Merry Christmas!

I hope you all had a beautiful Christmas yesterday. I was so busy yesterday that I didn't get a chance to post a message. My Christmas day began with a beautiful Mass on Christmas Eve and my Christmas day was filled with prayers, laughter, fun, conversation, sharing, cooking, baking, visiting with family and friends (over the phone too), hard work to get everything done, and collapsing at the end of the day in the living room, finally, to then top off the wonderful day playing a fun game with the family.

I hope that your Christmas was holy, beautiful and memorable - creating memories for future generations! Imagine that!

God bless and hugs!

Donna-Marie

How's your Advent season going?

How is your Advent season going? Have you tried to cut back on some activities to pause and pray and spend time with your family and loved ones? This holy time seems to speed by, doesn't it? We are already into the third week of Advent. which is hard to believe. What kinds of things are you doing with your family to make this season sprcial? Are you forming new traditions or reviving some old ones? Please feel to share in the comment section. I'll be doing some LIVE radio tomorrow and Monday (schedule here) about this season and about my new book just released: Mother Teresa and Me: Ten Years of Friendship, so please feel free to let me know what kinds of things you'd like to hear about.

Talk to you soon!
God bless you!

Donna-Marie

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to All!

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Jesus in our neighbors and strangers...let's look for Him!

I am re-posting a radio segment with Teresa Tomeo. It is a "Mom's Corner" segment discussing Christmas traditions from last year. I also shared on our segment, a couple of experiences I had. One of them, I call, "Jesus at the Post Office." The other little story is about a woman I met in the grocery store a couple of years ago around Christmas. You can hear the whole segment by clicking here.

The woman I met has something to do with the Overnight Christmas bread recipe posted below this one. I hope you enjoy the segment.

Three days until Christmas!

God bless!

Donna-Marie

Overnight Christmas Blueberry-Pecan French Toast

Overnight Christmas Blueberry-Pecan French Toast

Ingredients:

nonstick spray
1 baguette, cut into 20 one inch slices
6 eggs
3 cups of milk
1 cup brown sugar
vanilla to taste
nutmeg to taste
1 cup pecans, toasted
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

Preparation:

Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with the nonstick spray and arrange the baguette slices in a single layer in the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, three-fourths of the brown sugar, vanilla and nutmeg. Pour the mixture evenly over the bread.

Cover and chill the mixture overnight. There will appear to be a lot of moisture when the mixture goes into the refrigerator, but it will all soak into the bread by morning.

Just before baking, sprinkle the remaining one-quarter cup brown sugar, pecans and blueberries over the bread. Bake the dish in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes to one hour (the recipe says 30 minutes, but I found that it takes longer, so check at 30 and be sure to have allowed for 45 minutes to 1 hour) or until golden and bubbling. Serve with maple syrup. For an added treat, heat the syrup with blueberries and have blueberry-flavored syrup.

Enjoy!

I love this recipe because you do the preparation beforehand and only need to pop in into the oven on Christmas morning 45 minutes to an hour before you'd like to serve it. I like to also serve fresh fruit with this "french toast," which can be washed and prepared on a dish in advance to save you the trouble on Christmas morning. I also like to serve fresh muffins - various kinds along with the fruit and "french toast." You may also use a whole grain type baguette in this recipe for added nutrition. You can put this dish in the oven Christmas morning, set the timer and go open your presents! So EASY - that's the idea - keep it simple and enjoy your loved ones!

Let me know how you like it if you decide to make it. :)

"The Christmas Mystery:" my article at Catholic Exchange today

NOW WITH UPDATED LINK

Check out my Christmas article at Catholic Exchange.

Overnight Christmas Bread

Stay tuned! I'll post that Christmas bread recipe later on that I spoke about this morning on Teresa Tomeo's show on our "Mom's Corner" segment.

This is so GOOD!! I love it!!!

HT to Genevieve

Christmas version of First Corinthians 13

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.
If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime:
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.
If I work at a soup kitchen carol in the nursing home,
and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.
If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata
but do not focus on Christ,
I have missed the point.
Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love does not envy another's home
that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.
Love does not yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love does not give only to those who are able to give in return;
but rejoices in giving to those who cannot.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, and endures all things.
Love never fails.
Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust;
but giving the gift of love will endure
(Author unknown)

Please help...

Please check this out to see how you may be able to help!

Thanks so much!

Merry Christmas!

Prayers needed

Go over to "Daily Donna-Marie" to find a prayer request. Just click here. Thank you!

God bless,

I love Saint Joseph!

I want to share a little story with you. My friend has been looking for a place to live for a while. She has been staying with friends temporarily. Certainly she was very appreciative for the place to stay with her friends. However, she wanted to give them some space so they could accomodate their visiting relatives for the holidays. I had recommended that she pray to St. Joseph, since he is the head of the Holy Family and always took care of Jesus and Mary, finding them places to live. My dear friend and spiritual director, Fr. Bill taught me about St. Joseph quite some time ago and I am so thankful that he introduced me to him! He has always been good to me!

My friend has been trying to find a home for herself and her two children. She told me the other day that stables are beginning to look good to her, referring of course, to St. Joseph and Mary ending up at the stable because there was no room at the inn. Each time I talk with this friend, I promise my prayers and try to encourage her and the other day told her that "Home is in your mother's eyes" and that wherever she ends up for Christmas, it will be home. She was planning to rent a hotel room while waiting for a home to come through and plans to get a small Christmas tree and put up her creche there and celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.

So, the other day we spoke and things still didn't look promising at all. After I got off the phone with her, I pleaded with St. Joseph, whom I love and who has helped me so much in the past. St. Joseph, can you PLEASE help ****? Please, St, Joseph, she needs a place to have Christmas with her children. Please help her according to God's holy will." I then thought about a place that could possibly work out. I called a friend whom I knew had a guest house to see if something could be arranged there. No room at that inn either, because they generously had taken in a family who was already staying there.

The phone rang last night and it was my friend calling to tell me her news. She had called a few more places looking into rentals. She told me that one of her inquiries was answered by a gentleman. He left her a phone message about the house that he had for rent, telling her that he was impressed with the manner in which she had inquired. He wanted to meet with her to discuss things. At the end of the message he said, "This is Joseph, the carpenter."

How do you like that?!

Five days until Christmas!

What? Five days until Christmas?! I had better go out and finish shopping! I will be back later on to post some things. I hope that your day will be BLESSED and that you will see Jesus in all you meet!

God bless and hugs!


PS Please also pray for a woman who is scheduled to abort her baby tomorrow. PLEASE storm Heaven so that she won't do it as well as so many other women contemplating abortion, or who have had abortions and are wounded in so many ways. Please pray at least one Hail Mary for this woman. Thank you.

Please pray for this mother and unborn baby!

I received this today from a Pro-life friend. Please take a moment to read about this expectant mother who feels that she has to abort (kill) her unborn baby a few days before Christmas!

***

Dear Friends of the Unborn,
I am copying this email below to ask for urgent prayers for this little soul who is in danger of abortion on Friday. A good woman from my church sent it to me. She received it from one of her family members I believe who is good friends with the woman who is contemplating abortion. This is NOT one of those bulk email chain letters but is from a very reputable source that I know personally. For those of you who can fast along with pray please do. And for those who can go before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to plead for this soul thank you!
God bless,
Mike and Kerry




Dear Family and Friends,



Please take a minute to read this email and pray for my friend. I won’t give you her name for her sake, but she is having an abortion on Friday the 21st. PLEASE pray that she won’t go through with it. She found out last week that her baby will be born with Down syndrome and apparently the doctors and her family have led her to believe that “terminating” her pregnancy is the right thing to do. Not only am I sad for the child, but sad for her b/c the psychological ramifications will haunt her for years. I’ve put her in touch with a woman we found yesterday who founded ‘Reece’s Rainbow’ which is a Georgia-based ministry for saving Down syndrome children- they have 200 families, paper-ready, to adopt Downs children.



Below is my friend’s email, which she sent out yesterday to over 100 of us who have taken her exercise class:



“To my pregnancy:

In my age group I had a 1:86 chance for Trisomie 21(Down Syndrom) and this time we were the unlucky ones..I'll have the DNE(similar to DNC)done Friday afternoon. It's sad and I wish I could change it, but hopefully the next time I won't be the 'unlucky winner'. It makes us appreciate even more what we've got with Andy, family and friends!”



Please pray today and tomorrow for her and for the soul that is about to be killed. Please pray for our efforts to interrupt her decision, and please pray for our culture that seems to think it is okay to broadcast a decision to kill a life so casually.

My radio segment about Christmas

Well, here's the link to my latest segment with Teresa Tomeo. I was on the air with her yesterday morning on my "Mom's Corner" segment discussing Christmas traditions. I also shared a couple of experiences I just had recently. One of them, I call, "Jesus in the Post Office." The other little story is about a woman I met in the grocery store a couple of years ago around Christmas. You can hear the whole segment by clicking here.

Prayer for the morning...

"The promised One shall come and rule over us in peace: come, let us adore him!

Glory to the Father...Alleluia!"

Today, on December 18th, we also think about dear St. Joseph and how the Angel came to him in his sleep bringing him a beautiful message of hope and consolation - that Mary, his beloved has conceived by the Holy Spirit and will give birth to the Son of God.

***

God bless your day today surely filled to the brim with busyness! Pause and reflect, though, on Jesus coming to us. Let's prepare our hearts no matter how busy we are. Stop for a moment to pray and thank God for His many blessings!

I will be back later with a few things to share!

God bless you and keep you!

Hugs,

JOY enters our hearts...

Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI told us that JOY enters hearts of those who seek to minister to the poor. This Advent season, are we focusing on the BIRTH OF CHRIST? Are we getting caught up in the busyness of running around and trying to have everything (superficially) perfect? Are we giving our hearts to the poor?

I'll be back a little later on to post about the radio show this morning with Teresa Tomeo on "Catholic Connection," as well as speak about some family Advent and Christmas ideas.

God bless you!

I'll be back later...

I'll be back later on today to share a little story about Jesus in the Post Office, perhaps share a photo or two with you from our little snowstorm yesterday, as well as to give you details about my Christmas radio show on Monday at 9:15 Eastern Standard Time with Teresa Tomeo for our "Mom's Corner" segment. I am running out to Christmas shop! I just finished the book I was writing (Yippee!!) and have to get ready for Christmas now. We've only had our Advent wreath out so far and just started with our decorations yesterday! It's been busy around here. I've been doing a lot of talks and book signings and I've also have Lyme disease and haven't felt well. I hope that you are enjoying your Advent and your family at this BLESSED time of year!

God bless!
See you later!
Hugs,

Advent: A Pilgrimage Blessed by Hope

As we begin our new Liturgical year, lighting our first Advent candle, we embark on a pilgrimage once again towards the Christ Child, a pilgrimage blessed with hope. Advent is the perfect time to rediscover the beauty and depth of Christmas hope. We are so fortunate and truly blessed that the Holy Spirit has inspired our holy father, Pope Benedict XVI to gift us with his new encyclical, Spe Salvi, Saved by Hope, at this moment in time to a world that is for the most part without God — a world seemingly depleted of hope.

Catholics are given this time of preparation by our Church to prepare our hearts, our families and our homes. We can succumb to the hustling and bustling that our material-oriented culture would have us participate in. After all, the newest toys, gadgets, electronics, and fashions are exploding from the television set, radio, the Internet, store window displays, and sales pages of the newspaper, each store boasting of the absolute best sale ever. Children know exactly what they want for Christmas and where it can be gotten! It's a difficult task for parents to teach the true meaning of the Advent season in an era when Christians are even prohibited to some extent from publicly expressing their faith-filled sentiments of this holy season.

It's almost impossible to escape the chaos to find some peace with the craze of materialism enveloping us. However, we can decide to stay away from the commercialism and materialism as best as we can and use this holy season wisely and prayerfully. Time can be put aside each day for essential personal prayer and family prayer, seeking a bit of stillness in which to retreat to the heart for reflection.

The Catechism tells us, "When the Church celebrates the liturgy of Advent each year, she makes present this ancient expectancy of the Messiah, for by sharing in the long preparation for the Savior's first coming, the faithful renew their ardent desire for his second coming. By celebrating the precursor's birth and martyrdom, the Church unites herself to his desire: 'He must increase, but I must decrease'" (CCC no. 524 and John 3:30).

Parents should make use of the Advent wreath tradition within their own homes — their domestic Churches. Each evening at the family dinner table... (my article is continued here at Catholic Exchange.)

St Nicholas's feast day today

Did your children put their shoes out last night? If you forgot, you can do it tonight. :)

"In many places St. Nicholas is the main gift giver. His feast day, St. Nicholas Day, is December 6, which falls early in the Advent season. Some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good. Other places he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are left in shoes or stockings so the children will know he has come.

Where St. Nicholas is prominent, his day, not Christmas, is the primary gift giving day. Parties may be held on the eve, December 5th, and shoes or stockings left for St. Nicholas to fill during the night. Children will find treats of small gifts, fruit or nuts, and special Nicholas candies and cookies. St. Nicholas gifts are meant to be shared, not hoarded for oneself." (More here including how this day is celebrated all over the world!)


This is from Catholic Culture today:

"St. Nicholas was born in Lycia, Asia Minor, and died as Bishop of Myra in 352. He performed many miracles and exercised a special power over flames. He practiced both the spiritual and temporal works of mercy, and fasted twice a week. When he heard that a father who had fallen into poverty was about to expose his three daughters to a life of sin, Nicholas took a bag of gold and secretly flung it through the window into the room of the sleeping father. In this way, the three girls were dowered and saved from mortal sin and hell."

Happy St. Nicholas day!