A Summer Meditation

Summer Speaks

Here I am surrounded by trees filled with fruit, gardens filling up with ripening vegetables, flower beds in the prime of their life. This is my gift to those who embrace my warm, nurturing breath. I observe people basking in the radiant sunshine. They are enjoying the leisurely mood I have provided for them. As I become aware of their summer playfulness, I am content. I glory in the quality of life that has emerged from the abundance of my sun-saturated season. I have a passion for growth.

It has been a joy to watch you grow, also. From the moment you were conceived to the present moment, your life has been changing. Cycle upon cycle of growth has passed through your days- so much life, so much death. The cycle goes on. I long for you to embrace each new growing season. I want you to experience the passion of abundant life. Between the rising and the setting sun you live the seasons of your life.

Be attentive to my fruitfulness. Listen to my growing and continue to reflect on your own potential for growth. There is a fruitfulness about your life that you’ve not fully discovered. Implant your roots deep into your heart’s good soil where a treasure of nourishment waits for you. The roots of all that grows and thrives in my season have gone down deep searching for streams of water to assist their growth. You must do the same if you are to ripen and mature. Reach for that which will help you develop into a mature summer person with purpose and strength.

Reflect on your roots. They keep you grounded. Give them an image and call them by name: hope, faith, patience, joy, enthusiasm, gratitude, determination, endurance. Add others to this list. Envision these good roots spreading through your good soil, enabling your summer-like growth.

Believe in your root system. You have growing power in you. Enjoy the process. Let the roots of your growth reach out to the world on lovely greening tendrils. Play a little each day in the fields of your life. Enter into the abundance of the summer within you and around you. Be attentive. Use your five senses to help you live fully.

Ponder these questions and live slowly into the answers.

• How would you describe the fruitfulness of your life?
• Who or what is a source of growth for you?
• When are you most able to acknowledge your fruitfulness and taste its truth?
• In this season of abundance what is ripening in you?
• As you sit in the lap of summer is there any piece of growing that needs your attention?
• What are the names you would give to your central root system?
• If you were to choose a scripture passage that would be a summer text for you, what would it be?

Taken from The Circle of Life 2005, by Joyce Rupp and Macrina Wiederkehr. Used by permission of Ave Maria Press. All rights reserved.

Making Room for God

After my last two pregnancies, I have suffered from postpartum depression. I did not realize that is what was happening to me- I thought that it was SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder. I did not take any medication the first time around, and I refused to take medication this last time, which was not a good decision. But I was nursing, and my baby’s health was very important to me, even more than my own.

My mood really effected everyone in the family, in a negative way. I was irritable, angry, short-tempered, not motivated to do anything, and just depressed. Last summer, I would go through waves of depression that lasted about three days at a time. It was not fun at all- it was more like debilitating, I felt frozen, even zombie-like.

A year and a half ago (before that last depression), my husband and I were blessed with a rather large check, so we spruced up our house, and reorganized everything. We painted the house from top to bottom, got new bedding, new (gently used) furniture for all of the bedrooms, new carpet for the upstairs, new area rugs for the downstairs, new (gently used) dining room table and buffet, new (gently used) couch, refinished the kitchen floor, and even had a radiator cover made for the most ugly radiator in the kitchen. I cannot even tell you how good it felt to get all of that done!

But then the depression came, and ruined everything! Now my house is full of clutter (mostly clothes and paper), the walls are full of fingerprints, artwork in various mediums, including permanent marker, as well as some holes where the plaster has chipped away- I am sure that those holes had a little help from some of my resident “carpenters”. The basement is full of out of season clothes, which are totally disorganized, along with boxes full of homeschooling books which we are not using anymore, as we have put our kids in our parish school. Our house looks sad now- it sort of reminds me of the book by Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House (that is one of my favorite children’s books, maybe I will read it to the kids today since that book has come to my mind).

I am not happy about it, but I am on medication, in anticipation of postpartum depression, again. I am hopeful that I will be able to continue to function normally after the baby is born, and be a good, happy mom to all of my children. They cannot have a depressed mom again!

In the past 6+ months, I have been looking at my home, hating how awful it has become, wanting to fix it, yet at the same time feeling totally overwhelmed at the thought of where to start and how long it will take to get it done! So, I mostly have done nothing, butI have a goal of getting my entire house decluttered and organized again, before the baby arrives in August- it is not optional, it must get done.

So, in the spirit of leading by example (especially the month of June, as the focus of the month is teaching our children the value of responibility), the desire for peace, order and beauty back in my home, and further inspired by a book that I picked up at a moms spiritual retreat that I recently attended, I am on a mission!

I have been working hard on decluttering and organizing. I have bagged and donated clothes and toys- probably about 2 dozen trash bags worth. I have made a lot of progress, and it feels good to get it done, but I sure have a long way to go! It is amazing to me how quickly the clutter and disorganization got out of control! Although, I suppose that I should not be that surprised, as we do have 6 children.

Here are a few before and after pictures of the girls’ bedroom:

Wow! I had forgotten how awful their room had gotten! I still cannot believe that I let it get that bad! This is a great visual reminder of how I never, ever want to be depressed again!

Ahhh- now that is much, much better! I can feel the peace and order beaming from their room now.

I even had a little fun dressing all of the baby dolls, and placing them on their beds. The girls were so pleased when they walked into their newly cleaned and organized room!

Some helpful resources:

Now, I am completely aware that there are a bazillion resources on home organization. You have probably read many books, and visited many websites, as I have. So, I will keep my recommendations simple.

The book that I am currently reading is Make Room for God, which I got at a moms retreat that I attended recently. It is very easy to read, and I really like how she relates clearing out the clutter in every aspect of our lives, to becoming stronger, healthier and more spiritually cleansed- with plenty of room for God. I suppose I never thought of the many types of clutter in my life interfering with my relationship with God. This is a new concept for me, and I am enjoying exploring it. Click on the book to read a summary of it, as well as read a sample chapter.

This little gem is a free, downloadable book, written by a Catholic homeschooling mom. Catholic Heritage Curricula has is available on their website. I have not gone through the whole book, but I am sure that someone will find this resource very helpful. Click on the book to download your copy.

A few years back, when Flylady was new and popular, I tried out her system. While it was very organized and useful, I was not able to hold myself accountable everydayto do all of the tasks. I admit it, I am a Flylady flunkie! I recently found some other fellow flunkies, and women who prefer a slower,

simpler approach over at Home Sanctuary. Rachel Anne’s theme for the year is Sanctuary is in the Small Things- creating peace, order and beauty. She posts small, 5 minute or so tasks each day to be completed. If you complete the day’s task, you are able to award yourself the designated points. At the end of the month, whoever has the most points wins a prize- that is some nice motivation! She even provides a pretty tally sheet each month for all to download. Click on the sanctuary picture to visit her blog to learn more, and join in as one of her Company Girls.

A Mother’s Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul- I love this book! This quote sums it up perfectly: “What I love about A Mother’s Rule of Life is that it’s more than just a practical guide to living a Christian life. The Rule is based on the very definition of the vocation of Motherhood and it’s own specific call to holiness. I feel like the book sets a framework for Christian motherhood that is both theological and practical and speaks to my very needs as a mother.”

Please visit Holly’s blog, it is full of great, great information and inspiration- you can even ask her questions, which she graciously answers!

Well, I hope that I have offered some information that you have found useful. I am just enjoying the journey of creating peace, order, and beauty in my home in an effort to create a sanctuary for my family, and make plenty of room for God- I think that is a wonderful act of benevolence!

Mother’s Day Coupon Book

 

Here is a fun, easy project, that I wanted to share with you. This is something that you can do with your children, all in enough time before Mother’s Day. Whether redeemable for a car wash, breakfast in bed, or a luxurious day of pampering, coupons make memorable gifts allow Mom to savor the splendors of Mother’s Day long after the holiday has passed.
Materials Needed:

Card stock
Scissors
Hole Punch
Ribbon

Steps to complete project:

1. Download (pdf), and print our coupon template onto card stock.
2. Cut out the coupons.
3. Customize blank coupons.
4. Pick the coupons you would like to include in your book.
5. Bind the coupons together: Stack coupons on top of one another, and using a hole punch, make two holes in the stack. Thread and tie a 1/4-inch-wide piece of ribbon to bind the book.

The coupon book is a great way to promote benevolence in your children, and in your home. Have fun working on this project, and a Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms!!!