Reality Check...

For some time I have been noticing the styles of clothing for women and saying to myself, "I had a blouse like that when the kids were little...Should have saved it."

Well, I went shopping by myself and tried on some of the "new" styles and found out two things about myself.

1. If I had saved them they wouldn't have have fit me today.

2. Today, I am too "mature" to wear them. (I'm not "old"!)

So, in spite of the fact that "The Times They Are-a-changin'" just want you all to know "You've Got a Friend!"

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Thanks be to God!

My Favorite School Teacher

When I think back on all the teachers who have influenced me the most in my life, I think of my third grade teacher, Miss Spalding, first. A little background. I spent 1st and 2nd grade at St. Mary's School. During the year I was in 2nd grade, parish boundaries changed to establish a new parish that would have to parochial school and we lived in the boundaries of the new parish. As a result the next school year, I would be attending public school. I really loved St. Mary's School and the sisters that taught there, especially Sister Michael Clair, a Sister of Saint Joseph.

This frightened child, shy and really knowing no one at the school, had to walk into this 3rd grade classroom without knowing a soul. Rumor had it that I was getting the meanest teacher in the school and if she would become angry with you that meant she didn't like you. This was who Miss Spalding was.

At that time I realized how gullible I really am...I can't change that. I still am. But then I believed everything I was told. Miss Spalding was indeed daunting. A large lady who carried herself with dignity. She had control and command of the class from the time she entered the room in the morning until we left in the afternoon.

Why was she so good? Because she cared. Reprimands were meant to encourage not demean. She didn't single anyone out. She had no "teacher's pet." All were treated fairly. She gave us lessons in art history. She taught us writing skills by allowing us to expand our imaginations. Art had purpose it wasn't used to kill time. "Times tables" were serious lessons not just something that had to be done. Spelling was not a necessary evil but a skill that was to be used in communication. She loved her work. And only after that year did I really come to appreciate how good she was to me.

My sister Rita had her in school as well. My brother Tom began his 3rd grade year with her but tragically she died and Tom did not have the benefits of all her talents and skills as a teacher. God blessed me with someone who knew the value of an education and took each of us individually to task so that we could be the best we could be. Miss Spalding really deserved an A+ from all her students...

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For Miss Spalding and all dedicated
teachers,

Thanks be to God!!!

For more favorite teacher stories visit Catholic Teacher Musings.

Book of the Month

Though I have only just started reading this book, and am behind as the next "Book of the Month" will be announced at church this Sunday, I would really like to recommend it. It is a short book of only 174 pages. I found that, when thumbing through it, there is a companion study guide called The Origins of the Church, The Apostles and Their Co-Workers. Though I am not in a group that studies the monthly book offering it might be a source worth looking into. Maybe you belong to a book club or perhaps you have friends who would enjoy starting a book club and this perhaps a book with which to start.

What I have read is not just interesting but also informative in ways that I knew but needed to be reinforced. Since it was started about 3 years ago, The Book of the Month has been a real source of education and information about who we are as Catholic Christians. I appreciate the people who continued this educational process here at St. John the Baptist when our associate was transferred. I wonder, too, if other churches would respond as enthusiastically to the literature as we have here. We seem to be a very hungry flock at St. Johns.

Good day to all as we journey through another day.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Reconciliation

Chalice
Originally uploaded by geerlingguy

I had just visited Suzy at Sailing by Starlight tonight before evening Mass. I was struck by the clarity of the words written and how important it was for me again to focus on grooming my inner self. It's not for me to worry about how I appear on the outside. But it is important for me to concern myself with the "me-within."

Much to my delight, or chagrin depending on how YOU might look at it, in today's Gospel Jesus speaks directly to us and the "me-within." Listen.

"Woe to you...hypocrites. You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside [you] are full of plunder and self-indulgence...Cleanse
first the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean."
(Matthew 23)

That's me. Goodness knows I should go to confession more frequently. But excuses arise all the time. Tonight I was spoken to again in the Words of Our Lord. Cleanse yourself in the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. "Cleanse the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may be clean." Amen!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Urgent prayer request...

Please visit Exuberance for the full details but Sr. Celeste is in need of our prayers! There is nothing like the power of prayer and if we mobilize this army can prevail. My sincerest thanks!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God

Thank you!

Ron is the one who took the picture of the Peace rose now on my blog. He did such a wonderful job I just thought it deserved a place of honor. This rose is one of my favorites. If the world could just appreciate the beauty that can come about when we live in harmony with each other just like the Peace rose

Wishing you all a day of love and peace.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Shirley Goodnest

A dear friend sent me this via email. I really think it's cute and in it's way a way of reflecting on the goodness and tenderness of our mothers who sent us all off to school with a prayer. I know my MOM did...So here is to sharing love and humor This beautiful Sunday!

A mom was concerned about her kindergarten son walking to school. He didn't want his mother to walk with him.

She wanted to give him the feeling that he had some independence but yet know that he was safe. So she had an idea of how to handle it. She asked a neighbor if she would please follow him to school in the mornings, staying at a distance, so he probably wouldn't notice her.

She said that since she was up early with her toddler anyway, it would be a good way for them to get some exercise as well, so she agreed.

The next school day, the neighbor and her little girl set out following behind Timmy as he walked to school with an other neighbor girl he knew. She did this for the whole we ek.

As t he two walked and chatted, kicking stones and twigs, Timmy's little friend noticed the same lady was following them as she seemed to do every day all week. Finally she said to Timmy, 'Have you noticed that lady following us to school all week?

Do you know her?'
Timmy nonchalantly replied, 'Yeah, I know who she is.'
The little girl said, 'Well, who is she?'
'That's just Shirley Goodnest,' Timmy replied, 'and her daughter Marcy.'

'Shirley Goodnest? Who the heck is she and why is she following us? '

'Well,' Timmy explained, 'every night my Mom makes me say the 23rd Psalm with my prayers, 'cuz she worries about me so much. And in the Psalm, it says, 'Shirley Goodnest and Marcy shall follow me all the d ays of my life', so I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

The Lord b less you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

May Shirley Goodnest and Marcy be with you today and always.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Latin Moment

Sunset leaving Dublin, 2005

I felt the urge for some Latin this morning as part of my reflection, so I went to my favorite book Latin Sayings for Spiritual Growth by Archabbot Lambert Reilly, O.S.B. To this I was lead.

Si Deus pronobis, quis contra nos?

("If God is for us, who can be against us?")
St. Paul ( Romans 8:31)

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God has revealed His love for us in the person of Jesus Christ. St. Paul tells us that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39)

Suffering could be added to the list. God does not promise freedom from suffering for His friends. In fact, there's no doubt we will suffer, as Jesus Himself did. "The Cross is the gift I give to my friends," is what the Lord told St. Terese of Avila.

Although that which is difficult will be regularly ours, God's sustaining power enables us to conquer in His name, which means through His presence within us.

So here's where our hope lies: If God is with us--and the difficulty is a sign that He is--we can endure and overcome. No enemy has a chance if he is opposing God, and if God is with us, no enemy has a chance to conquer us. +

***

Hope, that gift so often hidden. Hope, that I will be the best God has to offer to others. Hope, the will to start a NEW day!

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Thanks be to God!!!

Quirky is as quirky does...

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings has tagged me for the Quirky MEME. Well, I have to tell you that what you might consider quirky I might consider normal...Just keep that in mind when you read these and don't forget the magnets on the freezer door. And so I begin.

1. I love to play solitaire. Since I am so competitive and such a poor loser I try not to play games that will embarrass me in front of others by throwing a tantrum when I lose. I just deal the cards and prepare to lose again, no tantrum involved.

2. I love watching reruns of Murder She Wrote...my family still teases me about Cabot Cove the murder capitol of the world.

3. I am captivated by old radio programs and can now listen to them frequently since I subscribe to XM radio.

4. I love to crunch on ice...My dentist said I have to STOP! It's an addiction with the ramification being you can lose your teeth and I still have all of them. The dentist is right! DRAT!

5. I enjoy a HOT cup of tea even in the middle of summer...and in the middle of the day!

6. I have no sense of direction...I have to go in and out the same door of a store or I am completely lost...It all happened when we moved from Colorado where I could find my direction by looking west into the Rockies...In Indiana I am completely at a loss!

So there you have it. I keep thinking one day you all will know everything there is to know about me and then I think of just one more thing.

The rules:
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

I tag:

Aussie Coffee Shop
Made for Joy
Our God Is An Awesome God
A Crocus in the Valley
A Catholic Notebook
Unexpected Journey

To you all I say, "Enjoy!"

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And as always,
Thanks be to God!

It's Gold...

The Dutchess has honored me by awarding me the GOLD. Her site is delight to visit. She has such wonderful pictures and poetry. It's a lovely world to visit in which our imaginations are allowed to run wild. Please drop and visit her and see if what I say isn't true. Thank you most sincerely, Dutchess.

Since I was privileged to receive this award, there are also responsibilities that come with it. One must share the "wealth." Please visit these friends, too. And so I begin...

Laura at Exuberance
Kelly at Musings
Angie at Sonflower
Tracy at A Catholic Mom in Minnesota
Laura at Catholic Teacher's Musings

The Blogging Friends Forever Rules are:

1. Only five people allowed.
2. Four have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new, or recently new to your blog, or live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the 'Blogging Friends Forever' award

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For Family and Friends,
Thanks Be to God