Planning a Holiday Tea Party

These days, it would be very easy for me to fall into a pit of despair over what is happening in our world.  I could sit paralyzed with fear, worrying about what kind of future our grandchildren will have if things don't change, and fast. I'm not going to go into details here, because this isn't that kind of blog.  But there are goings-on afoot that truly terrify me--and some of them are hitting way too close to home.

But my husband and I are doing the Bible in a Year study with Fr. Mike Schmitz, which makes us realize that none of the things that are happening in the 21st century are new at all. Throughout salvation history, misguided and sinful man has time after time turned away from God and suffered greatly for it.  But in the end, God our merciful Father is in charge and He does love His children; so in spite of our disobedience, there is always hope for us.

ANYWAY, sorry for starting out as a real Debbie Downer on this Monday morning (as if Monday mornings aren't kind of the worst for many already!); I'm going to change my tune here and tell you what I'm doing to combat the blues:

I'm planning a St. Nicholas Tea Party/Brunch/Cookie Exchange in early December, for all the Pearl ladies here in VA (including my five oldest granddaughters)!  

I've got lots of ideas for the food and decor already, but I find myself doing Internet searches for "Christmas Tea Party Ideas" quite frequently now, and here are some of the images that have popped up that make me feel all merry and bright.

I'm trying to decide if I'll use my beloved blue-and-white transferware for the party.  Or instead, I might use the lovely holiday china that my mother-in-law left me, as I have exactly 10 place settings of that and there will be 10 of us around the table.  I'll be sure to post pictures of our event--which will probably not quite live up to these Pinterest-worthy images, but I'm going to do my best.  I can't tell you how excited I am about this little all-girls party!

With visions of sugarplums (and dainty crustless tea sandwiches) dancing in your heads now, and all the gloominess of the beginning of this post hopefully blotted out of your mind, I wish you a wonderful week. Enjoy your families.  And make every day a holiday!  (That's my new motto!)

Just Because: My New Favorite Heroine, ST. RUTH!

This is becoming a huge favorite of mine--this "Just Because" link-up with Rosie over at A Blog for My Mom. Back in 2011 when I started my little String o' Pearls (the blog formerly known as String of Pearls), Rosie was one of the first Catholic bloggers I discovered, followed, and corresponded with.  I'm so glad that she's still here, when so many of the other gals I used to hang out with in the blogosphere have abandoned this platform for the more popular, higher visibility world of  Instagram (which I kind of did, too, I must admit--that is, before I decided to give up my other social media accounts, cold turkey).  Thanks, Rosie, for sticking around, and for giving the rest of us die-hard bloggers a place to connect each week! 

I mentioned in a post not too long ago that my husband and I are doing Ascension Press's Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz.  Wow!  Just wow.  I can't recommend this podcast series highly enough; I'm telling you, it has been kind of life-changing for me.  As a cradle Catholic who loves and tries to live her Faith, it's embarrassing to admit how little time I have spent in my 62 years on this planet actually reading the Bible (and I'm a person who LOVES to read!).  I am learning so much, and I can't think of a better teacher than Fr. Mike, who explains each day's readings with gentle humor and enormous compassion.  And boy oh boy, do we humans need a lot of compassion and forgiveness!

Human beings being prone to sin is not a new concept; one need only to read the Old Testament to understand how very fallen our nature really is, and how much we need God.  I look around the world today and am shocked and dismayed by how far from God and His teachings it has wandered; but reading the Bible makes me realize that what we are seeing these days is nothing new.  From the earliest days of human life on earth (pretty much on day one we had the Adam and Eve debacle), this turning away from God has happened over and over and over--indeed, we are a "stiff-necked people."   God's chosen people, the Israelites whom He brought out of slavery in Egypt and promised a land flowing with milk and honey,  kept messing up--big time!--and then desperately beseeching His forgiveness and help.  And time after time, God in His infinite mercy saved His people from utter disaster.  The tale of human history that the Bible tells illustrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that God gave us the Ten Commandments for our own good, not to make our lives harder but to make them infinitely easier.  It's only when we break those commandments that we suffer in body, mind, and soul.

Anyway, today is day 97 out of 365, and we've already read through Genesis, Job, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Judges, and Ruth, with portions of Psalms and Proverbs mixed in there, and we are currently going through the first book of Samuel. And I have to say, I have become a great fan of Ruth, about whom I knew very little before starting this Bible in a Year study.  The Book of Ruth is just four chapters long, but it made quite an impact on me.

You probably know the story of Ruth already; but I'll give a quick synopsis of it here anyway.  An Israelite man named Elimelech (husband of Naomi) and his two sons, Mahlon and Killion, all die, leaving three grieving widows.  Ruth, the widow of Mahlon, is a Moabite.  She was raised in a pagan family but is drawn to the faith of her husband's family. Naomi loves her daughters-in-law very much, and they in turn love her; but nonetheless after her sons' deaths she encourages both of them to return home to their parents, so that they will not be destitute.  But Ruth is so devoted to Naomi and her new faith that she refuses to return to her own people.  "Whither thou goest, I will go.  Thy name shall be my name, and thy God my God," declares Ruth.  

Ruth is considered a model of bravery, faith, and obedience, and she is rewarded for these traits.  She is determined to support herself and Naomi and goes to work for a man named Boaz, who is a kinsman of her late husband, toiling in his fields from morning 'til night.  Boaz ends up marrying Ruth, and from their line comes their great-grandson,  King David.  And of course, this means that Jesus is a direct descendant of Ruth's.

After we finished the Book of Ruth, I told my husband that I thought I should make my five daughters-in-law read it, if they haven't already.  You know, as a reference, as a guide for how to act if you want to be Mom Pearl's favorite.  Ha ha!  (Seriously, though, I would never ask my girls to leave their people for my sake; but I know that they would do just about anything for me other than that, and I am not exaggerating when I say that I am an exceedingly lucky mother-in-law. And I have five favorite daughters-in law.)

Here at the blog, I've named my girls Regina, Ginger, Preciosa, Braveheart, and Babisiu. I think perhaps I shall rename them Ruth 1, Ruth 2, Ruth 3, Ruth 4, and Ruth 5 (with their numbers corresponding to their husband's birth order).  What do you think?

I wish I had a picture of all five of my daughters-in-law together, but unfortunately I don't.  (Babisiu/Ruth 5, in those last two pictures, just joined us in 2019, and she and our youngest son are the only ones who don't live close-by in VA. YET.  #goals)

I'm ashamed to admit that I always thought that familiar line, "Whither thou goest, I will go," was meant to be romantic.  It reminded me of something one of the Bronte sisters might have penned for a desperate female character to say to a handsome and mysterious love interest who was about to leave her behind.  But instead, it is actually a much more deeply meaningful sentiment than any you might find in a fictional love story.  Ruth's refusal to leave Naomi is especially poignant when you realize that at that time, in that part of the world, if a widow didn't return to her family in order to find a new husband among her kin, she would be destined to a life of poverty and loneliness. Ruth was brave enough to face such a future if necessary, out of love for Naomi and devotion to her God.

I just love hard-working, self-sacrificing, God-fearing Ruth.  She's my new favorite Biblical heroine.  And I bet she was Naomi's favorite.  [Insert winky-face emoji here.]

That's it for me. Now whither shall thou goest?  How about thou goest on over to Rosie's?  

The Bible in a Year: Be Still

My husband and I are participating in Ascension's "The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)", a daily podcast that will take us through the entire Bible during 2021.  I have never read the Bible cover-to-cover, because that was an undertaking that always seemed incredibly daunting to me.  In fact, I'm ashamed to admit how little time I have actually spent reading the Bible at all in my 62 years of life on this glorious planet  God gave us to inhabit--a planet that I appreciate even more now, as a matter of fact, after journeying through Genesis with the help of the most cheerful and insightful travel guide imaginable.  (You've gotta love Fr. Mike!) 

We first heard about this Bible study daily podcast from our middle son, who started it on January 1 (he is also doing an Exodus 90 program of physical and spiritual exercises, growing stronger in mind and body and stronger in his Faith).  We were about two weeks behind when we decided to join in, so we doubled up on the podcasts until we caught up with everyone else.  Today is day 47 of the Bible in a Year program, and we are in the process of working our way through Exodus, Leviticus, and Psalms.

I told my husband last night that just with what we've covered so far, I believe that I am starting to know God our Creator better, and I'm developing a deeper love for Him.  I've always felt that I could picture what Jesus was like, because He was not only divine but also spent 33 years here on earth as a flesh-and-blood man; it seemed easier to know and love Him, a fellow human being, than His all-powerful Father in Heaven.  But the Old Testament is giving me a whole new appreciation of God, a deeper understanding of His love and mercy; and each day I look forward to the time spent following along in my Bible as Fr. Mike reads aloud, and then afterward, listening to the lessons he has to teach about that day's passages.  If you had told me beforehand how very much I would look forward to this activity each and every day, I would not have believed you.  

Considering the mess that the world is in right now--considering the widespread fear, anger, and violence, the ugly divisions that are literally tearing us apart--I could not have picked a better time to stop reading Facebook and Twitter newsfeeds (my husband and I have both deleted our accounts) and start reading the Bible instead. It has been a balm for my soul.  Just when I start to feel utter hopelessness about the current state of the world, the Word of God gives me hope. Just when I think that the future is dark and bleak and wonder what kind of world my beloved grandchildren are going to inherit, The Word of God gives me peace.  And I need to believe that it will all turn out okay, because I have too many precious people in my life (like this 16-month-old angel, #15 of our 17 grandchildren) who deserve a beautiful future. 

Hope and peace, that's what I'm finding in the pages of the Bible.  I absolutely loved this recently read passage, and I intend to make it my mantra:

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:14)

Wow... Wow, there's so much to unpack there (as Fr. Mike might say).  What a relief!  I can put my worries in God's hands and be assured that all will be well, because He is fighting for me, for all of us.  How do I know this?  The Bible tells me so.