Please Help Support CatholicMom.com

I've been blessed to be a writer for CatholicMom.com since way back in 2005. CatholicMom.com founder Lisa Hendey was the first person willing to share my work with a wider audience and for that I am forever indebted to her and to CatholicMom.com. In all those years, they have never asked for contributions. It is largely a volunteer effort, with moms like myself writing to encourage other moms in their walk as Catholic parents. But websites of that size do take money to maintain and promote, and for the first time, they are asking for help. Please read Lisa and Danielle Bean's letter below and join me in supporting this worthy effort at https://www.hcfm.org/donate-cm.

Save the Date- October 10, 2018!

Dear CatholicMom.com Subscribers,

I am writing to thank you for your support of CatholicMom.com and invite you to join us for our exciting first-ever Catholic Mom Giving Day which will take place on Wednesday, October 10, 2018, in honor of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary and Venerable Patrick Peyton. CatholicMom.com has been thriving and supporting more moms each month thanks to subscribers like you who share this vital resource with those in need.

Today, more than ever, Moms need access to entertaining and informative resources on everything related to the family, faith, and fun, which is why CatholicMom.com needs your help. On October 10, we will be asking subscribers and friends of CatholicMom.com to donate on this day to support resources such as the weekly Catholic Mom podcast and Sunday Gospel Activities. 100% of proceeds will go directly to our critical programs. All donors will be entered into a giveaway to win exciting prizes, including Catholic Mom books, Catholic toys and magazine subscriptions.

If you believe CatholicMom.com to be a valuable, free resource for the Catholic community, please join us for this special day and help us reach our goal of $5,000 by donating a gift of any size and sharing our campaign with your friends and family. We have already kicked off the campaign by receiving a generous sponsorship from The Word Among Us Press who donated $1,000. It is not too early to give and be entered into the giveaways. Consider donating right now at https://www.hcfm.org/donate-cm.

Families long for unity in their homes and Father Peyton, C.S.C., knew prayer was the answer. In the spirit of Venerable Patrick Peyton, CatholicMom.com provides an array of resources to help families pray together. After all, "The Family that Prays Together Stays Together.” Furthering our mission is more pressing than ever, and we could not do it without your generosity and prayers.

Sincerely in Christ,

Danielle Bean & Lisa Hendey

Help Save Babies! - Take Part in 40 Days for Life!

This Fall's 40 Days for Life starts September 26th and runs through November 4th. There are many ways you can take part. Whether you formally protest outside an abortion clinic, choose to give something up as a sacrifice for the duration, make a financial contribution to your local pro-life pregnancy center, or offer prayers for the cause, every bit helps to change minds and change hearts so that abortion never seems like the only or best option. Every life matters!

Find out more information at 40daysforlife.com

A Catholic Nancy Drew Style Mystery

Do you have a teen who enjoys Nancy Drew style mysteries? If so, she will definitely enjoy Leslea Wahl’s new offering, Where You Lead. Eve has been having strange visions of a boy, Nick, that she has never met in Washington D.C., a city she has never been in. She’s beginning to question her sanity, so she goes to talk to the school nurse, the school counselor, and her parish priest. They all think that she is suffering from being lonely due to her sister going away to school and her best friend moving away, but the priest tells her to pray because God might be leading her to do something.

When her father gets a job offer at Georgetown, Eve encourages him to jump at the opportunity. When her family starts their new life in the nation’s capital, she sees the boy from her dreams on television. As it turns out, he is the oldest son of a new senator. She goes on a mission to find him. Not surprisingly, he thinks she might be a stalker, but life conspires to bring them together on more than one occasion. 

While Eve is convinced that Nick is literally the boy of her dreams in a romantic sense, it soon becomes clear that God has something more than just romance in store for them. They become involved in a search for missing Confederate gold as well as international affairs with the Endelbourg Embassy. Their exploits take them on a tour of Washington D.C. and put them in peril on more than one occasion. 

Where You Lead is a fast-moving faith-filled romp with a touch of romance —a highly enjoyable read for both teens and adults.  

Rethink Your Relationship with Stuff

Haley Stewart and her husband Daniel made the decision to move with their three young children from a cozy house in the suburbs to a 650 sq. ft. apartment with no flushing toilet on a working farm in central Texas for a year. In The Grace of Enough: Pursuing Less and Living More in a Throwaway Culture, she shares the lessons learned through that family adventure. As Brandon Vogt states in the Foreword, “Haley and her family model what it looks like for a modern family to live an intentional, radical Gospel lifestyle.”

Does what you buy make you happy? The world tells us that “happiness is within our grasp if we can only buy enough, acquire enough, achieve enough.” Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we will acknowledge that those things may bring momentary satisfaction, but don’t lead to lasting happiness. 

For the record, Stewart does not advocate that everyone should move to the country to live off the land. What she does argue for is living an intentional lifestyle, one in which the truly important aspects of life are prioritized.

Some of those aspects are family togetherness, embracing simplicity, nurturing a love for the Lord, rediscovering beauty, making home a priority, eating leisurely meals with friends, extending holy hospitality, rebuilding our communities, using the internet for good, and choosing hope in a dark world.

Each chapter ends with practical ways to find “the grace of enough” in our own lives, regardless of our circumstances. A collection of reflection questions are useful for private or group use. 

While The Grace of Enough is primarily aimed at the millennial generation, those of any age can benefit by reflecting on one’s relationship with stuff, with other people, and with the environment.