Quick Takes #6 Love, Prayer and Trees

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So I am pretty impressed with myself for posting quick takes two weeks in a row, that is if I finish this in the next 46 minutes before it becomes Saturday.

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I read a great quote from Pope John Paul II and have done a lot of thinking about it lately. 

"Yes, God alone is our true and unfailing support, just as love and prayer are the only sure spiritual levers with which it is possible to lift up the world."- Pope John Paul II (1994)

This resulted in a post on Tuesday and my goal of a weekly series related to love and prayer and its power to lift the world.  Excited about the first post on Tuesday.  If you are interested in adding to the series please let me know.  Stay tuned!

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Excited about outdoor adventures this weekend.  After last winter with no snow after November 1st I am going to take advantage of all the snow on the ground.  Let's just hope I don't freeze.

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How late to you keep your Christmas tree up?  I am ready to take down all the decorations and lights and put the Christmas cards away but I really want to keep the tree for a little while longer.  It was such a big effort to find it, cut it down, get it home and inside and then get it to stand up straight that it just doesn't seem right to take it down yet.  Plus when it is in the living room I can pretend we live in a forest.

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More about Christmas trees.  What kind of tree do you get.  We got a white pine this year (These are the ones with 5 long needles).  It looks and smells a little different but I am really liking it.  The only downside is that it seems to have very weak branches and some of the ornaments have fallen off.  This will have to be something that we consider next year when we pick out a tree.  A tree with strong needles is imperative.  Good thing we don't have many ornaments.

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One more thing about trees.  (I am really into trees if you can't tell.)  I was out on Cape Cod last weekend and I was reminded how I love watching the trees as you drive towards the Cape.  As you get closer to the ocean the trees become shorter and more twisted.  It is almost like they become a completely different plant.  I could just look at them all day.

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As you probably know Jen is in the hospital so keep her in your prayers.  Also keep my family in your prayers as they are going through some struggles.

Have a great weekend!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Love and Prayer, JPII

"Yes, God alone is our true and unfailing support, just as love and prayer are the only sure spiritual levers with which it is possible to lift up the world."- Pope John Paul II (1994)

I don't think we have any doubt that the world needs to be lifted up.  That is for certain.
But how are we supposed to do that?

With Prayer and Love.

John Paul II states it very clearly, with prayer and love.  John Paul II has seen what we are up against, he has experienced our world, he know what we face and he still says that it must be met with prayer and love.  Not worry, anger, arguments, hate, frustration, war, protests or ignorance.  But with prayer and love.

Instead of worrying, say a prayer.
Instead of arguing, show them your love. 
Instead of letting anger build up inside of you, pray for peace.

For it is with love and prayer that we can lift up the world.

If we want to enact some real change, which we must, we need to pray and love.  

So often I worry about problems in the world today.  Then I get angry about them.  Maybe I will argue about the topic with someone.  Soon I will get frustrated because I feel like I can't do anything to fix the problems anyway.  This is not the way to lift the world.  The world can be lifted through love and prayer.  And this is something that I can do.  I can treat others with love. I can share God's love with others, and I can pray.  Pope John Paul II is giving us a sure response to the world around us.

Last night while waiting for the new year to start the topic of new years resolutions came up.  I am not a big fan of new years resolutions because I often forget about them or they become irrelevant, but wouldn't it be great if I could remember this all year.  

That prayer and love are the secrets to lifting up the world.

To help myself (and others) remember this I am going to start a weekly series about people (saints, friends, family) who lift up the world with prayer and love.

Hope you will join me on a journey to lift up the world through prayer and love.  (If you would like to add to this series send me an email at seashore3612 at yahoo dot com.)

Joining in with Jen and the women of Soli Deo Gloria

Quick Takes #5

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I have a few minutes to spare since I am enjoying my wonderful Christmas break so I thought I would give quick takes another try.  Maybe I will get more than 1 week in a row this time.  I guess we can hope.

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Just quick story of the power of prayer (even for the small things).  I had already used up a great many hours of my wonderful Christmas break doing research for my dreaded research paper and now I had been siting at my computer looking at a blank word document for about 30 minutes but would not think of any good ways to start this paper.  By this point I had given up trying to find a good way to start the paper and I was willing to take any start to the paper (good or awful) but I had nothing.  I told myself that I was not going to get up until I had at least 2 pages and that was going to be a while since I had nothing and was no where close to having even a single word.  What is there to do?
A quick prayer!
And before I knew it I had a (good) first line and soon I had the whole paper written up.  And now I can really enjoy the break. (I just won't think about all the other work that I have to do.)

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Christmas is not over.  At midnight on December 25th Christmas songs are taken off the radio, Christmas lights are not turned on any more, trees start coming down, people start wishing you a happy new year instead of a Merry Christmas.  How can we keep Christmas alive in our hearts and in our lives when the rest of the world is done with it?  Spiritual Woman links to a great article with just that advice, 5 Ways to Keep the Christmas Spirit Alive in Your Heart.  Worth a read.

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For those of you in the northeast, I think we lucked out on Christmas weather.  I woke up to a light snow coming down.  Just enough to make the ground white and snow to be falling but not enough to interfere with all the traveling and visiting that was planned.  (Although some were hoping for enough so that we would be prevented from visiting anyone or even leaving the house.)

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After all of the Christmas festivities I am home now with a refrigerator full of leftovers.  Each meal is like a warm memory of the holidays.  It is going to be quite a shock when I have to start cooking again.

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Our Christmas tree is still green (or at least as green as when we got it)!  This is the first year we have managed to keep the tree looking healthy for more than a week.  Hoping it will last through the Epiphany!

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Quick prayer request, I have to speak to my doctor today, which is something that I am not looking forward to.  It is always quite a struggle.  I would like just a little piece of information without having to wait two months for an appointment just to be told I have to see a specialist and wait another 2 months for an appointment.  I'm getting anxious even thinking about it.

Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Seeing the positive- traffic edition

Earlier this week I had the (un)fortunate opportunity to sit in stand still traffic for over an hour on my way to work.  Given this extra time I got to thinking why I was really lucky to have this opportunity.  Here are my 7 reasons why I should be happy to spend my morning sitting in stand still traffic.

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I was not in one of the 5 cars or the tracker trailer about a mile ahead that was causing all 3 lanes to be shut down.

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I was not in the car next to me with the two young children who seemed to be almost as unhappy as their mother.  I'm sure my hour in traffic was much more peaceful than hers.  She really must have some patients.

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I did not have to go pee.  That would have made for an uncomfortable morning.
Your text here.

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I work with some awesome people who were able to cover my classes until I arrived.

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I had enough work in my car to keep me occupied.  (Actually it would have kept me occupied a lot longer)  I was able to get some quizzes graded and would have gotten a lot more done but eventually the traffic started moving again.

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I was not on my way to the airport.  That would have been a very nerve wracking experience which probably would have ended in rescheduling a flight.

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It was a beautiful sunny day which I was able to enjoy (if only from my car) since I usually get into work before the sun is really up.


Hope the weekend is just as enjoyable as my Monday morning was.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Could you imagine saying that to your father?!?

Mark 10:35
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” 

"Dad, I want you to do whatever I ask you to do."

Could you ever imagine saying that you your father?  I know that I would never think of telling my father that.  I don't even want to imagine what his response would be.

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

But this is exactly what James and John asked of Jesus.  I had to read this line twice to make sure I got it right.  After the first read I assumed that I had read it wrong and it was really Jesus who was telling James and John to do whatever he asks.  That would make more sense.  So I read it again.  I had it right the first time.  James and John were really bossing around Jesus.  I'm really not sure what they were thinking right then.

So, this is something that I wouldn't even think about saying to my earthly father, I am appalled when James and John say it to Jesus but yet I do the same thing to my heavenly father very often without even realizing it.

How often while, I am praying I tell God exactly what I need him to do and exactly how he should solve my problems or other problems of the world.  Do I really do that?  Do I really tell the Lord what to do?  Yeah, I do.  Almost every time that I pray.  It sounds pretty ridiculous when you look at it like that doesn't it?  How could I (just me), tell Him (the maker of creation) what to do?

Instead of telling Him what to do we should be asking him what we should do.  When we pray we should be giving ourselves and our problems to the Lord.  Putting our problems in his hands then listening for what he wants us to do.

This is so hard.  It goes against everything that I want to do.  I want to be in control.  I want to have the power.  I want to fix things.  But that is not the way it is with the Lord.  With him we are not in charge.  We do not tell him what to do, he tells us what to do.

Dear Lord, What do you want me to do?

Joining in with Jen and the others today.

What is causing you to sin?

Mark 9:43

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.

I know it has taken me a whole week to sit down and write about this but it has been something that I have been thinking about it all week after hearing it in the Gospel and hearing my priest speak about it last Sunday at mass.  
Plenty of the sins that I commit involve my hands (as well as other body parts), but I know that Jesus it not literally telling us to all go out and cut off our hands.  Last week my priest spoke about how we need to cut out the parts of our life and our way of thinking that cause us to sin.  But this is hard.  I really like many of the things that lead me into sin.  I enjoy watching tv.  But many of the tv shows that I watch are not helping me have a pure heart and mind, most of them are pushing me the other way.  So now that I realize this I can make sure I don't let these tv shows influence my behaviors or thoughts, but God couldn't possibly want me to stop watching tv.  That would be to harsh.  I need to relax sometimes.  The sinning is really not that bad.  This is what I say to myself to convince myself I an following God's will.
But then I think back to last weeks gospel.  

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life maimed
than with two hands to go into Gehenna,
into the unquenchable fire.

This is harsh.  We should be harsh when it comes to sin.  We do have to take drastic measures to avoid sin.  While Jesus is not telling us all to go cut off our hands, I do believe that he is instructing us that it would be better to do something this drastic then to continue to sin.  It would be worth it!  Anything would be worth it to get to spend eternal life with our Lords. 

This got me thinking about how I struggle to avoid sin everyday.  I know it will always be a struggle but are there things that I could do to avoid it.  Yes they may be drastic but they are definitely worth it. 

What are some ways that we could avoid sin?

(something to think long and hard about)

 

 Dear Lord, Help me to all that I can to avoid sin.  Help to show me what I need to do to avoid sin.

Quick takes #4

Just a few quick thoughts (or takes) from my studying and reading of and about the Lord.

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Jesus is a teacher.  He was a great teacher.
Maybe this is something for all the teachers beginning the new school year.  Jesus was a teacher.  We may not be teaching the same subject as Jesus or in the same setting but we are still teachers.  How can Jesus' teachings help us become better teachers?

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Matthew 16: 14
"Who do you say that I am?"
What would we say if Jesus asked us this question today?  Does the way we treat him accuratly reflect the answer that we would say?

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We come to know our creator through his creation.
I love how seeing the true beauty in nature points us to the true beauty of the Lord.  There is nothing wrong with admiring and becoming inspired by the beauty of nature.  The Lord made it so it must be beautiful.  On the other side that must means  that all of his creation must be beautiful.  This is another interesting point to reflect on.

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How can we impact culture for the Lord?
I always am hearing about how the culture of our times is impacting and influencing our life's and our decisions.  But we are part of the culture as well.  The culture is made up of all of us.  How can we influence the culture by our lives?

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For every new thing known about God is a new reason for loving Him.  -Frank Sheed

This is just one of the beautiful reasons to study scripture and Catholic writings. 

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After reading Thomas's word study of matrimony at Listening for the Shepherd, I came across my own interesting word meaning.
Amateur- from the French for one who loves.
An amateur is not someone who is unskilled but someone who is doing what they love.  This gives it a whole different meaning.

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Well since it is almost Saturday this seems to be all I have for today.  Have a restful holiday weekend.  Enjoy the last bits of summer.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!