Hello Again!

I have not had time to write much lately but just found a minute to say, I'm still here! :) It is a beautiful day and a happy new year! Thank you God for all your blessings and good gifts!
I have been going through little transformations and am very grateful for God's great love, mercy, forgiveness and patience with me.
There is an idea a little bird told me about that I am working on. It is about emptying myself of worldly things, desires and anything that is not pleasing to God. I can't say I'm doing a good job of it at all, (mostly because I'm not) but it's something I am trying to grasp and put into practice. Here's the idea: I am a visual person so I literally start by thinking of myself as a kind of vessel, as though I were a jar or vase of some kind filled with things that I have put inside myself and then I imagine taking everything out and just being empty and open. Waiting for God to do with me what He will and fill me He pleases. This is mostly just an idea for me right now. I think about it more and more and hope to spiritually become an empty vessel for God. I pray for everyone who needs Your grace and ask that you please mercifully send us your Holy Spirit to guide us, not as we will, but as You Will.

Come Holy Spirit, teach me what I am, and what Thou art.

I Get To

 It's funny how you can learn great lessons in the most unlikely places and unexpected times. While watching Say Yes To The Dress on TLC one day, I learned an unexpected lesson about being grateful for our many everyday blessings and privileges. The show featured a young woman who was just discharged from the hospital for a gunshot wound to her back that left her paralyzed from the waist down. She was just crossing the street with a friend one day, then bang! her whole life was changed by one stray bullet. Now here she was, her first day out of the hospital, looking for her wedding dress for a life with her soon to be husband that was going to be very different from what she had planned. She said something about how she would give anything to just be able to stand up one more time again and I suddenly felt very guilty for the many, many things I take for granted every moment of my life. Like the use of my legs and being able to stand and walk whenever I want to. It really opened me up to the fact that I have so much more to thank God for with each new moment, than I will ever be able to truly thank Him for. So now, as an attempt to have a more grateful attitude, when I run through the things I have to do or get done each day, I try to say, "I get to" instead of "I have to". I get to make the beds. I get to do the laundry. I get to change my sons diaper. I get to clean the house. I get to make dinner. I get to raise my children. I don't have to do these things, I get to do them and I am blessed with an endless amount of these beautiful burdens.

Free Family Advent Activity Calendar List

I was inspired by St. Teresa of the Andes to make this little Advent Calendar thing. Please feel free to print it out to your hearts desire. :)
My family has always had the tradition of putting one piece of hay into a little manger for every kind act we do during Advent to prepare a soft place for Jesus on Christmas day. This Calendar is a variation of our tradition but gives specific ideas of things to do for Jesus.(and you can still incorporate the tradition of putting hay in the manger.) It is nice because it works with any schedule. You can do as many or as few things a day as you want and there is no one set thing to do each day.
As Mother Teresa said, let us take God at His word, What we do to the least of our brethren, we do it to Him.

I wish everyone a very hopeful Advent and a Joyful Christmas this year!

God blessings and Peace to all!

After reading a book that listed Mary's 10 primary virtues, I got an itch to write them down somewhere I could see them and meditate on them. Here is where I decide to write them, on an old piece of Oak floor board. When I read them, it feels like a prayer and I hope they inspire and touch your heart like they have mine.

An early Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! We have so much to be grateful for. God please help us to always have a grateful heart, especially when it is hardest for us.

All Saints Day

Happy All Saints Day! 

All you good and holy Saints, Pray for us!

 

October Month of Mary and the Holy Rosary

This month is dedicated to Our Lady and The Holy Rosary. Saying the rosary daily is one of the ways we can celebrate this month and there are more ideas at this Link. The rosary is a wonderful gift and powerful prayer. And please remember to continue to pray for life until November 4th with people around the country and 40 days for life.

Here is a great link for more information about this month and how to pray the rosary: http://www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com/month-of-the-holy-rosary.html

Childlike

Recently we have started saying evening prayers as a family. It has been a blessing for our family, but sometimes during our prayers (which we try to keep very short and simple) my kids seem to turn into uncontrollable blobs of energy and are very fidgety and unfocused and can't seem to stay in one place for 5 seconds. Well, as surprising as it may be, this tends to drives me crazy and I start to say silent prayers for more patience in between our evening prayers. Especially since it's the end of the day and I'm ready for bed too. So there I am trying to get through one short prayer and I feel like I am trying to say grace with 2 hungry, wild, playful and adorable puppies instead of children. Anyway, I was thinking this morning and all the sudden I realized how very much like a my children, I pray at times. Now, I may be able to stay still and say the prayers I want to, but really, there are many times my thoughts seem to run around and jump and are just plain old noisy while I am saying my prayers. All too often I allow my thoughts get in the way of really praying my prayers. I'm sure it will be a ongoing battle, but I pray for the grace to really be present and quiet in body and mind when I pray. And for the patience to pray with my kids! :)