Bloggerhood Etc. 10/27/14

Image: John Varney/TED-ED

Best Profile. “The Crisis That Changed Pope Francis” by Paul Vallely at Newsweek. 

Best Dad Post. “Should You Travel With Young Kids?” by Jeff Bogle at OWTK.

Bravest. “Ten Minutes of Bravery” by Aaron J. Smith at Cultural Savage.

Best List. “10 Traits My Tween and Teen Acquired From Participating in Live Theater” by Andee Zomerman at Nature of a Servant.

Best Call to Rebellion. “A Benedictine on the Benedict Option” by Rod Dreher at The American Conservative.

Best Special Needs Post. “Does Guilt Lace Your Dreams” by Kara Dedert at Not Alone.

Best Commentary. “TED Talks are Lying to You” by Thomas Frank at Salon.

Best Question. “Is St. Peter a Bouncer?” by Joshua Ryan Butler at A Deeper Story.

Best Answer. “Why Every Newborn You See on Facebook is Wrapped in the Same Baby Blanket” by Lisa Selin Davis at Quartz.

Best Easy Recipe. “Incredibly Simple Applesauce” by Evelyn Shoop at Momsicle. 

Best Free Resource. “NASA Posts a Huge Library of Space Sounds, And You’re Free To Use Them” by Peter Kirn at Create Digital Music.

Best Mom Post. “Flutters and Faith” by Sarah Bessey.

Best Essay. “Daughter of the Dragon” by Hilary Oliva Faxon at SB Nation.

Best Educational Video. “A Different Way to Visualize Rhythm” by John Varney at TED-ED (via YouTube)

Begin Again

Every day is a new beginning.

So is every month.

Clocks cycle, calendars turn, and we mark out time in neat little packages. But time doesn’t come in packages. It’s not a calendar or a clock. It’s a river, constantly flowing forward and carrying us along moment by moment.

The past is set.

The future is unknown.

But the present—the now—is where we begin again.

We fall, and we get back up again.

We fall again, and we get back up again.

And the only thing that sets the saints apart is this …

They get up one more time than they fall.

Take His hand.

Get up.

Begin again.

 

The Gate is Never Closed

Photo: News.va

“(Jesus) is the gate. He is the gateway to salvation. He leads us to the Father. And the gate that is Jesus is never closed, this gate is never closed, it is always open and open to everyone, without distinction, without exclusions, without privileges. Because, you know, Jesus does not exclude anyone. Some of you might say to me, ‘But Father, surely I am excluded, because I am a great sinner. I have done so many things in my life.’ No, you are not excluded! Precisely for that reason you are preferred, because Jesus prefers the sinner, always, in order to pardon him, to love him. Jesus is waiting for you, to embrace you, to pardon you. Don’t be afraid: He’s waiting for you. Be lively, have the courage to enter through His gate. All are invited to pass through this gate, to pass through the gate of faith, to enter into His life, and to allow Him to enter into our life, because He transforms it, renews it, the gifts of full and lasting joy.”

—Pope Francis. Sunday Angelus (Aug. 25 2013)