Write In Between

The Last Post

It is time for this.

It is time to say goodbye to what was my first address on the world wide web.

Back in 2005, I was foolin' around with idea of going back to writing more regularly, after many years of mothering and working in church ministry. And slowly, I did. More and more.

If you've been reading this blog over the years, you saw the growth. You've seen the links to my articles. You watched me graduate from college. You watched me launch in new directions.

But you also saw the shifts, and the fits and starts, and the wondering, just what little niche this blog could fill. Suffice to say, I was a generalist. I wrote what I wanted, when I wanted. And for a very long while, I was perfectly content with the content.

But during this past year, I had this nagging notion that more should be done. And after a while it became a little like a nice closet that you really need to empty out and re-sort, and keep what it good and usable, and toss the rest.

And so, kind readers, having prayerfully and carefully, and little bit tearfully, re-sorted the items in this little corner closet on the web, I'm packing up my best stuff and moving it over to AMONG WOMEN.

I hope it will provide a more coherent focus and a greater harmony for all the work I'm doing in women's ministries in new media and in print. I hope you will enjoy the move. It's always a risk, this thing called starting over.

Please look me up at that new address, and check out my other addresses that I'll list at the bottom of this page.

Thanks for your readership and your friendship. I trust we'll meet again at the new blog.

The Door is OPEN.

------
Join me at:
www.patgohn.com
www.amongwomenpodcast.com
http://amongwomenpodcast.blogspot.com

Peace be with you!

I am 13.

My latest over at CatholicMom.com.

Older posts on this subject are here and here.

Write In Between Word Cloud

This was fun... this is the word cloud generated by Wordle about this blog.

Beautiful Video of JPII and Children

Click on this link and visit at Faith & Family Live... you'll enjoy a great video posted by Danielle Bean that she found, and if you haven't already, spend a little time at that fine site. (Especially you mothers out there!)

BLEEDER, a brief review

Last Sunday I gave myself the luxury of a quiet afternoon. The needs of the family had been met and they were all feverishly engaged in a few activities that did not have to include me... so I curled up on our back porch and read John Desjarlais' newest book, a mystery entitled Bleeder (Sophia Institute, August 2009.)

As I usually review non-fiction works in this space, and works of theology, I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised to find the Christian message and the Catholic theology alluded to in this book remarkably intact. Not to mention, I enjoyed the characters, the scenery, the pace and timing, and the turns the plot took.

What's more, I immediately identified with the main character, who had undergone major surgery on his hip, and as part of his recovery, escaped out to a little cabin in the middle of nowhere to "write".... something I had done just last year after my hip surgery.

As for the finer details of the story, I'll let the book synopsis do that for me:

When classics professor Reed Stubblefield is disabled in a school shooting, he retreats to a rural Illinois cabin to recover and to write a book on Aristotle in peace. Oddly, in the chill of early March, the campgrounds and motels of tiny River Falls are filled with the ill and infirm -- all seeking the healing touch of the town’s new parish priest, reputed to be a stigmatic. Skeptical about religion since his wife’s death from leukemia, Reed is nevertheless drawn into a friendship with the cleric, Rev. Ray Boudreau, an amiable Aquinas scholar with a fine library -- who collapses and bleeds to death on Good Friday in front of horrified parishioners. A miracle? Or bloody murder? Once Reed becomes the prime 'person of interest' in the mysterious death, he seeks the truth with the help of an attractive local reporter and Aristotle’s logic before he is arrested or killed -- because not everyone in town wants this mystery solved...

This book celebrates the fact that God, and people's faith in him is alive and well. And yet, while people still believe in the healing power of God, sometimes such faith can be misdirected... by placing it in people, rather than in the Almighty.

I also appreciated that this book is rated PG, if I can compare it to the movie ratings systems. It did not offend my senses with gratuitous licentiousness or vulgarities.

Bleeder's mystery is well-crafted, and a perfect escape for adults and teens. You can buy Bleeder, or read an excerpt, here.

I was introduced to John and his writing at the Catholic Writer's Guild summer conference a few weeks ago. Find out about more about author John Desjarlais, and his other books here. After Bleeder, I'm looking forward to reading his earlier works!

My latest on Today's Catholic Woman

Embracing the "Adult Catechism"

AMONG WOMEN Podcast Joins SQPN

I'm humbled (and, don't get me wrong, positively thrilled) with the press release today, as well as with Fr. Roderick's Daily Breakfast podcast announcing that AMONG WOMEN has been asked to become an affiliate of SQPN, which is the Star Quest Production Network.

So, let me take a moment and thank God for the gift of this new affiliation, but most of all for all his tender mercies. I'd also like to thank Mary, the Mother of God, the patron of AW, (for, the idea for the podcast really belongs to her, for it is she who is blessed AMONG WOMEN, and our go-to gal for inspirational discipleship! Go, Mom!)

Also inducted this week, the delicious Catholic Foodie, and the young and hip In Between Sundays.

Run, don't walk, to iTunes or MyCatholicVoice.com (in the sidebar) and subscribe!

Writer's Wednesday -- St. Catherine of Genoa

God let her hear these words in her soul,

"From now on, don't look at anything but love.

Fix your eyes on love.

No matter what happens to you or others --

within or without --

look on love alone.

And live."

---Catherine of Genoa, (1447-1510) Vita.

Among Women Podcast #22 (click here!)

Click on the link above for this week's podcast! Episode 22 talks about the strength and steadfastness of St. Monica, the patron of women in difficult marriages, and the patron saint of mothers with difficult children.

And Pat spends time speaking with Susie Weiss, whose marriage was saved by the grace of God and a wonderful program for troubled marriages called Retrouvaille.