Jun
2
Little Blessings & some random musings
June 2, 2008 | Tagged kids | Leave a Comment
Today I had a special visit! After mass I headed to work (early) & sat in the back office relaxing & cruising the web until it was almost opening time.
The store manager came in & brought his 8 yr old twin daughters with him. They were going to hang out with Dad for a little bit while Mom did some shopping. Well, as it ended up, he needed to go with his wife to an appointment, if that was ok with me, and I said yes - then suggested he leave the two girls with me so that they wouldn’t be a distraction to him & his wife when they went to their appointment.
Well, I must say, I had an absolutely delightful time! I almost forgot how much I love being around kids & interacting with them. I had so much fun - and they seemed to have fun too.
Once Dad & Mom came back I made it a point to tell them I’m available to babysit, as I live two blocks from them.
I’m so glad that the Lord gave me time with those two little blessings today…it really helped me to relax & look at things a little differently.
The rest of the day went very well and I accomplished a lot (re-organized all the office files & gave the manager some additional training).
For now, I’m winding down for the day, blogging this…then plan on doing some reading (Stephen Ray’s book, Upon This Rock — all I can say is “WOW”), then some quiet time for prayer…then nighty night! lol
I really enjoy my evenings much more now that I’m in the habit of doing a little studying and then reading God’s word, then praying before bed. So much better than watching the TV these days. I can’t even remember the last time I turned on my TV…must be about a week or so…
Which leads me to believe I really don’t need that special converter box from the government because I hardly watch TV anyways…oooooo — I just saved myself some $$$! This HAS been a good day! LOL
Time for me to take my little blessing out for her evening “break”, lest she take ‘one’ in the house, if you know what I mean. :))
Take care all…May the good Lord bless you & keep you, and make His face shine upon you!
Jun
2
Morning rush…
June 2, 2008 | Tagged mass, Prayer, priorities | Leave a Comment
In the past I was always rushing around in the morning…usually trying to get ready for work. I’d awake with thoughts of what had to be done that day…”Do I need to order supplies? Are my reports done? Don’t forget to call…” Not surprisingly I would forget to start my day with prayer and would find that it would be chaotic and unfocused, and I’d struggle to accomplish my tasks.
Thankfully I have seen the errors of my ways and recently (within the last 3-4 weeks) I have purpose-fully gone to bed early, spent quiet time with the Lord, and then when I awake (earlier these days) I again have my quiet time. Then I often follow that with some sort of reading on the faith.
I have found this re-arrangement of my schedule has enabled me to attend daily Mass now. And I am so grateful! I feel as if being able to receive Christ each day has strengthened me and helped me to grow as a woman of faith.
I have soooooooooo far to go on this journey…but I thank the Lord for being a lamp unto my feet.
So far now…I’m rushing (lol) to get ready for Mass.
Blessings & Peace to you & yours!
Personal Prayer: Thank you for the blessings of this day, for your love, and for taking pity on me, a sinner, and coming after me, your little lost sheep. I desire to love you more each & every day. Make me less like this world and more like you. Lord, help me today to prioritize. By your Holy Spirit, guide me and lead me, in all that I do, say, and think. Remind me Lord that I can do all things through you, who gives me strength. Lord, when I start to get frazzled & caught up in the busyness of this day, please quiet my soul, and help me seek you. Thank you Lord for hearing & answering my prayer. Amen.
Jun
1
Purpose
June 1, 2008 | Tagged discerning, purpose | 1 Comment
I’m starting this blog as a way to help me to discern where the Lord is calling me…into a religious community…or as a lay person. I’m really not certain at this point and I’m just beginning the process of searching.
Perhaps I shouldn’t say ‘beginning’, as I have felt drawn to this kind of life off & on over the years.
My hope is, by sharing my thoughts, meditations, and prayers that I can discern what the Lord wants from me. I also hope that in sharing this blog with the vocational directors of different communities I have expressed an interest in that they might be able to help me in discerning God’s will for me.
I would like to therefore thank all of you in advance for your prayers & guidance during this journey.
Jun
1
New Age???
June 1, 2008 | Tagged environment, secular, vocation | Leave a Comment
I’ve been busy lately looking at many religious communities online, the links sent to me by sisters from different communities I found on a vocation matching site, or ones I just happened to stumble on.
I seem to be coming across instances where seemingly New Age or non-Christian practices are involved in a particular group. For example, one site I visited today, talks about using a labyrinth as a meditative tool, which in itself doesn’t seem bad, but goes on to talk of how to approach the labyrinth:
Focus: Pause and wait at the entrance. Become quiet and centered. Give acknowledgment through a bow, nod or other gesture, and then enter.
Experience: Walk slowly and purposefully. Observe the process. When you reach the center, stay there and focus several moments. Leave when it seems appropriate. Be attentive on the way out.
Exit: Turn and face the entrance. Give an acknowledgment of ending, such as “Amen.”
Reflect: After walking the labyrinth, reflect back on your experience. Use journaling or drawing to capture your experience.
Walk often!
What concerns me about the above, and maybe I’m overly sensitive, having been exposed to a lot of New Age practices in my early adult years, is that none of the above directions say anything about God, seeking Him, listening for Him, etc. Also, the information is cited coming from another website, which I checked out, and it is not a Catholic or Christian site, but void of any mention of God, instead filled with popular secular teachings common today.
I’ve also come across communities who seem focused on “Mother Earth” (I acknowledge that we are called to be good stewards of the earth that the Lord entrusted to us, it’s the seeming personification of it as “Mother” that bothers me), and one that talked about transcendental meditation.
Sisters, am I being too sensitive? As I said, I was exposed to many New Age practices in my early adult years, and I notice these things more and more these days.
As for my personal feelings on stewardship, I applaud and am drawn to those communities that are implementing ecological sound systems to help lower our impact on the earth. And I want to be part of such a community. I get excited when I see some communities have an organic farm, or a low-environmental impact way of heating their water, recycling programs, education programs that focus on good stewardship of our resources. I was reading of one today that has an Alpaca herd! 
I guess my root question is how do I know that a community I am looking at exploring the possibility of joining, is actually following the teachings of the Catholic church and not doing ‘it’s own thing’? Do I have cause to be concerned?
I would really appreciate hearing what you have to say. Thank you so much Sisters and friends!
Peace be with you!