7QT 32: VaLENTines and Olympic Motivation
It's Friday - and the first Friday in Lent! We're excited for our first Stations of the Cross at our parish this week. And, let's be honest, as a person with a fear of fish, I'm very pumped for the mass depletion of the fish population thanks to Catholics this liturgical season.
Before we take that first bite of fried fish though, let's take a look back at the adventures at the Langr household this week:
1. Living in Love
Joseph and I were one of the presenting couples on a Living in Love retreat this past weekend. We had an incredible experience, and it was great to connect with old friends and meet new ones, as well! If you're interested in taking a weekend for a fantastic marriage retreat, here's a link to check out the dates for the upcoming retreats.
Not a retreat in your area, but still want to find out more about Living in Love? You're in luck! Lent is a great time to grow closer to Jesus through the sacraments. Why not take this Lent to focus on your marriage? Every Day in Love gives you practical skills and powerful insights to live out your vocation with the joy that God wants for you. The Every Day in Love package includes four at-home dates with streaming videos and workbooks. You can do all 4 or try one at a time! It also includes a Facebook group of other couples to support you (Every Day in Love LENT 2018 on Facebook).
Interested in finding out more? Just scroll down to the bottom of this page for more! Joseph and I can't recommend Living in Love enough.
2. Celebrating Fat Tuesday
There's nothing like celebrating Fat Tuesday with a potluck! We invited some friends over on Tuesday for chili potluck. As good Kansans, we ate our fill of cinnamon rolls as well. It was a great way to celebrate!
3. Would you be my VaLENTine?
Valentines day was a conundrum to Catholics this year - Ash Wednesday and Valentine's day on the same day led to some interesting card writing ideas. Here's my favorite:
Violets are Blue
Roses are Red
Here are some ashes
One day you'll be dead.
Thanks for saying yes to me 'til death to us part! Happy VaLENTines!
All joking aside, Lent starting on Valentine's day is a great reminder about focusing on your marriage. Here's an article I wrote for Aleteia this week with some practical ideas for using this Lent to improve your marriage.
Now just wait 'til Easter - when April Fool's Day and Easter fall on the same day!
4. Athletes more fit than me
Despite having our TV in the basement, our antennae picks up the Olympic signal so well. We've ended a couple of nights this week by watching the Olympics. My favorite sport to watch is ice-skating. Joseph's favorite sport to watch is anything beside ice-skating. The sport that has been on every time we've turned on the TV is . . . ice-skating. I'd call that a win.
Have you ever wondered what happens to some of our favorite athletes after they retire from the Olympics? Me too! This week, I wrote an article for Epic Pew about 4 Catholic Olympians you should keep your eye on - one of them became a religious sister!
What's been your favorite sport to watch?
5. 10K, here I come!
Last week, I got on a treadmill and decided to see if I could run the whole 10K distance. The run is in the middle of March, which is coming up much sooner than I though. I was able to knock out the run in 1 hour, 12 minutes. I never thought I'd be able to run so far - I almost broke down in the gym in tears of joy. No judgement, right, Planet Fitness?
I'm gearing up for my practice run on Saturday, where I'm going back down to a 4 mile run. It's going to be a little chilly Saturday morning, so I may find myself back at the gym. Now I just need to coordinate my running with watching the speed skating Olympic competition. Nothing like watching people move faster than me to motivate me to improve my run time!
6. The library and I need to coordinate better . . .
I get a lot of great book recommendations from friends and e-mail lists, but I always read a book from the library before buying it (just to make sure I'll want it). The great thing is, the library here in Kansas City has a fantastic selection. The bad thing is, the books I want to read mostly haven't been published yet. So I get on a waiting list, and six months later, the book I requested comes in.
The problem is, I don't remember why I requested some of them. Or I completely forget about the book and don't remember why I want to read it. I mean, 743 people are waiting for me to finish this book so they can get their hands on it, so it must be good, but I don't know why I was on the waiting list in the first place.
To make matters worse, I think I must have been on a book-requesting binge about six months ago, because I had 6 books become available at the same time at the library. Of course it was after I wandered through the library the day before and picked up a few books I wanted to read. Oh well, I'll get back to those books after the other 700+ people read them. Maybe by then I'll remember why I wanted them in the first place.
7. Coming soon to a podcast near you
For those of us who are friends on Facebook, this may be old news to you - but a friend of mine, Joe Heschmeyer of Shameless Popery, and I are starting a new podcast. We're discussing everything from theology to Catholic family life and everything in-between. We're still coordinating the tech side of things, but I'll let you know as soon as the first episodes hit iTunes. Until then, please keep this latest adventure in your prayers!