Advent: A Season of Preparation...and how to Celebrate!

Growing up I associated Christmas with what most children do....Santa, presents, yummy food, and Jesus. My parents did an awesome job at explaining that Christmas was Jesus' birth, but we never had Advent calendars, celebrated feast days, and I never knew that Advent was considered "mini Lent" until a couple of years ago. Advent, just like Lent, is a time of preparation and getting excited for the coming of our Lord! It's a time to fast, pray, and grow closer to God. I've always loved Lent and so last Advent I committed myself to growing...

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What it Means to be Human: A Catholic Response to Brittany Maynard

Today I am choosing to write about a controversial topic. I don’t often do this and I’m asking that you keep an open mind.  Many of you have heard about Brittany Maynard who has a brain tumor and is choosing to end her life on November 1st by taking medication provided under Oregon’s death for dignity law. If you have not, please read her story.   I have no idea what kind-of pain Brittany is in right now. To know that she is dying at 29 is tragic, but with that being said, I do not agree with her decision. Many...

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13 Books that Changed My Life

Reading is something I really enjoy. My mom has always said that she's worldly not because of how many places she's traveled, but by the type of books she's read. I have always loved this about my mom. I know that I can't afford to travel the world, but I can afford to buy books (many of these you can find at thrift stores for $1-$3). Too many blogs/critics choice columns are recommending books that I have frankly really disliked. When I read, I want the book to be unique, funny, and one that makes me want to be a better person....

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Seeking Affirmation

Now that I'm married I have received these three questions the most: Are you going to get a puppy? Are you pregnant? Have you gotten your wedding pictures back yet? The answers to these questions are: Absolutely not. Nope. Yes! I kind-of find all three of these questions funny, but in particular the last one. It's just not a question I was expecting. Everyone's follow-up question has been: "When are you going to post them on....(fill in the blank with any social media site)?!" The more people kept asking me, the more anxious I became. To be honest, I have been guilty of stalking people's wedding photos...some of...

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New Life

First off, Happy Easter! Hooray! Jesus is Risen! Here is a little something I wrote on Good Friday about Lent... Lent is quite possibly one of my favorite times of the year. It is so beautiful because we spend 40 days deeply uniting ourselves to Jesus Christ! Too often I only come to the Cross when I'm nailing Jesus to it, but this Lent it was my personal goal to come to the Cross daily in some sort of sacrifice. Not because I had to, but because I deeply wanted to.  Jesus gave His life for us. What an amazing gift that I know...

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Praying over Pinning

I'm a huge fan of Pinterest...especially now that I'm engaged. I gave up Facebook on my phone for Lent, so naturally I use Pinterest more now (sorry God...I know this defeats the purpose). Anyway, as much as I pin, I find it difficult not to pin for the future and in so many cases keep reality in check. I could pin the "How to cook a 10 course meal," but lets be real people, I will NEVER do that, yet, I pin it anyway. So when does "pinning" go too far? When can what we pin on Pinterest cause us to loose our grasp on reality?  Are...

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My Last.

This is my last semester as a missionary and last semester being unmarried. The other day I was telling my mom how grown-up I felt, and her response was: "Anna, you're almost 25. You ARE a grown-up."  Sometimes time goes by so fast, but also so slow at the same time. My year and a half (I can't believe it's my LAST semester!) of being a missionary has been a blessing and gift from God that I will probably never be able to express my appreciation for.  Here's some of the graces I've received so far and I'm sure there's many...

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An Engaged/24 year old/Catholic's Response to 23 Things

Many of you have probably noticed the article floating around on Facebook called, “23 things to do instead of getting engaged before you’re 23.” If you haven’t, here it is: http://wanderonwards.com/2013/12/30/23-things-to-do-instead-of-getting-engaged-before-youre-23/  You may have also seen a rebuttal by a married women of 25, if not, http://kbeauregard.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/my-first-blog-the-result-of-a-close-minded-23-year-old/.  The first article disturbed me in many ways, but the second one did too! The second...

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