Filling Our Catholic Tank

Wow. Amazing. I am overwhelmed by these two weekends. Last weekend was the Catholic homeschooling conference and this weekend was "Ignite Pure Explosion" youth day. 


Every so often it feels good to just revel in our Catholic faith. To celebrate, enjoy, share, be inspired, ... the image that comes to mind is a picture of my son in the snow where he is just rolling around in and covering himself in it. I feel completely submersed in my Catholic faith.

My 14yo son and I just arrived home from the youth day. I feel so privileged to have been there. My husband was going to go, but he had a particularly tough week, so he passed the job to me. While I can see how my son might have preferred a father/son outing, I just loved every minute of today. 


First we got to go out to breakfast just the two of us. A rare treat indeed. And then we listened to some fantastic speakers, watched some moving skits, and heard some great Catholic music while surrounded by hundreds (I think more than 500) young people!! 

For me, it was great to go to a conference where the central focus was about knowing, loving, and serving God. And how much God loves and cares for each of us. The basics, but they are not always easy basics. Father Augustino Torres spoke about some of the hard truths of the world in which we live. He also spoke of our "Catholic" response to those truths. Chris Stephanick brought perhaps a more parental view to the table- but a very cool parental view.

Paul had a great time too. He admitted being rather reluctant to go, but was pretty happily surprised at how fun and interesting it was. When pressed to share a thought on the day, he had a hard time coming up with something. He did say that he liked Father Augustino's skit using different hats (including a Darth Vader mask)- each hat represented a point of view that different people have about who Jesus is. His final "hat" was a crown of thorns (the only hat that he did not actually put on his head), showing us who Jesus really is. 

The smudges on Paul's t-shirt are actually signatures written with sharpie pen. The kids in our group ran around and asked people to sign their name on the shirts in order to pray for them. It was a nice way for them to meet others and got a positive response. 

http://www.corazonpuro.org/?q=HomePage (Father Augustino Torres)
http://realifecatholic.com/ (Chris Stephanick)

Last weekend, I attended the Catholic Homeschool Conference in Santa Clara, California. Two of the main speakers were Laura Berquist and Ginny Seuffert. Now these two ladies have some serious Catholic homeschool super powers! Although, much of both talks could have spoken to any parent- not just homeschool parents.

Laura is infused with the joy of homeschooling. She sort of reminds me of a women who tells her birth story after the labor pains. She has gone through those hours of agony yet nothing of the bitterness is left- just the pure joy in having that precious little one in her arms. Laura has "birthed" her children into the world, and the sweetness is all that is left. Her voice, her mannerisms, and every word she spoke was an encouragement for the long haul. 


There are many nitty gritty details that I could share, but the one that is still ringing in my head is "tell your children that you love them". We spend every day all day with our children- of course we love them! But take the time to look them in the eye and tell them! Don't get too caught up in the daily grind and forget to do that. I think some of her talk is based on her book, Teaching Tips and Techniques. 

Ginny's talk was based on her book, Home Management Essentials. These types talks can be discouraging to me. A well kept home is important to me, but I find myself falling short of many of the proclaimed ideals out there. Ginny made a good case for keeping a sane (not spotless) home without making it sound like an unreachable goal. She pointed out that for those of us who have chosen the home as our "mission field", it is our home that is often going to speak to people about the joys of our faith and family. When someone (our children included) comes in to a home that is well kept enough to walk in and take a comfy seat on the couch and sees the picture of Mary along with a crucifix hanging on the wall, they are going to see our crazy Catholic family as a beautiful thing (or at least they might). 


Her other strong point was that many of us have too much stuff! An uncluttered home is much easier to keep up. I am with her on that one. 


I am not saying this very well, but you can follow the link to her book. I plan to order a few copies to share with others.