by Mary | Sep 21, 2012 | Uncategorized
A sign? An omen? A “God breeze,” as one Facebook friend suggested? I don’t know if it’s any of these things, but this butterfly certainly made my night last night. The doorbell rang around 9 p.m., and, when I answered it, this beauty was fluttering around under one of our Adirondack chairs. As I took the manila folder full of medical forms my son’s Boy Scout leader was dropping off for our weekend camping trip, the butterfly flew out from under the chair and landed smack dab in the middle of the folder I was holding.
I was thrilled, calling for the kids to come look before it flew away. No worries there. It flew right into the entry way of our house and landed on the slate floor. Olivia gently picked it up, which is when I snapped that picture above. We brought it outside but it didn’t want to leave. We had to pry it — ever so softly — off Olivia’s hand and back onto the arm of the Adirondack chair.
I have to admit that it’s hard not to think of this little God moment as a good sign. I’ve never had a butterfly land on me, much less fly into my house. And at this time in my life, when so much is changing and expanding and challenging me, it feels like a very good omen. “Metamorphosis,” as another Facebook fan wrote.
by Mary | Sep 18, 2012 | Uncategorized
Today I am grateful for so many seemingly ordinary things….
For rain pouring down and the sound it makes as it hits the roof and drips from tree branches…
For a battery candle flickering as if it is real, for an electric fire “burning” as I write, for incense rising to the sky like my silent prayers — unspoken but always echoing from my heart to a God who is so distant and so close all at once…
For hours of quiet and solitude stretching before me so I can write, think, pray, be…
For my family, off at school and work but safe and happy and healthy (save for one broken arm)…
For this beautiful month of September, my favorite month of the year (and not just because it includes my birthday). For all the things this month promises…crisp apples (if you can find them this year), crisp air that is just around the corner, and crisp leaves that will soon be underfoot waiting to be raked silently and slowly and mindfully beneath a bright autumn sun…
For the half-century mark of my life that is fast approaching. How did I get here? How much further will I go? Will I be like my grandmother and get to do this entire life all over again until I celebrate a century? I have already surpassed my own mother in terms of years. The mystery of it all can be overwhelming…
For every day I get, for however long…
For every person who loves me, faults and all…
For a Creator who loved me into being and loves without condition for all eternity…
by Mary | Sep 15, 2012 | Books, Cravings
One of my two new books being released this fall is heading into final production. Here’s a big stack of covers just waiting to be wrapped around the pages of “Cravings: A Catholic Wrestles with Food, Self-Image, and God” over at Ave Maria Press.
The official release date is December 17. You can pre-order at all the usual places. Click on the title above and you’ll get Amazon. Click on the cover image below and you’ll get B&N. You can also go straight to Ave Maria Press by clicking HERE.
Here’s the description of the book that’s up on Amazon, along with three “blurbs” from other important Catholic folks:
In this first book on the topic written from a Catholic perspective, award-winning writer Mary DeTurris Poust offers personal, hard-won wisdom on the complex relationship between food and spirituality.
Mary DeTurris Poust draws on the rich appreciation of meals she first gained at the tables of her childhood in an Italian-American family, leading readers into reflection on the connections between eating, self-image, and spirituality. Like Geneen Roth in Women, Food and God, but from a uniquely Catholic point of view, Poust helps readers spot ways they use food to avoid or ignore their real desires — for acceptance, understanding, friendship, love, and, indeed, for God. Poust draws from scripture and the great Catholic prayer forms and devotions to assist readers in making intentional changes in their use of food. She also offers reflections on fasting, eating in solidarity with the poor, vegetarianism, and the local food movement.
And here are the blurbs:
“Whether you’re tired of being obsessed with your weight, are hungry for inner peace even more than you’re hungry for food, or are desiring the freedom that comes with self-acceptance, Cravings will leave you satisfied.” –Kate Wicker, Author of Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body
“This book opens a doorway to hope for anyone locked in a struggle with food. It is a refreshing guide to freedom in Christ.” –Jeff Young, Podcast host of The Catholic Foodie
“Another excellent tool in Mother Church’s hand to help feed God’s children with what they crave most: truth, the food of saints!” –Rev. Leo Patalinghug, Author of Grace Before Meals
by Mary | Sep 15, 2012 | Life Lines
Just realized I never posted my September Life Lines column. Here you go…
We were sitting at the dinner table the other night, passing bowls of pasta and salad back and forth, when the kids asked if we could pull a card from “The Meal Box” (Loyola Press), a deck of 52 cards with questions designed to prompt interesting dinner conversation among family members. I had originally used it as part of a product review I was writing, but it ended up being a hit with the kids, so it stuck. And it sure beats fighting over who didn’t empty the cat litter and who didn’t put away toys in between bites of food. (more…)
by Mary | Sep 14, 2012 | Uncategorized
This morning I returned to my beloved early morning yoga class after a very long hiatus due to a physical condition/injury. I won’t bore you with details. Suffice to say, I had and will have for the rest of my life a situation that prevents me from fully doing yoga the way I like to do it.
I was supposed to be starting 200-hour yoga teacher training this month. Instead, my favorite yoga teacher is recommending I learn to be satisfied with taking classes in “chair yoga” and “water yoga.” I’m not good at being satisfied with what I view as “less than,” but perhaps therein lies the lesson. Another thing I really don’t want to hear. (more…)
