Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is hosted by RAnn at This That and the Other Thing. Sunday Snippets is a weekly meme that gives bloggers a chance to share their favorite posts with others. It's also a great way to find new blogs. Since it is Lent, the first post I'd like to share is on fasting.
http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2010/02/holy-spirit-is-busy-today.html. The second post is a short post about the two gardens:http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/11/two-gardens.html. The last is a reminder to praise God http://openingthefloodgatesofmercy.blogspot.com/2009/07/gross-is-heart-of-this-people-they-will.html as we begin to see more clearly the signs of our times. He is the Rock and our peace is in Him, not in this world.

My prayers go out to all my brothers and sisters in Chile and those suffering from the after effects of this earthquake. May God's mercy and love encompass you.

I'm full!

Lord,
You should probably stop feeding me so much humble pie. It's Lent, Lord, I'm supposed to be fasting .

Sabbath Moments - Quiet

Colleen at Thoughts on Grace hosts Sabbath Moments; a weekly reminder to rest in God, to just be rather than do. To be honest, I was blessed to even have one this week. I had a bit of trouble finding peace and quiet...so it found me instead. It was a hectic week - bad weather, taking Michaela to work with me, play dates and noise, noise, noise. The laughter of children is good noise. Children screaming and dogs barking at the same time...Ouch!

Wednesday night I had insomnia. I tried to get back to sleep but couldn't. I got up and thought,"Hey! I'll go on the computer!" This thought passed quickly as the urge to pray came over me. It was still dark out and very quiet :) So, I prayed the Rosary, the Mercy Chaplet and just talked to God. The Lord knew I needed time with Him and provided it. Plus my sister called and invited Michaela over to play later, so I even got a nap in. Peace + quiet + sleep. Now that's a triple blessing!

"They cry peace, when there is no peace"

The last two days I can't get these words out of my mind. Each time I try to move my mind and heart away from them they come back more strongly. I've been pondering why the Lord has been sinking these words into my heart over and over. What comes to me is that, worldwide, the spiritual situation has become so dire that it borders on emergency. I think that this is why I [and others] keep getting 911 warnings. The truth is people are deceiving themselves about the condition of the world and our country. Without God, there is no true peace; deep interior peace comes from God alone. Can we look around and honestly say that the people of our world have turned their faces toward Our Lord?

You walk into bookstores and you see so many new age books. We are surrounded by false prophets. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Their words sound pleasing to the ear, especially to those who are hungering spiritually. " Everyone is fine. There is no such thing as sin. There is no hell. Jesus was an ascended master." An ascended master? What the heck is an ascended master?!! Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God! The Savior of the world ...whether one is aware of this fact or not. Some New Age followers say that Christians are " unenlightened" and that their minds have not yet been opened to the truth. I even heard a celebrity say that Christians are the biggest problem in this country. We are narrow-minded. We don't think it's okay to murder babies and store them in glass jars or throw them in the trash.

"They say to those who despise the word of the Lord,
  'Peace shall be yours' ;
And to everyone who walks in hardness
  of heart,
  'No evil shall overtake you.'

The most dangerous "religion" in the world is New Age. Why they call it New Age, I'll never know. It's been around in various forms for hundreds of years.Why do I call it the most dangerous? Because many people are drawn in by the mixture of truth and lies that the New Age proclaims. It is Satan's greatest deceit, yet. In many ways it is more dangerous than out and out Satanism because it draws one in slowly and bit by bit draws people away from God. It places the focus on self. Self-worship. Isn't that the very same thing that caused the fall of Lucifer? Pride. At least those who practice Satanism know that they are doing it, the poor New Agers have no clue that they are working for Lucifer who disguises himself as an angel of light.

I went into a bookstore one day and picked up a book. I didn't even have a chance to open the cover before I heard,  "Put it back!" I immediately put the book back on the shelf. The book was by someone called Eckhart Tolle. This happened to me another time at the same store, I picked up a book and again heard,"Put it back!" This one was called "The Secret" or something like that.  I had vaguely heard of the book and was curious as to why it was a bestseller. I put it back, though. I guess there's really no great secret anyway. It's simple really:
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."   John 14:6

A bit of a scare

Yesterday afternoon, I decided to lie on the couch for a bit and accidentally dozed off. When I woke up, Michaela was nowhere to be found. I was terrified, especially when I noticed the door to the condo slightly ajar. I ran through the house screaming her name and then into the halls. I was about to call the police when one of my neighbors came running down the stairs and said, "Mary! It's okay, she's upstairs with Amber."  Come to find out, Michaela had gone upstairs and told my friend Shannon that her mommy said it was okay for her to go over their house. Shannon thought it sounded fishy and asked her again if I knew. Michaela lied and said yes. Shannon didn't believe her and came downstairs to check and heard me screaming Michaela's name. I went upstairs to get Michaela - she knew what she had done was very wrong and ran past me, headed downstairs, and went in her bedroom.

This shook me up terribly, I wasn't even sure how to handle it. I blamed myself for dozing off, you can't doze off with a high energy child. She's a good girl but impulsive, still, I was surprised that she had done this. She knows better.

Today, I started on a round of Prednisolone. I would rather not take this but after what happened yesterday I feel that I have no choice. I probably wouldn't have dozed off if I had been feeling better.

A working dilemma

I'm not really giving up cleaning for Lent [though I'd like to] because my  mom wouldn't have any help at work. My mom and I are kind of stuck. She is 71, but pretty healthy. Still, cleaning all day must be hard for her. She has to keep working because my dad's medications and medical bills run into the thousands each month, so she carries a Medigap policy through her cleaning company. These policies cost around $10,000 a year.  No work = no coverage. When she retires - so will I [from cleaning, at least]  but she is trying to last as long as possible [ and so am I]. Sometimes I wonder how long I can continue to clean for a living, it's a peaceful job but very hard on my body. One of the reason that my house is messy so much is that by the time that I get out of work my energy is far past spent. They say "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". Not so. At least in my case. Would it be better for me to keep my own house spotless? To do that I would have to give up working and my mother would have to work twice as long. I've weighed the two - my illness against her age- and so far her age wins. Her knees are pretty spent from all these years of working. She raised 5 kids through thick and thin and her knees and hands bore the brunt of it. She barely ever complains though I know that she has to get up 2 hours early for her muscles to warm up enough to work. She tells me that God gives her the grace to continue and she is going to work as long as possible. As for me, I'm not sure how much longer I can last doing this. It leaves me in quite a quandary. I have been praying for God's will in this area but I am having trouble discerning it. For now, I am just leaving it in His hands. Things tend to work out on their own if they are placed there. But if anyone has any helpful advice, I'm all ears :)

The moon over my family

Young men really need to get over wearing super large jeans with the oversized boxers, especially the thin guys. We got mooned twice today at church when someone's pants fell down, not once, but twice! The two teenage girls in front of us were giggling so hard they had to leave the church for a few minutes, even Randy was chuckling :) Good thing Michaela wasn't paying attention (as usual) because Michaela whispers really loud. I quickly peeked over to see if she had noticed but she was facing the back of the church. This time I thanked God for her short attention span because if Michaela had seen it the whole church would have known about it. If you're wondering if I laughed....you bet I did. Funny things are even funnier during solemn occasions. I've always had trouble smothering laughter though I have the coughing cover-up down pat from years of practice (I learned that one when the nuns used to take us to Mass when I was a kid.)

Dear Randy

Dear Randy,
If you go on my blog tonight, please don't read the previous post.

Lenten Sacrifice :)

This Lenten night
My house is a mess
Toys everywhere
A pit, I confess

I stepped on Hello Kitty
Tinkerbell caught my toe
There's gum on my shoe
And on the carpet below

Dust bunnies are dancing
And taking their bows
For their litters had litters
Throughout this fine house

My kid's in a huff
My husband is bent
'cause this tired momma
Gave up cleaning for Lent!

and
   as
     for
        me...
I'm quite content :)


Here is a true story, my daughter is my witness. The other day she said, "Mommy, the whole house smells like throw up!!!"  My husband and I noticed it, too. We searched the entire house thinking that one of the dogs had barfed in a corner somewhere, but we had no luck. My daughter said it was making her gag [me, too, for that matter] so we continued the search....still no luck. I gave up and sat in front of the computer. A few minutes later my husband grabbed something off the dining room floor and walked over to me. He waved a pair of his work socks in front of my nose, "Could this be it?"  I almost fell out of my chair the stench was so bad. "Yup, that's it!" Randy walked out of the room yelling, "Peanut! Don't worry! It was just Daddy's socks."
aaah....the joys and blessings of marriage .

Sabbath Moments - Resting (updated)

Sabbath Moments is a meme hosted by Colleen at Thoughts on Grace. These are moments that we rest in God and just be instead of do. Resting in God is exactly what I am going to do tonight. I have never wanted to crawl into bed so badly in my life. So tonight, I unite my sufferings with you, O Jesus, and I am going to listen to what my body has been telling me to do for the last two days and I am going to sleep as long as I can. Goodnight, everyone. If I feel better, I'll edit this in the morning :)

Okay, it's morning...and I couldn't make it to work today. I usually do my posts on Friday night because I work Saturday mornings. I got a good night's rest but it doesn't always help if I'm having a major flare-up. Despite the pain, I did have some great moments with the Lord this week. Wednesday was a wonderful day, it registered low on the pain scale, I was full of peace, received my ashes and spent a great day with the Lord. Sometimes, to prepare me before the really bad days, the Lord will give me a day of love and wonder. Wednesday was one of these days. I felt His Love surround me the entire day. Days like these are very consoling for me, most days are very difficult physically because of the chronic pain. Sometimes chronic pain can dampen your spirits, but I try to keep this from happening by placing my focus on the Passion of Christ and uniting my sufferings with His. This has always been fruitful for me spiritually - once I started accepting the pain instead of fighting it. I actually want to touch upon this subject in my next post as I know many people have chronic pain. How to use it to get much closer to the Lord.

Packed like sardines

It made my heart glad to see how packed the church was today for Ash Wednesday. I usually only see it this packed on Easter and Christmas. I remember looking at a survey a while back that named the 5 least religious states in the country and New Hampshire was among them. I was shocked and apalled to learn this. "Lord, this has got to change. Please help us. Can you imagine living in a state that is one of the least religious? No wonder I have such trouble finding people who want to talk about You.!"  My assumption is that "least religious" means fewest church attendees, whatever religion they may be. It concerns me because one of the Ten Commandments is:
-Keep the Sabbath Day holy

We have a lot of Catholics in our state, I'm guessing that many of them are non-practicing or the numbers wouldn't have been so low. Vermont did even worse than us. That is why I was so pleased to see that the church was so packed for Mass [and it's a large church]. Still, I have been praying that the Lord will lead people back to His House and praying for the conversion of our state and New England in general. Imagine how pleased the Lord would be if every church in the country was packed to the gills every Sunday. They should be full if we are truly a Christian country, shouldn't they?

Operation Rice Bowl

This Lent we are taking part in the Operation Rice Bowl. I'm trying to help Michaela understand making sacrifices for others and charitable giving. Operation Rice Bowl is put out by Catholic Relief Services and the money is used to help the poor. The basic premise is to prepare simple meals during Lent and to make family sacrifices. You put the money you save through these practices in a container and send it in after Lent. We are planning to give up our Lenten pizza night on Fridays [because we usually order it from a pizza place] and various other family treats. I asked Michaela if she wanted to give up sweets for Lent and I bet you can guess her answer :) "My sweets! Oh, mom! Anything but that! I'll give up other things instead."  Well...I tried. She did have a nice long list of things that she WAS willing to give up so I guess I should be pleased. She often prays and thinks of people in need, especially children. During her school food drive I watched this tiny child lug a backpack and a bag of can goods to school. She could barely walk! I offered to help her but she wanted to do it herself. Last night she dug through our change jar and pulled out the pennies for the "Penny Drive" at school. The kids got to pick out the charity that the money goes to. I think she is getting the right idea :)

Michaela likes to practice  "random acts of kindness" and I explained to her that these are what pleases God the most. Doing things for love alone. If she learns this I will be so thankful, for everything passes on this earth except love ...we take this one with us when we go.

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless all families this Lent. Help us teach our children about love and helping others. We are very blessed to have a wonderful example in the Holy Family. Help us to model our families after Joseph, Mary, and Jesus and pour your healing love upon us all, that there may be no divisions among family members or among the Body Of Christ on earth. I ask this in the name of your beloved Son. Amen.

Silence

"Be still and know that I am God."     Psalm 46:10

One foot in time
One foot in eternity
O, be still my mind
Be still my soul
For in the deepest silence
of the human soul
lies the peace which
surpasses all understanding
and in the quiet chambers
of a peaceful heart
time stands still
and eternity begins

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts become troubled or afraid."         John 14:27

This is the peace I longed for my entire life; this peace that surpasses all understanding. I reached for it but it kept slipping through my fingers. I could not grasp it, I leaked grace like a broken vessel. Because I was a broken vessel.  The Holy Spirit sealed these cracks and God's peace filled me but it took years of capturing my thoughts in Christ before I felt this peace on a regular basis.  I had to [and still do] work on my thought life on a daily basis. I knew God's Word was true and I placed my trust in it. Over time, peace became my friend - a gift from a gracious God. I sometimes lose this peace on the surface but deep down inside it stays...solid as a rock.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your peace; an interior peace that's firm even in the middle of  the world's chaos. Pour this peace into the hearts of your children this Lent, O Lord. I ask this in the name of Jesus, who promised this gift to all who believed. Amen.

No wonder Randy's middle name means beloved!

Thank you, Lord, for my beloved Valentine!  Randy took his two best girls to dinner last night and had Valentine suprises for both of us. Mine was a beautiful card; a gorgeous print from one of my favorite local artists. I scanned both the card and the wonderful words inside. And I wasn't moved to tears by this?
The words didn't come through clearly on the scan but part of it says:
I am blessed beyond belief. It is more than a joy for you to be my lifelong partner. God has the master plan and He put us together to complete his plan. We are a great team because we strengthen each other's weaknesses. Definitely, you are the kindest, gentle, caring, loving, thoughful, understanding, and sweetest woman on the planet! I am the proudest man in the world to call you ,my wife, my best friend and for this day MY SWEETHEART!

Who says men aren't sensitive? This made my day. My husband and daughter are the greatest gift God has ever given me. Thank you, Lord.

A Thank You

A big thank you to all who prayed for Diane. The surgery went beautifully and she has been recovering at an amazing pace. She was joking around with her kids the day after the surgery. The doctors think that they got all of the tumor and she is in good spirits. She still has to go through chemo, but this operation went much better than her last one. Prayer is powerful :)