Welcome to Catholic Sistas’ newest series, featuring some of our friends in the Catholic blogging world entitled Fabulously Featured which will run on Wednesdays. I have always wanted to introduce you to some new blogs to follow and support, but seriously lacked the time to put this together before now. In a Facebook group of fellow Catholic women bloggers, I asked ladies to answer some questions for this series, and they were all too excited to participate! I give you their answers in their own words. 🙂
Laura Fanucci is blogger of Mothering Spirit and author of Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting. A simple act of rocking her son during Mass brought the connection between parenting and the Faith. Writing helped bridge the two and the blog was born. You can find Laura writing over at Catholic Mom and Blessed Is She. For those looking to find ways to infuse the Faith into everyday life, you will enjoy Laura’s writing. 🙂
Laura Fanucci
ESTABLISHED:
2010
THEME:
Exploring the intersections of faith and family, spirituality and parenting.
INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION:
I started blogging when I had our first baby right after I graduated from theological studies and I wanted a way to think theologically about parenthood. Writing became a way to connect with God and others as I tried to see everyday moments at home with young kids through the lens of my Catholic faith.
Blogging helped me to see that writing was part of my calling. Eventually all the themes I found myself blogging about – Scripture, sacraments, and spiritual practices – wove together to become the inspiration for my book about the sacraments from the perspective of family life: Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting.
I’m motivated to keep blogging because I think the vocation to parenting is an under-explored topic, and I think it’s such important, holy work that parents are called by God to do!
FAVORITE ELEMENT:
I love that my blog encourages me to keep up writing as a spiritual practice. I find God in words and the quiet discipline it takes to craft them. Blogging keeps me writing regularly and helps me to see the world as a writer. I also love the connections I have made through blogging – book projects I never imagined, group blogs that inspire me, and real-life friendships that have become a gift in this season of my life.
FAVORITE POST:
Dear Couple In The Pew, I See You {On Infertility and Invisibility}
Infertility and miscarriage are crosses close to my heart, and I am grateful that my blog has allowed me to reach out to others who have experienced this heartbreak as part of their journey towards parenthood. This post made me realize how many Catholic couples carry invisible burdens like infertility.
I keep an ongoing collection of prayers for pregnancy, including a series on praying through the 9 months of pregnancy. I’ve been blessed with so many amazing stories of women praying during their pregnancies or praying to become pregnant! This is one of my favorite surprises of what my blog has become. I always struggle to pray while pregnant because of awful morning sickness, so helping other women along their own paths has become a passion of mine.
BALANCE:
I started paying attention to the times when I write well. Turns out I am a morning person, much to my surprise! Now I try to get up early and write for an hour before my kids wake up (easier said than done sometimes). This gives me more time and space to start the day in prayer, too.
I’ve also learned to write in my head while doing housework or nursing the baby, and then jot down ideas on whatever scrap of paper I can find. I’m at home with three kids and I also work part-time from home, so I end up writing in the margins of my life. But I’m just fine with that right now.
AUDIENCE:
CATCH PHRASE/TAGLINE:
“Everyday parenting as spiritual practice.” I love catching glimpses of God in this holy journey of growing as a family.
ADVICE :
The best writing advice I ever received was that if you drop deep enough into your own story, you will tap into the aquifer of human experience. So I think if you trust your own voice and experience, you will be led to the people and the means you need to do the work that God calls you to do.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Have a question or comment for our featured blogger? Please leave them in the comments below!
Would you {or someone you know} like to be fabulously featured?
Send an email to Martina@CatholicSistas.comand reference the Fabulously Featured series and we’ll get the ball rolling to get you or your friend featured!
