Category Archives: Prayers

Happy Anniversary, Papa Francis!!

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Photo cred....Cake boss, of course!!

Photo cred….Cake boss, of course!!

Because Pope Francis is so worthy of a Cake this BOSS!!!  I’m sure he wouldn’t even mind if we called him “Buddy”.  Ok.  Maybe a little.  But…yeah….Happy Anniversary, Pope Francis!

Pat Gohn has a podcast HOT off the press in celebration of Pope Francis’ One Year anniversary and you can download it HERE.  You will probably recognize a few voices from the interwebz, including (ahem) me!

And so, in my own nod to Papa…here are my own personal top faves of his first year as Pope…in 7 QT style with Jen and crew!

1.  The most humble and shocked beginning of this Pope who was so quietly in AWE of this role he now found himself in. That gentle wave.  That face that was still processing….”ME?”  “What?”.  Just love it!!  “hi.”

Credit where it's due!

Credit where it’s due!

2.  I was at work when the white smoke puffed.  Where were you?

More photo cred and instructions on making your own white smoke ;-)

More photo cred and instructions on making your own white smoke 😉

3.  Giving an impromptu and brief Catholic history lesson to my Baptist co-worker on the hows and the whys of electing a “Pope”.  Me, of all people.  My apologetics BFF would have been proud!!

4.   The complete silence in the crowd of well-wishers present for Pope Francis’ first prayer and speech to the world.  Goosebumps at the silence of all those people.  Be still my heart.  Be.  Still.

5.   The way the Pope walks the talk.  He lives his Jesuit calling in his role as Pope.  He DOES what Jesus would DO.  He loves the poor, the sick, the maimed.  When a child comes up on stage, he chuckles and carries on.  He sets the example for ALL of us to love our neighbor.  Over and over and over again.

6.  He welcomes the world.  He draws the world in by his genuine love and care for all.  Regardless of race, sex, ethnicity, financial standing, felony record or sexual preference.  We are called to love one another and he shows us time and again that this is possible even when we look at life differently from one another.  Jesus loves us all and HE will sort it out in the end; he doesn’t need us to do it while we are here on earth.  Pope Francis ain’t no gossip monger.

7.  Pray for Pope Francis.  For the world.  For one another.  Family.  Friends.  Co-workers.  Neighbors.  Let us all take the time to emulate this most approachable and loving Pope as we live our lives.

Credit: my twitter page. Don't YOU follow Pope Francis?

Credit: my twitter page. Don’t YOU follow Pope Francis?

Happy Friday y’all.  My favorite day of the week—woot woot!!

Good, bad, ugly and a conference!!

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I’ve been MIA and so very hit or miss lately….life, ya know?  Sorry.  I’m preaching to the choir, I know.

It looks like our weekends are slowing down a leeeeeeetle bit here to a more manageable busy-ness which is good and gives me hope to recharge and reboot and refresh and all that because I needs me some down-time, people!  Wahhhhh, cry me a river, I know.  We are all busy.  So.  I am done complaining about that.

Here’s a few things my mind is juggling lately, good bad and ugly.  Ok.  NOT the really ugly, because I’ve already sent THAT email to a few people and I’m just not ready to go live with that.  Yet.  It is brewing though.  It will probably be a total **it-storm when it happens, I’ll say that.  Intrigued?  Well, guess you’ll have to keep checking back in.  wink-wink-wink

Goodnesssssss……all over the place.  The busy-ness has been good stuff.  Kids music stuff, going to All-county for two kiddos 2 weekends in a row.  A certain almost-12 year old birthday coming up and a trip to Plato’s closet to feed her shopping desires and birthday gift!!  Last minute visit from an old friend from Tally in town with her daughter’s volleyball tourney.  (I didn’t get to visit with her but Hubby did and it does a soul good to have some quality friend time!)  A coming visit from Hubby’s Alaskan cousin this weekend for the night.  A total nut and very fun!!  A great AA dinner party meeting Hubby’s AA friends.  Always nice to put names with faces.  Even nicer to hear the inspirational stories coming out of these people.  My dear friend may (HOPEFULLY) be doing Apologetics classes for middle and high schoolers.  Y’all she is DANGEROUSLY on fire and the most AMAZING teacher EVERRRRRR.  I am completely committed to bugging her to YouTube the classes because this is something the Church needs…this area is so lacking.  So offer up a prayer for her would ya?  This cookie dough pie made by our 16 yo.  Oh.  MY.  Deliciousness.  **one special note:  USE the blender/food processor for the beans.  Makes allllllllll the difference in the world.  Hubby and I are planning on renewing our vows this year.  The big 2-0!  Point of contention:  our audience.  Our church generally does this in front of the general Mass.  All several HUNDREDS of people.  Hubby is in favor of this venue.  This gives me absolute palpitations and anxiety I cannot describe.  I’m all for the quiet chapel route.  Also, I know I will be bawling and this is not a good look for me.  Let’s face it, half of our marriage was the “for worse” part and having come through that……..Phew!  Good stuff, but man, oh, man……what a ride!!!

Badness:  (I know, not a word, but in keeping with the theme)…..I didn’t get a job I applied for.  Again.  I DO have promises of other positions in the next few months, so we shall see….but disappointment, I’m really over you.  Really.  16 yo broke his foot skateboarding.  Not super bad, but definitely waylaid the skating for a while.  Good stuff is coming out of that, though…..the ole stepping back and getting a bird’s eye view of friends, new likes and maturing.  Colds.  Several have blown through this house.  5 of 6 of us have had the flu shot, so holding steady there…… lastly, a friend of mine (son’s 5th grade teacher and the best EVER! and not just because she reads my blog) is suffering mightily these past couple years with a recurrence in her ovarian cancer.  The past few months have been tremendously brutal.  It’s heartbreaking and I’m so sad for her suffering and for her family and mad. Mad that the prayers I pray for her don’t fix anything.  Mad that the dinner I’ll take her family won’t fix anything.  Mad that God allows this.  Mad.  Mad.  Mad.  And this is so definitely going on my list of conversations God and I will have in heaven.  Because I just don’t see the purpose of it.  At all.

And on that total bummer note:  let me offer up some fun times for you….There is going to be a little conference in Austin, TX this summer.  A weekend of Catholic gal fun!!  All the deets are here……  my pocketbook can’t swing this, but maybe yours can and I think it would absolutely be worth every second!!!!

Go on and have a super day.  Providing you aren’t snowed in for the umpteenth time this winter.  We’ll be scooting through the day in the humid 80s here…..  tough.  tough life it is.

Blessings!!

When you’re up waaaaaaaay too early

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Up Early

Hubby is the early riser.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m a morning person for certain, but he’s Mr. Up and at ’em and wants to chat and discuss and GO.  His body clock is pretty regular at o’dark hundred, even when he wants to sleep in.  THIS  morning however, I was up with him.  Let’s call it 4 a.m. because that’s when I finally looked at the clock.  After tossing, turning, chatting, concentrating on breathing, yada, yada, yada…we both got up.  4:30.  A.M.  What the?????

So what DO people do when they are up at ridiculously early hours?  Here’s a little peek-a-boo:

Drink coffee.  Lots.  Gingerbread coffee…in…the…house!!!

Daily Readings.  Advent Devotional (thanks, Ali).  Git my head and heart on straight!

Skim news.  While the rest of the country prepares to be frozen out in the super near future, I’m completely irritated that not only is our A/C ON, but part of the reason we woke up was because it was too hot.  We had to turn on the ceiling fan.  For.  The.  Love.

Check Facebook.  There are a few birthdays happening and catching up on pictures.  #photostalker

Read blogs.  This one from Momastery was particulary good.

Pinterest.  Adding this clean eating fudge  (thanks, Shan!) AND these not AT ALL clean eating Egg nog cookies (thanks, Lisa!) for our work party next week.

Pricing freezers for the garage.  YESSSSSSS!!!!  (Woo hoo, Amanda!)

Next up….

Oatmeal.

More coffee.

Pay bills.

Plan meals for week and grocery list.

Plan our Happy Birthday, Jesus party with my grandparents.  This whole shorter Advent season is the pits.  Someone put Thanksgiving back where it belongs, OK?  Thanks!

Sometimes, it takes LOTS of prayer

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Life isn’t always pretty or easy or fun.  Life in a big family can just get plain crazy.  Sometimes it all comes to a head at once.  This is where I find God truly has a sense of humor.  He knows I’m easily agitated by prolonged chaos, noise and things generally going in opposition to MY plan; so He gave us 4 children so that I can work on that.  Repeatedly.

This Sunday, the first day of Advent I trekked it Mass with the kiddos (Hubby was working at went to vigil Mass Saturday) and they just took turns fraying my nerves with bickering, 16yo crisis of faith moments, etc etc.  By the time we sat in the pew all I could do was pull out my devotional and start pounding the prayers.  Any.  And.  Every.  Prayer. I.  Could.  Find.  All before the opening song.  Good times, I tell you.  Then I found this one that I never noticed before and I thought I’d share:

Father, 

Sometimes the family gets me down.

The children are noisy and bills pile up.

Relatives and friends make demands of my time and attention. 

I try to keep first things first and create and atmosphere where Your name is honored.  Your word observed.

But I get tired and a hard edge creeps into my voice.  Help me to cope with the daily strains of living in a family.

Help me to sustain a climate in which my partner can grow in Your love, to encourage my children to develop fully the talent You have given them and to make of my family the community of your love the Your Son came to bring.

Amen. 

I don’t know.  It spoke to me.  It worked for me.  The bickering stopped.  The 16 yo came around.  By the “sign of peace” all was restored and the day went on and we began the process of decorating and cookie making and I just shook my head at God and wondered how He does it, why I am worthy and so grateful He does.

The marathon that is sobriety

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I had the blessing of attending a gratitude dinner with my Hubs this weekend for AA.  It was an area-wide event and easily attended by 200+ people.  Tables of 8, dinner of Thanksgiving foods (appropriately themed) and a desert table groaning under the redonkulous amounts of sugar and butter.  It was a pleasure to put faces to names of the Hubs friends, just fantastic people.  A few observances of  mine throughout the evening:

  • Coffee.  Water.  Lots and lots of coffee and water.
  • Laughter.  Smiles.  Tons.  No grumpy, long faces.  Joy.
  • Introductions everywhere (thank God for nametags!)
  • Rekindled friendships.

There was a speaker who gave his story of 30+ years of sobriety.  A lovely, 70-something man with at times an emotionally shaky voice as he recalled his life, peppered with witty comments and hindsight observances.   There was no “massive event” in his life that is present in many alcoholic stories (and drug stories); mainly a life of alcohol-centered living, obnoxious behavior and a wife (and family) that had enough.  His message:  there doesn’t need to be a “massive event” to stop drinking, but if you have repeated comments, suggestions, pleas from family and friends to “do something about your drinking”, it’s a red flag.  Sadly, not everyone sees it until it is too late.

At the end of the evening there was a sobriety countdown.  Starting with the most years sober (52) and counting down to the shortest span of sobriety (2 days).  It was humbling, impressive and hopeful and I found myself tearing up and that marathon that those with the least sobriety had ahead of them and yet with the amazing support in that room……hopeful in that they had every tool available to them to take each day….one day at a time.

Sadly, we did not win the 50/50 drawing…shucks!!!  $350!!!  However, I sure came away richer than I arrived.

Hebrews 12:1  

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,