Real Thankful!

Before the big day, when all of the bloggers and facebookers finish up with the Thanks I wanted to throw my thankfuls into the ring.  Of course, my family because honestly, I hear some stories about fights and hurt feelings with these big holiday dinners and that is soo all sorts of sad!  I really enjoy my extended family.  I would like to say I am thankful for my warm bed but that could be that I have spent the last few weeks sleeping on my son's floor for security reasons!  I am thankful in no particular order for my husband, my kids, my mother, my friends, for coffee, for lights, for Disney, for my computer.  But this year, as I wake up to the Thanksgiving day and gather the chilled wine my husband bought for our feast, (do they like the wine or do they not want me to cook?) I will be thankful for all of the wisdom of the past 18 months from fellow Catholics.  I have come to see the Beauty of the Catholic Church.  I have always been Catholic and never a cafeteria one, but my religion was secular and certainly a part of my life but not My Life.  I will be blogging about some of the wonderful changes that have occured, in the future but know today that I have obliged Jesus when he says pick up your cross and follow me!

My first 7 Quick Takes!! on Friday

--- 1 ---

I am so super proud of my kids this week...writing Thank you notes for Christmas!  To be truthful, this is the first time I have asked it of them.  (BAD mommy) but they are into it!! 

--- 2 ---

We have had a really mild winter in Kansas City.  Yesterday was VERY cold with snow!  I just wanted to huddle in the house with my children and drink warm beverages!  No matter what the weather is like in your part of the country I hope that you are having a nice January!

--- 3 ---

I made a meal for a friend who has had her 6th child in 8 years.  I do not think making meals for new mommies is my calling.  I worried all night that it tasted horrible or there was too much spinach in it or what if no one ate it!   I just kept thinking it is not about me and I was helping someone else.

--- 4 ---

I have started Project life for 2012. Maybe I will even become knowledgable enough to post a link to my pages.  I think there are a lot of scrapbook websites and they all share their religion. Perhaps this is what Catholic bloggers need to make our blogs more readable!  http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jennifer-fulwiler/why-are-there-no-catholic-mom-bloggers-on-this-top-100-list/.  I just need to remember to not freak out about perfectionism and to allow time to work on it every week, and to make it cute, and to take good pictures...oh dear.  It could be a long year! 

--- 5 --

I am so bad at computers I have already messed up the formatted template that Jennifer made for me on this # 5 and I can't fix it!  Oh well...there is always next week to practice! 

--- 6 ---

I am always trying to pray more so I bought the first Conversations with God book when Advent began and I was amazing, mostly good at using it.  I went to my local bookstore to buy volume 2.  I brought it home to use and was really frustrated to learn that I needed volume 4 for a part of ordinary time and that volume 2 was for the beginning of Lent! AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!

--- 7 ---

I really enjoy reading all of your quick takes each week!  I learn so much about my Catholic Faith and how to apply it in my own life!  I hope you enjoy my first entry! Thank you so much! (I am having the same issue as number 5 but I am going to ignore it!)

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Resolutions

I hope everyone had a Beautiful, Healthy, Blessed Christmas Holiday.  I hope your New Years was safe and FUN!  I have been eyeball deep in other peoples blogs!!  I don't do resolutions because in the past I set myself up for Epic Fail mode by saying I was going to do this and this and this and this and I will finally be organized!!  Nope.  Now I try to add one thing and always say more scrapbooking.  Sweet Leanne at www.lifehappenswhen.com commented on my blog and told me she liked it!  If that isn't motivation I don't know what is!!  So maybe I will be blogging more this year!  There is a lot going on in the Prolife movement and the Catholic Church!  What is God asking you to do this year? 

Happy Epiphany!! (a day late...yep that sounds more like me!)

Wow!

I am amazed by the Holy Church!!  I thought I would start this blog to write about the challenges we have to live the life Christ wants us to!  Then I started reading other Catholic blogs!  They are EVERYWHERE! They are WONDERFUL!  I did not know whether to write better, more thought provoking posts or quit because everyone else said it better!  What inspiration there is out there!!  Keep up the wonderful work and I will keep reading!  I am also going to pray to the Holy Spirit to help me learn to write! 

my two cents!

This morning, as I have read through my favorite blogs I saw everyone's thoughts about September 11, 2001 and the past ten years.  September 11, 2001 was a horrible, tragic day.  My husband and I had been married a little over a month.  I was frightened and stunned as I watched the news.  Over 3,000 people died in one day.  Our country aborts over 3,000 babies everyday!  That is tragic!  Where is the outcry?  The public remembrance?  I wonder what God thinks?

saying Yes!

We always hear about Mary and her choice to say Yes to God.  When the angel came to tell her she was going to have Jesus, she only asked how that was going to happen before she said, Yes! Mary did not say well now is not a good time or I am really scared or my life will be ruined!  God is asking the same thing of us, now, here on Earth.  He says pray with me and we say I don't have the time.  He says come to Confession we say that is when baseball practice is.  He asks us to do uncomfortable things and we are supposed to say Yes.  Do you know He will give us the grace to handle the uncomfortable things?  God is all knowing and all powerful.  He will help us in ways we were never suspecting and show us a new way of thinking.  What are you afraid of? Say yes!

Fridays

This year at Easter I decided that I was going to continue fasting and abstaining on Fridays.  I really felt that something needed to be done to show that I was different than the general population in my love for God.  I also read a little pamphlet on Souls in Purgatory.  No one talks about souls in purgatory or Hell or death anymore.  Our culture has really damaged our souls.  People are trying to be something different than what they are made for.  Women taking the pill, trying to be famous on reality shows, worrying about the environment, trying to be their children's friend are all ways we are being sidetracked from God.  Anywho...I got distracted.  Fridays, I eat 2 small meals and 1 large one without snacks in between, for all the souls in purgatory.  I give up meat for all the babies who have been aborted since 1973.  Is there something the Lord is asking you to consider doing for him?  Can you take up that cross on Fridays?  Remember, all sacrifice given to God yields wonderful fruit.