7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 73)

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To People of Goodwill We’ve donated right many carloads of things this week (and in previous months) as we cleaned out the last of the stuff at my mom’s house.  Still a bit hard to believe we’d moved into it after my sophomore year of high school, the summer I met Kevin for the first time.  I left the house for the last time Wednesday evening, leaving my keys on the counter.  It would probably feel even more strange if everything was moved out at once and furniture sold over a weekend, but it’s been weeks in the making, and hasn’t really been my mother’s home and our family gathering place for quite some time.    

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Cause Ya Gotta Have Friends! Kevin and I are incredibly blessed to have many wonderful friends.  These past few weeks, we’ve been particularly grateful for those who have pitched in with the monumental moving-everything-out-of-Mom’s task.  Nancy, Gwen, Leslie, and Jeff, thank you so very, very much for your help, which was truly acting as the Body of Christ for us.  With yours as some of the hearts and hands that Jesus has on earth now, God’s love has been and will be felt.  May God shower you with blessings in abundance!

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Who me? Couldn’t Be! For two people who can so easily see and affirm how God is working in and through others in amazing, miraculous, significant ways, my husband and I sure have a lot of trouble seeing our own potential and greater sense of purpose.  Fortunately, we can see and point out that which is good and holy in each other, even during those times when we can’t see it in ourselves. 

     God, in His Infinite Wisdom, reminded Kevin and me each in very specific ways this week that He loves us and that He has been and will continue to use our lives by working in and through us. 
     Since Kevin likes to keep it simple and isn’t one for reading at length, his came in a fortune cookie: “You lead a useful life no matter what riches are coming to you.” J  He kept this little piece of paper to show me, knowing immediately it was part of the reassurance from God that his life has purpose even if we aren’t where we’d hoped to be or thought we would be at this stage in our lives. 
     That very same day, I came across the following quote from Blessed Mother Teresa in a book I’m reading and reviewing Where There Is Love, There is God.  : “What is the reason for our existence?  We are here to satiate the thirst of Jesus…to proclaim the love of Christ, the thirst of Jesus for souls…by the holiness of our lives” (pg. 173).  Does God know me well, or what?  Not only did he answer my question, but He included the question within the response just to make sure I was paying attention. 
     I always say that if we’re still on earth than, God can still work in and through us, but Kevin and I both appreciated our very personalized reminders that He’s not finished with us yet.  Read the full post Back on Track: Fully Relying on God (FROG).

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Me and Theresa a few years back dressed as
Disney Divas: Mulan & Tinkerbell

Best Halloween Treat Ever! Twenty-one years ago on October 31 my youngest sister Theresa was born while my other sister and I were out trick-or-treating with friends.  This is what our friend’s dad was blasting from his car stereo when he got the phone call and told us the news.  I could never have known how much joy and love she would bring into our family!  Love you lots, Miss Reesa Lynn, and am grateful for the many blessings you have brought and continue to bring into our lives.  My prayer for you is that you will come to know the Lord on a deeper level and choose to serve Him in whatever ways will glorify Him the most and allow His love to shine in and move through you to others.   
 

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Halloween Party: Chirp Chapter One of my Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) sisters hosts a costume party at her house each year.  The usual suspects might not look like this when you see them this weekend.  This is the photo of some of my CRHP sisters at a recent gathering we had for lunch and discussion of the book Heaven Is For Real. 

 

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Birthday Blessings This week, I’ve had a number of surprises and lovely gifts of people’s time, talent, creativity, and thoughtfulness.  Earlier this week, Michele delivered a card and a "glory bee" to our door.  Last night Jeff and Laura had us over for a pizza, peach iced tea, and pie pre-birthday party. How's that for alliteration?  This morning Kevin gave me a beautiful card.  My mom left signs on my car "You were my first joy baby!" "Happy Birthday! Love, Mom," then my mom and sister Mary came over to visit me at work and brought lunch and presents. That plus time with my three fave cuties, dinner with Carl, Jess, Kevin, and the girls at Olive Garden, and a call from our best friend has indeed made it a special day!

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Discerning God’s Will A number of friends have talked about and have been in the throws of discerning God's will.  I'd like to recommend that you see one of the upcoming performances of an original play about St. Teresa of Avila written, directed, and performed by a local actress, who before too long will be entering a cloistered Carmelite community in California.  She's a God-loving, Harley Davidson riding woman of God you may have heard about.  To find out when and where you can see her amazing play Teresita, click here.

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 72)

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It’s a Small World After All Though I haven’t been to Disney World in years, I can still remember the “It’s a Small World” boat ride, and how could I possibly forget the song?!  We went to Disney World many times when we were growing up.  Though we did ride that ride as many times as we could get our parents to wait in line and go on it with us, the other quite memorable occasions were when my youngest sister Theresa was a baby/toddler.  We discovered that if we were on a long car ride that we could get Theresa to settle down if we all sang, “It’s a Small World” to her.  We resorted to that trick many times.  Here’s the song in case you want to get it stuck in your head.

 

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Sorting Things Out I’ve spent lots of time over the past several weeks going through things at my mom’s house before she moves from the family home into a one bedroom apartment.  It’s been an emotionally and physically draining process, but it’s almost finished.  I’ve lost count of how many trips I’ve made to drop off carloads of recycling, items for Goodwill,  etc., but there have been quite a few (and those aren’t half as numerous as the trips my mom’s made to all of those places).  Please keep our family in prayer as we finish moving everything out and as my mom settles in her new apartment, which she again intends to make a comfortable place for family gatherings.

 

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What will the neighbors think? There are many reasons why it’s a good thing my husband is friendly and knows our neighbors.  One of them happens to be that for months, sometimes years at a time, I’ve had one or two carseats installed in the back of my car, but I never come home for the night with a child.  This week, while cleaning out things at my mom’s I realized the irony that I’d put Disney stuff for Vivi in her carseat, and the only other thing in the backseat was a naked Cabbage Patch doll (mine from childhood minus the facepaint I’d put on her cheek many moons ago).  With the combination of a carseat with no kid in it, a naked doll, and my bright yellow “Choose Life” license plates, I’ve probably got some people scratching their heads, that is, until they meet my husband a few times, and they find out I’m a nanny.  

 

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Potty Training Protocol Since Vivi has begun potty training, I suddenly recalled my mom’s story of her first attempt when I was still pretty young (younger than Vivi is now) to introduce the concept of using my own potty chair in the bathroom.  After the brief tutorial my mother gave me, she went into the kitchen.  She knew for certain I wasn’t picking up what she was putting down a little later when I came out of the bathroom holding the bowl from the potty chair and saying, “Green beans?”  As in, let’s put some of my fave veggies in here.     

 

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Funny Kids T-shirts I have seen children wearing these shirts, and sometimes wish that all kids had such honest phrases written right on the front of their t-shirts warning everyone upfront.  I think the one that made me laugh the most was when I saw a young boy of about 3 years old wearing a “Potty Like a Rock Star” t-shirt, as many little ones that age tend to do just what the shirt implies (to me, at least): they pee all over the place; sometimes, they even get some inside the toilet.  To the right are a few of my favorites:

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Blessings Out of the Blue (& Photos too!) As per usual, God has made sure to mix in some extra special blessings to remind us of His love this week.  Thanks to all of the family and friends who joined in to show us glimpses of God’s love.  We’re incredibly blessed to have you in our lives!  Click here for list of blessings, names, and photos.

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Chosen to Serve To be chosen to do something special is an honor.  By rite of Baptism, we have been chosen by the Lord God to be his heirs, to be brothers and sisters with Christ Jesus.  As children of God, we have been chosen, elected, set apart, given a special blessing…and are sent out into the world to serve. 

     We’re all given different gifts and talents which the Lord intends for us to use in order to help others and bring others closer to Him.  We don’t have to ask whether or not we are among those selected for the Creator to work in and through if we have embraced the Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit as the triune God above everyone and everything in creation.  If we have accepted who God is, then we know we are among His children.  If we are one of God’s kids, then…
Read the rest of this reflection written in honor of the participants of the Cursillo Women’s Weekend taking place Oct. 18-20, 2012 at Shalom House.
     Please keep the team and candidates in prayer this weekend as well as during their 4th day.  DE COLORES! 

Head over to Conversion Diary, to read Jen Fulwiler's wonderful tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.

Sorting Things Out

    I had a weekend that I feel should have filled me with joy, as I got to spend time with a number of my favorite people who are both loving and uplifting, but instead I felt like crying through much of it. 
     On Friday, I went over to Mom’s and was sorting through things alone again.  I worked my butt off, got through a number of boxes from the attic, and recycled tons of old papers, set aside school supplies to give to a friend who knows a program that could really use them, and put some things in a pile that I want to bring home.  I know I may end up sorting through the things I’ve brought home again, but I’d rather have the chance to do that than have everything be thrown into huge black garbage bags and taken to the dump.  This has been a very painful, emotional process. 
     One thing that’s quite overwhelming about all of this is being reminded how many periods in my life when I’ve felt isolated, alone, and as if no one in my family could or even tried to listen to me, understand what I was feeling, or what I was going through.  I spent so very long covering up the darkness and depression that I lived in. 
     Only when I couldn’t take another thing going wrong would the stress come out.  After I’d spent half an hour talking about things that were really inconsequential, then crying for half an hour so hard I couldn’t speak, I’d finally be able to talk with my mom about what was really troubling me. 
     I keep reminding myself that all of this sorting, saying goodbye to the family home, etc. could be a whole lot worse.  I could be sorting through everything from my mom’s house to throw it away after it was ruined in a fire, flood, or some natural disaster.  (FYI, I’ve made a point of praying for all who have lost their homes to fire, flood, or a natural disaster knowing that would be much more devastating and overwhelming.)    
     The trouble is it doesn’t help me feel better to know that things could be even more depressing and seemingly insurmountable. There’s not much progress made when I get angry and frustrated with myself because I’m feeling sad, lonely, depressed, sorrowful…even when I am fully aware that others are suffering in really significant ways.   
     I have lots to be grateful for.  That’s not really the issue.  The problem is more that I have spent so much of my life trying to cover up my emotions that I need to be reminded that it’s okay to feel whatever I’m feeling without beating myself up about it.  I touched on this subject in a post I wrote a while back entitled Living the Lie that Everything’s Fine, but I’ve been thrust back into this place of tension lately whenever I feel down but think that I shouldn’t be.     
     We had a number of plans to spend time with people we care about this past weekend.  I felt that I should have been joy-filled and happy all weekend since this was the case.  I became frustrated with myself when I wasn’t Mary Poppins’ with a cheery disposition and practically perfect in all ways. 
     It’s no fun to feel sad, anxious, depressed, sorrowful, or disappointed, but I’ve learned it’s better just to let myself experience those emotions rather than berate myself for having them in the first place. 
     In accepting how I’m feeling (even if I don’t like it) then I’m being more open and honest.  When I stop trying to be (or wish that I were) a non-feeling, completely objective robot, then I’m more likely to discover what’s driving the negative feelings and come up with some possible solutions or practical actions I can take towards remedying those hurts.  I am more likely to be compassionate to those around me who are also carrying hurts or crosses of their own. 
     Lord, help me become a better vessel for your love, compassion, and understanding by accepting my emotions and those of others as opportunities to grow closer to You and others.