The Joy (and Fruits and Vegetables) of Spring
I live two blocks from the local farmers' market, which offers veggies, fruit, and just about everything else each Thursday afternoon and evening. Once a month, there's also live music. I'm a Martha Stewart wanna-be when it comes to cooking, and love to prowl the stands for items I've never seen before and get the growers' advice on what to do with, say, mushroom varieties I can't even pronounce. The growers haven't steered me wrong yet. It's a smaller version of what happens with God... trust Him, and you'll be blown away with the banquet He prepares for you.
Friends in Faith: Annie Sweeney
I recently got a solicitation from AHC Inc., which builds and preserves affordable housing communities for low- and very-low-income people in my area and elsewhere. The solicitation was to help at-risk kids go to summer camp. It made me smile for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that my friend Annie Sweeney wrote the letter; she manages AHC’s individual giving efforts. Annie’s had a career full of helping nonprofits. She says she didn’t plan it that way; it just happened. Annie reminds me that it’s best to trust in the Lord and follow where He leads, rather than attempt to make His desires fit one’s highly regimented personal and professional plans.
On the Nightstand: The Edge of Mercy
I ran across this one in my continuing effort to read more contemporary Christian fiction, and was struck by the title. The Edge of Mercy: who isn't or hasn't been there? At first, I was thrown a little by the cover--it doesn't look contemporary--but then I read that it's the story of two women, three hundred years apart, one during the time of King Philip's War (which involved some of my ancestors), and I decided to give this a try for May. This book and author Heidi Chiavaroli's earlier books get great reviews, so I'm looking forward to diving into The Edge.
"I Can Clearly See God's Plan for Me"--Concepcion Cabrera de Armida
This Saturday in Mexico City, Concepcion Cabrera de Armida will be beatified, one step before canonization. Seen here ( in an image by Artista audiovisual [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]) Conchita, as she was known, was a wife, mother of nine, writer, and mystic. She died at the age of seventy-four in 1937, and it's said that three of her grandchildren plan to attend the beatification.

Conchita's writing output astounds me. It's said her spiritual diary consisted of sixty-six different manuscripts, and overall, her work includes two hundred or so volumes of letters, meditations, and more. Some people have compared her to two of the Catholic Church's great female Doctors (teachers): Teresa of Avila and Catherine of Siena. Here's a sample:

I clearly see God's plan for me, how he has been molding me since I was a child. I can see Him bringing His plans to fruition with admirable sweetness. I can see God's will for my soul take shape, appearing as a sunrise and finding its fullness at noon, making His wishes clear and accomplishing His plans.

I'll be writing a bit more about Conchita later this month in my Wednesday's Woman feature (short profiles of beatified and canonized women).
A Literary Month Ahead
Wouldn't you love to have a personal library like this one? I know I would, in no small part due to the fact that I have friends who write wonderful books. I'll be attending signings for two of them this month: Mary Lenaburg and Be Brave in the Scared on May 11 in Fairfax, VA, and Paula Lazor and Beyond the Box on May 15 here in Arlington.

I'm being somewhat "literary" myself this month. My next book, Woman of Worth: Prayers and Reflections for Women Inspired by the Book of Proverbs , comes out in June and I've been helping the publisher with marketing plans. More on that next month. And, I'm delighted to say that I'll be working on an every-other-issue feature for Catholic Digest on saints of the past century. While I'll be writing the first one this month, you won't see it until this fall.

Praying that May will bring you wonderful fruits and vegetables, great reading, and time with your mother or someone who's like a mother to you.

In Christ, Melanie