end of the month ponderings

Bye, Bye August! Can't really say that you felt any different than any other month. Such is what happens when you don't go on vacation and work through the summer. The good news? I don't have to worry about feeling depressed that I am home from vacation! I win!

Despite my toes never touching a sandy beach or jumping into the cool of a pool, August was filled with other kinds of get-a-ways. Check out my late summer discoveries below!

As I continue to work on embracing a face and body that appear to change (and by change I mean hang) by the minute, I have discovered a simple product that cools, refreshes and IN MY MIND lifts me up! When we were sequestered to living downstairs as our upstairs floors were stained and finished, I took advantage of every beauty product my daughters have in their bathroom...and fell. in. love. The brand is Tula, and I especially adore this.

For a long while, I have felt the call to do the works of mercy. Lara Patangan's book Simple Mercies got me to stop thinking about it and to just do it. Last month was helping out at the Dorothy Day House. If you are feeling sad, lonely, frustrated, stuck, spiritually dry, depleted, sorry for yourself, glued to your grief, I highly encourage you to reach out and help another who probably feels the exact same way. Maybe even worse. AMAZING graces will rain down on you! And definitely get yourself a copy of Lara's book!

I was given the honor to film a talk with OBD Films and OSV Innovate Talks. I am equal parts excited and sick to my stomach...stay tuned for the release! Until then, you should 100% check out the already released Innovative Talks, ESPECIALLY this one, "WHAT IF THEY DON'T COME BACK?" My next favorite talk? This one. (just try to watch this Sister and not fall in love with her!) Pour some coffee and enjoy...with a pen and paper...you will want to take notes.

Speaking of coffee...I think I need to give it up. This month seemed to be a not-so-great one for my gut. As we re-remodel our kitchen (I feel like I sound very fancy saying that...this is the first remodel of our lives in our first ever owned home and we are closer to death than we are being born, so take that into consideration...it has been eye-opening, to say the very least. I am grateful...and exhausted.) I am pretty predictable with my day-to-day diet ever since my pre-diabetic diagnosis, and I am thinking that the change-up in the routine on all levels has something to do with not feeling great. In addition to scheduling a physical, I am looking for ways to heal my gut and just live better. I talked about Reform Wellness last month, and well..I am going to talk about it again. This is in their newsletter...Sip Herbals, an alternative to coffee. I am intrigued. And have possibly gone mad. I am so on board with trying this. But I am also broke. (remember the kitchen remodel?) And $32 for a bag of fake coffee might not be on the "need" list. Unless you have tried it and can tell me different! (I am easily convinced- self-control is not my gift)

I spent much of August setting up podcast interviews (and be "I" I mean my friend/Freelance Publicist Cathy Knipper) booking speaking events (can't wait to see you in VA and MI at the end of this month!) writing new talks, and working on...a surprise!!! Sweet Cross is due to release on the 30th and you can pre-order your copy here or order through the OSV Bookstore! I am so excited to see how the Lord uses Sweet Cross to bring everyone to the foot of the cross and discover that it is sweet and the safest place to be! If you are a third-tier Patron, you'll be getting your advanced, signed copy shortly! Not a Patron? What are you waiting for?! Join us today, grab a copy of Sweet Cross and participate in our virtual Sweet Cross book club late Fall!!! We would love to welcome you into our community! (you can "unjoin" Patreon at any time...I will not be offended...your time is valuable and I appreciate any amount of support) plus, it is not like joining a gym membership...I do let people go...just in case commitment is not your gift)

I pray that you had yourself a God-centered August, and if not...well then, there is always September! It's a new day and month, with all that fresh mercy! Go gettem'!

SALVE, Regina, mater misericordiae, vita, dulcedo, et spes nostra, salve. Ad te clamamus exsules filii Hevae. Ad te suspiramus, gementes et flentes in hac lacrimarum valle.

Eia, ergo, advocata nostra, illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte. Et Iesum, benedictum fructum ventris tui, nobis post hoc exsilium ostende.

O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. Amen.

V. Ora pro nobis, sancta Dei Genetrix.

R. Ut digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi.