New Alaskan Catholic Blog: Chesterbelloc Alaska

There is a new warrior in the fight with us and that is:

ChesterBelloc AK

While the blog title seems to give quite a bit away about their philosophical base, it might not be exactly what you expect. [If you don't get the reference of the name... you won't be as intrigued]. That being said, here is their own explanation of their purpose: "For Whom the Blog Tolls"

These guys are solid. Their "style is impetuous,  their defense is impregnable, and they are just ferocious." [I am sorry for that if you clicked on the link, I must be reading too much Amentior] 

In all seriousness these guys are a force to reckon with. Their writing is intelligent, accessible, and quirky. I am really excited to see what these guys produce, and I am not saying that just because they link us.

They are Alaskan, they are orthodox, and they are intelligent. What more could you want from bloggers?

What is exciting is that the ranks of the Alaskan Catholic Blog Battalion seems to be growing... spring may be changing into summer. 

Welcome boys... see you on the battlefield.

Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods: E-Camping Book

For those that like food... I have listed Kitchen Stewardship in the sidebar. It is a GREAT website that my wife uses to make lots of yummy-ness. Also, Katie is a Michigan Catholic Mom, so her blog is deserved of being listed. [I should probably make a Michigan section on the side shouldnt I?] The site is much  more than a blog, and has a lot of great cooking, health, and family resources on it.

That being said, Katie has published an E-Book of sorts about Family Camping. It is called:

Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods: A Family Camping Handbook

My wife had the pleasure of being one of the reader-editors of the drafts, and even got herself on the blogpost with a quote. She let me know this by saying, "I am famous, I made it onto the interwebs!" Which delighted me to no end. What is sad is that more people will read what my wife said, than will read what I say, since Kitchen Stewardship's readership is about 10x what we have over here.

The book is well done. My wife and I are pretty experienced campers, and living in Alaska makes the camping we do here a little more "rugged or extreme" than what MOST families will do. So we decided to use the things in the book over the 4th, just to "test" them out. I was pretty impressed. I think that the book is really good for beginning and intermediate camping families. At $5, you really can't go wrong. There is a nice group of printable checklists, and other resources in the book, that make it a handy little "tool."

You should get this book if you are new to camping, new to camping with kids, or just want to help support a Catholic mom, that gives a lot of her time and talent to the greater Catholic Blogging community. [Yeah, I know I am a little sappy today]

So go check it out! You can buy it below... or click to the KS website.

Kitchen Stewardship in the Big Woods
A Family Camping Handbook with

Real Food Options

by Katie Kimball
48 pages
$4.95

New Blog Added: 'Exposed' by: Leah Darrow

Added a new blog to the blog list on the right:

'Exposed' - Leah Darrow

You can read more about her here:
"Good Catholic Girls" - Acts of the Apostasy



-Posted by: Joe

New Blog Added: Fr. White - Our Lady of Good Counsel, Plymouth, MI

Just wanted to let everyone know of a blog I have started paying attention to:

Fr. White is the newest priest at OLGC in Plymouth, Michigan. OLGC was the Modern Rite parish that my wife and I were members of while in Michigan. Although it is a very NEW, LARGE, and MODERN feeling Church, the parish is run by 3 of the BEST priests I have ever come into contact with.

Fr. White came on just as I moved up to Alaska so I didn't get much interaction time with him, but from what I could tell, and what I have read he is a very orthodox priest and a deeply devoted man of God. Here is an except from one of his most recent blog posts, which I can only guess is a recent homily from a Baptism:

Jesus Christ calls each and every one of us here. We are not here by accident. The Lord is working in the lives of each and every one here. It is not we who have chosen the Lord: He has chosen us. He wants us to follow Him; He wants us to put Him first in our lives. He wants each one of us to love Him with our whole heart. It doesn’t matter what obstacles to personal holiness you may think exist in your life. Jesus Christ is calling each and every one of us to love Him with all that we are and with all our strength. Each and every one of us is called to be a Saint.


And a Saint is not just someone who kneels in a monastery all day. Saints are those who love God with their whole hearts, and God fills their hearts with His life and His love and His joy and they, then, take that joy and that life and that love out into the world and share it with others. When I say that we are all called to be Saints, I am not saying that we are all called to run away from the world and hide; I am saying that we are all called to live our lives for God. And God wants us all to be happy. God created us to be happy. Ultimately, He wants us to be happy with Him forever in Heaven, yes, but He wants us to be happy even in this life even now.


True happiness is only found by giving our whole heart to God and by doing His will. It sounds contradictory to our ears, our culture tells us the opposite. Our culture says that happiness is being able to do whatever I want. But those who do whatever they want and have everything they want still, in the long run, find that they are unhappy. The more selfish, and greedy, and sinful we are the less happy we will be. Sin can give immediate gratification, but it cannot ever satisfy our hearts. Our hearts can be only be satisfied by God alone.

 So check out his blog... and hopefully you will get something from his posts that make you think about your faith in a Christ centered way.

-Posted by: Joe