The Beauty of the Easter Season

Now that Easter Sunday has passed, we can joyfully celebrate the gift of March Madness and the beauty of God's creation...which is evident when watching our precious UNC TarHeels and Texas Longhorns. (Oh, we just can't decide WHO to cheer for!)

Christos Anesti! He is Risen!

"Always be ready to give an account to everyone who asks of the reason for the hope that is in you..." (1 Peter 3:15)

Happy Easter, everyone!

Jesus Remember Me-Good Friday 2008

Our church's outdoor Stations of the Cross drew hundreds of participants. It was a beautiful Spring day with temperatures close to 70 degrees. Many of us came with quieted hearts, hoping to align our sufferings and pain with Christ.

Nicholas, Jack and Gus follow others as we sing and pray along the way.

As I looked up from my prayers, I was surprised to find Nick at the front of the crowd...Jack and Gus not far behind...positioning himself to be selected to take a turn carrying Christ's Cross. I worried that it might be too heavy for him, but it wasn't. He carried it along with another young friend from youth group. Symbolizing that even our children, walk along with Christ and have their own crosses to bear.



Back at the church, near the end of our stations, Nick assists one of the adults in propping up the Cross.


We adore you Oh Christ and we bless you, because by your cross you have redeemed the world.

Pinch me, am I dreaming?

The other night, the kids and I visited the local "dollar store". You know the type of store... where everything is advertised as being only one dollar, but in reality costs MORE than a dollar! What is up with that??

Anyway, I was in a generous mood and felt like the kids were being really good lately, so I told them that they could each pick out a toy from this...uh, DOLLAR store. They all found a few gems that thrilled them. Jack and Nick found camoflauged automatic weapons (a staple in my home) and Gus found two miniature army men with their weapons. Rebecca wanted some rubber glue. It was for the sole of her shoe which was coming apart and solved her problem.

All of this should have cost me, $4, but since it was not a REAL dollar store, I paid over $25. Sheesh.

But that was a small price to pay for the priceless joy and gratitude that effused from my children. Cheap plastic toys absolutely made. their. day. (And Rebecca was happy to have intact shoes.) As we drove home after our shopping trip, I enjoyed the conversation between the kids:

Gus: Oh, I hope this is not a dream.

Me: What do you mean Gus?

Jack: Gus, it could not be a dream, 'cuz why would I be in your dream?

Gus: No, it's just that I always have dreams where I get cool toys, but wake up to find out that I did not get them.

Jack: Don't worry Gus, it's not a dream. You have a cool toy, and so do Nick and I.

Let's hear it for the cheap plastic toy that brings joy!! Even if I DID have to pay more than a dollar for these cheapy goods, it was worth it!

Fatherly Love

Another lovely editorial from one of my favorite Catholic evangelists: Mark Hart aka: The Bible Geek.



So much has been written over the centuries about God being our Father. We pray the 'Our Father' at every single Mass. Most of you reading this probably pray it every day - I sure do.

But it's easy to fall into that "trap" sometimes of letting that term "Father" be just that...a term or a 'title' for God, rather than the basis for our relationship with Him.

We could write a long list of traits we look for in a Father or expect from a Father. Many of our lists would stem from traits we see in or desire from our own earthly fathers.

Recently, though, as I was praying and journaling, I began to reflect on things I've learned about the love of a father since becoming a father a few years back. As my wife and I await the arrival (any day now) of our newest baby girl, it's got me to thinking, again, about how a father loves his children.

Here are a few 'truths' I've learned and realized about good fathers:

. Fathers aren't afraid of messes.we learn to expect them.

. Fathers don't like whining. If you really want our help, stop whining and speak to us.

. Fathers know that when things are too quiet.their children must be in sin.

. Fathers want to not only provide for their children, they want to give them more than they deserve.

. Fathers don't base their love on their child's accomplishments. True paternal love is unconditional.

. Fathers love to see themselves reflected in their children (the good things, anyway).

. Fathers desire to have their children in their presence as much as possible.

. Fathers relish in seeing their children share their gifts and talents with the world.

. Fathers would do anything to take their child's pain away.


And if I (in all of my imperfections) feel these things for my own kids, how much more does our Heavenly Father perfect these emotions and feelings with us? (Matthew 6:30-34)

As I journaled, I took these relationship "truths" that I live with my own children and translated them into how God loves me and looks at me. Here's what I came up with, perhaps it will make sense for your life, too:

My Father in Heaven isn't afraid of my messiness. He wants to help me clean it up.
My Father in Heaven doesn't like my whining, He wants me to talk to him.
My Father in Heaven knows I'm sinning, especially when He hasn't heard from me.
My Father in Heaven wants to bless me with more than I truly deserve.
My Father in Heaven loves me unconditionally, not because of what I do.
My Father in Heaven rejoices when I live and act in His image.like Jesus.
My Father in Heaven desires to have me in His presence more often.
My Father in Heaven hopes to see me share my talents (His gifts) with the world.
My Father in Heaven would to anything to take away my pain.even die on a cross.


This is not the fullness of the meaning behind calling God "Abba", but it's a start. The sooner we can re-envision the true, authentic, practical and perfect love of our Heavenly Father, the sooner this verse and the sooner the Lord's Prayer (the Our Father) will hold greater meaning in our everyday lives.

Happy Father's Day (a little early).


Salvation Given
"As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" - Galatians 4:6


Your Father loves you. Love Him back.

The big ones hurt the most.

My kids made a crown of thorns of their very own using the recipe I mentioned in an earlier post. They had a great time mixing, kneading, and rolling the dough into their crown and all the while, kept asking questions about Christ's passion and death. As they placed the thorns into the thick dough, Gus spoke to Jack about how painful it must have been to have such sharp sticks encircling Jesus's head. (This just goes to show how powerful active learning can be with children. It's one thing to talk about Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins, but the lesson becomes "alive" when children work with their hands to create a symbol of His sacrifice.)

Each time a child does a good deed for another, they get to remove a painful "thorn" from our salt-dough crown. Gus is always mindful to take the biggest thorns out first.

Gus: Mom, I'm going to take this bigger thorn out, since it probably hurts the most.

No matter how big or small the sin, it hurts God and distances our relationship with Him. The more we sin, the more thorns in his crown. Regardless of our human flaws and shortcomings, He still loves us and beckons us to be reconciled to him. May this Lent bring us closer to Christ and to fullness of life He promises.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for....

chocolate cake!

If it is yellow, let it mellow. (gross!!!!!!!)

In case you have not heard, my area of the country has been living with a severe drought situation for the past 8 months...give or take. The governor has encouraged all North Carolinians to cut water consumption by at least 20% or more. Low flow faucets and showerheads are flying out of stores, rain barrels are being used to collect dew along with the few precious drops of rain that we get. We are turning off the water when we brush our teeth, fixing slow water leaks, taking shorter showers and refusing water at restaurants. No hand watering of lawns, filling swimming pools or washing of cars is allowed, unless you want to risk a fine of $1000. And when it comes to flushing toilets, the saying here in North Carolina goes like this: "If it is yellow, let it mellow. If it's brown, flush it down."(ewh.) As long as our reservoirs contain less than 45% of water, Stage 3 restrictions will continue. Needless to say, many businesses are suffering under this drought. Especially landscapers, car washes, and nurseries.

The other thing that is suffering is my car. While I can live with a dirty car on the outside, the inside is another story. Oh, I can vacuum and scrape up old lollipop sticks, French fries, and cookie crumbs...but I cannot scrub my floor mats. Doing so would require that I use water from the hose. I did not realize this until I was well into the process. After cleaning the inside of the car to where it was gleaming...I realized I would have to put the nasty, crusty, sticky, stained floor mats on top of my freshly vacuumed carpet! I confess that I was tempted to use my garden hose and headed to the back yard to assess the situation. Luckily, it rained yesterday and I thankfully found a few gallons of fresh, clear rainwater in the galvanized tub set up near my back porch. It's amazing how much you can clean with so little water! In no time, I had my boys hand scrubbing my nasty floor mats! A great lesson for all of us.

Throughout this drought I am reminded of how MUCH we have in this country. Where so many around the world must walk miles for fresh, clean drinking water, all we have to do is open our faucets and fill our containers with all we need. Sacrificing a small bit for the good of the community/world is a good thing. In the long run we all benefit, and learn to appreciate the finite resources that God has placed in our care. Acting responsibly, even when no one is looking is its own reward, and God expects us to do so.

Pray for rain.

Crown of Thorns

To continue getting my family in the sacrificial mood for Lent,
Danielle Bean, suggests this easy "Crown of Thorns" activity and recipe.
Read the article on how to make your very own!

Lenten Sacrifice-Not going well.

I'm really not prepared for Lent this year. Usually there is a nice long break after the season of Christmas where my "religious body clock" recuperates from the joy (and exhaustion) of Christmas and enjoys a well placed Ordinary Time consisting of at least 7-8 weeks. But this was not meant to be this year. Lent is earlier than it's been since the year 1825, and no one told my "body clock" that it needed to prepare. But here is the fact of the matter: When mom is not prepared for Lent, no one around this house is ready for Lent either.

When I asked the kids what they wanted to give up/do for Lent, each of my children looked at me unenthusiastically and chanted what they would give up/do for Lent. Their sacrifices started out pretty good, but went down-hill fast.

Here is the list:

Becca: Pray the rosary every night
Nick: Change Henry's diaper more often
Jack: No chocolate
Gus: Can I give up school?
Henry: No pulling of siblings hair while yelling, "Die, die, die"

On Fat Tuesday, Chris and I took the kids to a favorite Chinese Restaurant to celebrate the beginning of Lent with a feast. The dinner conversation evolved into what mom was going to give up for Lent. Oh, the kids were fast and furious when suggesting possible options for their mom:

Nick: Mom, maybe you could, like, stop yelling at us to do our chores and instead use a soft voice. (All nodded in agreement.)

Me: I'll consider it, Nick. Thanks for the suggestion.

Becca: Maybe you should give up going to
Panera Bread for your daily tea fix.

Me: Well, that's a possibility; although VERY challenging.

Becca: On second thought, you better not give that up. It would be hard on all of us if you did not get your caffeine.

Me: Huh. Very Funny.

Chris: Maybe you could hold your emotions in more.

Me: Wha? (I held my emotions in on that one. Good start.)

OK well, you see where all this went. Downhill people. Downhill! You see that I have my work cut out since I plan to work on two of my family's three suggestions. (There is no way I could give up my tea and work on the other two suggestions with charity). There is nothing like having your family decide what you need to do to sacrifice more. The whole dying to self and sacrificing more for others makes good sense and challenges me, especially when God speaks through those I love.

Are you still needing ideas for how to celebrate Lent in a more meaningful way? Be sure to check out Our Sunday Visitor's Downloadable Lenten Calendar It is colorful, attractive and ready to print out. You can hang it on your fridge, or give it to members of your bible study!

Busted Halo has a wonderful article called, 25 Things you can do for Lent. which is generous with options for the person needing something new to practice.

May you all have a wonderful and blessed Lenten season, and here's to family...always keeping us humble before the Lord.

Ash Wednesday

"Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Math Homework

Because I lack any time to write a real post, I'll give you all a picture instead. Here we have poor Nick, struggling with his Math homework. We also have dad, struggling with a good approach to help Nick understand his homework. Did they succeed?
Yes they did, but not without wailing and nashing of teeth from both sides.

First Snow (last week!)

'Snowball'

I made myself a snowball
As perfect as could be.
I thought I'd keep it as a pet
And let it sleep with me.
I made it some pajamas
And a pillow for its head.
Then last night it ran away,
But first it wet the bed.

-- Shel Silverstein

March for Life-Thoughts

As you all know, a group of youth and adults traveled in the darkness of the early morning to attend the 35th annual March for Life event in Washington D.C. this past Tuesday, January 22nd (the anniversary of Roe v Wade). A caravan of at least 8 buses left from the Diocese of Raleigh to march with thousands of others from around the country to march against the destruction of life at any age or stage. There were many amazing things that I saw and heard that day which will stay with me forever, but there were a couple of things which surprised me that I would like to share with you.




Bishop Burbidge addresses the North Carolina contingency of marchers on the front steps of the National Shrine.





1. It was so Catholic! In my years at the University of Texas during the early 90’s, my husband and I were active in organizing the Austin Right to Life Rallies at the state capital. In those days, there were many religious faiths represented: Lutherans, Muslims, Evangelicals, Catholics, and the list goes on. What I was struck by 20 years later was that Catholics are seemingly the only ones left keeping this issue at the front of today’s political and social landscape. Now I am sure that there were more than just Catholics marching on Tuesday, but I did not see any evidence of it. I did see hundreds of nuns, priests, seminarians, catholic school kids, catholic college groups,groups praying the rosary, Knights of Columbus members…and the list goes on, and on. It was a great big Catholic gathering! It made me proud to be part of such a caring, socially active group.












2. It was so YOUNG! Again, back in Austin, the participants marching were of a variety of ages. But what I saw in Washington D.C. were our YOUTH! Youth groups were everywhere; holding banners from many schools and colleges from around the country as well as from local schools. I read that the entire student and staff population of Christendom College came to march.



Nicholas holds his sign. Enough said.



10:30am North Carolinian Mass at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.




Over 1000 North Carolinian Catholics posing for a picture on the steps of the National Shrine. (Rebecca can be found on the far right in black sweatshirt and red jacket. Do you see her?)

As I marched down Pennsylvania avenue with my group, I thought of past marches and protests. Whereas the youth of the 60’s marched for civil rights, and the youth of the 70’s marched against the Vietnam war. Both groups were arguably successful in their efforts. In the same light, it seems as if the cause of today’s youth is: Life. And the respecting of it. I have great hopes that THIS generation of youth…the ones most hurt by abortion (having 1 out of every 4 peers lost to abortion)…will be the generation that will change hearts and minds of others to eradicate what Pope John Paul calls “The culture of death”. Whether through marching, helping an unwed mother, eliminating poverty, prayer, or counseling; all of it makes a difference in someone’s LIFE.

In my inbox

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at
a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now
retired.

During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in
their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor
went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and
an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking,
some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the
hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said,
'Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving
behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only
the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot
chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even
hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not
the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups...and then you began
eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and
position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain
life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you
have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the
hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man
chooses the cups.

The happiest people don't have the best of everything.
They just make the best of everything that they have.

Marching for Life

Members of the youth group, including two of my children and I, are off to Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life event. We leave at the ungodly hour of 3:30am and are scheduled to arrive at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass specifically for the North Carolina contingency of Catholics at 10:30 am. Our very own Bishop Burbidge will preside along with Bishop Jugis from the Diocese of Charlotte.

The March begins at noon with a rally on the Mall followed by a march to Capitol Hill and the Supreme Court. Over 100,000 are expected to march in cold temperatures which are predicted to be in the 20's and 30's with snow and rain possible. There are at least 500 people traveling from North Carolina to D.C. along with priests, seminarians and members of the Knights of Columbus.

Are we crazy for doing this? Um. Yeah!! We are! Super crazy! But is there any better reason to march under such conditions than to remind the world and our politicians on the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade that there are Americans who still value the sanctity of human life? Enough of all the death and despair. Let's pray for all women forced to undergo an abortion, the abortionists, our society that quietly approves, our politicians, and for all the unborn souls.

"Any country that accepts abortion is the poorest of the poor"-Mother Teresa

A politician honing his skills...

Nicholas scored surprisingly high on a test he took this week, and he was feeling pretty good about it.

Nick: Mom. I got all my smart genes from dad.

Me: (appalled, and showing it) Nick, you don't think you got any intelligence genes from your mom?

Nick: I did (putting his arm around me) , but I mostly got my good looks and singing talent from you.

Me: Nice recovery Nick. You'll make a good politician.

Now THAT is so sweet....

President George W. Bush pauses for a photo opportunity with nuns at the Church of the Beatitudes Friday, Jan. 11, 2008, during his last stop in Israel. White House photo by Eric Draper

HT: The White House Web Site

Goodbye Christmas, Hello Ordinary Time

Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Marks the end of the Christmas season.)

Seeing as Christ himself was baptized, it is a great time to focus on your-; own baptism or your children's baptism. Many people know the DAY they were born, but not many know the day they were BAPTIZED as a Christian in our Catholic Family! It's a big deal and one that should be celebrated! Have a big feast in your home and invite your child's godparents (if they live close), pull out your child's baptismal candle and certificate and relay what the day was like; tell your family members WHY you chose the godparents you chose and what qualities they had. Talk about what a GIFT baptism is (as one of our sacraments of initiation) and how we are called as baptized Christians to love God as he loves us. It gives me great comfort that while Jesus probably did not need to be baptized, he saw the importance of it and was baptized as an example for all of us to follow. God moves among the water and moves within us! Let's celebrate that!

Henry is feeling fine!