Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of June 26, 2009!
Congratulations to Mary Reinartz!

Mary Reinartz will receive a copy of the Letting Go of the Chaos: Ideas for Addressing Ministry-Related Stress, a $13.95 value.

Working with young people can be invigorating and joyful, but it can also be tiring and stressful. Too often those of us in ministry put aside our own needs for those of the young people we serve.

Letting Go of the Chaos: Ideas for Addressing Ministry-Related Stress explores twenty areas of stress most common in the lives of those who work with young people. This book helps you see past the stress and offers practical suggestions for moving beyond it. Though the book doesn't guarantee a stress-free ministry, it will give you some useful tools to help you manage the chaos a bit more easily.

Look Inside: You can find an online sampler of Letting Go of the Chaos on the SMP Web catalog. Search for "Letting Go," or use this link to go to the product description, http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3828. Then use the "look inside" button next to the cover image to see the table of contents, the introduction, and the first two chapters, "Dealing with Others' Problems" and "Balancing Family, Friends, and Ministry."

Letting Go of the Chaos: Ideas for Addressing Ministry-Related Stress
by Victoria Shepp
ISBN 978-0-88489-953-2, paper, 60 pages, $13.95 http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3828

Letting Go of the Chaos
by Roxane Kadrlik Chlachula

For most of us, the school year has ended, religious education and sacramental preparation has concluded, and we are looking forward to a one or two month hiatus from our regularly scheduled commitments. When I served as a Director of Religious Education in a parish, I looked forward to my time off during the summer. Each year my plan was to relax and read many of the books I didn't have time to read during the year. Inevitably, the summer went too fast, I never spent enough time relaxing, and I was lucky if I read one or two books!

If your experience has been similar to mine, I would like to recommend one book to read this summer: Letting Go of the Chaos: Ideas for Addressing Ministry-Related Stress, by Victoria Shepp. The book focuses on four areas in which stress and ministry overlap: emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual. This is an easy read with only 58 pages--and the book offers practical suggestions to help manage the chaos and stress we experience in our lives. So enjoy your summer, take time to relax, and choose a good book that will nourish and revitalize your soul.

Family Travel Ideas
by Ginny Halbur

Planning to take a family trip this summer? Rather than letting young people plug in and zone out for the whole trip, why not try infusing a little fun and faith into your trip. Yes, fun and faith can go hand-in-hand! Games are just one way to pass time with teens while traveling in a car for long distances. The following card games were created to help teens learn more about themselves and their faith, and have fun while doing it:

	Did You Ever Wonder . . . ? A Deck of Questions is a card game that provides questions that help spark interesting discussions with teens about life and faith.
Reflect-a-Deck: 50 Cards That Fuel the Faith contains thought provoking artwork and articles from the Catholic Youth Bible that help teens reflect on how to live, study, and pray their faith.
	Game On: Games for Catholic Connections (available July 2009) is a card game that will help young teens learn about the richness of the Catholic faith.
Breakthrough! The Bible Board Game and Bible People Flashcards from Breakthrough The Bible for Young Catholics were created to help young teens and families learn about people of the Bible and events in Salvation History.
	The Good News Card Game will help deepen young people’s knowledge of the Scriptures and Church teaching.

Each of these games contains a variety of suggestions for using the cards to make learning about our faith interesting and fun. Make the most of your summer vacation and enjoy!

Gift Pick of the Week

This is the last gift pick for the summer! One last special item from the Saint Mary's Press Gift Boutique is on a special discount. But, not to worry! The Gift Boutique offers many gifts on sale now at http://gifts.smp.org/CategoryDetail.cfm?CatId=115!

This Week's Gift Pick

Three Nail Rustic Cross
originally $16.95, now $8.95!
This offer ends Thursday, July 2, 2009. While supplies last!

Reflect on the incredible love of God when you look upon this rustic metal wall cross. The three authentic nails remind you of the spiritual significance of the death, Resurrection, and Ascension of Christ. An ideal special-occasion gift for him or her.