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2 years ago was the 100th anniversary of Our Lady of Fatima appearing to the shepherd children. I figured it was as good a time as ever to pray a novena to ask for her guidance in finding my spouse. I prayed (half heartedly - oh how many novenas I had prayed before) every day and the final day was a Saturday and I wasn’t thinking much of it. I went to my friend’s house for a housewarming party. We found out that our other friends were having a baby girl. I was busy coming up with baby names.
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I didn’t expect to meet anyone there. I didn’t shower and I wore a stained shirt. When I walked in, there was a guy playing with the dog on the floor. I shook his hand and said nice to meet you. He told me we’d met before 😳. Long story short, I met my now husband that day, May 13, the day of Fatima’s feast, which I realized after our first date and I had an idea that he might just be the man I spend my life with.
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I am so excited to announce the launch of our new Fatima set. A special way to remember Mary, Jesus’s mother who mothers us all! ☀️ Maybe you’ll suggest that your husband buy these for Mother’s Day so you don’t have to touch any dishes. ☀️Maybe you will throw a gathering where you can talk about all the ways (big and small) that Mary has been there for you. ☀️Maybe you will serve your kids sun shaped pancakes on these plates and talk about the Miracle of the Sun that took place 102 years ago. ☀️ Maybe you’ll surprise your weekly bible study with rosary cups.

I can’t wait to see the ways you celebrate this beautiful feast day!

Yesterday I read this on my friend @thismessygrace’s post. I took a sigh. Ah yes, this God of ours! Unconventional. Inconvenient. Uncomfortable.
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Working through some grief in my life, I’ve been thinking a lot about how often I look back and see that something I could not understand at the time, led to something better, bigger or more beautiful. I was thinking about one particular break up. I was devastated and the pain in my heart seemed like it was never ever going to go away. But in that time, my heart was reshaped, opened wider and began preparations for me to meet my now husband. I look back and am full of gratitude that I didn’t get that thing I “wanted.” _

So today I’m choosing to hang on a little less tight. I’m choosing to trust in the process of the inconvenient, uncomfortable, unconventionality of God’s ways.
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What are you hanging onto? Where can you be less afraid in your life? (And be sure to Pope over to Laura’s whole post!)

More real talk after watching @brenebrown. There’s a moment she emphasizes that daring greatly, entering the ring, really living life, will come with failure. It’s not a maybe. It’s a fact. It is the one thing we can be assured of.
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I really hate that. I really hate failing. I really hate things not going as I expect them. But I keep learning over and over that failure is not as bad as it sounds.
I look on the internet and think everyone around me is exceeding. My narrative goes like this “they put something out and it sold out! They don’t fail! I should just stop trying.” _

I, of course, have no interest in sharing my failures with you because I’d rather you look at me and think everything is going great! But it keeps bubbling up in me to continue to share authentically so that I might be a little encouragement to take some risks.
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I had the idea to do the party goods. I was certain it was a brilliant idea. I told my husband I was going to just make party goods for the rest of my career and promote liturgical celebrations and gathering of people. When it didn’t sell well in the first week, I thought I could just die. All the energy and excitement was a total.letdown. All my deep seeded fears cropped up - I am no good, no one likes me, I’m never creating anything ever again, I am a failure, why did I even attempt this? I didn’t think I could get up and try again.
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And then the days passed. It turned out to be my lowest selling product I’ve ever created. BUT I didn’t die and I didn’t go hungry.
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For me, the “failure” wasn’t really that at all. It reminded me that as an artist and creator, I have to just keep getting in the ring. My entire being wants to try new things no matter the results.
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Today I am awaiting the arrival of another party set and I am so proud of it - whether I sell 200 or 2,000. For me, the failure is only if I say no to the ideas that come to me in prayer. The failure is only if I let my fear drive my decisions. Where can you show up today? Take a risk? Dare greatly and not worry about the results?

Photo of my studio by @elissavoss

Raise your hand if you’ve watched (or are going to watch) @brenebrown’s new show on @netflix?! We watched it last night and I loved all the reminders of what I’ve read in her books.
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This quote stood out to me at this moment in my journey as I experience some heart pains of no longer belonging to a community I once felt I belonged. Brene reminds me that TRUE belonging allows me to be who I am without requiring me to change.
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Have you experienced this before? I am rediscovering that my true belonging is in communion with a God who loves me deeply. And from that place I can move into the world and “dare greatly” and take risks and follow the Spirit.
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What stood out most to you?

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