First Communion

My daughter Willow will receive her First Holy Communion this month.  It would be impossible for me to express what this milestone means to our family.  I have spent most of her eight years on earth on my knees.   She has blessed me so much.  I know that God sent her to me for my salvation.  I have been so busy preparing that blogging has fallen to the bottom of my "to do" list.  My absence from the Internet does not mean my life is not bearing fruit.  In fact, it has been the opposite.  For the first time in my life, I feel like I am living exactly how the Lord wants me to.  Which is totally open to his will.  That is not to say that I do not struggle daily with my responsibilities.  I have just figured out that if I put God first life goes much smoother.  My husband and I have lived through the past 15 years of trials and we are still standing.  I am doing alot of purging right now.  I am getting rid of the emotional, physical, and spiritual clutter in my life.  It is taking awhile.  This "new growth" has not come without a substantial amount of pain.  I feel like a rosebush that has been cut back severely, in order to bloom more beautifully.  The cutting hurt.  I went through infertility, sickness, financial problems, and Willow's Autism diagnosis just to name just a few.  Right now, I feel like I am blooming.  Psalm 1:3 says: 

But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night.  He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.

I am planted  firmly by my Willow and we are drinking from that stream.  Our family is bearing fruit and prospering.  I am so, so grateful.  Thank you Lord, for my Willow who helped me grow by You. 

Litany of Humility

O Jesus! meek and humble of heart, Hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,

Deliver me, Jesus.

From the desire of being loved...

From the desire of being extolled ...

From the desire of being honored ...

From the desire of being praised ...

From the desire of being preferred to others...

From the desire of being consulted ...

From the desire of being approved ...

From the fear of being humiliated ...

From the fear of being despised...

From the fear of suffering rebukes ...

From the fear of being calumniated ...

From the fear of being forgotten ...

From the fear of being ridiculed ...

From the fear of being wronged ...

From the fear of being suspected ...

 

That others may be loved more than I,

Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Day 36-Ecumenism

If you are true to your faith, there are things you give up for your faith-Amish Proverb

When I was in elementary school my class took a trip to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  That one trip, started a life long fascination with the Amish. I could go on for days but I think the thing I admire most is their simplicity.  I think that their lifestyles resemble the way God intended our life on earth to be like.  I think modern life is out of control; we are educated but ignorant, we have money but we are poor (materialism, debt), we are religious but unchristian, we have children and not families. Obviously, I am an Orthodox Catholic.  That does not mean that I am opposed to other faiths.  I don't limit my friendships and mentors to women who are Catholic and I am grateful they didn't do that either.  On the contrary, I am shaped by other Christian faiths and admire many of their beautiful traditions.  That does not mean I am not in love with mine.  I am also grounded and properly catechised enough that I am able to discern what to take and what to leave.  It is a short list and begins and ends with judmentalism which is the root of many sins.  My friend Julie who is part of the fundamentalist "full quiver" movement has given me some amazing advice.  I choose to focus on what we have in common and not what's different and I am blessed by it.  Their view of life issues and an emphasis on the traditional family is a common thread.  I also think that talking to people from other faiths can challenge you to define your own convictions.  It helps you to discern what you believe and why you believe it.  Which leads me to one of the things I most admire about the Amish.  Although many have been drawn to the simple lives of the "plain people" they do not encourage converting.  I find their lack of egocentricity refreshing.  Their thought provoking response is this:     

"If you admire our faith, strengthen yours.  If you admire our sense of commitment, deepen yours.  If you admire our community spirit, build your own.  If you admire the simple life, cut back.  If you admire deep character and enduring values, live them yourself." 

That is good, solid advice.  One only has to turn on the television (if you must) to see the negative impact radicalism in any form has done to our world.  It is just my opinion but I believe it is not your denomination but how you live that make you a Christian.  We are supposed to imitate Christ who lived a simple, loving life while here on earth.  Living sacrificially and raising Godly children is the ultimate testimony.  Your family's faith and it's traditions are the best gift you can give your child.  It is a gift that our family gave to us and the same one we are planning to give to our kids.      

Day 35-God's Blessings

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD! 

Psalms 113:9

Yes, he does.  I was just remembering the other day how badly I wanted children.  I have run across so many quotes in scripture about the blessing of children and bringing them up to love the Lord.  I don't know how people just don't want a dozen of them.  I would love it.  My children are all at an age where all of our "training" is bearing fruit and I love spending time educating them in their faith.  I just about have all of their homeschool curriculum and I am SO EXCITED!!!!  That being said, I have been spending less time on-line per my husbands request.  Sorry for the lack of updates but priorities, you know.  Things are still going great around here.  There is a beautiful rhythm in our home now which I LOVE.  I have continued with my Proverbs study.  I think it is one of the best things I have done spiritually for myself in a long, long time.  I pray before I open my Bible and ask God to bless me with Wisdom through his word.  I also pray for Him to answer specific things that are weighing on my heart.  It is blessing me in a profound way.  I am planning on continuing this throughout my life and teaching the kids my favorite passages.  Alex, especially, has been open to learning scripture and I want to foster that.   I believe scripture meditation and memorization are essential to having a strong spiritual life.  I found these great scripture cards for the kids at Bibliomania.  We have been going over them a little at dinner.  One of the first ones I opened was this favorite scripture of mine: 

Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, on your own intelligence rely not; In all of your ways be mindful of him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3: 5, 6.

Hope your day is blessed:-)

Day 31-Abundance

When Landon gets tired his favorite word is "No!"  He will argue with EVERYTHING you say.  My life is in a very, very good place right now.  My marriage is great, my house is in order, and my kids have never been better.  I think it is because I have my priorities straight and He has lightened my load (Matt. 11:29, 30.)   So when he was screaming at the top of his lungs last night, I was able to be patient.  It still wasn't enough.  He was still upset.  Then, he did the strangest thing.  He stop crying looked at me and said: "I want to pray the Rosary."  He climbed up in my bed and laid next to me and waited patiently for me to begin.  I started to pray and he calmly fell asleep with in ten minutes.  It is little sacred moments like this that I know He is there with me.   I have never felt so much peace.  I read the first chapter of Proverbs today the verse that struck me the most was:

Listen my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.  they shall be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. Proverbs 1:8-9   

When I watched him sleep last night thoughts of what his future would be like ran through my head.  I thought of all of my hopes and dreams for him.  Oh, I hope he loves Him. I hope he is blessed and serves the Lord.  I hope he lives a long and fruitful life.  I hope he finds a wife that loves him and fears the Lord.  I hope he has the gift of many children to love him and take care of him when he is old. I hope and I pray...Hail Mary, full of grace...