Of Sound Mind and Spirit

I love the Olympics.  2012 London Olympics Every four years I am so excited for the opportunity to watch all of the many different sports I wouldn’t normally see.   During the women’s gymnastics event, I flash back to cheering for Mary Lou Retton getting that perfect 10 on the vault and then coming to my elementary school to sign autographs a few months later.   Unlike most people, I don’t mind the tape delay system that NBC employs to show the daily highlights during Prime Time.  It enables me to watch the high profile athletes in a time-condensed manner, perfect for my busy life.  Sure, it opens up the possibility of being spoiled on the results, but that is a problem every time the Olympics is held out of the US.   In 1998, I learned that local Olympian Tara Lipinsky won the Gold in figure skating when I arrived at our hometown mall as they were putting up “Congratulations on the Gold” signs all over the food court before the race aired on television.  Of course, I

When she started campaigning last August for the US House of Representatives, Felicia Harris had zero name recognition and faced eight men in the primary. Despite the odds, she won a run-off position for Ron Paul’s vacant seat in District 14. After recent redistricting, the 14th Congressional District includes much of Brazoria County, Galveston County and Jefferson County, Texas.  Today is the last day for early voting and then it’s a short pause until Tuesday’s runoff election day returns. Felicia Harris with Shelly, Lisa & their father, Arthur An attorney specializing in energy and petrochemical business, Felicia seeks to represent a district that spreads across three counties fronting the Gulf Coast, considered the “energy backbone” of Texas. The district includes the largest refinery in the state, five major ports, the entrance of the Houston Ship Channel, and DOW Chemical’s largest facility. The area is so vital to the Texas and US economy that the national Democ

The Path photo by Karen Bryant Two roads diverged in a yellow wood And sorry I could not travel both And being one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-- I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. If our lives sometimes have a theme, then this Robert Frost poem describes mine. Last year I got a crash course in surrendering myself to God’s will, not mine, when I became pregnant (at 40). It’s easy to

Church of St. Anne Krakow Poland Over the last two years, I’ve learned about  a few different forms of prayer. The novena is a devotional prayer with a series of invocations said over nine straight days.  I’ve tried to pray a Novena a few different times, but even though I start with good intentions, after three or four days I miss a day and forget to finish.  Recently, I stumbled on this great website that helps you pray a novena through its entirety. Pray More Novenas sends you an email reminder with that days prayer for each day of the novena, allowing you to take a few moments right then to pray. Being signed in also connects you with over 18,256 subscribers praying at the same time.    A special novena to St. Anne begins today and continues for nine days leading up to St. Anne’s feast day on July 26. As the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, we pray for St. Anne to intercede for us on special intentions.  She is considered the patron saint of mothers, grandmot

We welcome our father as a guest blogger once again at Of Sound Mind and Spirit to respond as a business owner to President Obama's recent statement, “If you’ve got a business – you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen”.  ***************** When my daughter called this afternoon to ask if I would put together a few comments about President Obama’s remarks at a campaign event in Roanoke, Virginia last Friday , I had to confess I knew nothing about them. Like many, if not most Americans, I pay little attention to current political rhetoric because of my busy schedule and the negative, if not depressing, tone of most of what is said. I can do without the constant banter of all the bad things the other guy has done. However, as a dutiful father, I followed the provided Internet link and read the transcript of the President’s speech from Whitehouse.gov . Overall, I thought it was a fine political speech, which I’m sure the President delivered with his usual flair.

Secrets of Once Upon a Time After watching and podcasting through the first season of the hit ABC TV show, Once Upon a Time, I’m now suffering through a little fairytale withdrawal this summer.  Hopeful to capture just a little of the fairytale magic we are used to while watching OUAT , m y husband and I ventured to the movie theater to watch  “Snow White and the Huntsman”  with friends last month.  We left woefully disappointed.  No FairyTale Magic for Snow White & the Huntsman With the help of the strong Huntsman, singing dwarves and a well intentioned prince, Snow White came into her own and kicked a little evil Queen booty in this film.  But, hugely missing from the plot are the two things that make regular stories into fairytales: Magic and Love. The writers only glossed over the relationship of the two elements and I won't begin to tell you how poorly True Love's kiss was handled.  Instead of celebrating the fairytale, they simply borrowed plot lines f

Catholic New Media Conference 2012 Maybe you’re heard about the CNMC (Catholic New Media Conference) , but aren’t sure whether it’s for you.  Do you feel a call to attend, but feel a little awkward about the idea of traveling to Dallas / Fort Worth in August? I went to my first CNMC in 2009 when they met in San Antonio, Texas. Shelly and I had just recently started our blog, so we weren’t terribly experienced in “New Media” yet.  My main reason for attending was simply because I had become a huge fan of Fr. Roderick, Lisa Hendey, and other SQPN podcasts. Bad Case of the Nerves Looking back, I remember how incredibly nervous I was. I practically insisted that Shelly come with me and we brought our biggest promoter, manager, and fan: our mother. Also, to be perfectly honest, I was terrified someone would decide that I wasn’t a good enough Catholic to be there. I worried that there would be some kind of litmus test for walking into the celebration and calling myself a “Ca