Inspiration break

Here's an excerpt from my book: Catholic Prayer Book for Mothers (OSV, 2005) for a little motherly inspiration today:

Dear Lord Jesus, help me to see how much I influence other lives through my own life. These human beings, the gift of children You have given me, are totally dependent on me from even before they came into this world, and because of a mother's love, even continue to be dependent in some ways as adults. Please grant me the graces I most need as a mother of my children. Help me to be the prayerful and loving example I should be. I pray for insight, wisdom, strength and patience to love and nurture my little ones with holiness. Thank You for the incredible gift of life!

The Solemnity of St. Peter and St. Paul

My friend, Fr. James gives us some words to ponder today...

"Todays' solemnity directs our gaze to Rome, the center of Catholicism. As Catholics, our identity, meaning, and direction only have fulfillment in so far as we are united to the Vicar of Christ, the visible head of the Church. The challenging times that we live in provides countless opportunities to be heroically faithful to the Magisterium of the Church.

In order to continue his work on earth and lead all peoples to eternal salvation, Jesus established one visible and hierarchical Church. It is very clear from the continual preparation of the Jewish people in the Old Testament and then with the precise act of Jesus in Cesarea Philippi, that God willed to found one Church as a visible, hierarchical, living, and continuing authority, to teach, govern, and sanctify in his name. It is no less clear that Jesus appointed the Apostle Simon the fisherman as the visible head of his Church. Even as he conferred the authority, Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter; i.e. rock. The name Peter had never existed prior to this divine event in Cesarea Philippi.

'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.' (Matthew 16: 17-19).

Throughout biblical history, when God called someone for a particular mission, he usually changed the name of the person called. The changed name denoted the mission of the particular individual and a change in that person’s destiny..... (Continued here)

Health and exercise: Another approach

So many of us are concerned about our health - what we eat, how we exercise. I thought I'd pass on some valuable information to all of you today. Perhaps this doctor's expert opinion will help ease your minds about your own routines and regimes.

Here's the Q & A that I received this morning...


Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is
this true?

A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't
waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up
your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can
extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer?
Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?

A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay
and corn. And what are these? Vegetables.. So a steak is nothing
more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your
system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of
field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give
you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?

A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled
wine, which means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get
even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain.
Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?

A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one.
If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular
exercise program?

A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No
Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you? A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!! .....
Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're
permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the
middle?

A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You
should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?

A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the
best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important20for my lifestyle?

A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had
about food and diets.

And remember:

'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to
skid in sideways - Chardonnay in one hand - chocolate in the other -
body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO,
What a Ride'

AND.....(this addresses mostly the Americans)

For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on
nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those
conflicting nutritional studies.

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than
Americans.

2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than
Americans.

3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart
attacks than Americans.

4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks
than Americans.

5. The Germans drink a lot of beers and eat lots of sausages and
fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

CONCLUSION

Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills
you.

*******

Thanks for allowing me to "pull the wool over your eyes" for about half a minute there! We have to lighten up and have some fun once in awhile, right?

Have a BLESSED day!

hugs,

Donna-Marie

Purity in the Catholic Classroom?

Go on over to my Embracing Motherhood blog to read the post about purity in the Catholic classroom. Please chime in and support this new blog created by a concerned Catholic mother.

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Slipping into summertime with prayer...

Keeping Prayer in Summer: A Mother's Strategy

Just the thought of summer fast-approaching could bring thoughts of rest and relaxation to mind. We may recall the lazy days of summer during our youth. Summer may also mean anticipated excitement and adventure: exploring new places or trying new things.

Some families plan escapes to beaches and paradise vacations, while others may stay home and plan day trips to fun spots, the local library, or parks and recreation centers.

Summertime can be a time of well-deserved rest and also a welcome change of scenery. While making plans for our families this summer, let’s not forget about prayer. A change in schedule once we hit summertime and an eagerness to “get away from it all” could cause us to lose touch with our spiritual needs.

Prayer Strategies

One strategy to help us remain prayerful this summer is to begin each day with prayer. This simple suggestion may seem like a no-brainer to a praying individual; however the busyness of mornings and preparations for summer outings of even the well intentioned “pray-ers” can cause prayer time to become lost in the commotion.

Getting on our knees when we face each new day and giving it right over to the Lord will indeed start the day off with the proper disposition. Mothers should teach their children to do the same. A morning offering in our own words or a more formal version and prayer to our Guardian Angels at the breakfast table works very well with our captive hungry “audience!” We can offer our hearts to God throughout our days as well. Teaching our children to begin their days with prayer is an invaluable lesson that will remain with them as they grow older and navigate life on their own. Pope John Paul II emphasized the importance of family prayer

When making plans for family trips, perhaps we can think about including shrines, basilicas, and holy places in our trips. When researching places of interest for our family this summer, we can utilize the many Catholic magazines, newspapers, and websites that often highlight interesting places for pilgrimages and visits. We can attempt to attain that nice balance of nourishment for our family’s spiritual life and fun and enjoyment to relax and entertain our senses.

Summer travel affords us many opportunities for prayer. Prayers such as the rosary can be said in common in the family vehicle en route to a vacation spot or while traveling to the beach, park, or picnic area for day trips. Each child can voice a prayer of petition about something that is close to their hearts and offer prayers of thanksgiving for God’s gifts — including family time together. Naturally, we will want to ask our good Lord for His protection over our family as we travel.

Turning the Negative Around

Annoyances and inconveniences can crop up at any time. Summer doesn’t automatically translate into bliss. However, the traffic jams, whiny children, bug bites, sunburn, or unexpected delays and mishaps can be turned around and used for good. We have a perfect opportunity to “offer it up” to God and ask Him to use a small sacrifice or inconvenience on our part for the good of others, rather than allowing the situation to cause us to become annoyed or angry. Let’s keep our cool and turn to prayer. We can ask our Lord to use our sufferings for the souls in purgatory so that they can get to Heaven a little faster.

The late Rev. John A. Hardon, SJ, a world renowned theologian and author and my former spiritual director, said in his book, Theology of Prayer (The Daughters of St. Paul, 1979), “When I suffer prayerfully, I recognize that God is behind the suffering and I humble my head in faith… when I suffer prayerfully, I trust that God has reasons for permitting what I endure and that in His own time and way, the experience now suffered will eventually somehow be a source of grace.”

These prayer times are not only spiritually enriching and gifts for the recipient, they also become beautiful teachable moments, pointing our children to patience and thinking of others during trials, helping them turn to prayer rather than allow a negative situation to get the best of them.

Whatever your family plans may be this summer, be sure to have fun, enjoy, and offer your joyful heart to the Lord! Your example of prayer throughout the summer days will inspire your family and others that God puts in your midst. Have a happy and holy summer!

(This was published at Catholic Exchange last summer.)

So, what are your summer plans? Please share with us!

hugs,

Donna-Marie

Moms under pressure and transformation with prayer...

Some time ago, I discussed sith my friend Teresa Tomeo, some of the pressures that are heaped upon Moms these days and also some prayer strategies on our Mom's Corner segment on "Catholic Connection" (Ave Maria Radio and aired through EWTN). In case you didn't catch the segment, You can listen right here today or any time that you have a few minutes.

What are your strategies? How do you fit prayer into your lives? What do you do to combat the pressures of the culture aimed at women? Please share your ideas and strategies for prayer with all of us. I will look forward to hearing from you!

May God bless your day!

hugs,

Donna-Marie

Happy Father's Day!

Happy and blessed day to all of the fathers out there and all who are in a father role. Let's not forget about our priests!

Dear St. Joseph, please look down upon fathers and priests everywhere today and always! Amen.

God bless your day! May it be filled with family fun and togetherness. :)

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

Happy Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

As Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta taught me, "Mary, Mother of Jesus, be a Mother to me now."

May you all have a BLESSED day, basking in our Mother's goodness and blessings!

hugs,

Donna-Marie

Happy Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus!

Happy feast day! It's a tremendous and glorious occasion! I hope you can get to holy Mass!

Here's an article at Catholic Exchange today by Patti Armstrong about the Sacred Heart of Jesus and enthronement of homes:

"Monsignor John Esseff is on a mission from God. He hopes to have the Sacred Heart of Jesus enthroned as King of the entire world, family by family, church by church, dioceses by diocese…country by country. Accompanied by other priests, he is now embarking on a tour to meet with cardinals worldwide to solicit their support to develop an official plan within the Catholic Church to enthrone Jesus as the King of our world and present this plan to the Pope. This may sound idealistic, but with so many friends in high places, my money is on Monsignor. Oh, and by the way, this ambitious plan includes everyone, even Osama bin Laden.

Who is this priest and what is he thinking? Msgr. John Esseff is a Roman Catholic priest of Lebanese decent based in the Diocese of Scranton, PA. He lived in Lebanon from 1984 to 1986 serving as head of the Pontifical Mission. This is a Catholic organization which directly assists the Pope in bringing the good news to the world, especially to the poor. While there, Msgr. Esseff experienced the terror and threat of radical fundamentalist Islam, even seeing innocent children blown apart in a car bomb. He was a friend to Mother Teresa who asked him to give retreats to the Sisters of Charity, which he continues to do. He met Padre Pio who became a spiritual father to him. Msgr. Esseff also provides spiritual formation to seminarians across the country..." (Continued here.)

The Year of the Priest starts today

Washington D.C., Jun 9, 2009 / 01:18 am (CNA).- The U.S. bishops’ conference has set up a website to help mark the Year for Priests by providing prayers and other resources.

Pope Benedict XVI designated the Year to begin on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, June 19. His announcement also designated St. John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, as the Universal Patron of All Priests. According to a press release from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Secretariat for Clergy, Consecrated Life and Vocations has set up a website in service of the year’s theme.

“Please pray for our priests that they might always be faithful to their sacred calling,” the site says.

The site includes Pope Benedict’s message for the Year of Priests and the announcement of the celebration’s plenary indulgence in English and Spanish. It also provides prayers for both priests and laity in PDF format so that they may be downloaded and printed for diocesan and parochial use.

The Secretariat plans to provide monthly articles by prominent Catholic women who will write about their “faith and trust” in the priesthood.

Other activities for the Year of Priests include a gathering of priests in Rome as well as a retreat on the national level. Information on the retreat will also be provided through the website, which is located at http://www.usccb.org/yearforpriests/index.shtml

Plenary Indulgences and the Year of the Priest

Plenary Indulgence Offered for Year for Priests -
Jubilee Marks 150 Years Since Death of Curé de Ars

VATICAN CITY, - The Vatican is offering a plenary indulgence for all faithful on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which is set to begin June 19 and last one year.

The decree was made public and signed by Cardinal James Francis Stafford and Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, respectively penitentiary major and regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary.

The Year for Priests marks the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean Marie Vianney, also known as the Curé de Ars.

The decree noted that Benedict XVI will preside at the opening liturgy June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, "a day of priestly sanctification." He will celebrate vespers before the relics of the saint, brought to Rome for the occasion by the bishop of the French Diocese of Belley-Ars.

The Year will end in St. Peter's Square, in the presence of priests from all over the world "who will renew their faithfulness to Christ and their bonds of fraternity."

For priests, the plenary indulgence can be gained by praying lauds or vespers before the Blessed Sacrament exposed to public adoration or in the tabernacle. They must also "offer themselves with a ready and generous heart for the celebration of the sacraments, especially the sacrament of penance."

The plenary indulgence, which under current norms must be accompanied by sacramental confession, the Eucharist and praying for the intentions of the Pope, can also by applied to deceased priests.

Priests are granted a partial indulgence, also applicable to deceased priests, every time they "devotedly recite the prayers duly approved to lead a saintly life and to carry out the duties entrusted to them."

For the faithful, a plenary indulgence can be obtained on the opening and closing days of the Year for Priests, on the 150th anniversary of the death of St. Jean-Marie Vianney, on the first Thursday of the month, or on any other day established by the ordinaries of particular places for the good of the faithful.

To obtain the indulgence the faithful must attend Mass in an oratory or Church and offer prayers to "Jesus Christ, supreme and eternal Priest, for the priests of the Church, or perform any good work to sanctify and mould them to his heart."

The conditions for the faithful for earning a plenary indulgence are to have gone to confession and prayed for the intentions of the Pope.

The elderly, the sick, and all those who for any legitimate reason are unable to leave their homes may obtain the plenary indulgence if, with the intention of observing the usual three conditions as soon as they can, "on the days concerned, they pray for the sanctification of priests and offer their sickness and suffering to God through Mary, Queen of the Apostles."

A partial indulgence is offered to the faithful when they repeat five times the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be, or any other duly approved prayer "in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to ask that priests maintain purity and sanctity of life."

The Year of the Priest

Tomorrow on the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus feast we begin the Year of the Priest. Go on over to my blog: Daily Donna-Marie to read more.

Mothers will be saved through mothering...

Jennifer is delighted at what she came across in her Bible last night. She said, "I read something cool in my Bible last night: 'But she will be saved through motherhood, provided women persevere in faith and love and holiness, with self control' (1 Tim 2:15). (If that's not inspiring!!!) ♥"

Yes, Jennifer, it is totally inspiring and I think we have to shout it from the rooftops!

My version of the Bible (one of them) which is the NRSV Catholic Edition reads, "Yet she will be saved through childbearing, provided they continue in faith and love and holiness, with modesty."

While that verse in First Timothy is quite a mouthful, especially if you take it word for word and really ponder it; these words should soothe our mother's hearts. Whether we bear children biologically or lovingly accept them through adoption, our vocation of motherhood is the means to our sanctification and the sanctification of our families. I spoke about this very thing at the retreat I gave in Corpus Christi this past week end.

What ways do you feel that God is working within your mothering?

I hope I hear from you! :)

God bless and hugs,

Donna-Marie

Corpus Christi Retreat

(Pictured here with Fr. James and my daughter, Mary-Catherine)

The people in Corpus Christi are among the most hospitable people I have ever met. They welcomed my daughter, Mary-Catherine and me with open arms. We had a lovely and grace-filled time there. I was very cognizant of the fact that Our dear Lord had me there in Corpus Christi on the feast of Corpus Christi, which I thought was pretty cool.

It was also wonderful to meet some of the women that I had been corresponding with for some time and to see my friend, Fr. James again. We were able to participate in two of his Masses, including a high Mass on the feast day. God is so good!

I gave two talks - one on a mother's call to holiness and the other on carving out time for prayer amid the busyness of a Mom's life. We had a Q & A, an activity, and meals together. My daughter and I fit right in with this lovely bunch of Catholics - "serious Catholics" as Fr. James calls them. It was very tough to leave when the time came. But, I'll be back, I'm sure. :) We are already discussing future plans.

By God's grace, amazing things always happen at these events. Catholic womanly camaraderie is powerful! God is so good to us and His love is MIRACULOUS!

Here's a photo of me with some of the women who call themselves the "Graceful Gals" who did a study of my book, The Domestic Church: Room by Room. I found out that three studies were done by three separate groups in Corpus Christi. I'll have to see if I can get other photos of the other groups.


Right after the retreat day, my daughter and I were escorted off to the beach for a quick walk on the sand and to feel the breeze and smell the salt air. Here I am with Ada on the left and Nury on the right. We all became fast friends from the moment we met at the airport.


(Wow, I look exhausted in this photo - that's what lack of sleep and traveling will do to you. :) Oh yeah, it was about 100 degrees too!)

We were blessed the following day after a extraordinarily beautiful Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi to go to Padre beach (I think it's called) to have a bit of time to walk the beach and take in it's beauty. I'm sorry that I don't have photos of that beautiful day.

My book is the "Book Pick" at the National Catholic Register

My book, Grace Cafe: Serving up Recipes for Faithful Mothering was chosen as the "Book Pick" by the National Catholic Register this week...

A Casual Encounter With Grace

BY Father Walter Schu, LC

June 14-20, 2009 Issue | Posted 6/5/09 at 10:05 AM

"Grace Café is an aptly titled book. How does one discover grace — that sublime reality so distant from most people’s vocabulary today and, sadly, so often absent from their lives?

Within these pages, seasoned author Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle makes that elusive encounter with grace seem as casual and natural as a mid-morning rendezvous with an old friend at the local café.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky once said, “Beauty will save the world.” If that is true, then Grace Café — addressed specifically to mothers — could bring many mothers one step closer to salvation.

Even, and especially, in the midst of the daily trials of raising a family, such as being confronted with a steadily growing mountain of unfolded clothes, the beauty of motherhood alights from the page to capture hearts...." (Go to Embracing Motherhood for entire review)

(National Catholic Register)

My Retreat in Corpus Christi, Texas

The week end was a whirlwind of grace! I traveled to Corpus Christi, Texas on Friday with my daughter to give a retreat to a wonderful parish - St. Helena of the True Cross Catholic Church.

To start off, the flights got messed up on Friday due to the plane sitting on the runway (with us in it) for an hour and a half before take off. We reached Washington DC just as our connecting flight was about to take off. I ran right to a desk and told the gentleman there that we had to get on "THAT plane!" as I pointed out the window behind him.

"Last names?" he inquired. And then he clicked away at his computer keys without saying a word. We waited. I thought he was putting in an urgent word to hold the plane for us. Unfortunately, no. I tried my best to get them to allow us on the plane due to their problems with the flight in NY, but to no avail.

"I can maybe get one of you there and the other sometime tomorrow," he said without looking up from his computer as he continued to click away looking for other options.

I told him that was not acceptable since I wouldn't leave my daughter behind or send her ahead.

"I can sent you back to NY" and then he proceeded to tell us the 4 more flights or so to get us to our final destination at some point around midnight.

I told him that I didn't want to go back to NY and there must be something else.

He said there wasn't anything else and he could at that point only put us both on standby in Atlanta with the hope that we would get a flight to San Antonio and then catch our ride that was waiting there to take us to Corpus Christi. If we couldn't get on a plane that day, we would have to stay some place overnight and get a flight the following day. The problem with that scenario was that Mass was at 8:30 AM to begin the retreat, followed by breakfast and then my first talk. We might not get there until late afternoon according to the airline guy who was assisting us.

My daughter and I prayed and got word to our Corpus Christi hosts and hostesses about our dilemma asking them to pray even harder! We found out that we could run and get on a flight that was just about to leave for Atlanta so we had to make the decision immediately to go that route and rushed and got onto that plane.

We didn't have much of a choice. After arriving in Atlanta we had at least a couple of hours until we could see about getting on the next flight to San Antonio. We found the people at that airport to be much more challenging to work with.

Another hour went by and we prayed. Everyone around us of the 43 "stand bys" compared notes and looked up at the monitor to see where they stood in the line to be picked for that flight which was said to be over-booked anyway. Mary-Catherine's name and mine were the top 2 on the list! Praise God! Still, we waited and prayed many Hail Mary's and Memorares. I was then told that my seat was confirmed. I expressed to the woman at the desk that I could not go without my daughter. She said that we wouldn't know if she could get on until everyone boarded the plane. I told her that we would be praying.

She said, "Well, you had BETTER START NOW!" To which I responded, "We have already started!"

All of the "stand by" people waited and hoped to get on that plane. The woman then called me over to stand on the side ready to board. Of course, I wouldn't get on until I was sure my daughter could also. I'd give my seat to the next in line.

It turned out that the were three seats open. But, just after she announced that, people who had confirmed seats came out of nowhere to get on the plane after the announcement had already been made three times for final boarding time! We continued our Hail Mary's and Memorares.

Finally, the woman looked at Mary-Catherine and called her over and checked her through! Praise God! We then boarded the plane and were off to San Antonio! It was our third flight of the day. We would have had to take one more flight from San Antonio to Corpus Christi, but two lovely women, Ada and Nury from the parish came all of the way out to get us and drove us to Corpus Christi.

To be continued...sorry about that! Duty calls. I'll write a continuation later today, God-willing.

News on the Corpus Christi Retreat...

Stay tuned tomorrow for news on the Corpus Christi retreat. It's late now and we have just returned home after traveling all day since 4:30 AM.

God bless your night!

Donna-Marie

Corpus Christi

Thank you very much in advance for your prayers for our travels. I will be traveling with my daughter, Mary-Catherine to Corpus Christi, bright and early Friday morning.

I pray that you have a beautiful grace-filled week end for the feast of Corpus Christi.

Let us pray

[for the willingness to make present in our world
the love of Christ shown to us in the Eucharist]
Lord Jesus Christ,
we worship you living among us
in the sacrament of your body and blood.
May we offer to our Father in heaven
a solemn pledge of undivided love.
May we offer to our brothers and sisters
a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom
where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit
one God for ever and ever. Amen

[opening prayer]

This and that: Mostly that!

I'll be in Corpus Christi on the feast of Corpus Christi! How do you like that? I am preparing to give a retreat to a great group of 100 or so women. Some have been doing a study of my book: The Domestic Church: Room by Room. I'm happy that I will be meeting them all this week end. Please pray for me for my travels and for guidance from the Holy Spirit.

I'll also be re-vamping this new blog soon, so stay tuned for that. I think you'll like it. I will also be featuring guest bloggers and authors who will share their wisdom and inspiration here at View from the Domestic Church. If you are interested in being considered to write a post, please email me (address is in left hand side bar).

Bear with me please as I prepare my talks and get ready to fly out to Corpus Christi which translates to possibly no new posts here for 2 or 3 days, depending on whether I have time and an Internet connection.

Here is a photo of the study group! I'll be seeing you ladies very soon, God willing!


Blessings and love,

Donna-Marie

What's on your mind?

I remember vividly the lazy days of summer as a kid. I enjoyed the relaxed pace and being home or occasional day trips and the beach when I was lucky. :) Being one of eight kids, there was plenty to do at home. I sure had time in my pocket back then.

These days, life rolls by at a much more rapid pace. With summer soon upon us, what are your hopes and dreams for this time of year? What would you like to do with your family? Do you have any major goals or projects in mind? Are you planning to try to take it easy and just enjoy a time of relaxation, trips, refreshment? Have you ever thought of taking a pilgrimage type trip with your family? What do you do to keep prayer as part of your summer? I'll chime in later too.