Welcome back to all my R> friends and especially to those who made comments! I forgot I had comment moderation turned on and needed to approve comments before they'd show up! I wasn't feelin' the love, but I am now. Thanks!
I hope to post links here periodically that I find uplifting and hopeful. I'll start with a podcast episode giving Catholic Answers to people living through the present turmoil called Living in Peace with Fr. Jeffrey Kirby. I particularly like his response to the woman who's always tried to live a faithful life, but her family is highly dysfunctional and she's questioning God's love for her amidst it all. He tells her, basically, God puts people like her just where she's needed most. I think that's a message we can all use in times of suffering -- it's not pointless. God brings good out of all things and He has us where we are for a reason. Keep the faith.
On a lighter note, but one I take as a very, very good sign of the times: Fr. Mike Schmitz's Bible in a Year podcast is #1 on the Apple Podcast charts, beating out popular secular fare like social commentary and true crime stories from NPR and NBC News. Fr. Mike was already a popular YouTube figure in the Catholic world, but now he's teamed up with noted Catholic convert and teacher, Jeff Cavins, and is using his Great Adventure Bible Timeline to read through the narrative books of the Bible to tell the story of salvation history. I've completed Cavins's study twice -- long and short version -- and have found this method of reading the Bible very helpful for getting the arc of the story in a memorable and coherent fashion. But, having Fr. Mike read it to us this way is a special treat. I highly recommend subscribing.
In other good news, South Dakota is growing! It turns out people prefer less draconian "safety" measures in favor of freedom. I know there's always a risk when Californians flee their state to take up residence in a "free" state, but I'm going to take this preference for a lighter government touch as good news.
And, finally, this is brushing up against political-talk, but I find these black voices commenting on events of the past year much more compelling than even some of my favorite Catholic authors (Fr. Longenecker) or the head of the USCCB, Archbishop Gomez:
Race, Faith, and Justice: An African Catholic's Perspective
and
How the Left Hijacked Civil Rights
I think you'll need a Wall Street Journal subscription to read that last one, but it's worth it if you're excited to run into truth-tellers. We're donating to the Woodsen Center.
Thanks for your patience while I work out the kinks of this long-neglected blog.
Oh, and here are some pretty picture from my garden. Spring is coming!
12 comments:
You mean I can finally come over here and weird off? Cool!
Hiya, WC.
Ah, yes. The new Ricochet annex.
Weeeee!!! So happy to see you fellas!
Hey, WC. Nice work. The garden and the website. :-)
Thanks Marci! I love that story Esolen tells about Storer building a log cabin on Cape Cod at age 10. Thought of you.
That's a nice writer's room you have there.
Heh. It was a playhouse built by Grandpa Chauvinist for the Chauvinist girls when they were young. It's turned into a nice little folly for my garden.
It's hard to tell from the photos, but it actually rests on stilts and so sits in the canopy of the scrub oaks. It's a pleasant place to watch the birds, although the ceilings are a little low even for a shorty like me. And the furniture is kid-sized, so you end up with your knees in your ears when you sit down, but it charmed the guests who toured my garden back in 2018.
I light the interior and exterior for Christmas/winter, which gives us some "magic" to look at in the backyard throughout the year.
Oh Sis .. Just getting to this. Those links look very compelling. Need to get my mind in the right state to engage. And I love that picture. Your garden and landscaping are so beautiful. More picture please. And speaking of which . . . If there are two pictures . . only the top one opens for me.... Hmmm?
Hmmm. Not sure why the second doesn't appear. I used the same method in blogger to insert it, I think. It's the same scene from a different angle.
Shoot. All I get is a white blank square with a small blue question mark in the middle.
I believe your second picture is a link directly to your picture on the Google Photos site. The first picture was uploaded to blogspot (blogger?), but the second was "shared" to the post, but we all don't have permission to see it.
Ah, thanks DD. I'll see if I can fix it.
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