What I Learned Wednesday #11

Wow, I've really dropped the ball on this over the past two weeks. My apologies; busy weeks. Anyway, I have time now (oh, do I have time) so What I Learned Wednesdays are back. :)

1) When you go through a vocation crisis and you ask God for help, He will send you some awesome help. I don't think I've written about this but I'd been having a sort of vocation/career crisis over the last couple of weeks. I just feel like I've been stuck in my life with both my vocation and my career with no real sense of direction because I'm, once again, at a crossroads. On top of that, I sometimes I feel like I'm not all there when I pray; like I can't concentrate no matter how hard I try (though I fight hard during these times). The last days of the 54 day Rosary novena were hard because of this. It has added to the "What is my vocation? Did I discern it properly? Where is my career going? What should I pursue in grad school?" stress.

As I said on Monday, I had a moment when I felt that the Holy Spirit made my vocation clear so at least that is one less thing to worry about. I went to Sacred Heart, took pictures, and then sat down in front of the tabernacle (after I knelt and made some quick prayers). I was determined just to sit, be quiet, and focus on having some solo time with Jesus. I kid you not, the second I thought the word "vocation" I felt like something within me yelling "marriage! marriage! marriage!" followed by a feeling of happiness, relief, stability and firmness that I had never experienced before. Like "quit asking, child, it's this. Be happy." lol. It was weird but a good weird. lol. So I'm taking it as being told what it is so I can move forward... if I can move forward. That's a whole 'nother conversation I won't get into. lol.

2) As many of you have heard, Aquinas and More began having a clearance sale and they soon saw outpouring support from past customers. Because of it, they decided to have a fundraiser to keep the business going. They were the first Catholic company that I personally bought my items from when I reverted and have even been an affiliate of theirs practically from the inception of this blog. (side note: if you check out the left hand side bar, you'll see where you can search for items through this blog so that I get some credit -- not that I've ever used the credit from past purchases because I'm just happy to send them business). If you haven't already donated and can spare a bit, please do so. No, I'm not getting paid to say this nor do I get anything out of it except continuing to see a faithful Catholic store continue. Seriously, they don't care items that are not orthodox and/or made in China. I've already seen one local family run Catholic bookstore close (St. Peter's Pier in Woodland Hills... you are still missed), I would hate to see another close as well.

3) I don't know if y'all have seen this but there is a great video series that covers many Catholic topics, including the Bible. This video is just the "in a nutshell" introduction to the Bible.


Videos by this team range from covering to the Catechism to a variety of other Catholic topics. While the videos aren't new, they are to me and I am sure to many of you. It's videos like this and programs like The Bible that make me want to go back and read the Bible more thoroughly than previous times. Credit to finding this video goes to XT3 (yes, I'm still a member) who posted the link recently. :)

And that is it for this round of WILW. I am dealing with the aftermath of eating Ritz crackers (which made me feel sick yesterday) and grape juice (which I drank last night) so I want to rest a bit before I attempt to finish cleaning the house. No, my stomach still can't handle all that acid... and it's all made me very dizzy and just blah today. Meh. :( I've already received a couple of prayer requests/intentions so I am offering up this horrid discomfort/sickness up for them. Hey, gotta do something positive with it. :)

I hope to post something by Friday since work has currently dried up (and my brother left for Texas on Sunday) and I have more than enough free time to write. :)

I hope y'all are having a great week thus far. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D

Catholic Bookstores

As a literature nerd, I can spend hours in a Borders without getting bored. Just ask my little adopted sister Delaney, I completely geek out at a bookstore. I also get a bit mischievous and I hide anti-Catholicism books in back of Catholics ones. I'll also put good saint or G.K. Chesterton books in plain view. Again, just ask Delaney as she was an accomplice last time I did that at a Borders bookstore. lol. Anyway, while I do spend a good amount of time in secular bookstores, I've made a conscience effort to go to more Catholic bookstores.

Just today I went to Pauline Books and Media in Culver City (which is only a hop, skip and jump away from my school). Can someone fall in love with a bookstore? If not, I might be the first one. I was like a kid in a candy store. I wasn't the only one either; my mother was in literary heaven. She usually has a hard time finding books since she sticks to Spanish language books and the pickings are usually slim. Not at Pauline though. We both spent a good hour or so just browsing. I found a lot of books I'd been looking for (but hadn't found), including the last copy they had of Christian Courtship in an Oversexed World: a Guide for Catholics by T.G. Morrow which I'd been looking for for months. Sadly, I did not find anything on St. Gemma Galgani. The only thing they had was a holy/prayer card, which I ended up getting. Apparently, it's really hard to get any sort of biography of her here in the U.S. so I will wait until I go to Italy to try to find a copy.

I can't rave enough about this bookstore. I loved both the Daughters of St. Paul and the lay women that worked there. All were very sweet. One of them in particular helped my mom out with books in Spanish which I hadn't even heard of. There is a small chapel inside the bookstore where you can go for the Eucharistic Adoration they have at 2 p.m. (which we stayed for). We left on a first name basis with the lady that helped my mother, but not before we got hugs and smiles to last us until the next time we go... which will most likely be very soon.

I'd never come out of a bookstore feeling as elated and at peace as I did out of Pauline Books. I mean, I'd gone to one other Catholic bookstore before (St. Peter's Pier in Canoga Park; one block west of Pierce College) but it was tiny compared to Pauline Books. I think that it helped that I had been doing research on the Daughters of St. Paul before I went -- not for my vocation as I know I am not called to be a religious sister. (btw, if I were called to be a religious sister, I would've loved to have been a Daughter of St. Paul. They do exactly what I want to do.) Anyway, I was so glad I went and that I was able to find a couple of books to help me through this Lenten season. I made quite a dent in one of them already so look for a book review on it very soon (as soon as I can catch up on my homework and whatnot).

Now, I have a question for you Catholics... do you tend to buy your books from a secular bookstore or do you try to get them at Catholic bookstores? I've often gotten some of mine via Aquinas and More but I've gotten others through either Amazon or Borders. After really thinking about it, I've made it a goal to get my books at Pauline or Aquinas and More. I would feel better knowing that my money is going to a bookstore that won't stock up on books about things that are against Catholic beliefs that are morally wrong (i.e. books on abortion.) (P.S. You fellow Jane Austen fanatics, I saw both books AND DVDs of Jane Austen novels in Pauline Books. I had to keep myself from buying the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. lol)

Alright, I actually have to go because it's really late and I need to catch up on homework. Procrastination is my constant companion this semester and I'm trying to change that. :)

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D