Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

I guess the first quick take is that I am a super slacker and back to blogging. Maybe. I ain’t promising anything…and it’s all because of #2 ….

–2–

I started a new job. Well, that’s not really true…I have had some duties and responsibilities shifted and reassigned. That sounds a little more…accurate. It’s a good thing, but I am either totally immersed in computer stuff, or no where near one. Maybe I’ll write more about that sometime. For now, I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom, which presents an bit of an awkward problem, doesn’t it? Perhaps I can find a better description later.

–3–

My husband is embracing his inner Farmer John and has been working very hard in our backyard to create our own little Eden. He still hasn’t figured out that wherever he is, there’s my Eden, but I have a fondness for roses, and daisies, and his happy smile when he sits on the porch and surveys the back 40.

–4–

We took a wild whirlwind trip to Miami over Memorial Day weekend. I don’t know why I preface the statement with wild and whirlwind, as there is no other way that we go to Miami, but it was indeed wild. And a whirlwind. And. Much. Too. Brief.

–5–

We went to celebrate with this lovely couple. I love them all…and wish I could give them one more giant hug right now.

–6–

The absolute highlight of my week was celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. Aren’t they precious?

–7–

It merits another picture, this with my siblings…

Well I did it. I participated in the day of media silence yesterday. I didn’t post any snarky comments anywhere, or eavesdrop on any public Twitter conversations, or get into any combox discussions.

I never once updated my status.

I don’t think anyone missed me.

And whatever I missed…well…let’s just say I’m no worse for the wear if I didn’t get the memo about your adventures.

I did learn a few things about myself and my use of this ever present internet playground.

The first thing is this: I was on the whole day. I checked email, for work, for family obligations, for social engagements. It’s a tool I use, and use quite often.

The second thing is related to the first: For all the virtual engagement I may have with people I’ve never met, I probably have more with people with whom I have an actual physically present relationship. That, boys and girls, was very encouraging to know.

And then I learned something about my habits that I’m going to work on. You see, my initial go to, even with the people I know, is to reach out to them via social networks. Why? Because I’m already on. Yesterday, I made some phone calls. On land lines. Go ahead and laugh. Do they even exist? Yes. And I used them.

You see, perhaps I’m not getting full credit for being off-line…my phone broke. Yeah. No facie-book or tweeting for me anyway….at least until I get home.

And since I’m in full disclosure mode, I’ll also say something else. Except for a rosary in the late afternoon commute, I didn’t pray yesterday. Not the way I usually pray because I turned off my alerts. That’s right. I forgot about God because little chimes sending me to various internet resources for prayer didn’t alert me.

I am ashamed. Ashamed enough to rethink why something that I thought I had cultivated as a habit is in fact not a habit. It occurs to me that I had missed a certain communal aspect of my prayer life, which is in fact, a rather participatory thing in the social networks. I not only didn’t encourage anyone to join me in prayer, but I had no one to nudge me.

Aha! So perhaps there’s more to this than pulled-pork sandwich status updates and reposting George Takei’s pictures.

I think that is Pope Benedict’s point. The internet, for all its potential for distraction and sin, is also a resource for community, and learning, and growth. I missed my friends. I missed the apps that make me a better steward of my time when it comes to prayer. I missed the opportunity to engage my faith with other like-minded individuals, and a few unlike-minded individuals that are willing to enter into the conversation.

In short, I missed my Catholic Media, and the people who, um…people it.

So I finally get around to answering the big pressing question for this year’s Promote Catholicism Day:

“What in Catholic Media has had an impact on me during the past year?”

I didn’t need a day of silence to answer that question because I knew it right away. It just became very clear to me that the answer, Matt Swaim’s little idea with a big bang, The Grateful Tweet, is the thing that has had the most impact on me. The fact that the first thing I wanted to do when I opened my computer was tweet my gratitude — and couldn’t — made me a little sad. Ok, and I had withdrawal twitches when I engaged in a little conversation in my head. You know, where you proceed to rationalize why this one little tweet really isn’t breaking the silence.

One little tweet in the morning (and sometimes, later in the day), has changed my entire attitude. It has put me in a posture to seek the positive first. I’ve been tweeting since Twitter’s release (I’m kinda embarrassed by that, too) and I’d venture to say that my on-line attitude has changed, for the better, in these past 227 days of grateful tweeting.

It’s a small thing, barely 140 characters long, but it has had the biggest impact on me.

What about you? Why don’t you join the conversation at the New Evangelizer’s forum?

I think my blog defies classification. It’s not anything in particular…a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. It’s just a collection of the stuff that I like, or think about, or feel like ranting over, or recommend, or…feel like sharing.

There’s probably a whole lot that this blog isn’t, but there’s one thing that it definitely is, and that is that it’s mine. A reflection of me.

A big part of me is my faith. I try to live it quietly in spite of the rather obviously public way I might sometimes write about it, like this post, or talk about it, like on podcasts.

Tomorrow, I’m going to refrain from posting here, or anywhere else, as part of Catholic Media Promotion Day.

You might think that’s a funny thing to do…to go silent on a day for promoting Catholic media. It’s not such a crazy idea. Sometimes the best way to think about things is not to do them.

We often forget that we are reflective creatures, capable of thinking deeply and processing our experiences in such a way that contribute to our growth. Pope Benedict XVI challenges us to embrace silence in our lives to give us that opportunity for reflection.

My friends at New Evangelizers challenged us last year with the first Catholic Media Promotion Day, and this year have embraced the Pope’s call for silence and reflection by encouraging us to go silent tomorrow, Wednesday, and then going back on Thursday to answer the question,  “What in Catholic Media has had an impact on me during the past year?”

They’ve set up a forum for sharing. Read about it here.

You might also like to hear what Lisa Hendey of Catholic Mom elaborates on the topic. An excellent reflection here.

Give it a whirl…go silent. If not today, tomorrow. Or soon.

Put away the smart phone, the tablet, the computer, and think about the things that have such a hold on our lives that we have trouble disconnecting, or walking away from it, or living without it. And think about how we can take that and turn it around so that it becomes a source of positive influence in our lives and the lives of others.

I’ll be thinking about that tomorrow as I set aside Tweeting, and Blogging, and Facebooking, and do a little bit of praying, and reflecting and pondering.

I like that word, pondering. Perhaps you’ll do the same.

These are my folks. Aren’t they adorable?

They are still in love after all these years. My dad torments my mom with all kinds of silly antics…

But she still follows him wherever he leads.

I had a crazy long week. It’s a good thing my work week is Monday -Thursday. Let me say that sounds gross during the week when you realize how long the day is, but when Friday morning rolls around…yeah, that’s a good thing.

I usually pray the rosary on the way to work in the morning. Let me tell you, it’s better than the trash on the contemporary music channels, and let’s not even discuss the shock jocks. I’ve learned to love my morning talk with Mary through the rosary. Much better than talk radio!

So this morning I got started with my usual rosary and stopped after barely getting started to take a call. It seemed that every time I went back to thinking about the rosary I got distracted by little fires that I had to put out (okay, see that? go ahead and follow how metaphorical that is).

At any rate, it was quite late in the day, actually on my way home, that I pulled out my little companion and set myself to concentrating, as best I could in traffic, on the rosary and Thursday’s mysteries. The luminous mysteries are my favorite…it has very little to do with BL. JPII although I remember well the controversy at the time he introduced these mysteries. There was some resistance in my circles in the order of “how dare he change the rosary” (well, it was a pretty bold move, but oh so logical — I’ll amuse my theology buds and actually suggest you read Rosarium Virginis Mariae — I know, close your mouth, sometimes I really do read this stuff on my own).

I don’t claim any particular illumination (heh-heh) beyond the fact that they resonated beautifully for me. In fact, I have to say, it was because of the luminous mysteries that I gave the rosary another serious whirl, and I’ve been hooked ever since. The problem was, and still is, that I have a terrible time memorizing things like lists, or movie lines, or prayers. I have to employ a gazillion mnemonic devices, and hope they work…but I learned that if I associate a particular mystery with a family member or friend, then I can remember them (both! the mystery and the person for whom to pray).

There’s something really very sweet and satisfying about praying for others, whether it’s a specific intention or just offering those prayers for anonymous souls who need them. I thought I’d share a little peek into my commute and why I love these mysteries…

The First Mystery of Light, the Baptism of Our Lord: for the longest time, I would recall the baptism of my children to remind me of this mystery. I always think that when God’s voice was heard say ing “this is my beloved Son” it was the jarring moment for me, in a slow reversion process, to wake up and begin to get it. More recently I’ve come to associate it with a friend who teaches an awful lot on baptism and living the promises and graces that come from it.

The Second Mystery of Light, the Miracle at the Wedding of Cana: this mystery clarified for me the whole misunderstanding so many people have about Mary, and especially the rosary. When Mary says “do what He tells you” it was another a-ha moment for me…the focus being on Jesus, and listening to Him. These days, when I get to this mystery I think of a friend getting married soon.

The Third Mystery of Light, the Proclamation of the Kingdom of God: this one, too, was quite powerful. It is when Jesus begins his public ministry, but for me was the recognition of this call to conversion, and so important to me, how it is also about reconciliation and hope. I often think of the work I do in new media, and the wonderful people I’ve come to know, in real life, and through social media — and pray for them all, the ones I know, and perhaps most especially, the ones I’ll never know.

The Fourth Mystery of Light, the Transfiguration: This one is my favorite mystery (I have a close second, but this one wins). Jesus reveals himself to a few of his disciples, and it is in this mystery that I was able to pin down my own yearning and desire to know God. It is what I was desiring all along…and the mystery upon which I meditate most fervently, for myself and for others, to increase my holiness, and to understand…

…The Fifth Mystery of Light, the Institution of the Eucharist. Well, it all leads to this, no? The source and summit of our faith!

Thanks for coming on the commute with me. Do you have a favorite mystery or mysteries of the Rosary?

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” Bertrand Russell

I know this is a mockingbird. I don’t like it. It doesn’t like me.

We are in a state of war over a little plot of land in the backyard that has delicious blueberry bushes.

I’m going to imagine the blueberries are delicious…I haven’t eaten any. The mockingbird has.

We agree to disagree on what the blueberry bushes are for.

This is the love of my life.

He thinks it’s hilarious that I am at war with this evil creature:

He doesn’t know that silly attitude is going to land him here: