Monday morning the latest copy of the "Magnificat" showed up on my desk, a sign from my husband that there was something of interest for me. I read the meditation and realized that it fit rather nicely with the topic of yesterday's post: trusting that God's way is the better way. The entry was written by St. John Baptist De La Salle, whose feast day was Monday. I would like to quote part of it because he says it all so much better than I ever could.
"Offering ourselves and all we have to God means to present ourselves to him and to dedicate to him all our thoughts, words, actions, and goods, whether spiritual or temporal - in a word, everything we possess in this world. We assure God that because we are wholly dependent on him, we also wish to consecrate ourselves to him and his service and to abandon ourselves entirely to what he may choose for us, not wishing to follow our own will. We beg him not to permit us to entertain a single thought, utter a single word, or accomplish the slightest action that is not in conformity with his holy will and with what he asks of us."
It is hard to open ourselves so completely to God in order to live what St. John Baptist describes here. What a catch-22: You need God's grace to open yourself up to His will but you also need to be open to God's will in order to more easily accept the grace! St. John Baptist finishes the entry with this:
"We should also remind God of all the graces we have received from Him and tell Him that far from abusing any of them, we wish to act in such a way that none of them may prove useless but that all may attain their full effect. Finally, we should offer to consecrate to God in particular all the natural advantages and temporal goods we may possess, declaring that just as we have received them all from God, we wish to make use of them only for His sake."
May we remember each and every day that, without God, we can do nothing but with God, we can do anything!
God Bless!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
An Important Lesson
Yesterday's post reminded me of a very important lesson that took me a while to learn. When talking about the plans for your life, whether you are talking directly to God or to someone else, never say NEVER. I mentioned yesterday that I had slammed my fist down and said, "I will never have seven kids!" Well,that was the first in a long line of times that God made me eat my words. Not just in small ways, but in big ways.
The next time I can recall was when a good friend of mine told me that she was going to homeschool her five year old daughter. As far as I was concerned, that was weird. I would never even consider homeschooling my children. At the time I was back in school getting my teaching degree and had two small children. I will never forget what my friend said to me, "Why do you want to leave your own children to go off and teach someone else's children?" "Well," I responded, "I will be a much happier mother at home if I am fulfilled in my work!" Well, you know the rest of the story because the title of my blog gives it away.
The first year of homeschooling, we moved to a new area and found what was to become for us a wonderful homeschool group. We went to a few events and got to know a couple of families. One day, a friend called and told me that she had just had her baby. Their first boy after three girls. He was born at home with just her husband to help her as the doctor had not made it to the house in time. She went on to tell me what a beautiful experience it was. Wow, that was TOO much. I would never have any of my children at home. How safe is that??? Well, a few years passed and I got pregnant again, woke up one day and said to my husband, "I think we should have this baby at home." He said okay and we ended up having the next four babies at home. I have to say that most of them were very beautiful experiences!
From the very start of our marriage, my husband had been trying to talk me into moving out into the country. "Wouldn't it be great to live in the wide open spaces?" he used to ask me. "Absolutely not!" I would respond. "Who would want to live out in the middle of nowhere? I would never move to the country!" Fortunately for me, he is a very patient man. Fortunately for him, one day I woke up and said, "I think we need to move to the country where we can be out in the wide open spaces!" It was a horrible road getting here, but we have had almost five wonderful years in the country.
So, what have I learned? I have certainly learned to watch what I say. If I slip and say NEVER, I hurry up and apologize to God and tell Him I didn't really mean it. I have realized that had we not been open to God's grace in my life, what a different life we would have had. I have to believe that it certainly would not have been as wonderful as it has been. It took me many years to learn this lesson in the big things in my life. Now that I have learned it in the big ways, God is teaching me how to live it in the small ways in my life. I hope it doesn't take me as long to learn, because sometimes the lessons are quite painful!
God Bless!
The next time I can recall was when a good friend of mine told me that she was going to homeschool her five year old daughter. As far as I was concerned, that was weird. I would never even consider homeschooling my children. At the time I was back in school getting my teaching degree and had two small children. I will never forget what my friend said to me, "Why do you want to leave your own children to go off and teach someone else's children?" "Well," I responded, "I will be a much happier mother at home if I am fulfilled in my work!" Well, you know the rest of the story because the title of my blog gives it away.
The first year of homeschooling, we moved to a new area and found what was to become for us a wonderful homeschool group. We went to a few events and got to know a couple of families. One day, a friend called and told me that she had just had her baby. Their first boy after three girls. He was born at home with just her husband to help her as the doctor had not made it to the house in time. She went on to tell me what a beautiful experience it was. Wow, that was TOO much. I would never have any of my children at home. How safe is that??? Well, a few years passed and I got pregnant again, woke up one day and said to my husband, "I think we should have this baby at home." He said okay and we ended up having the next four babies at home. I have to say that most of them were very beautiful experiences!
From the very start of our marriage, my husband had been trying to talk me into moving out into the country. "Wouldn't it be great to live in the wide open spaces?" he used to ask me. "Absolutely not!" I would respond. "Who would want to live out in the middle of nowhere? I would never move to the country!" Fortunately for me, he is a very patient man. Fortunately for him, one day I woke up and said, "I think we need to move to the country where we can be out in the wide open spaces!" It was a horrible road getting here, but we have had almost five wonderful years in the country.
So, what have I learned? I have certainly learned to watch what I say. If I slip and say NEVER, I hurry up and apologize to God and tell Him I didn't really mean it. I have realized that had we not been open to God's grace in my life, what a different life we would have had. I have to believe that it certainly would not have been as wonderful as it has been. It took me many years to learn this lesson in the big things in my life. Now that I have learned it in the big ways, God is teaching me how to live it in the small ways in my life. I hope it doesn't take me as long to learn, because sometimes the lessons are quite painful!
God Bless!
Monday, April 7, 2008
A Momentous Occasion
Today marks a milestone in this household: Our baby boy turns 3 years old today.
That, in and of itself, is not a milestone; we've had 6 others do it before him. What makes it momentous is that there is no other new baby here to help him celebrate. This is the first time in the almost 20 year history of our family that we have had a child turn 3 without a younger sibling around. One of my relatives asked me yesterday how I felt about that. Well, I have to say that I am okay with it, however I did stop and reflect for a while about the whole trusting-your-family-size-to-God thing. I have to say that I would be much more enthusiastic about adopting another child than I would be about birthing another baby. This little boy took a toll on his mommy! He was 11 lbs. 10 oz when he was born and his pregnancy overall was the most detrimental one to my body. The thought of going through something like that again makes me shiver. When I look at him, though, I thank God for the miracle that He created and the wonderful boy that He has given to our family.
My husband and I both have a lot of "7"s in our lives. We both were born on the 7th, we were engaged on the 7th and married on the 7th. Before we were married, one of my in-laws was joking around that maybe we would even have 7 kids. I emphatically pounded my fist on the table and said, "I will never have 7 kids". Today, I am eternally grateful that God knows a lot better than I do what I need, and that He gave me the grace to open my heart to follow His plan and not my own. No matter how afraid I might be, I have to trust that if He wills us to have more children, whether naturally or through adoption, it will be the best thing for all of us!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Beer - Braised Beef
Today's recipe comes from "Simple and Delicious" magazine. We really like it and it is very easy. This is a crock pot recipe, so plan ahead.
3 bacon strips, diced
2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion cut into wedges
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 can (12 oz) beer
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbls flour
1/4 c water
Hot cooked noodles
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, discarding drippings. Sprinkle beef with pepper and salt. In the same skillet brown beef in oil. Transfer to a 5qt slow cooker.
Add the bacon, onion, garlic and bay leaf. In a small bowl, combine the beer, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and thyme. Pour over the beef mixture. Cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours or until the meat is tender.
In a small bowl, combine flour and water until smooth. Gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Serve beef over noodles. Yield 8 servings.
3 bacon strips, diced
2 pounds beef stew meat cut into 1 inch cubes
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion cut into wedges
1 tsp minced garlic
1 bay leaf
1 can (12 oz) beer
1 tbls soy sauce
1 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tbls flour
1/4 c water
Hot cooked noodles
In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, discarding drippings. Sprinkle beef with pepper and salt. In the same skillet brown beef in oil. Transfer to a 5qt slow cooker.
Add the bacon, onion, garlic and bay leaf. In a small bowl, combine the beer, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and thyme. Pour over the beef mixture. Cover and cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours or until the meat is tender.
In a small bowl, combine flour and water until smooth. Gradually stir into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 30 minutes or until thickened. Discard bay leaf. Serve beef over noodles. Yield 8 servings.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Daily Mass? ?? Yes, Daily Mass
I will be honest. Those two words have been known to strike fear in my heart. That might sound odd, but I'm sure that any mother with one or more small children can relate. Daily Mass is another thing that I struggle with for a variety of reasons. The first is the distance we have to drive just to get there. We are about 25 minutes from seven Catholic churches, but nothing is closer. The times range from 7:00 am to 8:30 am. Not bad, but factor in the 1/2 hour drive there and back and now Mass becomes an event. The 7:00 mass comes in handy when my husband and I can go by ourselves, but our children aren't that great at getting up at 6:15 to throw their clothes on and jump in the car. The one benefit to Mass that early is that most of them are still somewhat comatose, so by the time Mass is over, they are just starting to wake up and get lively.
The other reason I struggle with daily Mass is the number and ages of my children. You never know just who it is who is going to be the culprit of the day. It can be anyone from the nine year old on down. The worst is when they decide to gang up on me and all act up. For example, we got to Mass this morning (late, of course) and the only pew we would reasonably fit in was up in front. So we file in (all eight of us) and stand for the Gospel. At this point, my four year old informs me she must go to the bathroom. The nine year old agrees to take her, so they climb out of the pew and go to the back of the church. Within a few minutes, the nine year old is coming back to tell me that I am needed. Of course I cannot go back by myself or I would hear the almost three year old yelling the entire time, "I want to go by Mommy" so I figure it is best to take him with me. So the two of us climb out of the pew and go to the back of the church. We take care of business and the three of us come back to the pew. To save more climbing, we sit on the end. My nine year old informs me that she still has to go to the bathroom so she goes to the back of the church and eventually comes back. Now, because I am sitting at the opposite end of the pew from where I started, my seven year old feels the need to crawl along the pew to get down by me. By this time it is time for the consecration and I have to remind myself where I am and what on earth I am here for. I'm certain I didn't drive all this way just to use the bathroom!! I can be thankful that today we made it through the consecration and communion without incident. Many times I feel that I go to Mass just for my daily dose of humiliation. It is a good way to keep my pride in check :)
This was by no means my worst experience at church; there have been times where I am holding back the tears on my way up to communion. I have heard other horror stories from friends, too. So, I often wonder, is going through all of that really worth anything. I know I have read and heard before how important it is to be recollected on your way to receive Jesus and how we should spend those moments after communion, when Jesus is residing in us, in quiet prayer. Hey, I'm grateful when we get up to communion without anyone pushing or punching a sibling, or almost knocking an elderly person over on their way back to the pew to get the end seat. I try really hard to take that split second before I receive the Eucharist to remind myself what is about to happen before I have to turn the radar back on.
I guess I am very grateful that we have a merciful and loving God. My only hope is that He understands that I am really trying to pay attention and stay recollected during Mass. People have told me that getting to Mass every day is the best thing you can possibly do. I once talked to a priest who told me that of course we should be getting to daily Mass. Since we homeschool and I set the schedule then we should use that driving time to do schoolwork, say our daily prayers, read about the saints, etc. Well, we try, but some days I just don't have it in me! We have a Lutheran church about 1 mile from us, so we and our homeschooling neighbors keep praying they'll all convert to the Catholic faith and then we'd have a church right in our backyard! I do know that, despite all of the work and frustration, the grace we receive from attending Daily Mass is what makes it possible to keep on doing all that we do. I also read somewhere that when you go to Mass and have an experience like I did today, it is your gift to God, but when you go to Mass and walk out in peace, it is God's gift to you.
God Bless!
The other reason I struggle with daily Mass is the number and ages of my children. You never know just who it is who is going to be the culprit of the day. It can be anyone from the nine year old on down. The worst is when they decide to gang up on me and all act up. For example, we got to Mass this morning (late, of course) and the only pew we would reasonably fit in was up in front. So we file in (all eight of us) and stand for the Gospel. At this point, my four year old informs me she must go to the bathroom. The nine year old agrees to take her, so they climb out of the pew and go to the back of the church. Within a few minutes, the nine year old is coming back to tell me that I am needed. Of course I cannot go back by myself or I would hear the almost three year old yelling the entire time, "I want to go by Mommy" so I figure it is best to take him with me. So the two of us climb out of the pew and go to the back of the church. We take care of business and the three of us come back to the pew. To save more climbing, we sit on the end. My nine year old informs me that she still has to go to the bathroom so she goes to the back of the church and eventually comes back. Now, because I am sitting at the opposite end of the pew from where I started, my seven year old feels the need to crawl along the pew to get down by me. By this time it is time for the consecration and I have to remind myself where I am and what on earth I am here for. I'm certain I didn't drive all this way just to use the bathroom!! I can be thankful that today we made it through the consecration and communion without incident. Many times I feel that I go to Mass just for my daily dose of humiliation. It is a good way to keep my pride in check :)
This was by no means my worst experience at church; there have been times where I am holding back the tears on my way up to communion. I have heard other horror stories from friends, too. So, I often wonder, is going through all of that really worth anything. I know I have read and heard before how important it is to be recollected on your way to receive Jesus and how we should spend those moments after communion, when Jesus is residing in us, in quiet prayer. Hey, I'm grateful when we get up to communion without anyone pushing or punching a sibling, or almost knocking an elderly person over on their way back to the pew to get the end seat. I try really hard to take that split second before I receive the Eucharist to remind myself what is about to happen before I have to turn the radar back on.
I guess I am very grateful that we have a merciful and loving God. My only hope is that He understands that I am really trying to pay attention and stay recollected during Mass. People have told me that getting to Mass every day is the best thing you can possibly do. I once talked to a priest who told me that of course we should be getting to daily Mass. Since we homeschool and I set the schedule then we should use that driving time to do schoolwork, say our daily prayers, read about the saints, etc. Well, we try, but some days I just don't have it in me! We have a Lutheran church about 1 mile from us, so we and our homeschooling neighbors keep praying they'll all convert to the Catholic faith and then we'd have a church right in our backyard! I do know that, despite all of the work and frustration, the grace we receive from attending Daily Mass is what makes it possible to keep on doing all that we do. I also read somewhere that when you go to Mass and have an experience like I did today, it is your gift to God, but when you go to Mass and walk out in peace, it is God's gift to you.
God Bless!
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Trying to do God's Will - and getting blocked
I've talked before about wanting to always do God's will in my life and about how it is hard to figure out what God's will is sometimes. There are other times, however, when I feel pretty sure I know what His will is, but when I try to do it, I get blocked. At that point I always find myself in a dilemma. Was this really what God wanted me to do and the evil one is trying to block it, or was this really not what I was supposed to do and God is trying to block it. How do you tell the difference? There are times I can stop and pray about it and feel pretty sure that I was wrong and it was God trying to stop me. Other times I can feel this strong urge to forge ahead and plow through the obstacles. Yet there are still other times that just leave me stumped.
Take this example: Last Friday I had an inspiration for a post. When I had about half an hour to enter it, I sat down at the computer. I was going to write about things in our lives that we feel we need to get rid of. Of course, we aren't positive about all of them, but based on prayer, we feel that we should at least try to rid ourselves of them. I was going to tell you all about a nice 23 year old (lame) horse that we have that we need to find a good retirement home for. He's even free!! Then I was going to mention about some heavy equipment my husband has that he needs to sell because of the severe down-turn in the housing market. I was going to list them all: a six-wheel dump truck, a New Holland 160 excavator, an F800 tool truck, a 25 ton trailer and a TL-150 track loader. Then the last thing I was going to write about was our house - a 4 bedroom ranch on 5 acres in the heart of the midwest, just in case someone out there wants to move out to the country. I was even going to tell people that if they were interested in more info on any of these things, all they would have to do is send me a comment. I get to see them before I post them, so I was going to let people know that I would not post any inquiries. It was in the middle of writing all of this when- POOF - the power went out. Well, I sat there a moment and wondered, was I supposed to do this or not? Was God trying to stop my from selling things I shouldn't or was satan trying to stop me from selling things I should? I'm still not sure. I just thought I'd throw this example out there in case anyone else had any thoughts:)
God Bless!
Take this example: Last Friday I had an inspiration for a post. When I had about half an hour to enter it, I sat down at the computer. I was going to write about things in our lives that we feel we need to get rid of. Of course, we aren't positive about all of them, but based on prayer, we feel that we should at least try to rid ourselves of them. I was going to tell you all about a nice 23 year old (lame) horse that we have that we need to find a good retirement home for. He's even free!! Then I was going to mention about some heavy equipment my husband has that he needs to sell because of the severe down-turn in the housing market. I was going to list them all: a six-wheel dump truck, a New Holland 160 excavator, an F800 tool truck, a 25 ton trailer and a TL-150 track loader. Then the last thing I was going to write about was our house - a 4 bedroom ranch on 5 acres in the heart of the midwest, just in case someone out there wants to move out to the country. I was even going to tell people that if they were interested in more info on any of these things, all they would have to do is send me a comment. I get to see them before I post them, so I was going to let people know that I would not post any inquiries. It was in the middle of writing all of this when- POOF - the power went out. Well, I sat there a moment and wondered, was I supposed to do this or not? Was God trying to stop my from selling things I shouldn't or was satan trying to stop me from selling things I should? I'm still not sure. I just thought I'd throw this example out there in case anyone else had any thoughts:)
God Bless!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
More on Suffering
Let's get back to that topic of suffering, shall we? My husband discovered a book entitled "Benedictus - Day by Day with Pope Benedict XVI", put out by Ignatius Press and Magnificat. He reads each day's meditation when he gets up in the morning and I know that if it is sitting on my desk in the kitchen when I get up that I, too, should read it. One day last week there was an entry on the value of suffering. This one was actually easy to understand, it wasn't too lofty or written with too much of the "Pope speak" that I cannot usually understand. In it the Pope tells us that pain is a part of being human and that if we want to get rid of suffering, we must get rid of love since there can't be love without suffering. If you haven't guessed, I have a hard time seeing suffering for the blessing it really is. I don't think I am alone, as I can't really say that I have met anyone who seems to joyfully embrace suffering. The one person I can think of who came close was my grandmother, who had a plethora of health problems all her life, but never complained about any of them. Her response to "How are you, Grandma?" was always, "I can't complain." I obviously did not get that gene!
Since the Pope can speak much more eloquently than I can, I would like to quote the last half of his meditation on this topic, as it is full of wisdom.
"...Suffering is the process through which we mature. Anyone who has inwardly accepted suffering becomes more mature and more understanding of others, becomes more human. Anyone who has consistently avoided suffering does not understand other people; he becomes hard and selfish...If we say that suffering is the inner side of love, we then also understand why it is so important to learn how to suffer - and why, conversely, the avoidance of suffering renders someone unfit to cope with life. He would be left with an existential emptiness, which could then only be combined with bitterness, with rejection, and no longer with any inner acceptance or progress toward maturity."
Now there is something to think about. How blessed we are to have a Church that can see the value of suffering.
God Bless!
Since the Pope can speak much more eloquently than I can, I would like to quote the last half of his meditation on this topic, as it is full of wisdom.
"...Suffering is the process through which we mature. Anyone who has inwardly accepted suffering becomes more mature and more understanding of others, becomes more human. Anyone who has consistently avoided suffering does not understand other people; he becomes hard and selfish...If we say that suffering is the inner side of love, we then also understand why it is so important to learn how to suffer - and why, conversely, the avoidance of suffering renders someone unfit to cope with life. He would be left with an existential emptiness, which could then only be combined with bitterness, with rejection, and no longer with any inner acceptance or progress toward maturity."
Now there is something to think about. How blessed we are to have a Church that can see the value of suffering.
God Bless!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)