The Holy Spirit

The following is part of the Homily Fr. Mark gave on Pentacost.  These two paragraphs really spoke to me, hopefully they will inspire you to seek the Holy Spirit........

The Holy Spirit allows us not only to SEEK God and FIND God but also to REMAIN in God. While God the Father sits on his throne in heaven with God the Son seated at his right hand, it is God the Holy Spirit who works in hearts that are open to him. All we have to do is pray “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your divine love” and the Holy Spirit will REMAIN with us.

Life is too difficult to get through on own. God has given us his Spirit to
help us along the way. Discuss with your family and friends this week the
obstacles in your life that prevents the Spirit from doing so.

Great News!

I talked to Sr. Annette from my church and since my hubby is becoming Catholic, Sr. Annette got permission to let me attend classes so I could be confirmed!  I was so thrilled!  Finally after waiting all these years I will be confirmed!  I'm not sure how long the classes are for but I am sure that I will enjoy the process!

My only fear is that we are supposed to go see my grandson make his first communion about the same time that hubby makes his first communion, and I can't miss that for anything!  Hopefully explaining that to Fr. Mark he can make other arrangements for us to get our first communion/conformation done at another time.  It would be nice to be able to do it before our grandson does it so hubby can take communion!

Only time will tell....

The Holy Spirit Moves In Mysterious Ways

I came home for lunch as I always do and on my keyboard is a pamphlet from my church.....It said....Do you anyone who is interested in becoming Catholic?  I looked at it and turned to my husband and asked him where this came from.  Then I was totally blown out of the water when he opened his mouth.......He said a couple of weeks ago he ran into Sr. Annette and told her he wanted to become Catholic because of the change he witnessed in me returning to the Church, he wanted the joy and happiness I had.  She had him make an appointment and they started the paperwork, he starts RCIA in August!  I am so happy!  I can't believe it!

Kara Tippetts....Gone Home To Jesus

For the last several months I've been following closely to the blog Mundane Faithfulness. The author is Kara Tippetts she is the wife of a pastor in Colorado Springs, Colorado who was raising four beautiful children and starting a new church.  She was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.  She lived 2 years while fighting it.  Unfortunately she lost her courageous battle yesterday afternoon.

The reason this story touches me so much, is I lived this story 43 years ago as the oldest child of a mother who also died of  cancer, just like Kara's oldest child Ella who was about the same age I was when I lost my mom.  I wish I could reach out to her (Ella) and her siblings and let them know that they will survive this horrible loss and that it will never be the same, but it will get better.  At the time I thought I wouldn't be able to live without my mother but I found strength to battle on until it did get better.  My mother, as Kara, instilled faith, hope, & love of Christ that is what got me through the rough times.

Kids have a way of bouncing back from things.  Even though I miss my mother, always have always will, I know this is the path that God set me on and it may have been rough, it may have been hard, but it was the right path. I was supposed to grow up without my mother....as many children before me and after me will do it's what is supposed to happen, there is a reason for everything God does.  It is for your benefit he allows things to happen they way they do.....embrace what you are going through, there really is a reason you have to go through this and only He knows why.

Faith

Six Practical Steps to Catholic Joy

1.Surrender to Christ. Every day I recommit to putting Him first in all areas of my life.

2.Give up my burdens to Jesus in daily prayer. I can’t do it alone and I need His help!

3.Go to frequent Reconciliation. Unburdening my soul of sin brings me peace and joy.

4.Be thankful for my blessings. I can gripe about my problems or I can focus on all of the incredible blessings in my life and express my gratitude to the Lord in prayer.

5.Stay out of the “Catholic Cafeteria Line.” I fully accept the teachings of the Catholic Church and follow the Magisterium. I don’t follow the parts I like and reject those I do not like. I know that what I may not understand will be revealed to me over time if I have faith.

6.Start with the end in mind. Are my actions each day serving Him? I hope to hear Jesus say at the end of my life on earth, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” My goal is Heaven and I must live a life that leads me there.

I so loved this!!!  I copied it from The Integrated Catholic Life.  With Lent just around the corner it's time to reflect and prepare our hearts for the Resurrection.

Goodbye 2014...Hello 2015

Can't believe that it's been so long since I've blogged....this time of the year is so busy for me. Not only work but all the family things that are going on. So after tonight we can look forward to a brand new year and I pray that this year will be better than the last.  We are waiting on hearing if my hubby gets his disability (we have been waiting since 2009). It's been a hard and long wait and I hope the good Lord sees fit to bless us this year.

 We went out to dinner earlier this evening and made sure that we made it home before all the celebrations start. I doubt that I will see the ball drop tonight since tomorrow is a holy day of obligation and the only Mass being said is at 8:00am so I need to get to bed so I can get up and go. The one day I could sleep in.....I can't. But it's a great way to start the day! I wouldn't mind so much except the temp will only be in the single digits....burrrrrr, I don't like the cold at all!

 So with that said Happy New Year!

Liza the Bravest Silkie in the World!

Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE chickens and I am the keeper of 20 chickens I have at work.  I am a dental assistant who works for a dentist in a small town in Iowa, he loves chickens and decided to build a pen out back of our dental office for patients to look at while they are getting numb.  It sure beats an aquarium of fish!  I so loved this little story of a brave Silkie who faced a hawk to save her babies....please take a minute to watch....I promise you will not be disappointed.