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Friday, 18 January 2013

Hey!

I have a Tumblr now at the urging of my cousin-in-law. Don't come if you have no desire to read religious stuff. If so then here is the link:

http://ayearningsigh.tumblr.com/

I miss a lot of you guys. But I missed having peace in my heart more than anything. Hope you all are well, sorry for not really saying goodbye!

Here's to give you a clue what I've been up to:

Wednesday, 31 October 2012

Loved (And update)

I originally posted this to my Blogger so if you want to check it there, feel free: Original

It is such a wonderful feeling when things come to pass in such a way that only the Lord could have them pass. It's a wonderful feeling when finally what He had in store for us all along is revealed and we are left with this sense of peace, and of understanding that while we stressed so unnecessarily, He was already working in His way to answer our prayers.
     I once had it explained to me, while in my RCIA classes, that God lives outside of time. He neither lives here nor there, but rather, at all times, in all places. Our teacher on this particular subject told us that as we sat there in that class the Lord was with Jesus on the cross at Calvary while at the same moment playing with our future grandchildren. In this one line I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I felt so at peace knowing that although I may have no idea what waits me and my family in the future, He is already there, consoling and comforting, Loving us. In the same I felt like surely, now, He was already preparing us for what lay ahead.
"The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." - 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT
     This verse has such a deeply rooted meaning in our family for reasons I may one day talk about. This verse has served as truly a pivotal point in the life of my mother, especially, and to some degree, myself. And we have still yet, and may never, fully understand it's impact and it's wholesome Truth for all peoples.
   Lately I have been remembering some of the times when the Lord was making His presence known in my life, even if I didn't know it, or was just blatantly choosing to ignore it. The more I think about it, the more and more I realize that He truly was there all along, even in my darkest hours as a child when I thought that certainly NO one was there for me or with me.
      There was a time when I had entered this pageant for scholarship money and we were in Houston for rehearsals the day before the pageant. My mom and I were out to eat during lunch break and were trying to come up with one word to describe myself and my personality; this was our question asked by the judges. I remember a young woman sitting near us and when she got up to leave she came over to me, smiled, and handed me a folded piece of paper.
     On this piece of paper she'd jotted down a verse from Proverbs. 3:5 to be exact.

[Just in case you can't see, it says "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;"]

I don't remember why exactly but I was extremely irritated by this, by the paper she'd handed me. I didn't understand it and had no desire to. I was so caught up in this pageant and trying to figure out this word to use to describe myself that I ignored this little gift of Himself to me through a young woman and even felt intruded upon.
     The word I should have used was, "Loved", as we all are. Loved unselfishly, purely, faithfully, and unceasingly by Love Himself. Because there is nothing so wonderful about ourselves more than the fact that we are loved; so loved that He gave each and every soul that which was most precious to Him, His Son. His Son and His own Flesh. We are so loved no matter the tally of our weaknesses or our faults, and no matter the tally of our strengths and perfections that we count in ourselves and count against each other. We are all loved equally, devotedly, sincerely no matter our color, creed, or circumstance.
   The bottom line is that now I am looking back and seeing that He was there all along, available to me always even when I could not and would not extend the same courtesy to Him. He was always leading me back to Him. And I must keep in mind always that we were created by Him, for Him, in the womb and so it is only natural that He would be there always with us; our Father, our Lover, our Friend, our Teacher.

"And you, who are you? For me you are the first of all human beings, endowed with the immense dignity that is a condition of being a person, each one of you with the unique, unrepeatable personal features that God has given you. You are persons who have been saved by the blood of the One whom I like to call the "Redeemer of man," as I did in the first letter I wrote to the entire Church and the world. You are children of God, known and loved by him. You are and will be from now on and forever my friends, my very dear friends." - Pope John Paul II in an address given at Leprosarium of Marituba, Brazil, 1980

On another note the past two days have been quite difficult ones but slowly the light is coming out of the darkness and we're holding on to our faith that it will all get better. We've been storming heaven with prayers, as well, at least for the strength to get through this little rough patch and are remembering to be thankful for the fact that our children our healthy, our marriage is healthy, we've got a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our stomachs. I prayed for patience and understanding and so now here are my chances to grow in them. =)

We're taking the children trick-or-treating tonight around the neighborhood. There's supposed to be some kind of event in the park across the street from us with booths and such, set up by the people who own/built this subdivision so hopefully the kiddos will have fun. Aidan is an "inja" (ninja), Isaak is a "monster robot", and Odelia is a ladybug.

I'm also working on putting my conversion story together but it will be in parts because I have to start from the beginning for the full impact of the conversion to make sense to the reader. ( @Ancient_Scribe )

I hope you're all doing well and I hope that you all have a safe Halloween! Parents please please please escort your kiddos going trick-or-treating and don't forget to check their candy before they're allowed to have it. I'll put up pictures of the children in their costumes later. =) God bless.

Monday, 22 October 2012

The Cat

A few weeks ago I did a small poll on names for our new cat. We finally settled on Smaug, the villainous dragon from The Hobbit. Yesterday we finally got our kitten now that it's had it's first shots and old enough to leave his momma. Once he got here and we got to see more of his personality and mannerisms, we decided to change his name to Aslan, the lion from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis. So, from Tolkien to Lewis. =) They won't mind, I'm sure, seeing as how they were good chums and Tolkien, along with a fellow teacher aided greatly in Lewis' conversion.

But I digress. So we've gotten the kitten in our home now, he's been given a new name, and he seems to like it here. Minus... the baby, Odelia. See, she doesn't really talk or babble. No, she communicates in growls. I'm not kidding. So imagine this 8-month-old infant army-crawling across the floor as fast as she can to catch the big orange fuzz-ball of fun! All while growling.

He did pretty well for his first time away from mom. He mewed most of the night and refuses to eat or use the litter box unless you sat with him in the designated area whilst he investigates. He also found the drapes. And almost ate my earrings. Lol. He's adorable. Very sociable and playful.

"Heeeeelp me, hu-man!"

Wednesday, 17 October 2012

Kids' Photoshoot

Took the kiddos to the park a few weeks back right as the cool weather was beginning to set in. Got some pretty good pictures of them and they cooperated nicely, even if only for a few minutes. Ah, and daddy took a picture with them, too. =) These are the edited versions.

I'll be doing my sister's Senior Pictures soon, as well, and I'll eventually post those up here. =)

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

The Year of Faith
Pope Benedict XVI has declared the "Year of Faith", a call to Catholics everywhere to be renewed in Christ beginning October 11, and will conclude on November 24, 2013. Now, the Year of Faith has a three-fold focus of Knowing our faith, Living our faith sacramentally, and Sharing our faith. So I've decided to help in what small way that I can here by offering to you a list of books that I've read personally, and received suggestions on. Some of these are quite in-depth while others are more easy-reads. Feel free to add any more of your own book suggestions in comments, as well. Ah, and I'm also putting up some links for those interested in learning more about the Year of Faith or Catholicism.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church
You can find the e-version here : Catechism of the Catholic Church
- The Compendium to the CCC - A much easier version to read
- Good Families Don't Just Happen - Catherine Musco Garcia-Prats & Joseph A. Garcia-Prats, M.D.
- Good Marriages Don't Just Happen - " "
- The ABC's of Choosing a Good Wife - Stephen Wood
- The Apostolic Letter "Porta Fidei" - Pope Benedict XVI
- The Good News About Sex andMarriage – Christopher West
- Catholicism for Dummies – Rev.John Trigilio Jr, PhD, ThD & Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, PhD
- Lives of the Saints – Richard P.McBrien
- The Teaching of Christ (ACatholic Catechism for Adults) - used for my RCIA classes
- Mother Teresa – Come Be My Light– Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C.
- Mere Christianity – C.S. Lewis
- Back to Virtue – Peter Kreeft (not for easy reading)
- Do I Have to Go? – Matthew Pintoand Chris Stefanick (This is good for teens and young adults about the importance of Mass and why)
- Direction for Our Times series - A series of messages from the Virgin Mary, Jesus, and various Saints to Anne, a Lay Apostle
- The Confessions of St. Augustine
- The Problem of Pain – C.S. Lewis
- An Exorcist Tells his Tale –Gabriele Amorth (I don't suggest reading at night if you're sensitive)
- Theology of the Body – a seriesof audiences by Blessed John Paul II ( I suggest you go for Theology of the Body for Beginners for those not used to BJPII's eloquence)
- Apostolic Exhortation –Familiaris Consortio – Blessed John Paul II
- Encyclical – Humanae vitae – PopePaul VI
- The Magnificat - a monthly subscription that offers the daily readings, meditations, and prayers
- Anything from St.Thomas Aquinas for the philosophers and those interested in psychology
Links

Year of Faith Q&A- USCCB
Three Branches of the YoF
YoF Videos - USCCB
Ignatius Press
Catholics Come Home
Catholic Courses