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NOTES
This week, we are talking about the temptation that exists, inside Catholic circles to discuss topics like breastfeeding, homeschooling, organic eating, etc. as if they are black-and-white Catholic moral issues, as if there is “one right way” to be a “good Catholic family.”
Well, HOGWASH!
We need to be careful how we think about and talk about topics that the Church has not given us specific instruction about. When it comes to family life, there is room for a lot of diversity among “good Catholics.”
When we judge others or when we buy into the idea that there is only one way, we hurt our relationships and set ourselves up to miss the joy that God intends for us to have in our motherhood. We also need to be careful to examine what our motivations are when we discuss these topics with others. Do we really just want to share something good and positive that works for us? Or is our pride involved? Do we want to prove that we are “right” and that we are “more Catholic” than those who make different choices?
In the end, we will find the most happiness in our vocations if we focus on our own specific calling. Each of us is uniquely called by God to grow closer to him, and that is going to happen in a variety of ways in different people’s lives. Focus on your own work!
In this week’s interview, I talk wth Katherine Barron of Catholic in a Small Town podcast. Katherine shares beautifully about her own experience of motherhood and some of the lessons she has learned along the way, parenting four boys and co-hosting a podcast with her husband Mac.
This week’s Girlfriends Shout-out goes to Melissa Hix who emailed me to share a fun activity her family does to beat the “winter blahs” that we talked about last week. Melissa and her family had a family cooking competition last year, with some kids and parents cooking and other kids doing the judging, and now she is planning to do the same again this year. A super fun and family-friendly way to beat those seasonal blahs this time of year! Way to go, Melissa! Thanks for sharing with all of us. 🙂
This week’s challenge is to think about the kinds of topics we discussed this week — those hot-button topics — and challenge an assumption you might be making about other people in your life with regard to those topics. Is there a person in your life you keep at a distance because of something you assume about them, based on their life choices? Or because of a judgment you think they may be making about you? Challenge yourself! Move beyond assumptions and labels and work on developing real relationships with people in your life, even those who make very different choices from you.
Thank you, as always, for being here. Your encouragement and support of Girlfriends means so much and I am so grateful for your presence here. God bless your week!
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Danielle I keep meaning to tell you how much your podcasts have been helping me lately. Your topics touch on a lot of the feelings and problems I’ve been experiencing as a mom of 7, from 13 down to 10 months. You are the mom “friend” I have been needing lately! I love my big family, but it is isolating: in a town where most moms have 2 or 3, it’s harder for us to mobilize, and it’s hard to find people who can relate: moms my age who have just older kids can do all this “stuff,” and it seems like younger moms of just littles don’t have the broader perspective on motherhood yet that I need and crave. (They will soon enough!) Anyway, I hope you know you are touching lives big time!
Thank you so much Jill! I am so glad you are helped by the podcast and it means so much to me that you shared that with me. You are so very encouraging! THANK YOU!