Friday Favorites

A weekly list of my favorite things.

Books:  I've been reading The Marian Option by Dr. Carrie Gress.  I purchased it along with her newest book The Anti-Mary Exposed: Rescuing the Culture from Toxic Femininity which I'll likely begin reading next week.  I love this book!  It is a very easy read and filled with the history of Marian devotion and how this devotion shaped culture and history itself.

Podcasts: I've just finished listening to the Abiding Together series on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe podcast.  It was fantastic.  I found myself tearing up listening on several occasions because their insights touched me profoundly.

Music: I'm trying to change my music listening habits to choices more uplifting and not so entrenched in the secular culture.  I found a Christian radio station last week and I've been listening when I am out and about town. I love the message and style of this song by Francesca Battistelli-- The Break-Up Song

Articles: Why Christians Hail Jesus' Cross as the One and Only Hope of Mankind by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski really struck a chord with me this week, especially living here in Utah among the Latter Day Saints who shy away from the cross and its true meaning.

Videos: Chris and I are addicted to the videos being put out by Dr. Taylor Marshall and Timothy Gordon.  This one on fictitious Pius XIII had us laughing.  What would be the first thing you'd do if you were ever elected Pope?

Shops: Monica of Dovetail Ink is one of my favorite contemporary Catholic artists. I have a print of her Madonna of the Lilies which hangs in our Marian themed living room during Ordinary Time and I just adore it. Recently she sent me the most lovely prayer cards to assist me in praying the Impossible Novena which begins on March 25th (more on that later). She is so talented and a lovely and generous soul.

Food: I made this easy Greek Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner with Green Beans and Feta for supper this week. It was delicious.  I used bone-in, skin-on thighs so I browned them on both sides in a cast iron skillet before adding them to the other ingredients and then finished roasting them in the oven. It took a few extra minutes to cook through than suggested by the original recipe, so be sure to have an instant read thermometer on hand to check for the doneness on the thighs.

Prayer: I've been drawn to add the Fatima prayer to either our morning offering or to the end of our nightly rosary.  "My God, I believe, I adore, I hope, and I love You! I ask pardon of You for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope, and do not love You."