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Becoming Elizabeth: Vulnerability and the Visitation
How reflecting on the Visitation taught me that it’s okay to let myself be loved. “Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.” Luke 1:39-40 It had been another long day. I had been working from home for a few months, and my oldest was acting particularly three in response to our new routine. I had lost my patience and snapped at…
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Not All Heroes Wear Aprons: Why I Hate Being Called a “Supermom.”
Are we helping or hurting mothers by perpetuating the idea that they must “do it all” to be considered “Supermoms”? I am a wife and mother to three little boys. I work from home full-time with minimal outside help. I (kind of) run a blog and its social media accounts. I plan and cook all of our meals and keep the house tidy. I’ve pumped and donated 700 ounces of breast milk in four months. I try to maintain a…
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Bouncing Back into Blogging…9 Months Later 🫠
This Catholic Mama is back and ready to muse! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve spared any of my time for my poor, neglected blog. I knew I needed a break, but I did not intend for that break to last the better part of a year. To be honest, I watched the months fly by and promised I would write that email, finish the ebook, start the marketing course I paid for over a year ago, and then…I…
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Courage, Dear Heart: Why I Chose to Live by a Word of the Year.
How a Word of the Year generator inspired me to live courageously for 365 days. New Year, New Me? I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. In my youth, I had planned and dieted and set lofty goals with the best of them. And every year, I would be left feeling disappointed in myself for not achieving whatever goals I had imposed on myself. Then December would roll back around, and the cycle continued. After converting to Catholicism,…
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The Exhausted Mother’s Advent: 5 Simple Ways to Find Joy this Advent
Advent is supposed to be a peaceful time of preparation for Christmas. But what happens when the pressure to create traditions and live liturgically start to make your heart anything but peaceful? This post contains affiliate links. You can read my full affiliate disclaimer here. Brace yourselves: Advent is coming. If you spend even a little time on Catholic social media, you’ve no doubt seen the never-ending posts and stories about everyone’s plans for liturgical living during the season of…
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Cozy Lord of the Rings Nursery: How to Bring Middle Earth to Life!
My step-by-step guide to creating a lovely Middle Earth-inspired nursery that will grow with your Little Hobbit. As I near the birth of my third baby, it only seems fitting to show you how I created a Lord of the Rings nursery that has grown to accommodate not one but three little hobbits! I struggled for years on how to bring touches of Tolkien’s ground-breaking fantasy world into my home. I’ve often turned to Tea with Tolkien for inspiration on…
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5 of the Best Books About Catholicism to Ignite Your Faith
A collection of the best books about Catholicism to inspire you to live your faith authentically and passionately. Y’all, I m so excited to be talking about two of my all-time favorite things: Catholicism and books! In this case, specifically, the best books to learn about Catholicism! What could be better, right?? I converted to Catholicism on April 19, 2014. My journey to the Church was long and arduous, but it was the greatest decision I ever made. Even seven…
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Be Kind to Yourself, Woman. God Says So.
Be kind to everyone, including yourself. When was the last time you were kind to yourself? Can you recall a recent moment where you gave yourself some grace? Do you remember the last time you acknowledged your value? When was the last time you criticized yourself? Can you recall a recent moment when you gave yourself a hard time over your flaws and imperfections? Do you remember the last time you laid the blame for every problem at your own…
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Finding Jesus in the Everyday: Music Edition
I have a confession… I’ve never been a fan of praise and worship music. There, I said it. *This post contains Amazon affiliate links.* Even as a child, I often found myself rolling my eyes whenever my sister would blast the local Christian station on her portable radio. I thought it was cheesy, repetitive, and pandering. Compared to the emo bands and David Bowie standards playing from my own headphones, praise and worship felt like an absolute waste of time…
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3 Beautiful Books for National Tolkien Reading Day
As the title of my blog may have suggested, I love me some Tolkien. March 25 is Tolkien Reading Day, the memorial of the day the One Ring was destroyed (it’s also the Feast of the Annunciation). So, in honor of Tolkien Reading Day, I’ve put together a little list of some of my family’s favorite books, either written or inspired by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying…