Caribbean Elite Guest List Created, Staterooms Decorated

EP--The Caribbean Elite, a new luxury liner catering exclusively to the elite, is being prepared for its maiden voyage on September 27th.

Captain NP, unavailable for comment, is creating the guest list for the first voyage. She has been meeting with various elitists to discuss the cruise, as well as their qualifications for being admitted to the ship. It has been rumored the guest list will need to be finalized by September 26th for the voyage the next day.

The elitists who have met with NP declined to comment on the impending maiden voyage of the controversial luxury liner.

Who Do You Follow?

I read blogs. There are several blogs I read every day (including En Tequila Es Verdad, The Big Stick, Radical Catholic Mom, and Work at Home Mom Revolution). Until recently, my morning virtual routine consisted of checking my email, then checking each of the blogs before going to my Dashboard to add to my own blogs.

Blogger, though, has come out with a really great tool that has streamlined my blog-reading, and allows me to see updates on blogs I read regularly from my Dashboard. Not only that, I can feature followers on my blogs by adding the Following Gadget to my blog layout. (See right.)

I like Followers. Though no one is officially following my blog yet, it will help me see my audience so I can make sure the needs of that audience are being met.

Huzzah, Blogger.

Attacks Hurt Your Own Cause

Imagine you are standing in an open space and two people are walking toward you.

One is running, an angry look on his face, his arms up and ready to attack. The other is walking, a calm look on his face, his arms open and ready to embrace.

Which do you think you'd go to?

Those that have read my blog at all have probably figured out by now that I am a practicing Catholic. I don't hide it. Most of you also probably know I keep a more personal blog that also shows my faith.

I moderate the comments on my personal blog (because it's personal), and today I received an email about a comment awaiting moderation. When I read the comment, I was shocked. It was quite long, and I won't post any of it here (or the source), but the post essentially accused me of being "of the world" instead of being of Christ, and the comment explicitly said that woman is the root of the evils in the world and that I am commanded to be silent, according to the Scriptures.

I deleted the comment and asked the blogger (nicely) not to post comments like that on my blog again. He emailed me and continued his rant, accusing me of being a member of a pagan religion and informing me he'll pray that I "see the light."

I was surprised that, in today's society, people can still be so closed minded that their attempts to bring people to their cause ends up sounding like hate-speak.

I was angry that people think comments like that actually work. Instead of trying to reason with me and share his faith, he attacked my faith and called me evil (not only me, but all women).

When people are attacked like that, they stop listening. And instead of me being interested in what he has to say, I have blocked his email address on my email account, and am completely turned off to his faith. Instead of "winning my soul," he drove me away.

I will pray that he'll realize that instead of sharing a faith of love and forgiveness, he's fostering hate and exclusion.

And I hope you will be the person with arms open for discussion, not raised to attack.

An Untitled Novel

Fay. Gustav. Hanna. Ike. Josephine. I'm so glad I gave up snow.

Writing Shortly

Some time ago, I was tagged by the Progressive Conservative to participate in a meme (originated by bookbabie), during which I wrote my six-word memoir. I came up with something that has become a mantra for me.

Writes often, loves fiercely, drinks coffee.

When I sat down to write this memoir, I think I underestimated how difficult it can be to be sparse. I thought I would write six words, post my memoir, and move on with my life. Unfortunately, it took a while for me to figure out a way to encapsulate myself in just six words.

After writing my memoir as per the meme, I added those six words to the white board in my office space to remind me of who I am and forgot about the meme. Then I was pointed to an article by Jeremy Caplan that made me reconsider my memoir as just one of those things we do online every once in a while.

The guidelines for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) call for a minimum of 50,000 words, but NPR's On the Media hosted a twelve-word-novel contest. Attention spans are shortening. Caplan says:

Short is in. Online Americans, fed up with e-mail overload and blogorrhea, are retreating into micro-writing. Six-word memoirs. Four-word film reviews. Twelve-word novels. Mini-lit is thriving.

I was aware of the six-word memoir prior to reading Caplan's article, but the twelve-word novel was a new one to me. I participated in (and won) NaNo last year with a novel that was a bit over 50,000 words. I'll be participating again this year, but this whole twelve-word-novel thing intrigues me. I think I'll write one (or more). Maybe my publishing career is in twelve-word-novels.

For your entertainment, I'd like to share NPR's top twelve twelve-word-novels (available at the above link) in the order they're found in the transcript.

1. "She hated Ohio. She ran away. She loved the dead jazz musician." By Rudy Jaimes.
2. "Living Abroad," by Marcia Veach. "This is China! This is China? This - is China."
3. "I see now that I have taken lighthouses for granted." By April Kuiper, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
4. "My sister had written Father's obituary. He is survived by one daughter." By Brenda J. Wolfe.
5. "His enormous lottery winnings enabled him to create his own private hell." By Pamela Roeller, Litchfield Park, Arizona.
6. "Louise's love of poodles was overshadowed only by her love of barbecue." By Mark Weaver, Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.
7. "Obituary. First five words free, she thought. Charles dead. Yacht for sale." Angela Stucker, Brooklyn, New York.
8. "In the end, they barely reached Buffalo before finding themselves devastatingly incompatible." By Carol Braun, Garfield Heights, Ohio.
9. "'There are no atheists in foxholes,' said the chaplain, 'so get out.'" Jonathan Swiller, Highland Mills, New York.
10. "Well, I warned her. Chickens do not like to ride in cars." By Jeanine Farrell, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
11. "Got Grandpa's FBI file. Curiosity sated, Pop's backstory regains renewed luster." By Michael Ravnitzky, Silver Spring, Maryland.
12. "Twelve-word novel win changes life. Fame, drugs, adultery, sorrow, tears, blood." By David Hill, New York, New York.

What would your 12-word-novel be? Or your six-word memoir?

The Seven Sacraments Series: Marriage

Last year I had the privilege and joy of being married to my college sweetheart. It was a beautiful ceremony in the campus chapel and officiated by the priest who oversaw my conversion and introduced me to my husband.

Many times, when we think of marriage, we think of weddings and dresses and cakes and rings. Those who have been married may think of all the planning that goes into the ceremony and reception. Families may think of saying goodbye to a child or welcoming a new child into the family.

But marriage is not just the physical elements of the union. In the Church, it is more than that. Scott P. Richert says:

[...M]arriage is more than a natural institution; it was elevated by Christ Himself, in His participation in the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11), to be one of the seven sacraments. A marriage between two Christians, therefore, has a supernatural element as well as a natural one. While few Christians outside of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches regard marriage as a sacrament, the Catholic Church insists that marriage between any two baptized Christians, as long as it is entered into with the intention to contract a true marriage, is a sacrament.

Just as any sacrament in the Church, there are changes that occur for the faithful that bring us closer to the Church and stronger in our relationships with the Lord. About the effect of marriage, Richert says:

The effect of the sacrament is an increase in sanctifying grace for the spouses, a participation in the divine life of God Himself...This sanctifying grace helps each spouse to help the other advance in holiness, and it helps them together to cooperate in God's plan of redemption by raising up children in the Faith. In this way, sacramental marriage is more than a union of a man and a woman; it is, in fact, a type and symbol of the divine union between Christ, the Bridegroom, and His Church, the Bride. As married Christians, open to the creation of new life and committed to our mutual salvation, we participate not only in God's creative act but in the redemptive act of Christ.

While the immediacy of marriage is the union of two people who love each other, marriage goes beyond those two people, and beyond the love and support they receive from each other.

Because the sacrament of marriage involves more than one person, and it's a sacrament that changes the lives of those two people (as well as their children), it should not be taken lightly. In premarital counseling, for example, you are asked to think deeply about what you're doing to make sure you're both entering into the sacrament with willing, open hearts.

Marriage is a beautiful sacrament, and one that is unlike any of the others. Marriage brings two people together in love and faith, and they are bound to each other for the rest of their lives. No matter what happens to them, they can turn to each other for love and support. Even if family and friends turn their backs, spouses are there to stand strong.

What other sacrament can boast mutual love and support from another person for life?

Missions: Reaching Out with Christ's Love

One of the earliest memories I have of the church is listening to families talk about heir work in far off countries as missionaries. They dedicated their lives to serving the Lord and sharing the love of Christ with others.

I have always felt a bit conflicted about missions. I have always been a "show, don't tell" type of person when it comes to my faith, and the idea of going to foreign countries to evangelize seemed to me to be a little more aggressive than I prefer.

On the other hand, Christ told his disciples, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." As Christians, we are disciples, or followers, of Jesus, and so just as Christ charged the twelve disciples during his ministry on earth to evangelize, we too are charged with the same task.

As with all things in the Scriptures, though, there is latitude for interpretation.

Missionaries take Mark 16:15 literally and go all over the world to share the Scriptures with people, urging them to accept Christ as their Savior. They are "fishers of men," bringing people to the Church and building people's relationships with the Lord. They take extra schooling to prepare themselves to be deposited into different cultures, and to help them make connections with strangers in order to develop enough trust to preach to them about their faith and build churches in their communities. They dedicate their lives to building the Kingdom of God because of their interpretation of that verse.

There are others, though, that interpret Mark 16:15 less literally. These disciples see the verse more as a guide for living a Christian life. These are the Christians that share their faith and are happy to discuss it with people, but take a less aggressive approach and let people ask them, or let people see their faith in how they live their lives. These are those that say, "Your walk talks louder than your talk talks." They believe that how they live their lives will impact people's hearts and lives.

I have had heated discussions with friends and family about the interpretation of Mark 16:15. Those that interpret it literally do whatever they can to share the Gospel with anyone and everyone. I was a member of a church for a while that even did monthly "knocking" events with the youth group during which the teens would take their Bibles and knock on the doors of homes in the community to share the Gospel and encourage the residents to attend that particular church that Sunday.

I did not participate in these events not because I was embarrassed to share my faith, but because I felt it was intrusive, and it was not who I am as a Christian. Some people are not comfortable being aggressive in sharing the Gospel with people. And to be honest, I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

Your relationship with the Lord is a personal thing. You are an individual, and ultimately, you are the one that will face God after your death. So don't you think it's important to do what is in your heart to do when it comes to missions and sharing the Gospel?

So "[g]o into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation," but do it the way the Lord leads you to do it.

And peace be with you.

Are You a Martha or a Mary?

There is a parable in the Bible about Martha and Mary, and what happened when Christ visited the sisters. You can read the story in the Scriptures here, but this is the basics of what happened.

Christ visited Martha and Mary. Martha, playing the role of hostess, worked to make the Lord comfortable and ensure he had everything he needed.

Meanwhile, Mary sat with Christ, letting Martha work, and chatted with him. Martha, irritated at being left all the work while Mary had a great conversation with the Lord they both loved, "tattles" on Mary. Martha asks the Lord, "Doesn't it bother you that I'm doing all the work without the help of my sister? Then ask her to help me."

Jesus responds, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

When I first heard this story in Sunday school years ago, I was a little confused at Jesus' response to Martha. Was he making her do the serving on her own because she tattled? Or maybe he liked Mary better?

This story is used as an example of priorities. Martha took on the traditional role of a woman in this culture by serving. Mary, on the other hand, set aside cultural norms to sit at the feet of Jesus. And Jesus tells Martha that Mary has "chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." Mary chose to put Christ first, and that is what is praised in this story. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D. explains Mary's choice well when he says:

Mary thought that the supreme compliment that she could pay to her divine guest, even more than world-class refreshments, was to give him her full attention. [Jesus] had come to her home to nourish, enlighten, and transform her. Not to receive and unwrap this wonderful gift would be an insult to the giver.

Martha, on the other hand, allowed herself to get distracted by all she thought needed to get done in the name of hospitality. That's what happens a lot in today's society. In this "instant gratification" world, we get distracted by what we think we need to do--catch the daily news, email everyone who has emailed us, blog every day--and lose sight of what's really important.

Are you a Martha or a Mary?

Writing Goals for September

There is a lot I would like to accomplish in my writing career, and it's helpful for me to create specific goals and task lists, breaking down my large, long-term goals into smaller steps that can be accomplished as short-term goals. These are my goals for September.

• Complete approximately half of the draft of the coffee house book
• Increase my freelance writing work by 5-10 hours a week
• Research at least one new freelance market to which I can submit
• Look for local writing opportunities
  

Fall Reading List

I did not do as much reading this summer as I expected, so I have some extra reading to do this fall to make up for it. These are the titles I plan to read between September 1 and November 30. They are in no particular order.

• The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It For Life by Twyla Tharp (with Mark Reiter)
• The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor
• Writing to Change the World by Mary Pipher
• Myths to Live By by Joseph Campbell