St. Bridget of Sweden wrote five inward and five outward things we must have. This wise instruction was given to her by Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Until today, I had never read these words. They are so beautiful, I wanted to pass them along to you. My Bridgy at her...
Dear Friends, The most amazing thing happened to me on November 28. At the ripe old age of 51, I became a grandmother. My firstborn daughter Juliette gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Willow Martin Wareham was named for my late mother, Barbara Martin Elliott....
In early October, blogger Penelope Trunk wrote, "People only tell horrid stories in hindsight." It reminded me of a wonderful poem by the Canadian poet Tanya Davis called Subtlety. You can read all the words here or listen to them below in the video. It's so...
Dear Sully, Once upon a time, there was a famous blogger named Dooce who wrote a letter to her daughter every month for the first five years of her life. Eventually, the letters were turned into a book, which made the already rich and famous blogger even more rich and...
While I was obsessing about things that don't matter, Amy died. Initial reports say she fell in the bathroom. Hit her head. Passed away. I discovered this on Sunday night, hours after her memorial service had already ended. I'd just put the kids to bed and finally...
"Look at this picture I took of us," I said, as I turned my iPhone to Robert and showed him my latest Instagram post. "I didn't know how to caption it, so I didn't write anything." "Write, 'I am not alone,'" he said. "They think you are alone."
Happy Sunday! Here are some beautiful old hymns sung by students from Fountainview Academy, located in southern British Columbia, Canada. I especially love the first one. It's a hymn I sung so many times growing up, I Know Whom I Have Believed. It was sung at Eric's...
Mary Undoer of Knots Pray For Us Mother of fair love, I look to you. Take into your hands the ribbon of my life, and see the snarl of knots that keeps me bound to sin, anxiety, and hopelessness. I beg you, Mother, by your powerful intercession and long fingers of love...
It's Turtle Tuesday, time to talk about the Rosary, motherhood and Generation Z, the Homelander Generation. For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. -- From...
And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten. --Joel 2:25 I've managed to come a long way, even though I've never won very big. Just look at the little girl on the far left in the above news clipping. That's me in 1977, getting recognition for coming...
What Happened To Wearing Veils to Mass? Wearing veils to Mass is a calling, not a mandate. Still, it is a beautiful tradition. On Easter Sunday, my husband Robert and son Sullivan talked Bridgette, our 10-year-old, into wearing her mantilla. (That's another word for a...
In 1972, and at the age of five, I was hospitalized for four days at Queen of the Valley Hospital in West Covina, California. When I awoke from surgery, I was alone in my room and was so sedated, I thought my arm, which I had broken, was a monster. I thought the metal...