7 Quick Takes Friday

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I'm furious about the Supreme Court's decision. I will say that, as one commentator pointed out, the dissenting opinion reads as a majority opinion, which means that Chief Justice Roberts may have changed his decision near the end of everything.

Photo source

I can't even write about it because I'm so frustrated. Perhaps that is a victory for evil, I don't know. I'm going to focus on praying about it for now and leave the blogging to more eloquent writers out there.

In the words of Thomas Sowell, "It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it." (Not to mention that the federal government can now force anyone to buy anything whenever it deems necessary.)

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On to happier news! My brother Jim is the co-founder of The Gentleman Outfit, a great acoustic rock band out of Boston. They've just released their first album -- "Fighting for Light" -- and it's available on iTunes! If you love great music, if you like to dance, if you appreciate actual musical talent, check them out. Trust me, you won't regret it! Check out their website and find them on YouTube. If you're in the Boston area you're lucky because you can check out one of their live shows!

My brother is the one playing the djembe. The Gentleman Outfit started off playing covers and they still do (TGO versions are better!) but their album is completely original and written by them, plus they have a full band for the album.

Give this a listen:

I'm so proud of you Jim. :)

--- 3 ---

At the end of Easter Mass, our church gave copies of Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly to anyone who wanted one. I love reading about our faith, so we took a copy for our family. If you want to learn the basics of what Catholicism actually is about, if you're searching and want something to read but aren't ready for the highly theological, if you want to bolster your faith, give this book a chance.


I just finished it a few days ago and I wanted to share something beautiful from it:

But this walking humbly with God is difficult. To achieve it, it is essential that we acquire the habits of recollection and self-possession. Let me use another illustration to further our understanding of this point. How hard is it to walk humbly with God? It is as if I lit a candle and gave it to you to hold, and told you to take it everwhere you go and never let it be blown out. You would have to protect it, wouldn't you? You would have to move slowly, thoughtfully, and deliberately. It would require conscious living: thoughts, words, and actions that spring from an awareness of who we are and what we are here for. 

This is what is required to walk humbly with God. The candle is within you. When you have learned to carry and protect it, then you will be able to live justly -- to choose what is good, just, true, and noble in every situation -- and love tenderly.

The candle is within you. Protect it. Don't let the world blow it out.

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I'll be doing a whole post about this soon, but I wanted to mention that I've been reading Holly Pierlot's A Mother's Rule of Life: How to Bring Order to Your Home and Peace to Your Soul. Oh. My. Goodness. This book is heaven-sent for sure. I've been struggling with some things lately and everything I keep reading is so encouraging! The basic idea is that just as those in religious life have a Rule they live by which corresponds to their vocation, married people and mothers need one too. Now, lest you get put off by the word Rule, I can tell you that simply reading about this Rule has already given me a feeling of freedom. More on this in a post to come.

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Another TGO video (this is one of their original songs), because they rock:

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I'm excited to hang out with my new doula friends tonight -- game night here I come!

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Well, that was only six quick takes, but oh well. For more visit Jen. Have a great weekend everyone!