Volume One! (not the book store in downtown Hillsdale)

On Wednesday, I was sitting at my desktop reading and editing work stuff when I needed a break. Whenever I need a break from reading work stuff, I go read something else.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I usually find some neat things, which presents me with a dilemma: how best to share. I am a big believer in sharing. (I'm the oldest of six kids; sharing is second nature.) Sometimes I post it to FB or my Buzz; sometimes I e-mail a couple friends; other times, I'll just add it at the end of a post. I try not to over-share, though, because life is more than updating the interwebz.

I have come up with a solution to my problem of wanting share all the cool stuff I find: I follow a blog called Conversion Diary, which is written by a woman named Jennifer. She was an Atheist her entire life; then she and her husband started exploring Christianity, decided to look at every Christian church EXCEPT the Roman Catholic Church and so, because God has a wonderful sense of humor, found themselves increasingly drawn to it and became orthodox Catholics. Every Friday, she does a 7 Quick Take Fridays and invites her readers to join in too. I enjoy reading hers but it always seemed a little bit more of a time investment than I was willing to give. I already do the Poem of the Week, which is very enjoyable, but I do not like commiting to something and then not follow through. Life, remember, happens outside.

Nonetheless, today is my inaugural post. I am stoked. I hope you are too! And, in the spirit of sharing, if you my dearest readers decide to do this too, please leave me a link to your post in the comment box. It'll be like a giant game of leap frog and tag at the same time!

1. On Tuesday, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York was elected President of the U.S. Catholic Council of Bishops (USCCB). This is very exciting because Dolan is the second Archbishop not to have first served as VP before being elected President. It is also fantastic news because, as Greg Erlandson wrote at Our Sunday Visitor,

"Archbishop Dolan is, of course, highly popular among his brother bishops, and is recognized as a genial conservative with a strong sense of Catholic identity and a willingness to engage robustly in the issues of the day."

These are important times for the Church, especially with the increasing hostility towards the sanctity of marriage and human life, and it is a blessing to have Dolan in leadership. (Bishops, by the way, have jurisdictions over their Priests and are under Cardinals, and thus answer directly for their diocese to the Pope.)

2. Lis made Cuppy and myself a Thuper Three Homecoming cd and I've been listening to it fairly consistently the past two weeks. This is one of my favorite songs on it: "What I Wouldn't Do" by A Fine Frenzy

It starts, "If we were children I would bake you a mud pie/ Warm and brown beneath the sun/ Never learned to climb a tree but I would try/ Just to show you what I'd done..."

3. My friend Bess is livin' it up in fancy NYC, nannying and blogging about being an [aspiring] writer. She is giving away two moleskins in a CONTEST! Seriously, check it out. Why would you not want a moleskin notebook? They are the bestest!

4. My little sister Muffy is in her high school's production of The Sound of Music. We saw it last night and, of course, she was amazing and hilarious! She is playing Sr. Berthe, the nun who hates Maria. Maybe I am biased, but they needed a whole lot more Muff. I can't wait till her Shakespeare production in March!

5. SHAMELESS JULIE PLUG: my first guest post on The Imaginative Conservative, "Even in Ordinary Times, We Are Not Ordinary," was published and well-recieved, which just tickles me. If you read it, I'd love to hear what y'all think.

6. Today is the feast of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, whom I picked as my Confirmation Name (which goes after my first and middle name and before my last, thus making my initials JMER). When Catholics enter the Church as an adult (usually in the 7th-8th grade), we take the name of a cannonized saint. We pick the name by praying for the Holy Spirit to guide us to a saint whose life we'd like to live in imitation of; Catholic children read about the lives of saints starting when they are very small, so by the time I was 13, I had read about hundreds of saints but always felt especially drawn to St. Elizabeth.

St. Elizabeth of Hungary was a Hungarian princess who married King Ludwig IV of Thuringia at age 14. They had a very happy marriage, but he died in the Crusades when she was 20. The rest of her life was given to service of the poor, much to her in-laws dismay. They tried to stop her, forbidding her from leaving the castle, etc. Once, when she was taking bread to the poor, a soldier ordered her to open her cloak and when she did, roses fell out instead of the bread she had stowed away! She gave away her wealth to the poor, built hospital and is a symbol of Christian charity. She is the patron saint of bakers, brides, charitable societies, hospitals, homeless people, people in exile, people ridiculed for their piety and nursing homes.

7. Tomorrow is Betsy and Zach's wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I AM SO EXCITED. I was helping Betsy and her parents with programs on Tuesday night and we were just rolling laughing over stories from college. Bets graciously gives me a little credit in her relationship with her soon-to-be husband; for example, my good friend Will and I were study buddies our senior year of college, and as Zach was Will's roommate and Betsy is such a close friend of mine, we provided them ample opportunity to spend time together and have enjoyably productive study sessions. :)

The wedding is going to be a huge reunion of wonderful people. Betsy put me in charge of the Kappa wedding song tradition, too. We'll be singing "Sweetheart" to Zach. I know, I know; they're trusting me not to give a speech... but it is going to be a fabulous time! My family is also hosting eight Hillsdale people stay at our house over the course of the weekend, so I've been preparing for that. We're happy to have them, but it has made for a busy week of cleaning!

Also, this is apparently "Post a Picture of Betsy, Zach and You as Your Profile Picture Week" and I did not, for a number of reasons-- the biggest one being that the picture I would have chosen does not look good small. I'll share it here, though, because it is hands down my favorite picture from senior year (fall break; our scavenger hunt team!):

Photo credit to Will!

I am having a frame engraved with Psalm 27:17 and putting this picture inside, as part of their wedding and house warming gift. (The other half is dinner made by moi and monogrammed notecards for the newlyweds!)

Happy Friday, y'all!