7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 134) The Gift of Your Presence

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Grace is…getting to attend Mass and sit with some of your favorite people, praying the Rosary as a family, celebrating the presence of love and new life, the little old lady in her 90s who is almost blind praying in the pew ahead of you, catching up with dear friends who are more like siblings, seeing more ways in which the Lord has worked in your life and the lives of loved ones to draw you ever closer to Him…  

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Best Christmas Gifts by Far Our family's favorite Christmas gifts were: 1.) the surprise that my youngest sister got a flight home from Zambia and South Africa a week early for the holidays and 2.) getting to spend the day with our nine month old nephew who is super-cute and often jolly!

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A Day in the Life of a Carmelite Postulant I'm still working on retyping a hilarious original play written by my dear sister in Christ Michele Morris. She wrote this play as the update for family and friends on her life since entering a cloistered monastery, Carmelite Sisters by the Sea, August 6, 2013. Anyone who knows her (and even those who don’t) will be thoroughly amused by her creative and true-to-form theatrical piece.
         Check back later this weekend! Michele typed everything on a typewriter and sent me one copy, so I'm retyping it to share with everyone as she gave me her written permission to do so on my blog and the request to do so via e-mail to a select group of friends and family.

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This photo was taken in Dec. 2009 when we
were still meeting weekly.

Cursillo Cluck Hens Rejoice! The upper room spiritual divas got together Saturday morning for the first time in I'm not sure how long.  (Actually, three of us went to one Panera and two went to another, but eventually all six of us made it to the same Panera.) WOW! I forgot how inspired and encouraged I am just being around these amazing women. I'm so excited that there's talk of getting the band back together at least once a month. I love you ladies and am so glad we all eventually got our prayer group reunited!! 
  

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Formation for Women’s Weekend Kevin and I have been faced with a number of big discernment issues over the past several months.  With some of them we have not yet reached a conclusion or solution.  Others we have gotten clearer answers about what God is calling us to now.  One of the major commitments we have determined the Lord would like of me at this time is to say yes to serving on the next Cursillo Women’s Weekend April 24-27, 2014.  Please pray for our team as we begin formation January 5 and for the participants who will come forward for this “short course in Christianity” this April.  De Colores!   

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Marshneil & I at a costume party in 2009.

Staying in Touch It is so wonderful to get the chance to sit down and really catch up with a friend who you don’t get to see regularly, who understands enough of your background and family, what you’re passionate about in life, what your greatest struggles are in terms of faith, etc.  I felt very blessed again today that I could sit down with a dear friend who I met through a retreat that’s meant to strengthen relationships within a parish called Christ Renews His Parish.  My faith is renewed just hearing about how God has been working in her life in truly amazing and miraculous ways.  Lord, thank You for friends who know us well, love us dearly, and pray for us always.   

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Merry Christmas to All! Kevin and I had a very blessed Christmas this year, and it had everything to do with who was around the tree rather than what was under it.  We enjoyed Mass on Christmas day, then we had a delicious meal at my sister and brother-in-law's house.  The best surprise was that Theresa got a flight home early.  We were all bummed she wouldn't be here for the holidays, but I didn't realize quite how much we missed her presence until I saw her beautiful smiling face in person.
     Another wonderful gift was spending the evening with another family
who has kind of adopted us.  We had some interesting discussion on faith, current events, Kevin was asked to be Matt's Confirmation sponsor, and we all prayed the Rosary.  

             
Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary.