A psalm of David.

LORD, hear my prayer; in your faithfulness listen to my pleading; answer me in your justice.
Do not enter into judgment with your servant; before you no living being can be just.
The enemy has pursued me; they have crushed my life to the ground.
They have left me in darkness like those long dead.
My spirit is faint within me; my heart is dismayed.
I remember the days of old; I ponder all your deeds; the works of your hands I recall.
I stretch out my hands to you; I thirst for you like a parched land.  [Selah]
Hasten to answer me, LORD; for my spirit fails me.
Do not hide your face from me, lest I become like those descending to the pit.
At dawn let me hear of your kindness, for in you I trust.
Show me the path I should walk, for to you I entrust my life.
Rescue me, LORD, from my foes, for in you I hope.
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.
May your kind spirit guide me on ground that is level.
For your name’s sake, LORD, give me life; in your justice lead me out of distress.
In your kindness put an end to my foes; destroy all who attack me, for I am your servant.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window is beautiful but brash.  Sun is out but the chill reminds us that winter does not want to let go.

I am thinking about one of my youth group girls who was taken to the emergency room last night.  Please keep A.B. in your prayers.  She had a bad reaction to some antibiotics for a kidney infection.  Poor chickie, her birthday is today.

I am thankful for the most amazing daughters God could have blessed me with!  My oldest made a date with me to take me out for my birthday next weekend.  And my youngest continues to praise God after an awesome weekend for the F5 Rally – Catholic Life Conference!

From the kitchen… Tonight my youngest is making fried chicken from a Paula Dean recipe!
I am wearing…

I am creating an outline for this summer’s youth group activities.  Included on the schedule is a 30 Hour Fast/Box City to raise $$ for Catholic Charities, a Work Week with the Benedictine Sisters of Elk County,  a Summer Picnic with an outdoor Mass at Presque Isle, and the FEST in Cleveland!!

I am going to have X-rays taken today for my doctors appointment tomorrow.

I am reading “The Creed” by Berard Marthaler, for my online class.  Tonight is the final chat session!

I am hoping that I will be able to finally wear my sneakers after tomorrow’s doctor’s appointment.  I’m tired of these surgical shoes.  Prada, they aint.

I am hearing “40 Days” by Matt Maher on Pandora.

Around the house I see dog hair and it reminds me to make an appointment for him to get prettied-up.

One of my favorite things is morning Mass.  I love making worship the first part of my day!

A few plans for the rest of the week: doc appointments today and tomorrow, finishing my first online class, fish dinner on Friday with my daughter as hubby attends his Ultreya.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing…

A few weeks ago, I blogged about my husband making a Cursillo. While I hoped that it would have a positive effect on him, my secret prayer was, “Please God, don’t let him kill me when he gets home.”

Now, I know that God cannot be outdone in grace, mercy, and generosity. But, I had totally underestimated this reality. Our family is on a whirlwind conversion path to holiness! While some of the intimacies of this conversion I will leave private between my hubby and I, let me just say that Cursillo may have been the spark of conversion and my hubby’s GR fanned the flames, last night’s meeting with fellow Catholic couples blew into a bonfire!

We gathered last night as the team for Made 2 Worship (see below).  I had known many of these good and holy people for a few years through homeschooling. I love these people. They’re the kind that challenge you to become holy by their very being. They want to live for God; they want to become saints; they want YOU to become a saint. They are easy to gravitate to. You can easily see the Face of Christ in each of them.

While I am excited for the opportunity to work with my husband on this team, I am more excited that the wall that inhibited faith-sharing has been torn down.  Communication about God, our faith, catholicism, etc.,  has created an intimacy that we have never shared and I am so grateful that the Holy Spirit has found a new home in our hearts as a married couple.  What a blessing!  My prayer is that all couples can find a place for God like this in their marriage but much sooner than we did.

I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring!  Flame On!

PS:  for those interested…. We gathered as part of a team for a project of family holiness called, “Made 2 Worship”; a series of monthly prayer events that build upon daily family prayer. Check it out!  Made2Worship

Another high school alumni passed away yesterday after several years of battling leukemia; she leaves behind 4 children and lots of family, friends, and acquaintances whose lives she touched with bravery and compassion. Please keep the Mennini – Pieri family in your thoughts and prayers.

On the flip side, our niece and her husband are pregnant with their second child. Mommy posted on FB that she felt the baby having hiccups yesterday. My niece and her wonderful husband are a very blessed young couple who are raising a beautiful daughter who just turned 2. In the wake of death, there is life!

Somewhere in between… my husband’s parents were exposed to the flu. In their mid-70s, the reality of their mortality is hitting us and difficult to realize. Those who once held us up now need our support, love, and care.

Also in the middle are our daughters who are two very strong young women, active and solidly living their faith. Our oldest has been dating the same wonderful man for over 5 years. Our youngest, although not allowed to date until 16, has a dear friend who loves her very much and who has come to Christ through her friendship.

Finally, the most prophetic metamorphosis, and the one closest to my heart is my dear husband who experienced his Cursillo this past weekend. This was the most life-changing transformation that I have ever witnessed. He is exuding a peace I have never seen before and the past few nights have been spent lying next to each other sharing our thoughts and prayers like we never had before. There is a renewal, not only within him but with our marriage and I cannot wait until my turn next month in April.

What beauty there is when we step back and take it all in. Although our crosses can be difficult and bitter to swallow; the beauty of life transcends all. God’s love and mercy endure forever!

FOR TODAY
Outside my window… is a beautiful snowy image of a typical Lake Effect snowfall — which I am getting REALLY tired of seeing. Dear Lord, I’m ready for a new image!

I am thinking… of those in Japan, Hawaii and all those affected by the earthquake and tsunamis. You are all in my prayers

I am thankful for… the coming of spring and the opportunity for transformation that this Lenten Season brings.

From the kitchen… I am considering what meatless lunch and dinner to prepare for our first Lenten Friday dinner.

I am wearing… yucky sweats and my husbands old quilted flannel. I’m bringing sexy back in a really abstract manner.

I am creating… my first Daybook post ever and really excited about this method of journaling, especially as it pertains to my journey during Lent.

I am going…to my surgeons post-op appointment today in Erie and praying that the roads stay clear since I’m driving on my own.

I am reading… several books right now. “The Little Black Book” for Lent is my daily read first thing in the morning for the next 40 days.

I am hoping… that my husband allows the Holy Spirit to move in his heart this weekend as he makes his Cursillo.

I am hearing… the reports of Tsunami and Earthquake coverage on Fox News.

Around the house… I see dog hair that needs swept badly. (not sure I like this entry; forces me to take notice of poor housekeeping.)

One of my favorite things… is working with our youth group, giving retreats and talks to youth and young adults, and spending time in adoration.

A few plans for the rest of the week: Doc appointment today, CCD on Sat. and Sun. mornings, YOUth Group on Monday.

Here is picture for thought I am sharing

I went to my hairdresser today; a dear friend of mine who has 2 children in our Rel. Ed. program. We always talk church stuff. Today was no different and with this being the 2nd day of Lent, the first question she asked me was “So, what did you give up?”. Now, there was another gal under the dryer right next to me who overheard us chatting.

She said, “Ooh I forgot to go get ‘smudged’ last night (obviously referring to the distribution of ashes).” Then she added, “Did you ask what she gave up? I didn’t think Catholics even did that anymore, that’s really old fashioned. You didn’t give anything up, did you?”

My hairdresser said that she and her sons had just been discussing this but hadn’t yet come to a conclusion. But she was zoning in on ice cream or chocolate.

It was my turn to share so I said, “I gave up surfing the net for fashion sites, stores, and catalogs.” Upon being given a look like I was from Mars, I continued, “I could spend hours at night on my laptop surfing while my hubby watches tv. The point of Lent is to fast, pray, and give alms for a lifelong change that brings you closer to Christ. I plan on replacing the time spent surfing with reading a book or spending quality time with my husband.”

Both of them laughed, not at me, but at the idea that giving up chocolate bringing someone closer to Jesus. And both of them said that they’d never heard it explained that way. Makes more sense, they said.

So my hair dresser said to the other gal, “So, what are you going to give up then?” To which the gal replied, “I’m not. I’m just not into it.”

My prayers tonight are for this poor woman, that she realizes the severity of what she said today. I’m so sorry that there are people out there who call themselves Christian but don’t think that Jesus is ‘worth the effort’. I guess she’s taking the fact that Death on a Cross was a freebie for her.

Does the outside mirror the inside. Realizing that we often reflect that which we love, do others see us or the face of Jesus? If they see only ourselves, how do we change that. And are we willing to make the changes in our life so that Christ is reflected more than we are.

Check list:

• Something to give up… check
• Something to add to prayer life… check
• Something to increase almsgiving… check
• Good attitude… check
• Strong motivation to change… check
• No meat today… check

Today begins my journey towards becoming the woman of God that He wants me to be.  These next 6 weeks are not about ‘What are you giving up” but how are you going to transform.  Something we don’t often really think about.  Many of us have morphed Lent into a sort of Catholic New Years resolution, and it ends up with the same results – broken promises.  We’re all gung-ho for the first week then we start to slip and make excuses, or we don’t enter the season with the idea that change, permanent change, is necessary for growth toward a stronger relationship with Jesus Christ.

A few years ago, I was with a good friend at a local chocolatier’s shop to purchase some goodies for Easter.  This was the week before Holy Week an my friend had given up chocolate for Lent.  She told the clerk that she wanted something that was chocolate but not really made with it so that she could get her ‘fix’ and finish out Lent knowing that she had followed the rules.  The ironic and really sad part of this story is that the clerk was not Catholic but had a better understanding of this season that my friend did.  He was a dear old man who we’ve known for a long time.   He refused and asked her if giving up chocolate really meant anything to her, then he suggested that she not purchase anything for herself making the sacrifice more clear.  Needless to say, she walked out of the shop feeling quite small and realizing that she didn’t have the right attitude for the season.

In doing research for this past Monday’s YOUth Group meeting, I noticed that our lenten preparations should be 3 fold: sacrifice, prayer, and alms.  I’ve never really considered the ‘alms giving’ part and usually focus on the sacrifice and prayer parts.  And even then I always seemed to find an alternative to whatever I’d given up so that I would feel unsatisfied and my prayer routine never stuck.  So this year I’m really taking stock in my life to see how I can truly enter into this season with the idea of being transformed.  This is what I’ve come up with:

1. Give up surfing the web for women’t fashion – truly I could wasted hours doing this.  I will replace time spent in surfing with spiritual reading.
2. Take one day of the week and sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament for 30 minutes.  I’d like to make it longer but I want to be realistic with what I can actually accomplish.
3. Put an extra 5$ each week in the basket which means I will have to give up buying myself extra little snacks during the week to do this.

I really want to grow close to Christ and I’m hoping that my plans will enable me to do so.

Let the Season of Lent begin with prayer:  Holy Spirit, enter into my heart and ignite the flames of change.  Help me to be strong when I feel week, give me the gift of fortitude so that I can not only finish the race into Holy Week but so that these changes will lead to life long holy habits.  Amen!!!!

Lent begins in 2 days and I don’t feel ‘ready’. It seems as if it just snuck up on me; wasn’t Christmas just last month? Heck, I still have a wreath on my front door!

So today at YOUth Group, I talked about the 40 Days of Lent and what it means to us as Catholic Christians. It was actually a “Lent for Dummies” explanation as I have several youth who are not Catholic; they’ve heard about this ‘lent thing’ but didn’t think it ‘was for them’. The interesting aspect about this group of kids is that the non-Catholic teens are very active in the other local churches; they have a deep love for Christ and really want to learn more. They are really excited to know that they can take advantage of these next 6 weeks to deepen their relationship with God in a very special way.

I gave the kids some ideas on things they can do. Lent can be a 3-fold experience: prayer, fasting, and alms-giving. Anyone who’s worked in ministry with youth knows the introductory line: “What are you giving up for Lent?”. I think we need another approach. First of all, Lent is not New Years Day. Sacrifice should be a life-long change that deepens your faith. We reworded that opening line today: What bad habits are you going to try to eliminate in your life; what wall in your life do you need to take down; what action do you need to master? I also said that to refrain from eating chocolate so that you can shed 5lbs by Easter to look better in your new Easter outfit was NOT deepening your relationship with Christ. It was selfish and the idea needed tweaked. The life-giving perspective is: I’m going to give up chocolate because it’s a treat that I really like and in giving this up, not only am I sacrificing something that I really enjoy, I may also loose 5lbs thereby becoming more fit and healthy so that I can better do the will of God. Ahhhhh! Now I get it!

So, here’s some ideas which I’m taking on for myself:

• Spending time in front of the Blessed Sacrament in quiet and contemplative prayer.  Quiet as in, “Okay God, it’s Your turn to talk.  I’ll keep my mouth shut for at least 30 minutes once a week.”
• Journaling – I’ve never had the commitment to keep a journal but my spiritual advisor has recommended it on many occasions.  I found several websites that I will use to compile my own journal:  ”The Simple Woman’s Daybook“, and “Create A Spiritual Journal…“
• Giving up ‘window shopping’ online.  I spend WAY too much time surfing online catalogs to see what the next season holds for fashion. Ebay, Macys, and Spiegel have been horrible temptations for me.  I plan on replacing the time with spiritual reading.
• Giving more in the offertory envelope.  This means that I’ll have to give up buying myself snacks each week in order to put an extra 5 in the basket.

Sharing an idea from my daughter and others at Youth Group: they are giving up Facebook for Lent.  I told them that this was exceptionally commendable but to think about what they will fill that time up with.  Exchanging time on FB for 2 hours of video games won’t enhance their faith life, but replacing it with time spent with family members or even some spiritual reading would be good and holy.  I actually gave this some serious thought for myself but the reality is that since I use FB to market youth group activities, the idea isn’t practical.

I also tossed the kids the idea of putting the cell phones away for at least an hour at night time and replacing that hour in prayer or scripture reading.  They sort of balked at that idea since many of them text bf/gf.  So I suggested that they hold up in prayer those that they would normally be texting.  That, they thought, was a good idea.

Over the next 6 weeks at YOUth Group we’ll be watching the Passion of the Christ then talking about it, we’ll pray the traditional Stations of the Cross, and we’ll be composing our own Stations meditations that I’ll put in a booklet form.  Finally, we’ll be creating bookmarks that the kids will be handing out after Masses as part of Catholics Come Home.  I’d also like to take the group to Fr. Larry Richard’s “Passion Reading” on Wednesday of Holy Week.

After today, I think I’m finally ready for Lent and my own personal transformation.  So, tonight after posting this entry I’m off to surf the net for my Easter outfit … I have until Tuesday at midnight!!!

This past weekend I had the honor of speaking to a group of beautiful young ladies about being a good sister in Christ. We talked about how our lack of communication hurts our relationships with one another. How we use/abuse our body language to relay messages to each other that we may not intend. How gossip and slander can do more damage than physical abuse. Just read chapter 3 in the book of James. Harsh words and a wakeup call for all of us!

But my talk was a mere footnote compared to the beautiful story of the call to religious life recounted by Sr. Julie of Christ the Bridegroom Order.

Sr. Julie is one of the most beautiful young women I have ever met. Truly, the face of Christ! I’m sure she would be quite embarrassed to read this but when met her I knew that I was in the presence of a future saint. I met Sr. Julie in one of the most unusual places! But, that’s another post.

Mrs. C., Mrs. Z., and Mrs., K all ran the retreat and included ice breakers, games, great food, and prayer. The high point for me was midnight adoration. Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament is such a powerful and life changing part of our retreats. It’s the most peaceful part of the event and so humbling when you hear the soft cries of those who are physically touched by His Presence.

This part of my ministry is truly my favorite – to give young people a chance to re-energize body/mind/spirit, re-prioritize their values/goals/routines, and re-connect with Jesus Christ, King, Friend, and Love of their life!