Summer Lovin' (My Favorite Blogs)

People around the blogosphere are killing it these days. Who says Summer has to be lazy? Read on!


1. Steve Gershom. Or should I say Joey Prever? In this fantastic post Steve Joey (I still don't know what to call you, man) came out (pun?) with a couple weeks ago, he basically gives a run-down of his life as a Catholic, SSA individual committed to celibacy. It's basically a big deal. I applaud Joey for his courage and sincerity. I have been following his blog for nearly a year now and have really valued getting to read things from his perspective and prompted to think about how homosexuality fits into God's plan. And, no, I'm not going to start promoting SSM, but I do think we as the Church need to take extra care to treat people as people, not as labels. Okay, soap box done. I cannot wait to hear more from Joey and his journey.


2. The Catholic Gentleman. New to me with thanks to Facebook. I know I don't need "how to be a gentleman" lessons, but this blog and page is pretty legit and is so refreshing to read after nonsense like this. I particularly have liked this post on Confession and:

Karol Wojtyla, who would become Pope John Paul II, out on a camping trip, shaving in the woods. Can't get much more manly than that. ;)

3. Thomas Peters Recovery. Unless you've been sleeping under a rock for the last month, I'm sure this blog/story has floated across your screen if you're part of the Catholic blogging world (if not, sorry for making assumptions). Nearly five weeks ago, Thomas Peters from American Papist was involved in a swimming accident which left him with serious damage to vertebrae in his neck. However, his recovery has been remarkable. I've pretty much been checking my feed for updates when I get off of work and every update holds good, even incredible, news. Please add him to your prayer list. You can even join their novena here.


4. Carrots for Michaelmas. Need your daily dose of mothering help/aweseomeness? Haley to the rescue! Made a momma for the third time, by now 12-week old Gwen, Haley has been sharing great link-ups and wisdom that I am definitely bookmarking to make use of in the future. Katherine of Shouting Hallelujah shared 7 Books for New Moms. As someone who couldn't imagine going without reading for more than a couple hours, I will definitely be consulting this list. Haley also shared On Marrying Young, which I hope will also be a valuable in the upcoming years.


5. The Crescat. Oh lady. When I click on a new post from Katrina, I always prepare myself for hilarity and piercing observations. Her post earlier this week, A Church By Any Other Name Is A Worship Center, considers the prevalence of "worship communities," the names of which make them unidentifiable as a denomination and likely unidentifiable as a church. She writes,

"Funny how all these questionable sounding nondenominational worship communities make me think of everything but God. I get the human desire for community and companionship but I don’t go to church looking for human interaction. I go looking for interaction with the Divine. I think these community churches are what happens when people start looking for the parish to fill their social needs over spiritual ones."

And then she jokes that Journey Church with "Don't Stop Believin'" in the hymnal would be great. Except maybe she's not joking.


Last, but certainly not least, one of the best parts of Summer (and the only holiday in August!): the Assumption!

I adore this painting by Nicolas Poussin. The colors and light and clouds and flowers and billowing... So pretty and it strikes me as the perfect balance of majesty and soft femininity, completely fitting for the Blessed Mother.

That's all for now. What blogs/bloggers/posts are you loving?

I share more links/random thoughts on Twitter, and pictures of food experiments, pretty things and nail polish on Instagram. Hit me up and let's keep the sharing going!