An occasional bit of wit 'n' wisdom as gleaned from the wise and learned. Family fun and times to share.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
UE in Snow
They are talking about not getting everyone back on line until the middle of next week. They say more snow is in the forecast for early next week. We are so fortunate to have been able to get the generator and have the kerosene heater. We'd be happy to have guests but the neighbors have all made other arrangements. You are welcome to drop by for dinner if you wish.
God bless you all for your kind words and prayers. And Thanks be to GOD!!!!! Thanks, too, to Scuddr at UofE for the pic.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Quick Update...
And give thanks be to God!!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
A Short Note...
Thanks be to God!!!
As in "The Quotable"
There is no contradiction in
his kindness, nor any defect in his wisdom.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Joining the Journey...
Thanks be to God!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Billy Graham's Prayer for Our Nation
'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'
Thanks be to God
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Words of Wisdom About Grandparents
Grandmas are moms with lots of frosting.~Author Unknown
What a bargain grandchildren are! I give them my loose change,
and they give me a million dollars' worth of pleasure. ~Gene Perret
Grandmothers are just 'antique' little girls. ~Author Unknown
Perfect love sometimes does not come until the first grandchild.
~Welsh Proverb
A grandmother is a babysitter who watches the kids instead
of the television. ~Author Unknown
Never have children, only grandchildren. ~Gore Vidal
Becoming a grandmother is wonderful. One moment you're just
a mother. The next you are all-wise and prehistoric ~Pam Brown
Grandchildren don't stay young forever, which is good because
Grandfathers have only so many horsy rides in them. ~Gene Perret
When grandparents enter the door, discipline flies out the window.
~Ogden Nash
Grandma always made you feel she had been waiting to see just
you all day and now the day was complete. ~ Marcy DeMareeGrandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author unknown
Grandmas hold our tiny hands for just a little while, but our
hearts forever. ~Author Unknown
If I had known how wonderful it would be to have grandchildren,
I'd have had them first. ~Lois Wyse
My grandkids believe I'm the oldest thing in the world. And after
two or three hours with them, I believe it, too. ~Gene Perret
If becoming a grandmother was only a matter of choice, I should
advise every one of you straight away to become one. There is
no fun for old people like it! ~Hannah Whithall Smith
It's such a grand thing to be a mother of a mother - that's why the
world calls her grandmother. ~Author Unknown
Grandchildren are God's way of compensating us for growing
old. ~Mary H. Waldrip
You do not really understand something unless you can explain
it to your grandmother. ~Proverb
An hour with your grandchildren can make you feel young again.
Anything longer than that, and you start to age quickly. ~Gene Perret
The best baby-sitters, of course, are the baby's grandparents. You
feel completely comfortable entrusting your baby to them for long
periods, which is why most grandparents flee to Florida. ~Dave Barry
I wish I had the energy that my grandchildren have - if only for
self-defense. ~Gene Perret
Grandmother-grandchild relationships are simple. Grandmas
are short on criticism and long on love. ~Author Unknown
Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of
little children. ~Alex Haley
Grandmother - a wonderful mother with lots of
practice. ~Author Unknown
A grandparent is old on the outside but young on
the inside. ~Author Unknown
One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new
grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather. ~Joy Hargrove
It's amazing how grandparents seem so young once you
become one. ~Author Unknown
If your baby is 'beautiful and perfect, never cries or fusses,
sleeps on schedule and burps on demand, an angel all the
time,' you're the grandma. ~Teresa Bloomingdale
Grandparents are similar to a piece of string - handy to have
around and easily wrapped around the fingers of their
grandchildren. ~Author Unknown
What is it about grandparents that is so lovely? I'd like to say
that grandparents are God's gifts to children. And if they can
but see, hear and feel what these people have to give, they
can mature at a fast rate. ~Bill Cosby
Grandchildren don't make a man feel old; it's the knowledge
that he's married to a grandmother. ~G. Norman Collie
Thanks be to God!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tagged Once More
I was tagged by Tracy and RoyalTLady some time ago to do two different MEME's but very much the same in some respects. Catch up is what this is called and I think I can combine them without offending anyone, because they ask me to consider things about who I am.
So, dear friends, these are the rules slightly altered to condense time and space.
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself and things that make you happy.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
So here it is. I will tell you what makes me happy and tie it to that random thing that brings our that happiness.
1. My faith. I am privileged to be lector in my parish of St. John the Baptist.
2. My family. I love family reunions. Laughing, loving and telling stories.
3. Sharing my faith. I am in awe of those I meet each year who wish to enter our faith community, as I am privileged to work in the RCIA process at St John's.
4. My grandchildren. From oldest to youngest they make me so happy. Happy because I can see the love and warmth with which they are nourished by their parents.
5. Bible Study. I've always been curious about the Bible and its wealth of instruction. Now I belong to two groups that are nourishing me.
6. My job. I cannot think of a time when I didn't want to help someone. When I was little I would read the monthly Maryknoll Magazine and tell Mom I wanted to be a missionary. Well, Providence led me to nursing. And in a way I'm a missionary as I must help and aid others daily, even to the point of prayer.
I hope this works and no one is offended by this combination but for me this was a wonderful time for reflection on how these two topics really are one. Thank you!
I choose to tag:
CY
ANN
PIA
ABBY
JOY
MARIE & GINNY
Thanks be to God!
Thanks and Gratitude...
I am humbled to find that there are two who think I deserve this gift. So I say thank you to Esther at A Catholic Mom in Hawaii and Tracy at A Catholic Mom in Minnesota.
“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”
So I offer this award to:
A Catholic Notebook
Are We There Yet
Eileen on Him...At least I try!!
ROYALTYLADY
Sailing by Starlight
~~A Truckers Wife~
The Dutchess
Sonflower
As Mom would say, "And one to grow on..."
Catholic Teacher's Musings
God bless you all. There are so many of you that brighten my day, lift my spirits, and challenge my humanity. Thank you very much, each and every one of you!
Thanks be to God!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Lemonade in January!!
I now offer this award to:
Christ's Rose
Spreading Joy
Unexpected Journey
Catholic Mom in Minnesota
~UKOK's Place~
Crocus in the Valley
Thanks be to God
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The Journey Continues...
~~~^j^~~~
Thank you again
and
Thanks be to God!!!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Novena for Life IX
So with unending HOPE we pray.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Imagine the Potential!
Just imagine! There is so much potential if we'd just let God do what He does best, create, nurture, and love!
Thanks be to God!
Novena for Life VIII
We pray.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Novena for Life VII
Let us pray.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Novena for Life VI
We are called to serve and so we pray:
Friday, January 16, 2009
Novena for Life V
Let us pray:
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Novena for Life IV
And so we pray.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Novena for Life III
As we continue this journey, I would also ask you to pray the Prolife Rosary as well.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Novena for Life II
Good day to you all. Let us pray.
Monday, January 12, 2009
A Novena For Life I, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
The "G" Challenge
Gauntlet
It's been thrown down and now I must accept the challenge. (At least there was no "double-dog-dare!)
God
The one and only, three in one Triune God. The essence of life.
Grandchildren
Being a grandmother is a badge of honor. I wear it with pride. It's also a continuation of this fabulous gene pool.
Gladiolas
A gorgeous flower with strong stems and beautifully fragile flowers.
Grace
This means many things to me. Prayers before and after meals. Gratitude for so many gifts. It is the way one carries herself with dignity.
"Good Grief!"
My favorite comic strip is Peanuts and Charlie Brown my favorite example of humility.
Glorious
Sunrises, sunsets, days, nights, and life.
Grand Canyon
One of God's greatest works of art. You cannot explain the grandeur (bonus G-word) unless you've stood and taken in the beauty.
Green
How can it be anything but my favorite color? Is there any other color if you family roots go all the way back to the Emerald Isle?
Great day...
it is and you all have one, too!
*****
***
=
~~~~~
Thank you Laura
and
Thanks be to God
Friday, January 09, 2009
A Bit of Catholic Trivia
Born...in 1735 John attended a Jesuit grammar school in Maryland and St. Omer's College in Flanders. In 1753, he joined the Society of Jesus. At 34, He was ordained in Europe and taught philosophy and theology in Belgium for the next four years.
In 1772, Pope Clement XIV dissolved the Society of Jesus under pressure from European Kings who, among other things, didn't like that the Jesuits were subject only to the Pope.
Fr. Carroll returned to the U.S. to serve in Maryland and
Virginia, arriving just as the American Revolution was beginning. Along with his cousin Charles and Benjamin Franklin, he was asked to help convince Canada to either join the American Patriots or remain neutral during the war.
In 1788, Rome gave permission for the establishment of a diocese that would extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River, and from Canada to Florida and directed priests to conduct an election to choose the bishop. In 1790, priests elected Fr,Carroll; he was consecrated bishop in 1790.
In a 2008 talk honoring Archbishop Carroll, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of Milwaukee noted: "Had Carroll not stepped into the wasteland, either the microscopic Catholic Church would have languished, with member leaving clergy adrift,souls lost, to the faith and the Church never quite 'making it' in the new country or Rome would have appointed a foreign superior...thus making the Catholic Church seem even more an outsider than ever."
Carroll was a close friend of George Washington, and delivered a funeral tribute when Washington died in 1799.
~~The Blue Book~~
Thursday, January 08, 2009
The Road to Providence
While we met yesterday, Sister Dorothy and I discussed many things about prayer. For one who has wept because she thought she could not pray or even learn to pray as a young mother and how the way I prayed was certainly unacceptable to God as I grew older, I learned by my study this last month that, Indeed, He has always been there. And my life, as I choose to live, it can be prayer.
Reflecting on my life, I have developed a mental scrapbook. A book I now call Providential Life. I could spend days sharing with you the ways in which the Triune God has affected and shaped my life.
Though I think the story of God's providence in my life is Pulitzer prize material and how I would love to share the tales of His presence in my life, I will not. (I heard the sigh!) I would simply ask each of you to sit quietly in His presence and share once again those times when he was near at hand. Reflect on the times you were most aware of that presence and soon He will be reminding you of all the other times you have forgotten.
The key is to be quiet! This is a tool I have been working on for years. I do think the more I practice the larger my wonderful scrapbook will become. It's great when you can collaborate when preparing a book even though you and He are the only ones to see the pages in your mind. Give it a try!!
Thanks be to God!
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Meditation, Walking on Water With Jesus
May the Lord give us
all the courage that we need
to go the way he shepherds us.
That when he calls
we may go unfrightened.
If he bids us come to him
across the waters,
that unfrightened we may go
And if he bids us climb a hill
may we not notice that it is a hill,
mindful only of
the happiness of his company.
He made us for himself,
that we should travel with him
and see him at the last
in his unveiled beauty
in the abiding city where
he is light
and happiness
and endless home,
Father Bede Jarrett, O.P.
Father Jarrett (+ 1934) was a Dominican priest from England renowned for his preaching, his lectures,and many books on theology and spirituality.
Thanks be to God
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
What are you looking for?
This is a humorous picture of crows searching for water. We look at the crow with the Styrofoam cup and laugh! How funny!!
Amy Welborn takes us someplace else when we ask that question.
"When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, 'What are you looking for?'"
~John 1:38~
More times than I care to admit, I stride into a room or up the stairs with a great air of purpose and then come to a stop, bewildered. I haven't a clue as to why I'm there.
What is the world was I looking for?
If Jesus were to stop us in the middle of our confident daily journeys from room to room, meeting to meeting, and goal to goal and ask us the question he poses to the disciples here would we have an answer?
Lord, help me look at my life today and discern what it is I'm looking for.A Catholic Woman's Book of Days
Thanks be to God!
Sunday, January 04, 2009
My Maker
Irish Patchwork Society
My MakerAs I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.
Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.
But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile,
I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.
I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.
My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth
together, threadbare and empty, like binding air.
Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me, and nodded for me to rise.
My gaze dropped to the ground in shame I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life, and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.
And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.
I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light.
An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.
Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light
flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.
Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'
May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!
God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let go.'
~~~~~~~
Thanks be to God!
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The Year In Review MEME
Saw on Therese's site Aussie Coffee Shop and will give it a try.
How to Play. 1) Look back to your archives for 2008.) Collect the first sentence you wrote every month for the whole year. (This doesn't have to be the literal first day of the month--just the first post.)3) Entertain us on your blog, link back here, and post a comment here with the link to your blog. (And if you're blogless, just remember the first sentence you spoke every month for the whole year and post it here.
Here Is my contribution.
January Do you remember this picture, those "neolithic-looking" rocks, that I thought were so ugly,The Traveler is Home? Link
February I would ask you all to visit Kathleen at The Daily Grotto for the entire story but needless to say this young lady, Melissa, is in need of our prayers. Link
March By e-mail I got an update from China Little Flower and the work Shannon Walsh is doing for those unfortunate children she works with. Link
April We sometimes forget that there is more to Easter than the celebration of our Lord's Resurrection Day. Link
May Simply put, this is a day in which we can all come together in communion with all faiths to pray for the "health" of our nation. Link
June I was wondering what I was going to say after I had posted The Last Lecture. Link
July I've been tagged again. Link
August mother cradles child,,, she caresses her with love...that's what mothers do. Link
September It time for the most recent newsletter for China Little Flower. Link
October When it's your one of your namesakes feast day you find ways to celebrate. Link
November Well, wouldn't you know? Link
December Even with viruses going around everywhere, it seems that one never expects the one you rely on heavily to get one. Link
Well, as you can see. I had quite a year. The blessing about doing this MEME is that I had the time to reflect on the year by not only going to the 1st post of the month, but also stopping by to read some of the others and read the comments of those generous friends who came by to pay a visit.
I say thank you to Therese for this MEME opportunity and I encourage others to do it too. It is a wonderful tool for reflection. If you choose to do this MEME please let me know so that I can come and reflect with you!!
*The MEME started here at Amy's Word from the Herd
*Visit also Linda at ~~A Truckers Wife~~, Peggy at A Catholic Notebook
Friday, January 02, 2009
Bad Haiku Friday
Hooray and Hallelujah
Peace and Joy to ALL!
~~*~*~***~*~*~~
Ron, Kellie and Neil are all sleeping in and now I must get ready for WORK!!
Thanks be to God!!!
Thursday, January 01, 2009
NEW YEAR, 2009
with Thanks be to
God!
It should be noted that you may have seen this video here before. It's one of my favorites!