Thrilling Commercial

I detest the insidiousness of television. I especially hate commercials which often ruin otherwise family-friendly programming. I am not at all fond of talking heads which are often, sadly empty. But I am willing to give the Today show a chance, since they will have Dawn Eden as a guest. I might even stay home from work and watch it.

Going Back to My Roots by Branching Out

Well, I believe it is official that the seven year itch has struck, fortunately in non-sinful ways. It is not a mid-life crisis, by definition, since my age still begins with the number two. Recently, I have been consuming personal finance books with rabid hunger and have only been able to divert myself by delving into the Outline of Sanity by the greatest author of all time. All of this culminates in the resumption of my entrepreneurial trajectory. I am a distributor of nutritional supplements for Reliv International. I plan to share my thoughts and journey on this blog, hoping that it helps someone else considering this life path.

For those astute people who question what this has to do with living a natural life, I plan to make my case through future posts but it can be summed up in a few sentences. A job, even one which pays a wage high enough to support a wife and kids, is unnatural when the employees feel like cogs in a machine. I consider home-based business to be closer to the way things should be. Especially since my grandfather and great-uncle were entrepreneurs, it is a chance to learn about my past by living like they did.

Beginning Again

My wife and I have completed the re-certification necessary to teach NFP according to the new program published by CCL. The process was mostly pain-free except for some technical errors in the new web-based training modules. The web-based training was of a similar quality to the web-based training which I received from my employer, better in some regards.

The culmination of this training was reading the new Student Guide which CCL published. There were a few typos, which irk a grammar nerd like me, but overall, I was very impressed with the guide. It covered the necessities and seemed to be a far better teaching tool than the old Art of Natural Family Planning (4th ed.). The Student Guide taught the basics in a simple, comprehensible manner and it did not suffer from the information overload of the Art. However, its strength was also its weakness. As a workbook, it will no doubt be a good teaching tool but students will be at a loss for more in depth information. CCL could easily remedy this situation by putting out a new comprehensive NFP guide, which I hope they do, after the rollout of the new materials is completed. Despite this weakness, I think CCL has done exactly what was necessary to re-vitalize its work.

We are in the midst of teaching our first classes in the new method. I will do a more thorough review of the overhaul and the course after we have taught it.

More Natural Living

Jen at Et-tu has a great post that actually uses the words natural life in the way which I think of them. She has added balance to her life by forgoing the pleasure of trying to accomplish everything and venting that it isn't accomplished at the end of the day. I have been following a similar vein in my own life, trying to stop all work at a reasonable hour so that I can get to bed at a reasonable hour after a suitable amount of time for relaxation. It is my Lenten goal to add some more of this balance to my life. I am always glad for a fellow sojourner, even though this Lent seem determined to teach me humility through repeated failure.

May I learn the lesson that the Lord is teaching.

St. Frances (see above post), pray for us.

Beeping Doctor

So my eldest has been playing doctor recently, and I realized that things have changed since I played doctor with the good old Fisher Price doctor kit. When she takes my temperature, she beeps every few seconds until she is done. One of the side effects of co-sleeping and NFP, she hears a basal body thermometer beep every morning.

The End of Civilization

"British bureaucrat says all girls under the age of 20 are too young to breed. Denounced as misogynist."

I only made up the second part. Some people sure make it hard to respect your elders. I pray for the soul of every 12 year old girl in England.

Baby Boom

We have had two births amongst our friends in the last month so I just had to post a note of jubilation. You can check Ecclesia Domestica and Mommy Log for pictures of the adorable ones. May many more such cute blessings arrive into this world!

Kick Them Out

Useful co-sleeping tip #7: Don't be afraid to kick them out.

We have a toddler bed next to our bed (on my side) for our three year old to sleep in. Although she has spent all night in her own bed for about one and a half years, she has recently wanted more snuggle time in the early morning and has been asking to come into bed. I let her in as long as she promises to stay still. At the first motion that disturbs my return to sleep, I put her back in her bed. It has worked very well. She let me know recently that she crosses her legs to help her stay still. I can't imagine sleeping with my legs crossed but I'm thankful she has discovered her own way to obey.

Friendly Work

I always enjoyed visiting my friends when they were on the job. It was fun to know who was serving you food or cleaning your teeth. Now, I have moved to the digital age. Here is the enterprise of a recent acquaintance. Now I can have friends tell me how to eat better, too.

May He bless your work!

Any other entrepreneurs out there? I might be one soon, but mums the word so far.

New Research only 40 Years Old!

Via Roman Catholic By Choice, a Georgetown Doctor has just discovered CycleBeads, a form of the Rhythm Method that seems to have some modern popularity.

40 years from now...

"Georgetown Theologian discovers Rosary Beads."

Scooped my Wife

It's so rare that I get to observe new and cute behaviors from my girls, since I am stuck in the office eight hours a day. I heard this gem tonight and I wanted to report it before my wife did.

M.K.- "I need to get the lasagne down. Some people who have ladders can get it down 'cause it's highest."

Dad - "Where did you learn about lasagne?"

M.K.- "From the song we sing at Church."

Dad- "Could you sing the song for me?"

M.K.- "Lasagne in the highest, and peace to people on earth..."

Dad calls Pop and Mom-mom to relate the hilarity.

Antidote Anecdote

Sometimes problems come in twos, like high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you have these problems, like I do, you should ask your doctor for Clavidel*.

Daughter, age 3: "I should ask my doctor about Clavidel."

Father reaches through television and strangles pharmaceutical advertising executive.

*Pharmaceutical names have been changed to protect father's lack of memory.

Attacking Manhood Like a Gazelle

I am embarking on another two journeys to figure out what manhood is. The first is financial. After reading Rich Dad's Prophecy, I had the fire again to improve my financial situation. Our situation is not dire by any means. It is fabulous. This is probably the exact life I have dreamed of since I proposed to my lovely bride. Now I'm feeling the passion to improve. The Lord has blessed me with so much. I want to be an excellent steward of these gifts so that they may provide more for the Kingdom and for my family.
Stewardship seems like a key ingredient in my manhood recipe. Biblically, stewards and shepherds were always men and I resonate with the idea of watching over valuable property and protecting it. Both jobs seem to require intense focus. How else do you notice one sheep missing out of one hundred? How else do you invest money well to return a good profit for the Master? It seems that a few other dear friends have the same passion for stewardship so I have trustworthy people with whom to discuss these ideas. I've also finally found a financial advice "guru" (though I loathe that word) who is a Christian, who is not divorced, who has children, who knows real estate, and who went broke and came back. He is Dave Ramsey and I just read his book More Than Enough. If only he were Catholic, I would be at peace but 4.5 out of 5 isn't bad.
I pray that he can help me discern how to be a better steward.

Stories are Best

Jennifer F. has yet another great post, this time concerning her conversion to the pro-life side of the world. It is a great story, full of interesting self-analysis and learning despite her own obstacles. The battle is being won.