One of the craziest stories I've seen in a while

You've got to read this. It'll make you wonder about any pictures you've ever put on the internet!

"I never imagined..."

An honest, touching post by a mom reflecting on her experiences as an adoptive parent.

Consecrated widowhood

An informative article about the beautiful vocation of consecrated widowhood. (The formatting is messed up, but it's still readable.)

21 accents

I must note that the Texas accent could use a little work, but other than that it's a great video. Here's her tutorial on how to learn accents.


via Matteo

Monks continue their tradition of preserving manuscripts in the digital age

I thought this was an interesting story about a Benedictine monk who's seeking out ancient manuscripts to preserve in digital form. Though it's a long way from hand-copying them by candlelight, it's neat to see them doing the same thing they've been doing for more than a thousand years.

The Practices of Effective Catholic Leaders

Some great points.

Dolphin stampede - wow!

"I'm a busy mom - how can I find time to exercise?"

A good discussion over at Homeschooling with Joy.

"Judge not lest ye be judged"

A thought-provoking article about Christians' fearing being "judgmental":

Society only tolerates sexual sins and sins against life. And that tolerance is strictly enforced. People trudge out the "do not judge" phrase and use it like a club to silence anyone who might speak against such license. Society also rewards anyone who abides by its rules and strikes the word "sin" from his or her vocabulary...We even go so far as to give Jesus a makeover. We preach a weak, winking, desperate-to-be-liked, Jesus. This Jesus didn’t die to save us from sin; he made it so that sin doesn’t exist.

Read the rest here.

Adoption: how we afforded it

A fascinating post at Owlhaven.

The one hour BLITZ!

This is a great idea for housecleaning and organization.

via Pursuing Titus 2

Motherhood and control (or lack thereof)

Kate Wicker has a touching, honest post about how the lack of control she has over her daily life as a mom has led her to struggle with disordered eating.

Silencing Chicken Little

Elizabeth Esther offers a fascinating glimpse into life in a fundamentalist family. An excerpt:

When I was kid, we didn't have real Hollywood movie stars. But we did have our campy, quasi-horror flicks. One was called Thief In the Night and it scared me so badly that I had nightmares for years.

For a few years after that movie, I would panic every time I lost sight of my parents. I mean, most kids who lose sight of their parents in a public place assume they're lost.

I assumed the rapture had happened and I'd been left behind.

Read the whole thing here.

5 Ways to Misery

via World on Fire

In blind taste tests, people can't tell pate from dog food

I would not have been amused to have been part of this study.

The 13th Day

An upcoming movie about Fatima. More info here.

Another fantastic ad from CatholicVote.org

Really touching.


via OSV Daily Take

Great Depression vs. 'Great Recession'

Really interesting chart showing how our current economy compares to the Great Depression.

Broker leaves behind a lucrative career to become a man of the cloth

An inspiring story about a young man who left his six-figure salary to become a priest.

A great interview with Fr. Corapi

An interesting chat with the popular preacher.

A collection of child safety products

A great list, especially for parents of young children or children with disabilities.

First person to fly was a Benedictine monk

Neat story!

7 ways to get in the habit of cleaning up after yourself

Great post from Bearing.

Farmer spends 30 years building model of the temple

Alec Garrard has dedicated a massive 33,000 hours to constructing the ancient Herod's Temple. More amazing pictures here.