Quick Takes: Strong women edition!

Well, not every Take today is about strong women, but I need doses of fearless femininity! Hearing wimpy, co-dependent modern feminists spend all day whining about how the Church won't hand them free birth control or neuter them or blah, blah, blah, is such an irritant and a turn off that I just about can't stand it. Give me gutsy, independent, courageous Catholic women any day! My heart just overflows with admiration for these incredible ladies...

1) If there were such a thing as same-sex marriage (there's not), and if polygamy were not a sin (it is), I would marry these three women. They have adopted several orphans internationally, some with serious special needs, and you don't see them whining. They just make a decision to love and then act. Each has written about her experiences, to help others overcome their fears:

From Danya at He Adopted Me First:

"Fear"

From Brianna at Just Showing Up:

"Deciding to Adopt"

From Carla at Bringing Henry Home:

"Discerning Adoption, Part One: The Practical"

"Discerning Adoption, Part Two: The Spiritual"

Because of the incredible response to the orphans at Reece's Rainbow, I know that many of you have this subject heavy on your minds. Read these women's stories, and pray.


2) Catholic screenwriter and professor Barbara Nicolosi, a justifiably harsh critic of schlocky Christian-themed/Christian-backed cinema, has some rare praise for October Baby, a pro-life movie released today that is also (gasp) good art! She said on Facebook:

I am endorsing this film - especially for its primary demographic of teenage girls and young women. I saw the film in rough cut and gave some pretty strong notes and was impressed to see how the project had gotten so much stronger in the next version. There is some lovely cinematography here - which makes this almost Lawrence of Arabia among movies coming out of the Christian world. It also has one of the most powerful endings I have ever seen in a movie on this topic. 

A movie's future is determined in the first weekend, so plan a date night with your sweetie or gather your friends and go see this movie either Friday, Saturday or Sunday! A worthy topic and artistic excellence, too? Heck, yeah!


3) In case anyone wants to know: Homeschooling one child is easy! Seriously, I keep trying to figure out if I am doing anything wrong, because it goes so quickly and smoothly. I remember homeschooling four at a time (loooooong ago) and it was nothing like this time around.

See, I told you this QT wasn't all about strong women! Now, back to strong women….


4) At long last, my sister's surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, March 28. We will finally know if she has cancer or not. It's been a weird three months. From an initial (erroneous) diagnosis of advanced pancreatic cancer to four more top pathologists not agreeing on what the slides show, to trying to gain control of an underlying chronic illness in preparation for diagnostic surgery, we will finally have some definitive answers. If you could please send up a quick prayer for her, especially next Wednesday, I would be so grateful. She has been overwhelmed by all of your prayers. You guys are the best, and we praise God for you.


5) You wanna read something unexpected? I was totally unprepared for this, and I'm sure I will never forget it:

Putting it that way

I've always said that courage is the most lacking virtue these days. Rebecca has courage in spades. She is a true feminist role model, an authentic adult in a culture of arrested adolescents, and what she did, with a mother's heart, blew me away.


6) If you can't make it to the nationwide rallies today in protest of Obama's horrific HHS mandate, never fear, as Simcha Fisher has already written about what will happen… before it happens. And I know she is dead on correct... before it happens. You'll see what I mean, here:

The Religious Freedom Rally: My Predictions

 (Caution: You may split a gut laughing!)

Why is the left so predictable? Sigh.


7) Strong women everywhere love Chesterton, so let's end with some Gilbert!

The church is a living teacher, not a dead one. . . It has not merely told this truth or that truth, but has revealed itself as a truth-telling thing. All other philosophers say the things that plainly seem to be true; only this philosophy has again and again said the thing that does not seem to be true, but is true. Alone of all the creeds it is convincing where it is not attractive.

Now, strong women everywhere (and even weak complainers like me and the ladies from NARAL and NOW), go have a wonderful, grace-filled weekend!




Thanks to Jen, for hosting!

And, no, LarryD, I did not yet put in a plug for your 3 1/2 Time Outs Tuesday, which is "just like Conversion Diary's 7 Quick-Takes, except it's half as long and twice as good", because this was the strong women's edition and your Time Outs are for strong, masculine bloggers, right?

*Update: My misleading statement above is corrected by Larry, below. Who says that we conservatives don't like diversity?