While reading people's tweets and blogs, I came across this...
I'm sure your reaction will be the same as mine...*sigh*
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A time for preparation...
My best friend told me recently: "You know, I'm a little sad that you are not the Catholic that you once were. I mean you are still a really good Catholic, but you used to teach CCD, run a youth group..."
For more than 12 years, my husband and I were those "crazy Catholic" twenty-somethings who would inspire youth to get fired up about their faith. To be Soldiers of Christ and fight the good fight. When our parish needed something done, the priest would look to us to get things moving. Parents made us examples to their children; we were the last resort to bring their kids back into the fold. Before those years, I participated in the youth group, retreats - you name it. Heck, I was always at the church. I was one of "those" church kids. My family sat in the same pew every Sunday and everyone knew who we were.
My pal's statement alone made me ponder. What am I doing now? I go to church every Sunday. I make sure my son is learning the foundations of our faith. Each night we saw prayers together. Yet, could I be doing more? Focusing just on myself, I remembered how my morals were what set me apart from the crowd. I stood up for my faith even when it made me the outcast. The fact that I "waited until marriage" is still a topic that causes to shock people. To sum it up, my faith made me special. In the past, my BFF would constantly state "I'm going to heaven on your coat-tails." Would they still be able to?
With Lent a week away, I've set forth a challenge to myself. To do my best to become that pillar of faith I once was. Nothing radical. Just a small start to go back to the person I once was.
For more than 12 years, my husband and I were those "crazy Catholic" twenty-somethings who would inspire youth to get fired up about their faith. To be Soldiers of Christ and fight the good fight. When our parish needed something done, the priest would look to us to get things moving. Parents made us examples to their children; we were the last resort to bring their kids back into the fold. Before those years, I participated in the youth group, retreats - you name it. Heck, I was always at the church. I was one of "those" church kids. My family sat in the same pew every Sunday and everyone knew who we were.
My pal's statement alone made me ponder. What am I doing now? I go to church every Sunday. I make sure my son is learning the foundations of our faith. Each night we saw prayers together. Yet, could I be doing more? Focusing just on myself, I remembered how my morals were what set me apart from the crowd. I stood up for my faith even when it made me the outcast. The fact that I "waited until marriage" is still a topic that causes to shock people. To sum it up, my faith made me special. In the past, my BFF would constantly state "I'm going to heaven on your coat-tails." Would they still be able to?
With Lent a week away, I've set forth a challenge to myself. To do my best to become that pillar of faith I once was. Nothing radical. Just a small start to go back to the person I once was.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
You Found Me
Those of you who know me personally, know I love The Fray. I was lucky enough to see them in concert a few years ago while they toured with smaller bands like Mute Math. They were part of my beloved Independent Rock scene...then Grey's Anatomy skyrocketed them into the world of mainstream music.
No, I didn't throw them out like other bands who crossover into Top 40 playlists. I have a special place for this band. Even more so with the release of their latest self-titled CD...it's a really great album. The songs are somewhat introspective of some of the band members - but that's what got them noticed to begin with.
As of right now, my favorite song is "You Found Me". There are a couple of others on the album, but this one seems to fit the mood at my current point of life.
Taken from Wikipedia:
No, I didn't throw them out like other bands who crossover into Top 40 playlists. I have a special place for this band. Even more so with the release of their latest self-titled CD...it's a really great album. The songs are somewhat introspective of some of the band members - but that's what got them noticed to begin with.
As of right now, my favorite song is "You Found Me". There are a couple of others on the album, but this one seems to fit the mood at my current point of life.
Taken from Wikipedia:
In an interview, Isaac Slade expressed his meaning behind the lyrics of the song:
"You Found Me" is a tough song for me. Its about the disappointment, the heart ache, the let down that comes with life. Sometimes you’re let down, sometimes you’re the one who lets someone else down. It gets hard to know who you can trust, who you can count on. This song came out of a tough time, and I’m still right in the thick of it. There’s some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and can be overwhelming. It wears on me. It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen. Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest.[4]Additionally, in another recent interview Isaac Slade declared that:
"I kept getting these phone calls from home - tragedy after tragedy... If there is some kind of person in charge of this planet - are they sleeping? Smoking? Where are they? I just imagined running into God standing on a street corner like Bruce Springsteen, smoking a cigarette, and I'd have it out with him.".[5]Furthermore, in a Reuters article about the new album, Slade says that the lyrics for "You Found Me" were written two and a half years ago, and that the song asks about the problem of evil, why bad things happen to good people, after some of their friends and family went through very tough times.[6]
Monday, February 9, 2009
25 Random Things...
Oh you know something is popular, or on the verge of, when it makes the NY Times.
Check this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/fashion/05things.html?_r=1
Check this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/fashion/05things.html?_r=1
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Random Quotes: Adopted Kids
Gilda Radner - "Adopted kids are such a pain - you have to teach them how to look like you."
Thursday, January 22, 2009
For the love of ink...
I love pens. I love everything about pens. I read blogs about pens. (Here's the best one out there, in my opinion: The Pen Addict.)
My assistants/friends gifted me some awesome Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.4 pens for my birthday. It's like writing with a needle tip...so frickin' awesome. I carry all 5 different colored pens with me everywhere. You never know when you are going to need an awesome writing instrument to write something memorable (or not so) down. Heh.
I think it's a fascination that was inherited from my dad. He always had bags of pens or clusters of pens with rubber bands around them packed away in every little knook possible. I think his affliction were Sharpies. I wonder if he knows that they have a pen now?! Hmmm...Father's day perhaps?
However, what's even more awesome than my love of pens? The fact that my truest & bestest friend also shares this love. We can spend hours just "playing" with pens. We will search for stationery and pens on random jaunts while we are together. All for the love of ink.
My assistants/friends gifted me some awesome Pilot Hi-Tec-C 0.4 pens for my birthday. It's like writing with a needle tip...so frickin' awesome. I carry all 5 different colored pens with me everywhere. You never know when you are going to need an awesome writing instrument to write something memorable (or not so) down. Heh.
I think it's a fascination that was inherited from my dad. He always had bags of pens or clusters of pens with rubber bands around them packed away in every little knook possible. I think his affliction were Sharpies. I wonder if he knows that they have a pen now?! Hmmm...Father's day perhaps?
However, what's even more awesome than my love of pens? The fact that my truest & bestest friend also shares this love. We can spend hours just "playing" with pens. We will search for stationery and pens on random jaunts while we are together. All for the love of ink.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
One hell of an emotional ride...
One that I hope I will not have to take for a long time. Never have I experienced so many emotions in a three-day period. I'll keep it short for my sanity's (and your) sake.
Saturday. Emotion: happiness.
One of my best pals got married. It was a small, intimate ceremony and quite beautiful. My hubby & I got to dance and drink and enjoyed the company of people we hadn't seen in quite a long time. The hubby even got a bit tipsy.
Sunday. Emotion: worry.
Moe's youngest son developed RSV and had been rushed to the hospital on Friday. I couldn't just sit and wait to hear something from Moe over the phone. I had to be there. I called her sister and made the trip to Dallas with her & Moco in record time. When we finally saw Moe, I knew we had made the right choice to drive up. Moe, her sister and I were able to do what "sisters" do - talk, laugh and cry all at the same time.
Monday. Emotion: worry. guilt. grief.
Moe's baby was eventually transferred to ICU and that's when I had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave my best friend and head home with the kid after all he did have school the next day. I didn't want to but something in my gut told I should.
On the way home, I pray and text family members asking them to remember Moe's family in their prayers. When I finally arrive home, I call my parents to let them know that Moco & I have arrived safely. Here's what I would like call the "sucker punch" to my day...my parents deliver the news that my sister had just miscarried her baby earlier in the day. I fell to my knees crying. I listened to my parents as they continued to tell me how my sister & husband were handling it. I just heard babble...because in my mind I just couldn't make sense of it all. I felt guilt for not being there for her. I felt sadness for her and her husband.
I didn't know what to feel. I was an emotional wreck. I found consulation in my hubby and son, and even my dog Woxy (who kept nuzzling me when I was crying). I knew in my heart that things happen for a reason. God will take care of those in whom trust him. And yet nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy...but for some reason, I felt like I have paid my dues for a while.
Saturday. Emotion: happiness.
One of my best pals got married. It was a small, intimate ceremony and quite beautiful. My hubby & I got to dance and drink and enjoyed the company of people we hadn't seen in quite a long time. The hubby even got a bit tipsy.
Sunday. Emotion: worry.
Moe's youngest son developed RSV and had been rushed to the hospital on Friday. I couldn't just sit and wait to hear something from Moe over the phone. I had to be there. I called her sister and made the trip to Dallas with her & Moco in record time. When we finally saw Moe, I knew we had made the right choice to drive up. Moe, her sister and I were able to do what "sisters" do - talk, laugh and cry all at the same time.
Monday. Emotion: worry. guilt. grief.
Moe's baby was eventually transferred to ICU and that's when I had to make the heartbreaking decision to leave my best friend and head home with the kid after all he did have school the next day. I didn't want to but something in my gut told I should.
On the way home, I pray and text family members asking them to remember Moe's family in their prayers. When I finally arrive home, I call my parents to let them know that Moco & I have arrived safely. Here's what I would like call the "sucker punch" to my day...my parents deliver the news that my sister had just miscarried her baby earlier in the day. I fell to my knees crying. I listened to my parents as they continued to tell me how my sister & husband were handling it. I just heard babble...because in my mind I just couldn't make sense of it all. I felt guilt for not being there for her. I felt sadness for her and her husband.
I didn't know what to feel. I was an emotional wreck. I found consulation in my hubby and son, and even my dog Woxy (who kept nuzzling me when I was crying). I knew in my heart that things happen for a reason. God will take care of those in whom trust him. And yet nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy...but for some reason, I felt like I have paid my dues for a while.
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