Do it anyway...

A couple of days ago, a dear friend gave me this quote in a lovely frame.  She knows how much I love the Catholics and Mother Teresa.  In fact, this blog was originally inspired by a book I'd read about Mother Teresa, her philosophy in life was "let's do something that's beautiful for God".  Anyway, this is one of my favorite quotes and now I have it framed.

Enjoy, until next time.

Ciao.

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.


If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

Mother Teresa

Not an accident

I LOVE this!  I couldn't have said it better myself.  Have a beauty filled day!!

Ciao!

Where were you on September 11, 2001?

It's been 10 years since that awful day we now refer to as 9/11.  Where were you?  That's the question of our generation....much like my parents was "Where were you when JFK was shot"?  On 9/11/01 I was just about to get up to get my kids off to school when the phone rang.  It was my mom, she said to turn the news on.  When we turned the TV on we saw a split screen of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and we sat speechless as we watched the second plane fly into the north tower.  Unbelievable.

I was scheduled to help my cousin move from the San Fernando Valley to Corona that day.  After talking it over, we decided to go ahead.  What I remember as I drove through LA was the eerie silence.  We get so used to the air noise of helicopters, planes etc and to hear absolutely nothing was terrifying.  One of those times when the silence is deafening.
I think for me September 12 was worse, mostly because I didn't have anything to do.  I remember being glued to the news for most of the day.  We had my cousin, her husband and friends from the neighborhood over for dinner, the wine was flowing, it was one of the few times when I had to put my husband to bed.
  
I've always been one of those people who get teary eyed during the Star Spangled Banner (especially when my daughter Jade sings it).  I used to get so upset as a teenager when our cross-town rivals who were "the Braves" used to sing at the end of the national anthem "and the home of the braves"....ugh would make me so mad.  Now when I hear the National Anthem, from almost the first 5 words I'm in tears, and if you've actually heard all three verses it means more:

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



My prayer now is that we will always remember.  God have mercy on us that we would ever forget and take our freedom for granted.
  
We are the land of the free because of the brave men and women who sacrifice their lives for us every day via military, fire department, police, ambulance and paramedics.   Thank you for your service, today and everyday.  God bless you and God bless America.

The longest 10 days of my life...

First off, thank you for those who have prayed for us. It's been a V E R Y long 10 days.

As many of you know, my daughter Jade had a bit of a breakdown and was in the hospital. It's unclear at this point if she will return to school at LMU. Today was the beginning of the process...

I'm not sure I believe the quote by Mother Teresa "I know God won’t give me more than I can handle, I just wish He didn’t trust me so much!” It's one thing to go through things like this yourself but an entirely different thing to watch one of your kids go through it.

I know I need lots of prayer, grace and beauty to get through this, I just haven't found time yet for any of that. I'll keep you posted as to how we're doing.

Ciao.

You just never know...

I realized earlier that I didn't have a 2011 calendar, so while I took the kids to Walmart I looked for one.  I found a beautiful one with quotes from Billy Graham.  You just never know when you're going to get a message from God.  This one came on the cardboard in the middle of my calendar.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

When the time was right, 

the sea parted,

the walls fell down,

the lions went hungry,

the sun stood still,

the waves were calm,

the stone was rolled away,

the clouds were parted,

the Lord ascended...

And when the time is right,

the King of Kings will return.

God is never early and He's never late-- He's always right on time and His plan for you is good.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you and hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

May this be a word of encouragement for the year for you.

Ciao.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!  


Today is the day we celebrate God's promise to us....


“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”  Isaiah 9:6


Luke 2


11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.




Now if we could just get everyone agree to have peace on Earth and good will towards each other!    I pray you have a very blessed Christmas wherever you are, whatever you're doing.  For me, I'm just hanging out at home, waiting for the kids to get up.  It's a lot different with them being teenagers!  Later, we'll go to my mom's for dinner.  I'm grateful to have my sister and my step-dad both home from the hospital in time for Christmas.


Maybe the Spirit of Christmas bring you beauty, peace and joy!


Ciao.

Our Greatest Need

Our Greatest Need

If our greatest need had been information,
God would have sent us an educator.

If our greatest need had been technology,
God would have sent us a scientist.

If our greatest need had been money,
God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need had been pleasure,
God would have sent us an entertainer.

But our greatest need was forgiveness,
so God sent us a Saviour.

-Roy Lessin

Awareness Examen

AWARENESS EXAMEN 
        This short prayer exercise is to help increase one's sensitivity to the Spirit working in one's life and to provide one with the enlightenment needed to co-operate and respond to this presence. If you use this daily you should find it helpful in noticing spiritual movements.
Thanksgiving ....
        Begin by looking over the day and asking to see where you need to be thankful. Do not choose what you think you should be thankful for, rather, by merely looking over the day see what emerges, what you notice, even slightly. Allow gratitude to take hold of you and express this to the Holy One who at this moment beholds you.
Ask For Light ....
        This is a prayer for enlightenment from God. In the next step we will use our own reflection skills to dispose ourselves for the awareness that we hope will come more directly from God. This often happens unexpectedly or by way of a special little surprise even when we are expecting it! We have a hard time to believe that our own reflection and self understanding here is but a disposition for the Spirit's teaching us (Matt 10:20). Therefore ask the Spirit to show you what God wants you to see.
Finding God In All Things ....
        Again look over the events of the day. This time ask the Spirit to show you where God's presence has been in your life, either in you or in others, and in the events of public life:
        What public events from your local environment and larger world have impact or should have impact upon you? 
--  where are the signs of the Spirit?--  where are the destructive or divisive powers?        What interior events were significant for you?

-- notice what stands out even slightly, such as joy,

pain, turmoil, increase of love, anger, harmony,

anxiety, freedom, enchainment, presence of God, isolation.

        Where do you sense you were being drawn by God's Spirit?
        How have you been responding to these events or experiences?
 
Respond To God In Dialogue ....
        Is there any one area you are being nudged to focus your attention on, to pray more seriously over, to take action on? This is where your energy needs focus instead of on the many other things you think are important. Discuss this with Jesus.

  Express what needs to be expressed: ... praise ... sorrow ... gratitude ... desire for change ... ... intercession ...
Help And Guidance For Tomorrow ....
        Ask God for your needs for tomorrow. For example, you may need to pray to overcome something ... to be more sensitive to God's activity in your environment ... to celebrate in some way you ... to let go ... to deal with some issue ... to be open to conversion in some area ... to make some decisions to act against some destructive forces in the various worlds of your life.

Harder than I thought

This is way harder than I thought. Don't get me wrong I'm super excited for my daughter to be going off to college, I just didn't think (probably naive on my part) that it would be this hard. Today she said good bye to lots of people at church, people that have poured into her life, and ours and have loved her well, it was hard, hard for her, hard for me and probably hard for them. Crying sucks, it leaves you with a big fat head ache.

I feel in some ways that I'm getting a do-over. I didn't leave home on good terms and this has been a process for all of us. To get what she needs, think of all the things that may come up... a time for all of us to process. It's good, hard but good. I'm really proud of the woman that Jade has become. Right now my job is to release her into God's hands. *sigh* Easier said than done.

Life can be such a beautiful thing and yet so painful. Find some beauty this week and I'll try to do the same.

Ciao

Mother's Day Blessing

I know Mother's Day is over but I was so blessed by this I wanted to share it.  My friend Lisa, from Minnesota sent this to me.   Lisa said to imagine it being read very slowly, each word distinct and purposefully chosen. I hope it speaks to your heart as it did mine.  I'd love to hear how this impacts you.

I hope your week has been beauty-filled.

Ciao.



Mary’s Mother’s Day Blessing by Mary Martin Wiens

I am the mother of three little boys ages three and under. I am also a woman who struggled with many years of infertility. During that time of suffering and waiting, the invitation that I heard from God was to become a mother in my spirit with no guarantee that there would ever be children from my body. Because of that invitation, I began to see that there are many ways to give birth, to give life, and to nurture life. So, as I pondered what kind of blessing to offer today, it felt important to honor the mother I was before children, the mother I am now, and the many women I know who mother in both traditional and untraditional ways. I have seen friends do the work of a mother by giving birth a book, by giving medical advice, by teaching, by standing up for justice, by laying hands on others in prayer, by listening. Just to name a few.

So, today I want to bless each of you women who sacrifice so that life can come through you to another. I invite you to let in whichever of these words seem to be for you and let go of whatever is not for you…Now, mothers, receive this blessing…

Mothers of children
Mothers of adults
Mothers to ailing parents
Mothers in spirit
Mothers of creative works
Mothers to those in need
Mothers with empty wombs
Mothers whose arms ache to be filled with one who once was there
You life givers and life nurturers
You who hold the small essential things that make a world
You who are the sole witness to private stories unfolding
You who are the ground on which others find their footing
You who respond to cries of hunger, heartache, fear, or pain
You who shelter growing things
You whose most significant work is unseen
You bringers of tenderness and comfort
To mother is to make oneself vulnerable to loss
To give oneself wholly to something that has the guarantee of at least a measure of failure
To give birth to something beyond you, that doesn’t belong to you, that you can’t control
To engage in a work that reveals both your best and your worst
To surrender your time, your body, your rhythms, your resources
For the joy set before you
So Mothers,
May God the Life Giving Spirit be your source
May God be both witness and companion to all the unseen moments of your life
May God preserve you at your core when the needs of others threaten to wash you away
May God give grace as you seek to unwind the knot of both founded and unfounded guilt and enable you to bring healing in places where you have brought harm
May God give you courage at thresholds of change
May God make of your emptiness a wide and free place
May the One who holds all things together, assure you that divine arms surround all that is beyond your reach
And, When you lift up your eyes to see your life, may your joy be great.