Gratitude
gratitude [grat-i-tood, -tyood] noun 1. the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful: She expressed her gratitude to all of the donors and volunteers of Maggie’s Place. When I first interviewed at Maggie’s Place last November, I remember being overwhelmed by...
Child Abuse Prevention Month
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month Maggie's Places uses "Protective Factors" in our programming for moms to eliminate risk of abuse. Protective Factors are an evidence-based method to help people more effectively deal with stressful events. Maggie's Place...
Volunteers Rock!
Thank you so much for giving of your time, talent, and treasures to the moms and babies that call Maggie's Place home. You've made a difference in their lives with your thoughtful presence. Everything from bringing a meal to one of our homes, doing house coverage,...
Worth the Wait
“Are there any babies yet?” This has been an everyday question at our home for the past five months! Since October, we have not had a single baby at our house because four of our moms are due in April and the rest are due even later. We have been playing the waiting...
Holy Saturday Easter celebration
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month Maggie's Places uses "Protective Factors" in our programming for moms to eliminate risk of abuse. Protective Factors are an evidence-based method to help people more effectively deal with stressful events. Maggie's Place...
An Open Letter to My Fellow MissionCorps
The longer I am at Maggie’s Place, the more frequently I find myself thanking God for my fellow MissionCorps. To my roommates, best friends, heroes, and workmates, this is for you! To the very first 5 of you: First of all, I now completely understand what it feels...
A Morning Offering: MissionCorps Style
I was inspired to share this modge podge of a morning offering prayer that I pray. It has bits from Psalm 51, the first book of Kings, and a prayer to St. Thomas More that Pope Francis says daily (because a healthy dose of humor in our daily lives is very...
The Power of Prayer
My life changed a few years ago when I came to really know Jesus. I grew up knowing about Him but I didn’t really know Him until He found me and changed my heart. The most recent change is how the Lord led me to Maggie’s Place. As a single mom myself, I have always...
I Am Your Mother
From the moment you were conceived, I loved you! I didn’t know what to do, but for you, I would climb any mountain to give you a better life. I carried you in my belly for 9 months. My body changed, nights became restless and I felt every kick and somersault. It...
Dear Maggie’s Place Moms
Dear Maggie’s Place Moms, Did you know that you are the strongest group of women I know? I have watched so many of you come to Maggie’s Place, afraid and unsure, and slowly grow in confidence and trust. Some of you have lost children to miscarriage. Some of you have...
MP Saints of the Day
Every time Maggie’s Place opens a new home, it is placed under the patronage of a saint. To date, we have homes named for St. Mary Magdalene, St. Elizabeth, St. Michael, St. Zachariah and St. Hannah. We ask them to intercede for us when we pray as a community every...
Truly a Home
I have just begun my second year as a MissionCorps and resident of The Michael House. Since moving in on January 15, 2015, I have lived with 36 women, and 9 born babies, and have lived with as many as 14 women at one time. Regardless of our individual characters or...
Baby Talk
The other day I was playing with our 3 month old baby. I was making him smile and he started to laugh. I started asking him about his day, what he was thinking, and how he felt. He started grunting at me in response. It was the best conversation I have ever had with...
Into the Breach at MP
During a contact meeting with a mom, we had the convo card* that expressed the meaning of a REAL MAN. The fact that the mom had picked this particular card was ironic because she had just finished telling me why she wanted nothing to do with men. She giggled. I...
Some Memories From 2013 to 2016
My first contact mom had a very healthy, robust baby, who was also probably the angriest baby I’ve ever met. His mom went to school to get her CNA certification, and so the Corps ended up babysitting him at odd times to fill in for other sitters while she was at...
From Heroism to Dailiness
“A community which is just an explosion of heroism is not a true community. True community implies a way of life, a way of living and seeing reality; it implies above all fidelity of the daily round. And this is made of simple things—getting meals, using and washing...
Baby Geniuses
The 1999 comedy film, Baby Geniuses, with Sylvester and his infant cohorts gleefully outwitting the sinister Doctors Kinder and Heep, is an all-time favorite at The Elizabeth House. Unlike Dan Bobbin, we cannot for the most part understand baby babble, and try as we...
Christmas Rosary Reflections
The Joyful Mysteries: Meditation on the joy at the anticipation and arrival of the long awaited Messiah. The first Mystery: The Annunciation “Be it done unto me” -Luke 1:38 My God, when I interviewed for Maggie’s Place, I heard your invitation. It was an invitation to...
The Hope of the Christmas Season
The Christmas season is all about having hope in Jesus’ mercy and love. God’s people hoped and prayed for a Savior. The Israelites believed the Messiah would be a gallant leader who would rid Judea of Rome's tyranny. Hope is powerful although the things we hope for...
Extraordinary Mercy
A few months ago, in May to be exact, I was preparing The Elizabeth House for the Feast of the Visitation. I was in charge of planning the festivities, which included a candle-lit prayer service in our backyard’s Marian grotto. I decided that the grotto’s foliage...