2013 in Review

From the rising of the sun to its setting the year, 2013, was extraordinary!  There were two, count them, TWO family reunions that brought us to our beloved Colorado twice.  Ron and I celebrated 45 years of marriage and thanked God heartily for all his generosity!   The joy we have shared with family and friends this last year has be such a blessing!!!

The year comes and goes

There's cloudy days and rainbows

But God's always there!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Cathy

Today I join Meri for Share the Joy Thursday.   For I believe we need to find it in my life every day no matter the realities in which we live.  God is Good in so many ways even in times of trial.

Please visit Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon for Haiku My Heart. There is always more beautiful words  there to enchant and encourage!!! 

And you are welcome to stop by Provident God to visit the wisdom of the Saints.

Give Thanks

It's been a year for looking back and truly giving thanks.  I was able to visit my native Colorado not once but twice.  That in itself was a cause for great joy.  I gathered with family and shared wonderful stories of the past and new memories made. It is true that I have been truly blessed!!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

Cathy

Visit The Little Red House and share in the beauty offered there.    The pictures all are an inspiration!

  Today's link to Provident God.

The 4th of July!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Wishing all a grand day. Perhaps it's too hot and dry where you live to

have fireworks or parades.   Or the weather has been so bad that you're one 

without electricity.   I'm praying for you.

Nevertheless, 

Thanks be to God!!!

There's no where else on earth I'd rather live!!!

Cathy

I Made It!

I reached another milestone!!!  Today I'm 65!
Joy in the gift of birth and the years past and
those to come!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!

Cathy

Please join Ruth at Tea Talk today.

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Today I also join Meri for Share the Joy Thursday.   For I believe we need to find it in my life every day no matter the realities in which we live.  God is Good in so many ways even in times of trial.

~Adventure Tour Express~And a Month of Thanksgiving~

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints” ~Wilfred Peterson

Personalize a picture collage Just had to return here.  It was such a lovely place to visit, a grand place to stroll.  The Biltmore House, Ashville, NC.  It was built by George Washington Vanderbilt.  Richard Morris Hunt designed it.  And Frederick Law  Olmsted designed the gardens and landscape. One can only imagine the revelry, gaiety, sorrow, unhappiness and joy that has visited this "house."  Because it is a reality check for me when I visit places like this.  Understanding that material wealth is not the answer allows me to focus on who I am, where I live and gratitude.  And I'm blooming where I am planted. ~~~^j^~~~ Thanks be to God!

Please join in the fun! Share an adventure and link it here!!! Wishing you a day full of grand adventures!!!








Tamara at Branch of Wisdom is offering us the opportunity to daily give thanks for the gifts given us by God.   Please stop by her blog and read more about the specifics.

~~Mosaic/Macro Monday~~Month of Thanksgiving~~

One should be thankful all the time.  This weekend was one of those times when the delight of life was so wonderful that you have to sit back and reflect on the magnificent graces that have touched you life.

We began with Mass as a family.  And there was the play, The Lady in White last night and the pride in the work of our oldest granddaughter did as student director.  The fun we had coloring in color books with Neil, Ainsley, and Lindsey.  Watching A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and playing Christmas Carols on the lap harp.   Not the season yet?  What better time to start.

Finally....

~~~~~~~

Frost on the leaves and blossoms

this morning.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Visit Mary at The Little Red House and share in the beauty offered there.   Lisa at  Macro Monday  also has much to offer.  The pictures are grand.

If you would be kind enough to stop by Tamara's to offer your reason for thanks at Branch of Wisdom. She is hosting A Month of Thanksgiving I'm sure you will find some delightful and wonderful words of wisdom, praise and gratitude.

~Adventure Tour Express~And a Month of Thanksgiving~

Due to circumstances beyond my control
Adventure Tour Express will delay it's departure until next Wednesday.  Please plan on sharing your adventure then.

Remember God's bounty in the year.  

String the pearls of His favor...Give this

one day to thanks, to joy, to gratitude!  

~Henry Ward Beecher

And so it is that I give thanks for the opportunities I have had this year to share the bounty he has offered.  I have been blessed with so many gifts and so it is that I want to share them with others who do not have as much.  Reflect on this year and how you shared your "wealth."

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Tamara at Branch of Wisdom is offering us the opportunity to daily give thanks for the gifts given us by God.  So from today October 24, 2010 to November 24, 2010 we are asked to share in this  journey of Thanksgiving.   Please stop by her blog and read more about the specifics.

A Month of Thanksgiving

"Love is so powerful that it makes one heart and one will of lover and beloved.  Whatever the one loves, so does the other; if it were otherwise, it would not be perfect love."  ~Saint Catherine of Siena

"Those who trust in him shall abide with him in love..." Wisdom 3:9.

And so it is that today I thank God for the love of my best friend.  And sharing the trust we have in Jesus Christ only reinforces that love!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Tamara at Branch of Wisdom is offering us the opportunity to daily give thanks for the gifts given us by God.  So from today October 24, 2010 to November 24, 2010 we are asked to share in this  journey of Thanksgiving.   Please stop by her blog and read more about the specifics.

Feeling Reflecltive

The Sacredness of God's Handiwork

How do we live in creation?  Do we relate to it as a place full of "things" we can use for whatever need we want to fulfill and whatever goal we wish to acomplish?  Or do we see creation first of all as a sacramental reality, a sacred space where God reveals to us the immense bearty of the Divine?

As long as we only use creation, we cannot recognize its sacredness because we are approaching it as if we were its owners.  But when we relate to all that surrounds us as created by the same God who created us and as the place where God appears to us and calls us to worship and adoration, then we are able to recognize the sacredness of all God's handiwork.

Bread for the Journey

A Day book of Wisdom and Faith

by Henri J. M. Nouwen

I must spend time today in reflection and gratitude for all I am privileged to know and see, love and cherish.  For all are the gifts of the creator and I must come to know its real worth!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Novena for Life II

Niagara Falls, 2003

Day Two
Living life for Eternity

Prayer
Father of life, here and now, reveal the greatness of your love in the inestimable value of each and every human life.

A reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 4:14--5:1
Know that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God. Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather, although our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. , as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen; for what is seen is transitory; but what is unseen is eternal.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, help us to see our earthly lives as but the beginning of the plans you have in store for us.

A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI*
I believe. . .that our life tends in the end toward a discovery of love, toward receiving love and giving love. And the crucified Christ, who presents us with love lived out to the end, as he himself says in the Gospel of John, lifts this principle up into the realm of absolute reality. God himself is love. In this sense, love is indeed both the fundamental rule and ultimate aim of life. . . Human love always lays claim to eternity. Love contradicts death. . .This human love is turned from a promise into a fulfillment of reality only when it is wrapped in a love that can truly impart eternity. [Love] is what we are looking for and is the goal toward which our lives are directed. But within its own framework and on its own terms it directs our view toward God and brings us to wait upon God.

Our Father. . .
Hali Mary. . .
Glory Be. . .

*Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God and the World, p. 185f

~~~~~~~

Example of his gracious love...I shared this story 2 years ago and thought it appropriate to tell it again.

The Beginning of the Trip

I told you I would tell you about the beginning of the trip and I think this is a perfect time to do that. You see nearly a week ago, I began my journey to my mother's for a visit. I had packed and prepared for days in advance even to double checking the itinerary. Yours truly READ the itinerary incorrectly. I thought I left here at 10:30 a.m. en route to INDY. Well, that was not my departure time. It was my arrival time to INDY. I was to leave here at 8:30 a.m. I discovered this error at 8:10 a.m. My kind and loving husband, my belongings and yours truly left for the airport knowing that I would miss my flight. (The Hand of God: we did this in peace, calm, generosity of spirit and love.) When I arrived at the check-in counter I told the attendant that I had missed my flight and was told I needed to contact the carrier because I had purchased the ticket through Expedia. In the next hour and twenty minutes (Ron hoping that the cell phone battery was fully charged) Felice worked with all the airlines involved, but apparently none of them could resolve my dilemma. She was generous, kind and diligent. AND she was on overtime caring for me. We laughed together and I was lifted up by her understanding. (One could say that is her job. I prefer to see it as The Hand of God.) When all was said and done the only thing for me to do, she said was to present myself to the check-in counter again and ask if they would issue a new itinerary. I fully expected a full day's delay. When I approached the counter I explained to the agent again what I had been told and she started to work on my "project", when a gentleman standing behind her in blue jeans and a sweatshirt, asked her to take care of the man behind me, he would take care of me. ( The Hand of God: in less than ten minutes he had me rerouted from here to Atlanta, to Salt Lake City, to Billings with arrival only three hours later than anticipated.) My flight out was in about 20 minutes. Ron asked him about the penalty fee charged for the change of plans. ( The Hand of God: the gentleman said there is no time). That my dear friends is how my wonderful trip to my mother's started and I have to tell you that I did not experience one moment of anxiety or fear. Calm prevailed. And what of the $100.00? It donated to the Newburgh Food Pantry in gratitude to The Hand of God.

God bless you all...

~~~~~~~
And thanks be to God!

Thanksgiving

A very short reflection from Advent and Christmas, Wisdom From G. K. Chesterton.

Giving Thanks

The great saint may be said to mix all his thought with thanks. All goods look better when they look like gifts.

Saint Francis of Assisi

IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES GIVE THANKS

[G]ive thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

PRAYER

Lord, it is not always easy for us to give you thanks. Teach us, we pray. Teach us to thank you when we would rather grumble. Teach us to see all that we have as gifts from you. Forgive our ungratefulness. May our first and last thoughts be thoughts mixed with thanks.

ADVENT ACTION

Pick a number between ten and twenty. As you go through your day, identify reasons to give thanks to God until you reach your number. If you reach your number early in the day try for a larger number.

*~*~*~*~*

We are still to give thanks for all we are given. This is a season in which we do NEED to reflect upon all which we have been blessed. My goodness just think of it. I have a job. My family is all well and healthy. I have a roof to cover my head and warm clothes to cover my body.

Then, too, I must ask. What am I doing to show my gratitude? Is it just enough to be grateful or must I do something to show that gratitude. You see, I believe that because I have been so graciously blessed I have an obligation to share what I have with others...not just during this Holy Season, but all year. Maybe this is a time for me to add a charity in gratitude for these blessing. A gift II can carry with me and offer all year. What can you/I do to continue or begin to extend gifts to others because of the blessing you/I have received?

*
*~*
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*~*~*~*
\_/
~~~~~~~

Thanks be to God!!!!!

Birthday Reflection

In the City of Denver, sixty-three years ago today, was born a baby who would grow to become wife, mother and nurse to the family, Keller. As a child I can remember being excited knowing that my birthday was just before that of Baby Jesus. Today I reflect on that time and say, "Thanks be to God" for the privilege of celebrating the day chosen for me before the beginning of time as the day I would begin my journey home to the Father. I also say, "Thanks be to God," for David, my oldest son, with whom I am privileged to share this day. David was born on my 24th birthday and such a joy it is to celebrate this day with him, though he is several hundred miles away!!!

And so it is that I offer this genuinely thankful reflection from Advent and Christmas, Wisdom from G. K. Chesterton.

***

GRATEFUL

The test of all happiness is gratitude; and I felt grateful, though I hardly know to whom.

Children are grateful when Santa Clause puts in their stoic kings gifts of toys or sweets. Could I not be grateful to Santa Clause when he put in my stockings the gift of two miraculous legs? We thank people for birthday presents of cigars and slippers.

Can I thank no one for the birthday present of birth? ORTHODOXY

GRATITUDE FOR SHEER EXISTENCE

O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.

These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
when you vie to them, they gaiter it up;
when you open your hand, they are fill with
good things

When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to the dust.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.

Psalm 104:24, 27-30

PRAYER

Lord, perhaps we are not happier right now because we live life without gratitude. We fret frenetically about what we do not have, thus poisoning our appreciation for what we do not have. If we were more attentive to the miracles of legs, hands, eyes, ears, and breath--more alert to our very life--perhaps then we could begin to fathom the gifts of sweets and slippers and give proper thanks. Thank you God for everything. [Amen! Amen!!]

ADVENT ACTION

If you keep a journal, list the chief four or five thing for which you are grateful today. Now imagine that this day were the only day you wee granted to live; what would you most appreciate? Demonstrate your gratitude through some creative act offered to God. Sculpt, draw, or paint a picture; write a poem or story; dance or sing a song. As you allow this act of worship to flower, remember, it is not the quality of the finished product that counts, but your expression of love from a sincere heart. God receives our gifts as we would from our own wide-eyed children. If appropriate, display your work somewhere prominently in your home where you can reflect on it as a grateful offering to God.

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\_/

~~~~~

So today on this day, 63 years after it began, I say,

Thanks be to God!!!
and
Wishing all a day of Gratitude!!

Humility

by Paul Cezanne

Walk Humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8 (NRSV)

Paul Cezanne ranks among the world's greatest artists. Yet he painted for 30 years before receiving any recognition. When an art dealer finally discovered him and exhibited his painting in Paris, Cezanne was overwhelmed. Entering the exhibition with his son, he could not believe what he saw.

"Look!" he said to his son, "I can't believe it! They've even framed my paintings!"

***

The true way to humility is not to stoop until you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.

Phillips Brooks

(Reflection from Mission 2000, Praying Scripture in a Contemporary Way)

~~~~~

This is a tremendous reflection. I am reminded frequently and often not to be too proud.
For pride is the antithesis of humility. I once had a conversation about the sin of pride with one of our parish priests many years ago. I was bemoaning the fact that it is hard to be humble. I didn't know what to say to someone who had praised me. I told him that I just said it was nothing because I didn't want to seem too proud.

He explained to me that what I had displayed instead of humility was false pride. He said humility is accepting recognition with simple gratitude (Thank You) and giving credit to those who assisted (Thanks be to God.) Saying it was "nothing" was denying the workI had done and the talent and gifts I had been given. He said that humility should not be boasting, just simple recognition on the part of the recipient. After that it was easier for me to ground myself. And gratitude comes easier when I don't have to bear the burden of pride by myself.

And so I want to share with you a person, who in my young life, was a model of humility. My dad's cousin was a social worker for the Denver Public Schools. For years she would made home visits and counsel the kids and families at risk. Every year at Christmas she would receive gifts from the children and every year she would personally write thank you notes and mail them to their homes. I told her once that I was really proud to be her cousin because of all the good work she did to help these children. I told her she showed me how important it was to care for others. What she said still rings true and should ring true in all our lives.

"I couldn't do any of it without the grace of God. I am frightened every day when I go to work. He gives me the strength to do it."

~~~^j^~~~
And so I say,
"Thanks be to God!"

Warm Hearts Blog Award

Eileen at Umma's World has generously offered me this award.

Created By Sandy at beachgirl77 this very beautiful Warm Hearts award is in memory of her son Jonny and it is a tribute to all the wonderful characteristics Jonny portrayed.

This award should be passed on to those who are bolstering, uplifting, reassuring, soothing, calming, cheering, consoling, and encouraging to those around them.

I feel privileged to have had this offered to me. It is my pleasure to offer this award to some who have touched me in every way nearly everyday.

Lisa at Are We There Yet

Bernie at On My Own

Therese at Aussie Coffee Shop

Marcie at Blessings Each Day...

Laura at Catholic Teacher Musings

Abbey at ABBEY'S ROAD

Wishing all who visit here today blessings, joy and love through God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who guides us.

~~~^j^~~~
~Thanks be to God~

As an aside, I am playing I Left My Heart In San Francisco because it was one of my dad's favorite songs.

Glory Be To God, It's Saturday!

Alleluia, Alleluia

This is the Day the Lord has made
Let us be glad and rejoice in it.
[Psalm 118:24]

Alleluia, alleluia.

(From this day's Liturgy of the Word)

~~~^j^~~~

Indeed, thanks be to God!!!

Quick Update...

Awoke this morning to find we were not one of 40,000 people without electricity but 55,000 and may not have it until first of next week. So the Tucson trip is off as well. The generator is working well on the frig and furnace...get to watch some television and read. God is good, all the time. Going to add tomorrows The Quotable and then eat dinner...

~~~^j^~~~

And give thanks be to God!!!

Will catch up on visiting when the electricity is up and running again.

A Short Note...

Have been without elelctricty since about midnoc. Ron and Roy drove to Terre Haute to meet Marianne and Eric who picked up two generators they got from Lowes in INDY. Computer is only on long enough to ask you to pray for the 40,000 people without electricity in this area and Eastern KY, as well. (The computer is a luxury right now.) Roads are awful, as before we go the 6 inches of snow there was an inch of ice and freezing rain for nearly all day yesterday. God will provide and indeed he has in the generosity of those here. God bless us all and you, too.

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!!!

As in "The Quotable"
There is no contradiction in
his kindness, nor any defect in his wisdom.

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!

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God!

Lemonade in January!!

I've been blessed by having this award bestowed on my by Lisa at Are We There Yet. I have been late in posting this but receiving it makes me pleased to know others think I can "make lemonade from lemons" and not just walk around with "sour" disposition. Life is way too short to allow the "sour" lemons to win! Soooo, get out the pitcher, squeeze those lemons and put in sugar (or Splenda if you must) to taste and the SMILE!!!!! Thank you Lisa!

I now offer this award to:

Christ's Rose

Spreading Joy

Unexpected Journey

Catholic Mom in Minnesota

~UKOK's Place~

Crocus in the Valley

~~~^j^~~~

Thanks be to God

Tracy and RoyaltyLady do not despair. I'm thinking about those "6" things.

Marie Antoinette Award

Tracy at a Catholic Mom in Minnesota has graciously offered me this award. If the picture appears different than on other blogs it's because that one apparently is not one of Marie. It struck me as odd that Marie Antoinette should be chosen as the cause for an award so I did do some research. It is intended for those who are deemed "real" in who they are. And so I am honored. I am to pass this award on to 7 other bloggers who exhibit this quality in their blog. Well I will do my best! And thank you Miss Tracy for this opportunity!

1. Bia

2. Melody

3. Linda

4. SuzyQ

5. Lisa

6.Kathleen

7. Kimberly

My best to everyone and may you all have a wonderful day.

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Thanks be to God!