoint an area or two where she may be outside the will of God. This lack of orientation and sometimes lake of obedience, is causing the intense feelings of not being ‘enough’.

Let’s go over what it means to orient yourself towards God:

Prayer Life: Talk to Him. Daily.

“Prayer places our understanding in the brightness of Divine Light, and exposes the will to the heat of His heavenly love. Nothing can so effectively purify the mind from its many ignorances, or the will from its perverse affections than prayer. It is as a river of life-giving healing water which causes the roots of our good desires to send forth fresh shoots, which washes away the soul’s imperfections, and quenches the thirst of the passions within our hearts.” St. Francis de Sales ~ Introduction To The Devout Life

Sacramental Life: Open yourself up to His grace. Are you living a Sacramental Life In Christ? Grace is the ‘gateway’ to peace.

Worship Him: Keep holy the Sabbath. Mass is all about proper orientation. We go and tell Him who we are (sinners), who He is (holy, Lord, Savior, Creator), and what we need (Him, His forgiveness and His grace). We listen to what He has to say in the Liturgy of The Word. We humble ourselves to become like little children in the belief that He is present in the Eucharist and precious blood. We become more like Him when we receive Him into our bodies. The Mass is centered on Christ, not us, yet it is exactly what heals us.

Thy Will be Done: Surrender to His will. Easier said than done, I know. But, all that means is that you surrender to His will for today. You only have enough grace for today and you do not know what tomorrow holds.

Once you orient yourself toward God, then you can peacefully rest in the truth that He is working all things. Trust in Him and wait on Him.

You, my sweet girls, are enough. As always, write to me anytime. theveilofchastity@gmail.com

God love and bless you!

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7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 84

Posted on July 4, 2014 by theveilofchastity

— 1 — This Week’s Post: Repost and Upcoming Post Love you girls!

— 2 — Freedom Theme: In celebration of America’s Independence Day, this week’s 7QTs will focus on Freedom. There are those who seek justice so that other’s can live in freedom. Also, the beauty of what our faith reveals about true human freedom.

May I recommend a powerful movie that was a big eye-opener for me? Nine Days That Changed The World

—3 — Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on Christie from The Way Home. Here is a little bit about her and her passion for human freedom:

“…I hope to write about my life and relationship with Christ; why I left Protestantism to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church; ecumenical Protestant-Catholic relations; and seeking justice in the anti-human trafficking movement…”

— 4 — The Catechism of The Catholic Church: Freedom; Paragraphs #1733 and #1740

“The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse of freedom and leads to “the slavery of sin.” ….By deviating from the moral law man violates his own freedom, becomes imprisoned within himself, disrupts neighborly fellowship, and rebels against divine truth.”

— 5 — Saint Pope John Paul II: Obedience and dignity:

“…In the depths of his own conscience man detects a law which he does not impose on himself, but which holds him to obedience. Always summoning him to love good and avoid evil, the voice of conscience can when necessary speak to his heart more specifically: “Do this, shun that.” For man has in his heart a law written by God. To obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.”

— 6 — Pope John Paul II: Freedom defined:

“Freedom consists not in doing what we like, but in having the right to do what we ought.”

— 7 — Human Freedom: The 2nd Vatican Council’s encyclical, Gaudium et spes, talks about true human freedom:

“….Although he was made by God in a state of holiness, from the very onset of his history man abused his liberty, at the urging of the Evil One. Man set himself against God and sought to attain his goal apart from God. Although they knew God, “they did not glorify Him as God, but their senseless minds were darkened and they served the creature rather than the Creator” (Rm 1,21f.). What divine revelation makes known to us agrees with experience. Examining his heart, man finds that he has inclinations toward evil too, and is engulfed by manifold ills which cannot come from his good Creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God as his beginning, man has disrupted also his proper relationship to his own ultimate goal as well as his whole relationship toward himself and others and all created things.
Therefore man is split within himself. As a result, all of human life, whether individual or collective, shows itself to be a dramatic struggle between good and evil, between light and darkness. Indeed, man finds that by himself he is incapable of battling the assaults of evil successfully, so that everyone feels as though he is bound by chains. But the Lord Himself came to free and strengthen man, renewing him inwardly and casting out that “prince of this world” (Jn 12,31) who held him in the bondage of sin. For sin has diminished man, blocking his path to fulfillment.
The call to grandeur and the depths of misery, both of which are a part of human experience, find their ultimate and simultaneous explanation in the light of this revelation….”

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Repost and Upcoming Posts

Posted on July 1, 2014 by theveilofchastity

I am so sorry that I don’t have a post to share this week! During my non-working hours, I have been spending my free time responding to your awesome emails. And, I have been working on a big project with my mom!

You might remember that I asked my mom to write down 7 short stories about her family. I posted the story a couple of weeks ago about how her parents met. Other short stories include her brothers returning home from war, her father’s death at 53 years old, her family coming to America and the loss of her 6 month old brother and her 11-year-old brother ~ both to pneumonia.

I typed these short stories and added photos. Then, I created a 33 page book that we are going to give to our relatives when we go to our family reunion at the end of July. This project has been so exciting and fun to do. We are really excited! Such a family treasure.

This week I thought I would repost an article I wrote a while ago. Also, I want to fill you in on some upcoming posts. First, the upcoming posts:

1. You Are Enough

2. Online Dating ~ First Contact Advice

3. A Letter To My College Self

Reposting this along with a snippet below: 7 Myths That Singles Must Resist: #3 Something is Wrong With Me

“…I also felt very confused by what I was observing all around me. I knew that I was not perfect but I wondered why everyone else (and their imperfect and often unchaste selves) seemed to get married. Why not me? What was wrong with me?

Well, I now have the benefit of hindsight and I am here to tell you that there was nothing wrong with me. I also want to reassure you that there is nothing wrong with you.

The ‘one’ that God has for you will love you despite your faults. There is nothing wrong with you that will keep him from marrying you. Trust and wait. I know it is hard.”

Thank you for your patience as I catch up on my emails. I love hearing from you girls!

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 83

Posted on June 27, 2014 by theveilofchastity

— 1 — This Week’s Post: You May Be Imagining It Our journey with God is a supernatural one and in order to see with supernatural eyes, our vision must be healed. If we evaluate the world with our natural eyes, we will only see injustice.

“Do you ever look around at what others have and say to God, “What about me? Don’t You love me too?”

— 2 — Struggling?: If you are struggling, go read this post by Maura from Made In His Image. #holyperspective

—3 — The Veil: A reader sent the quote below from the sequel to Anne of Green Gables, Anne of Avonlea. I have never read the series but what a beautiful meditation on the lifted veil revealing ‘realities.” Thank you, Mary my awesome reader!

“It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities.” (about the protagonist Anne’s experience with her friend Gilbert)

— 4 — We Need Each Other: Kari Kampakis wrote a great article about Why Women Need Their Girlfriends.

— 5 — Avoid Heartache: Your Holy Family Ministries has a great series called Dating With A Purpose and I especially like the advice about Emotional Chastity discussed in How To Avoid Heartache In Dating.

— 6 — Lead Me On: Audrey Assad’s song has a line in it about God’s ‘rod and staff‘ being a ‘strange mercy.’ It is true that even the Lord’s discipline is love. His staff, with the hook at the end, saves us from ourselves and brings us back from our wonderings.

“I fear no evil, for You are with me
You set this table before my enemies
And You anoint me – You overflow my cup
And they will follow me, Your goodness and Your love.

Your rod and Your staff are a strange mercy“

— 7 — Saint Gregory Nazianzen (330-390), Bishop and Doctor of the Church: Set on Rock quote:

One evening I was walking beside the sea; as Scripture says: “The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing” (Jn 6,18). The waves rose up at a distance and crashed onto the shore, smashing against the rocks, breaking and changing into spume and spray. Small stones, seaweed and the lightest of shells were carried by the water and thrown onto the shore, but the rocks stood as firm and unyielding as though all were calm, even in the midst of those waves that had just struck them…

I drew a lesson from that sight. Wasn’t that sea like our life and the human condition? There, too, is to be found much bitterness and instability. And aren’t the winds the temptations that assail us and all the unforeseen blows of life? This is what I think David was thinking about when he exclaimed: “Save me, O God, for the waters threaten my life! Snatch me from the waters of the deep! I have reached the watery depths and the flood overwhelms me” (Ps 68:2).

Amongst those who are put to the test there are some who seem to me to be like those light, lifeless objects that allow themselves to be carried away without offering the slightest resistance. There is no stability in them; they don’t have the counterbalance of a wise mind that struggles against assaults. Others seem to me to be like rocks who are worthy of that Rock on whom we are set and whom we worship. Molded by the reasoning of true wisdom, these rise above their common weakness and bear everything with unshakeable constancy.

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

You May Be Imagining It

Posted on June 23, 2014 by theveilofchastity

Last week I wrote that God’s movement in our lives is a mystery and seeing Him requires us to seek Him with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. I reassured you that I too sometimes feel that God is distant and uninvolved and if you experience this, then it is not your imagination. I shared Old Testament scripture that confirms our experience matches the experience of God’s people from all time. You are not imagining the mysteriousness of God.

There is, however, something that you just might be imagining and my hope is to provide perspective and comfort.

Does God Bless Some More Than Others?

I think we humans naturally compare our lives to other’s lives. We imagine that other’s lives are problem free and full of blessings.

Even our young son falls into the comparison trap. He thinks that Joey from his football team is a better athlete (he is). And since Joey has a swimming pool and a couple of siblings, then in the mind of my 9-year-old, Joey must be soooo much happier and more blessed. There is just no convincing him, in times of doubt, that he is just as blessed as Joey but that each of their blessings are different. Plus, I try my best to explain that he and Joey have a whole lot of life to live. The story is not over yet. He has no idea how his life and Joey’s life will transpire. But, he lacks the perspective he needs to accept this.

Do you ever look around at what others have and say to God, “What about me? Don’t You love me too?”

Healing Our Vision

When I was single, I started asking God to change and heal my vision. I didn’t mean my eyesight, I meant my perspective and how I perceived things. This human tendency to compare our lives to other’s lives and then imagine that we have somehow received the short end of the stick, is natural. But, we must see with supernatural eyes. Our natural eyes will deceive us and lead us to believe that God is stingy or that He plays favorites.

Pull Back The Veil

Part of what you are seeing when you compare, is true. Some are abundantly blessed and other do not seem to be. When looking with our natural eyes, it just does not seem to be fair. But remember, the spiritual life is veiled. When you allow God to pull back the veil and show you Truth, then you see that God is perfectly Just. His perfect justice is working all things for good. On the surface and without God, you will only see injustice. It will appear as though others have more and that God does not care.

Are You Being Tested?

This past Sunday was the feast of Corpus Christi and the first reading was so perfect I have to share it:

“Moses said to the people:

“Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD. Deut 8:2-3, 14 16

If you feel you are being tested, then you most likely are not imagining it. Just like scripture says, God wants to know your intentions. He is allowing you to be afflicted but, just like the Israelites, there will come a time when He will provide for you exactly what you need.

That You May See

In the meantime, pray for God to heal your sight. Thank God for your blessings and fight against the temptation to look around and keep score on what others have. Reign in your imagination by living a Sacramental life in Christ. His grace is the ointment and salve which anoint and heal our eyes and minds.

“I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.” Rev 3:18

Heavenly Treasures

Because we belong to God, our treasures will look different. But, they will be eternal and cannot be taken from us. Our minds will be refined by the fire of His love and our eyes will see with His perfect justice.

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 82

Posted on June 20, 2014 by theveilofchastity

— 1 — This Week’s Post: It Is Not Your Imagination. This post had a great response and I received a number of emails from girls about it. So glad it helped! This song by Audrey Assad describes, to me, how God moves in our lives:

— 2 — Jen: I had lunch with the amazing Jen from Jumping in Puddles last Friday and can you believe that not one photo was taken? I will have to lock it in my memory the good old-fashioned way. Love her!!

—3 — VOCES8: I received a CD from the VOCES8 choir. It is wonderful! I plan to do a review. Here is their tag line:

Teaching, healing, and connecting communities…through Music.

— 4 — Whew! What a week!: My life has experienced a change this week (it is good). This change has taken up more of my thoughts and emotions so please bear with me over the next couple of months as I adjust to some new demands. Along those lines…

— 5 — I Am Having Trouble

— 6 — With QT #5 and #6

— 7 — and QT #7

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

It Is Not Your Imagination

Posted on June 16, 2014 by theveilofchastity

If God seems far off and absent, it is not your imagination. For whatever reason, He operates in a cloaked fashion, shrouded in mystery. The authors of the Old Testament wrote about the mysterious nature of God and all the saints share this experience.

The spiritual life is veiled and we, unfortunately have to seek God with all our hearts, souls, strength and mind just to get a glimpse of Him. From my experience, He only gives enough to sustain me for a time. Then, He hides again. And, I must seek Him again.

Deuteronomy 4:29

“But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.”

Jeremiah 29:13

“You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. ”

2 Corinthians 3:16

“…but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

Keep seeking Him in the way that He instructed by living a Sacramental life. Each and every glimpse of Him will be worth it. Listen for Him in the quiet of your heart. Ask, seek, knock. Tell Him everything. Trust that He is working behind the scenes of your life. Without Him, we perish emotionally and spiritually. We can easily fall into despair. He is our hope and our peace.

So it is not your imagination. He is hidden from and seeking you at the same time. But, He can be found. He can be known. He can be trusted.

If you are in need of encouragement, please feel free to write to me. I know this is hard.

God love and bless you.

Old Testament Scripture About The Hidden Nature Of God

Job 13:24

“Why do You hide Your face And consider me Your enemy?”

Psalms 69:17

“And do not hide Your face from Your servant, For I am in distress; answer me quickly.”

Psalms 88:14

“O LORD, why do You reject my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me?

Isaiah 8:17

And I will wait for the LORD who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; I will even look eagerly for Him.

Isaiah 45:15

Truly, You are a God who hides Himself, O God of Israel, Savior!

Psalms 13:1

How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

Psalms 10:1

Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

Psalms 55:1

Give ear to my prayer, O God; And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 81

Posted on June 13, 2014 by theveilofchastity

— 1 — This Week’s Post: Antonio and Maria This guest post, written by my Mom, recounted the story of how my Grandparents met! It may have appeared to you that my Grandmother was forced to marry my Grandfather. But, I hope this comment will clear that up and provide a broader perspective:

“I think what it highlighted to me is that women have had some sort of suffering
to deal with in every generation. Our generation is suffering from non-committal men and the over-sexualization of the human person. My grandmother had to deal with not having complete say so in her life. She wanted to go to school and we take that for granted. In the end, whatever our suffering is, we can depend upon the Lord to be with us, that He knows about it ahead of time and that He has somehow permitted it for His glory.”

— 2 — Jen: I am having lunch with the amazing Jen from Jumping in Puddles this morning!! #so excited!

—3 — Meg: Meg from Held By His Pierced Hands is staying at our house this week! She is helping the camp counselors at our Parish’s Summer Camp get spiritually ready with daily Theology classes! If you remember, I wrote about this Summer Camp program last year. This year, the camp has 270 children attending each week and 65 camp counselors! #ourcupisoverflowing

— 4 — Girl’s Movie Night: 12 or so of those wonderful Summer camp counselors will be descending upon our house tonight for Girl’s Movie Night! Please pray that my house stays clean while I am having fun with Jen today!!:)

— 5 — Not Alone Series: The girls are on Summer break but they are planning to do a Book Club. Head on over to their Facebook page to join them! Looks like some great reading!

— 6 — Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on Saint Raphael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), a Spanish Trappist monk:

I sought for truth and did not find it; I sought for charity and only found in men some sparks which did not satisfy my eager heart; I sought for peace and saw that there is no peace on earth. The illusion passed, peacefully, without making me aware of it. It was the Lord who permitted me to be mistaken in order to bring me to him. He made me see, and now how happy I am! “What are you looking for among men,” he says to me. “What are you seeking for in the earthly life which is your pilgrimage? What is the peace you want?” How good the Lord is… Now I see clearly that true peace is in God, real charity in Jesus, that Christ is the sole truth…Now that you have given me light to see and understand, give me, Lord, a very, very large heart to love these people who are your children, my brothers, in whom my overwhelming pride sees failings while, on the other hand, I don’t see them in myself! If you have given to the least of these others, what have you given to me? All things you dispose well. My soul deplores its old ways and habits, it no longer looks for perfection in others and it no longer grieves because it can’t find anywhere “to rest its head” (Mt 8,20). It now has everything. You, my God, are what fills my soul; you are my delight, my peace, my tranquillity. You, Lord, are my refuge, my fortress, life, light, comfort, my one truth and my sole love. I am happy; I have it all!

— 7 — Audrey Assad: Have you heard her latest, Death Be Not Proud? Enjoy!

God love and bless you!

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Antonio and Maria

Posted on June 9, 2014 by theveilofchastity

This week’s post was written by my mom, Louise!

Upon my request, my mom documented 7 short stories of her family, including the story of how her parents met. My mom is one of twelve children born to a young couple from Italy who immigrated to America about 100 years ago. I typed up the 7 stories and plan to turn them into a book with photos. Then, the book will be presented to each of our relatives at our family reunion at the end of July. I am sooooo excited about it! Some stories are difficult to get through without tearing up.

Well, as I was typing up the first story, which is the one about how my Grandparents met, I realized that I could share that story here. I realized from this story that the vocation of marriage has never been ‘easy’ and that we don’t always know what would be good for us in that important area of our life. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you, Mom!

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My Mom, Louise! She was engaged to my Father in this photo.

————————————————————————-

Antonio and Maria

Antonio Leonardo Liotti and Maria Giovanna Renzi were born in Amendolara, Italy. It seems their families were acquainted.

Mom said she, along with her mother, worked in the fields. One of the jobs was picking olives. Olive-harvesting season is from the end of October for approximately six weeks – according to Google. I was surprised at the short time frame. I had always pictured in my mind that they spent most of their working hours picking olives. So I suppose they worked for a variety of farms harvesting whatever crop happened to be in season.

Mom said they were 16 years-old and Dad was showing interest but she had no such intentions. She was not interested and said he was short, a little pudgy and blonde. But he, being determined, kept pursuing. Then her mother, her aunt and a relative on his side tried to encourage her by telling her he was a good person and to give him a chance.

But Mom’s interest and desire was to go to school. So at night she went to be taught by a tutor.

Dad, according to Mom, did not live very close to her. She said it was quite a walk and he would often walk to her house to see her. Her Mother would tell him she was at the tutor’s taking classes. He was not very happy about that.

One night she was home reading or crocheting, which she like to do. It was raining. After a little while, she heard music. She looked out her window and there was my dad standing under the eaves serenading her by playing his guitar and singing.

Still not impressed, she continued doing her thing. Quite an independent woman of her time!

However, he, too, was strong and undeterred. So by age 18 he proposed marriage. Between his persistence and her relatives supporting his cause, she agreed to marry him.

After setting a date, for whatever reason I can’t recall or she never explained, she broke off the engagement. Now a friend of his or perhaps a relative was tasked by Antonio to ask Maria whenever he saw her about resetting a date for marriage to take place. Knowing this would continue, she said to tell him two weeks.

So, the wedding took place September (I believe the 20^th) 1908.

My niece, Teresa and my Mother were at my house in Arlington, VA the week before my sister Mary Jane’s wedding in the 1950’s. My Mother was relating her wedding story. I’d heard it many times before. When Mom finished, Teresa said, “Grandma, I bet you looked beautiful on your wedding day.” Mom answered, “I don’t know, I didn’t even look in the mirror, I just put the veil on my head and left for the church.” She was not ready for marriage.

August 2, 1909, their first child, Rose Marie Liotti was born. Perhaps a year later, Dad left for the Army to put in his service time for his country of Italy. He was a bugler so his job was to play taps and/or reveille. I’m not sure which or perhaps both.

He was in the Army for about a year. When it was time for him to return, a relative-Uncle, I believe, accompanied Mom to the train station to meet Dad.

As all of these people were descending from the train onto the platform, her Uncle said to her, “Maria, do you recognize that man over there?” She was relating this story to us and told us, “I looked over to where he was pointing and saw this very handsome, tall, dark-haired soldier standing straight as an arrow in his uniform.” She said to her Uncle, “No, I don’t know him.” Her Uncle said, “That’s your husband.”

Whenever she told us this story, we always came back with “That’s when you really fell in love with him, Mom.” She would just smile. 🙂

I’m guessing he was home perhaps a year when he left for America to find work and would then send for mom, Rose and Mom’s sister, Aunt Louise. His Mother, Sister and Brother were already in America as was Mom’s mom.

Dad arrived in America at Ellis Island, N.Y. on February 23, 1912 on the Berlin.

——————————————–

Isn’t it interesting that my Grandmother’s vision of my Grandfather changed? Could that have been the veil covering him and then lifted at the right time? I mean, they had 12 children who were, with a few exceptions, perfectly spaced two years apart!! My Grandmother even had a baby when she was in her 40’s! Love, attraction and affection were all present in their marriage even though she was not too excited about him at first. I think this is a prime example of good old-fashioned Superabundance!

God love and bless you!

p.s.s. Check out all my posts listed by category here!

7 Quick Takes Friday ~ Vol 80

Posted on June 6, 2014 by theveilofchastity

— 1 — This Week’s Post: Love in DRC ~ Katie’s Mission Trip This was my favorite part:

“They have nothing and yet they have everything. They know what is important in life and focus on the things that matter: God, family, faith, friends, joy! They know how to celebrate – and while I was there we had our fair share of partying, dancing, singing, and celebrating! Mass was never under 3 hours – the opening processional hymn at the Church in the village was almost 20 minutes long! But no one was bored or looking at their watch. They were humbled and grateful to be able to worship their God.”

— 2 — Next Week’s Post: Upon my request, my Mom documented 7 short stories of her family, including the story of how her parents met. My Mom is one of twelve children born to a young couple from Italy who immigrated to the US about 100 years ago. The plan is for me to type up the 7 stories and turn it into a book with photos. Then, the books will be presented to our relatives at our family reunion at the end of July. I am sooooo excited about it! Some stories are difficult to get through without tearing up.

Well, as I was typing up the first story, which is the one about how my Grandparents met, I realized that I could share that story here. So, next week’s guest post will be by my Mom! Oh, but I have to ask her permission first. 🙂

—3 — June 8th: Happy Pentecost Sunday! I have been teasing Gregg that since Pentecost is the same day as my Birthday this year, the Holy Spirit and I are like this (then I cross my fingers like a bff sign)! No, seriously, He really has been speaking to me in a way unlike any other year! Love Him.

— 4 — Not Alone Series: This week’s NAS topic was: One Year Anniversary of the Not Alone Series!!! Year in Review: How has your life changed in the past year? How has this community impacted you? Have fun with this! Fave post? What would you like to see more of?

Oh goodness, I just love these girls. I have spotlighted this series in my 7QTs ever since the first one and reading them each week is my guilty pleasure. Hey, don’t bother me, I am reading the NAS girls’ posts! ha ha

I read all their posts this week and reminisced right along with them on their favorite post and how they have changed as a result of being in the NAS community. Thank you Jen and Morgan for being such amazing hosts! Congratulations and love to all!

You are not broken.
You are not lost.
You are not left behind.

And you are not alone.

— 5 — Jen: My 7QTs may or may not be late next week because I am having lunch with the amazing Jen from Jumping in Puddles!! I am going to give her the biggest hug!

— 6 — Spotlight On: This week’s spotlight is on Brett Elizabeth Wilson for her post over at The Chastity Project called: To The Man Who Won’t Sleep With Me She discusses what can easily be described as a ‘near occasion of sin’ and the reasons to avoid it. Bravo Brett! You can Follow her on her blog, Prodigal Sister ~ A blog for women escaping uncertainty and on Facebook and Twitter! This was the part of her post that I think is good for us to think about:

“IT WAS A CONSOLATION FOR THE MARRIAGE I DIDN’T HAVE.”

— 7 — Switchfoot: We have been rocking out to this song: