From Our House To Yours: Merry 2020 Christmas!
Monthly Archives: December 2020
Christmas Blessings
This Christmas is already very different. Of course, 2020 has been a different kind of year. There will be no American relatives visiting us here in Canada (given the fact that the border is closed), and even our dinners will be low key in trying to keep with less than ten at each gathering. But one thing that hasn’t changed is how we decorate our Christmas tree. Over the past nearly 39 years, my husband and I have collected hundreds of ornaments. Placing the ornaments on our Christmas tree is like taking a trip back in time.
The first Christmas we were married, we asked friends and relatives to make or give us ornaments. Not all of these ornaments have survived 39 years, but these are some that are still in excellent condition. Clockwise from upper left: 1) Angel with bell: my mother gave this to me in 1978. 2) Small wreath with grandma: My mother-in-law gave this to us on our first Christmas together as a married couple. 3) An old-fashioned glass ball given to us by my Aunt Flossie and 4) a red sleigh given to us by my cousin Linda in 1984.
Despite the challenges of 2020, let us imitate the Blessed Virgin and open our hearts to the Christ Child!
A Blessed and Peaceful Christmas to All!
No Room at the Inn
Advent, Faith and Trust
It dawned on me a few years ago when I was flying back from New Jersey that it takes tremendous amount of trust to get on a plane. We rely on the pilots to fly the plane with precision, expect that the builders created a solid, well-performing plane, and trust that the mechanics have serviced the plane properly. After all, which one of us wants to be 20,000 feet in the air when a mechanical problem happens or when a pilot encounters a situation he’s not trained to handle?
Of course, the same can be said for any situation. We depend on and have faith in our doctors, food companies, school bus drivers and others. On a daily basis, we are called to rely on humans who have the potential of making mistakes.
Consider how most couples “trust” with regard to their fertility. They take pills, get injections, apply chemical patches, insert devices, consent to operations. Instead of working with their fertility, they try to eliminate it. Instead of embracing their fertility, they fight it. They “trust” that by using contraceptives, they will be able to “control” their fertility.
Newsflash: none of these chemicals, devices or operations are 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. Only complete abstinence is 100 percent effective in preventing pregnancy. And yet millions of couples put their “faith” in the contraceptive methods on a daily basis. If the methods “fail,” and a child is conceived, many will resort to abortion.
So what does this all have to do with Advent?
When told that she would be the mother of our Savior, Mary replied, “Be it done to me according to your word.” That took tremendous trust and faith in God’s plan for her. She didn’t say, “Hmmm, let me think about that for a few weeks and I’ll get back to you.” Without her yes, we would not be preparing to celebrate the beautiful feast of Christmas. It must’ve been difficult for her to give birth in a stable, surrounded by the smells and sounds of animals. And yet Mary believed and trusted that this was God’s plan for her and accepted it without question.
So what is God’s plan for us especially regarding our fertility? I can tell you what it is not: God’s plan is not for us to destroy the gift of our fertility with devices, behaviors, chemicals or operations. This reliance that many couples place in contraceptives can sometimes result in an unwanted, permanent loss of fertility and can lead to numerous other consequences as well. St. Pope Paul VI, in his encyclical Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) talks about one of the most common consequences of contraceptive use: “A man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.”(HV 17)
God’s plan is for couples to embrace their fertility and to be generously open to life. Does that mean that God wants us to have as many children as possible? No, it doesn’t. God gave us the gift of reason and he also gave us a built-in natural method of avoiding pregnancy that works with fertility and not against it. God, the Author of life, wants to be part of our decisions regarding our fertility.
Couples who want to trust God with their decisions will trust Him with all of their decisions, including the beautiful gift of fertility. When couples have serious need to avoid pregnancy, Natural Family Planning is a moral way to do so. NFP uses no devices and works with God instead of against Him. Wives who use NFP seldom feel used by their husbands. NFP also works well to achieve pregnancy. It’s healthy, effective and safe. NFP encourages good communication and strengthens marital relationships. And it’s environmentally safe.
Advent is an ideal time to ask ourselves: do we depend on a chemical company or condom manufacturer…or do we trust God, the Author of Life?
Learning Natural Family Planning nowadays is as simple as turning on your computer. For more information on NFP, check out the following websites:
Copyright 2020 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Two New Books From FQP!
On this beautiful feast of the Immaculate Conception, FQP is proud to release two new books, Dubbie: The Double-Headed Eagle by Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen (children’s book) and Gus Busbi by Jim Sano (contemporary fiction).
Synopsis: What if the ugly duckling was actually an eagle — an eagle with two heads? It’s not easy being a double-headed eagle. This is something little Dubbie finds out soon after hatching. With his single-headed family being clueless how to raise him, he embarks on a quest to find kindred eagles. On this journey, he makes friends with a runaway girl named Emma, but also encounters villains with a hidden agenda who are intent on keeping the past in the past — particularly double-headed eagles. Will Dubbie find his double-headed family? Will he and Emma be able to outwit their foes? Follow their adventures through the magical city of Vienna and find out for yourself.
This delightful children’s book is FQP’s first venture into the world of children’s books. The author, Eduard Habsburg (Archduke Eduard of Austria) is a direct descendent of the Emperor at the time of the beginning of WW1. My husband James illustrated the book (including the cover).
Until Christmas, the book is only 9.99 USD (after Christmas, it will be 12.99).
Buy: Kindle edition at this link
Buy: Print edition at this link
Synopsis: What can a black teen from the gang-controlled South End projects of Boston and a seventy-year-old curmudgeonly Italian man, who has given up on life, have in common? Jamiel Russell and Gus Busbi live in the same house but they’ve never met. They both would have just assumed it stayed that way, but life often has more in store for us than we plan for. This timely novel is the second story in the neighborhood of St. Francis Parish and shows the power of relationships, love, and forgiveness.
This is part of the Fr. Tom series by Jim Sano (two more upcoming books in the series!) and takes place in the Boston area at St. Francis’ Parish. A timely story about forgiveness!
Advent Cartoon
An Open Book – December #openbook
I’m joining with Carolyn Astfalk and Catholic Mom for An Open Book. Here’s what I’ve been reading.
Coming from FQP December 8, 2020, Gus Busbi by Jim Sano!
Synopsis: What can a black teen from the gang-controlled South End projects of Boston and a seventy-year-old curmudgeonly Italian man, who has given up on life, have in common? Jamiel Russell and Gus Busbi live in the same house but they’ve never met. They both would have just assumed it stayed that way, but life often has more in store for us than we plan for. This timely novel is the second story in the neighborhood of St. Francis Parish and shows the power of relationships, love, and forgiveness.
My review: I may be biased because I’m publishing this book, but it’s a relevant story about an unlikely friendship between a cranky elderly man and his tenant, a 17-year-old black teen. Highly recommend!
Amazon Synopsis: In the four years since her husband’s death, Melanie LaSalle’s life has been consumed with managing the family design firm and caring for her five-year-old daughter, Jerica. The possibility of a new relationship is the last thing on her mind. But when Melanie meets Joel Ellington, a new staff member at her church, she is instantly attracted to his warm spirit. As their friendship deepens, however, Melanie is troubled by something she can’t quite understand or explain. Joel past seems to be off-limits, even to Melanie. Because of her growing feelings for him, Melanie pushes her doubts away. But when Joel disappears, along with the contents of a church bank account, she can no longer ignore her suspicions.
Now, torn between her feelings for Joel and the evidence mounting against him, Melanie faces a heart-wrenching decision: to forget the man who gave her reason to love again or to trust Joel enough to give him her heart.
Exploring themes of the importance of truth, loyalty, and trust, A Scarlet Cord illustrates that who we truly are depends little on outward appearances and soley on our relationship with God, and on the fact that through faith in Him, we can find places of comfort, healing, and selfless love.
My review: On my To-Read shelf.
Amazon Synopsis: It all begins on a Monday, when four people board an elevator in a Manhattan office tower. Each presses a button for their floor, but the elevator proceeds, nonstop, to the top. Once there it pauses for a few seconds, but the doors don’t open. Instead, the elevator begins to descend floor-by-floor. Then it plummets.
Right to the bottom of the shaft.
It appears to be a random accident. . . . But on Tuesday, it happens again, in a different Manhattan skyscraper. And then Wednesday brings yet another tragic high-rise catastrophe. In only three days, one of the most vertical cities in the world—and the nation’s capital of media, finance and entertainment–is plunged into chaos.
Clearly, this is anything but random. This is a cold, calculated bid to terrorize the city. And it’s succeeding. Fearing for their lives, thousands of men and women working in offices across the city refuse to leave their homes. Commerce has slowed to a trickle. Emergency calls to the top floors of apartment towers go unanswered.
Who is behind this? Why are they doing it? Are these deadly acts of sabotage somehow connected to a fingerless body found on the High Line? Two seasoned New York detectives and a straight-shooting journalist race against time to uncover the truth before the city’s newest, and tallest, residential tower has its ribbon-cutting on Friday night.
With each diabolical twist, Linwood Barclay ratchets up the tension, building to a shattering finale. Elevator Pitch is a riveting tale of psychological suspense that is all too plausible . . . and will chill you to the bone.
My review: I picked this paperback up at Costco. The story is excellent, but the writing style is mediocre, at best. While the story is excellent, it wasn’t compelling enough to keep reading until late in the novel. Also, a pet peeve of mine when reading other authors’ works is when they use words repetitively. In this case, it’s the verb LOOK… continuously. This author uses LOOK sometimes several times in the same paragraph. To me, that’s just sloppy. 3.5/5. Recommend if you can overLOOK the looks.
Amazon Synopsis: They say your daughter is dead. You know they’re wrong.
When her fiancé’s private plane crashes in the Colorado Rockies, everyone assumes Allison Carpenter is dead.
But Maggie, Allison’s mother back home in Owl Creek, Maine, refuses to believe them. Maggie knows her daughter – or she used to, anyway. For the past two years, the two women have been estranged, and while Maggie doesn’t know anything about Ally’s life now – not even why she was on a private plane to begin with – she still believes in her girl’s strength, and in their love for each other.
As Allison struggles across the treacherous mountain wilderness, Maggie embarks on a desperate search for answers about the world Allison has been involved in. What was she running from? And can Maggie uncover the truth in time to save her?
Told from the perspectives of a mother and daughter separated by distance but united by an unbreakable bond, Freefall is a heart-stopping, propulsive thriller about two tenacious women overcoming unimaginable obstacles to protect themselves and the ones they love.
My review: On my To Read Shelf.
Plot Line and Sinker (Ellen Gable, Author) 