Thoughts Along the Journey

We were able to attend daily Mass this morning. After receiving Eucharist, a verse came to mind: (I'm giving the context. The highlighted part is the focus of this post.) "I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory ." (Colossians 1:24-27) Ponder that today, my friend. CHRIST is in you, the hope of glory. Wow...

My journey path is about to take some new twists. I am walking into some uncharted territory. I'm not great with the unknown. I want a map and detailed instructions, thank you very much. However, as we all know, that is not usually the way life goes. We need to learn that God alone sees the "big picture," and that we can trust Him to guide each step--even when we'd rather be able to see miles, not inches. In a little less than a month, my time as a home school mom will come to a screeching halt. Our boys will begin life as students in our parish school. It will be a time of letting go and watching God take my little chickadees out into a new world. I'll admit to being a control freak. I want things as they should be at all times. Having my kids away for several hours a day is going to be a big adjustment for all of us. It's time to release them into God's care and allow Him to take them on this next step on their own journeys. I went through thi...

While perusing another blog* recently, I encountered a topic I hadn't really heard much about. It was something called "centering prayer". From what I could glean, I guess it's an attempt by some to bring New Age-type practices into the realm of Christianity. It's a practice of clearing one's mind of all outside distractions, and focusing in on self. It's supposedly a way to prepare for prayer. I read enough of the links she provided to get a little better understanding of "centering prayer." But then she took a U-turn on me. She began interchanging the terms "centering prayer" and "contemplative prayer". Something didn't ring true with this. I talked to my husband about it some, because he is more familiar with theological terms. I also asked another blogger, who blogs about theological matters, if he could do a post on contemplative prayer. Upon seeing my request, yet another blogging buddy ( Hidden One ) suggested an ar...

Our youngest son, "Clyde", turns 8 today. I know that doesn't seem very old, but it makes me feel old! I can't believe how the time is flying by. It seems just yesterday I held him in my arms for the first time, trying to soothe his newborn cries. Of course, I don't miss messy diapers, toilet training, teething, etc. But, my "baby" is no longer a baby. Happy birthday, bud. (Oh, his other nickname is "monkey". He bears a striking resemblance to Curious George!) :o)

I just had to share one of the latest photos of my cutie pie great nephew!

A friend sent this to me a couple of years ago, during the winter months here in Ohio. I thought it was worth sharing. (Thank you, Linda!) * * * * * * * * * * As a result of weather and driving conditions in northeast Ohio, I missed church last Sunday, much to my chagrin. I don't like to miss, and it seems for various reasons I have been away, far more of late than I like. One good thing that came of it though, is that being disgruntled about missing, has caused me to pause and reflect about why it's so important to me to attend church, when for most of my life I tried to avoid it at all costs. Thru the years, there have been periods of time that I have attended church on a regular basis, but generally that was short lived. In retrospect, I think I understand why. I always went to church with a "what's in it for me attitude"... to receive blessings, to be uplifted and to learn. There's nothing wrong with any of those things, they are all elements of wor...

Yesterday was definitely a "roller coaster" day in the journey. One of my sisters was scheduled to have a "simple" in-office procedure, to take care of a cyst. Instead, the doctor sent her on to a hospital. Following further incidents and an exam, it was decided she needed to have surgery. The doctor saw a "mass" in her uterus. She had to have an emergency hysterectomy. Thankfully, the "mass" turned out to be, not cancer, but ovaries that were swollen to the size of tennis balls. And thankfully, this was all taken care of by a very skilled surgeon. So...emotionally, we were on the "she's just having this simple procedure" wavelength. (The beginning approach....) Then there was the "oh, so it's a little more complicated so she needs to go to the hospital". (Going up the first hill...) Then came the "please, God, don't let it be cancer" loop. (A doozy!) Finally, the "whew! Thank you, G...

This little guy's picture sure sums up how I'm feeling today! (The pout looks better on him, though!) I don't know if it's the weather, my own lack of sleep, the "climate" of the household, all of the above, some of the above, or something else. I'm just in a "mood". I'm glad God loves me, in spite of myself.

Pat over at Living on Grace has been posting about the changes in life. She just entered the life of retirement! (Congrats, Pat!) She quoted one of my favorite passages from Ecclesiastes, about there being a time and season for everything. I, too, am entering a new phase of life. Actually more than one. I have home schooled our sons for 5 years now. It wasn't an easy decision at first, but I grew into the role of mom/teacher/wife eventually. Now we have decided to send them to our parish school. It's a little scary (okay, a LOT) to let go of them. But, I know it's time. The big question everyone is asking me is: What are you going to do with yourself while they're in school? Honestly, I don't know. I'd like to take a little time to remember what it's like to just be a wife and mom, if that's okay. If you have read this blog for any length of time, you know we recently came into the Catholic church. It is a time for our entire family to see where we ...

I have heard the sermon illustration of a father in a pool, calling to his child, "Jump in! I'll catch you!" I've always thought that was a great picture of our trust in God. Or the illustration of falling backward into someone's arms, believing that they will catch you. Or the illustration of the man crossing Niagara Falls who called out, "Who believes I can cross this wire carrying a man on my shoulders?" The crowd cheered. "Who will be the first to let me carry him across?" The crowd was silent. The crickets chirped. True faith would have been a brave soul raising his hand to volunteer. Those are all really wonderful examples of trust in God. Each one has drawn an "amen" from my heart and/or lips. But living that out is really tough, isn't it? Our family is at one of those "who will be the first..." moments in our journey. We have walked away from so much that was familiar, and are now walking toward what i...

The dust bunnies on the PBS show "Big, Comfy Couch" are quite cute. They emit little squeals. They have adventures with whatever Loonette the Clown drops beneath the couch. I like the little guys. But in my house? I don't like dust bunnies! A couple of years ago, we started having our two boys help with household chores. The oldest gets to do the vacuuming; the younger, the dusting. Now there must be a disclaimer here. As I said, I don't like dust bunnies in my house. But that doesn't mean there aren't any! It just means I don't like them! I have shown the boys many, many times how the vacuuming and dusting process should go. I have demonstrated how to use the vac hose along the edges of furniture and walls. I have shown step-by-step how to remove items from furniture, dust under them, then return said items to their proper places. However, it seems that there will still be spots left un -vacuumed or un -dusted... But you know, there comes a time when ...

I got this update from Kimber yesterday. Praise God for His work in little Maddie! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * God has been so good to answer all of your prayers!!! Maddie is doing MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH better!!! She even sat outside a little bit yesterday and she has been smiling and more like our happy go lucky Maddie girl! We have even learned how to give her her antibiotics in the pic line by ourselves so the nurse doesn't have to be here three times a day...we just do it - and in the morning we don't even wake her to give it to her - we just do it and let it run while she sleeps. Her appetite is slowly improving and the Thrush is clearing! The drain site is still draining infection, by the site itself looks much better and is WAY WAY LESS painful. So thank you for praying and for all of your wishes and support - again there is no way to express how much that has carried us at this time! It has also blown her away to see how many people care and l...

I love impatiens. They are such pretty little flowers. However, you probably agree that the seedlings aren't much to look at. Just some green leaves on a tiny plant. Not very impressive. When you see those green leaves, though, there is the promise of something better yet to come. Hold that thought... Recently, I had an enlightening conversation with my oldest son, regarding his thoughts about what he wants to be when he grows up. We discussed a couple of different things he is considering. I finally told him, "That's a great idea, but you need to make sure it's what God has in mind for your future, not just what you want for your future." In the past, that would have been the end of it. But this time, he asked, "And how do I know what God wants? How will He tell me?" Wow. Such a grown-up question coming from an 11 year old! It led into a really great talk about developing our prayer life, and learning to hear God's voice. When did my little boy bec...

First, another update on Maddie Kutrubs , daughter of our blogging buddy Kimber. I'm putting Kimber's e-mail here again, as it's easier than me trying to explain it all! _______________________ Maddie and I finally came home today, Saturday, July 7th. YEA!! Maddie came home with her "pic" line and a home care nurse will be giving her antibiotics three times a day for the next few weeks. We are also blessed to have three great neighbors whom are in the medical profession and have offered to help with Maddie's pic line - and we are so thankful!!! In addition to Maddie's home care, we will also have to visit the Clinic once a week, and her surgery to remove her appendix will be early September. Please pray that her body continues to heal - and that the infection completely drains without any further complications. She is starting to have a small appetite - but now she has Thrush due to the antibiotics - but she is taking medicine to clear that up and we are ...

I read an article in today's Akron Beacon Journal entitled, " Voting almost finished in world wonders poll. " According to the article, the Great Pyramids are "the only surviving structures from the traditional list of seven wonders of the ancient world". The vote ends today. Top contenders include: the Acropolis (Greece), Chichen Itza pyramid (Mexico), Eiffel Tower (Paris), Easter Island, Christ the Redeemer statue (Brazil), the Taj Mahal (India), and the ancient city of Petra (Jordan). (My vote would include Petra and the statue.) I hadn't heard they were updating the list, so found this article interesting. However... In the words of this old song, there is a wonder that surpasses them all! There's the wonder of sunset at evening; the wonder as sunrise I see. But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul Is the wonder that God loves me. There's the wonder of springtime and harvest; the sky, the stars, the sun. But the wonder of wonders ...

I received the following update from Kimber today. Please continue to keep Maddie, Kimber, and their entire family in your prayers. _________________________ As many of you may know Maddie is on her third hospital now and has been sick for 12 days. She is now at the Cleveland Clinic. Yesterday, we were seeing some signs of improvement, she was even out of bed and a little bit "perky" a couple of times. BUT today she has been in pain and just sleeping much of the day away (hard to see her still in such pain). And big big thing, she is NOT eating. She does not have pain in her stomach anymore (yea) - but the drain tube site got infected with Dermitius and is very painful and she is super sore from the tube itself. Here is our prayer requests. Please pray that she will EAT more and that her appetite returns. They have put nutrition in her IV but if she doesn't eat more by Thursday then they will but in a feeding tube. We are praying that doesn't HAVE to happen. Please pr...

Never forget that our freedom isn't "free"...it came at the cost of many lives. And never forget that our freedom comes with responsiblity. Pray for our nation, its leaders, our soldiers, and all who work to see freedom for all mankind. Pray for TRUE freedom in Christ...

"But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...' " Isaiah 43:1, 2a There are people in my life who amaze me. They are not the people who seem to have everything together all the time. They are not the ones who always speak as if life is never tough, but only full of goodness and joy. The people who amaze me are the Christians who walk through trials, allow the tears to flow, ask the tough questions, and still hold onto their faith in God as strongly as ever. Two of those people are my aunt and uncle. They have been ministers for over 50 years. Even after retirement, my uncle has worked in their...