Start of new semester brings us...

...some catch-up to do.  We seem to be behind in math and science.  This week is the week to start buckling down and catching up in those areas.

We had a great Advent/ Christmas/ New Year.  We miss those who now live with the Lord and those who live here on earth but are too far from us to visit.

Forgiving ourselves

"If God has forgiven you your past, you have no right to continue clinging to it."  -Alex Rebello

love these demotivation posters at http://www.despair.com/  

With firm resolve I promise to...

+J.M.J+

1. Stop lying. Stop telling lies to everyone – no matter how irrelevant some lies seem. Stop lying to myself especially. Go to confession ASAP and then regularly (monthly) seek reconciliation. Attend Mass as often as possible.


2. Live what I believe and resolve to know God in the way I believe I am to know Him. Pray on my knees every day – a Rosary and Divine Mercy and some personal “chat” with Jesus. "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you, and for all who do not have recourse to you."

3. Always be prepared to be a refuge for family and neighbors. Accept that my family and I have not done enough for God, family, neighbor, country, and world – IN THAT ORDER.

4. Accept the hard times to come. We all will have to pay for what has been done and will have to do with less. Loss of material things can be a good thing. Always make sure to tithe – God cannot be outdone in charity with those who with free will practice charity in His Holy Name.

5. Count my blessings and always find a blessing in what may first appear to be a curse…

LAUS DEO!

Mid-November Daybook

November Daybook


Outside my window – the leaves are off the trees, the trampoline is full of children who have decided to sumo-wrestle, apparently. They have even stuffed their jackets with pillows to make themselves “fatter.”

I am listening to – the sounds of the wind dancing around the trunks and bare branches of the trees; a little girl’s giggles

I am wearing – whatever will keep me warm – sweats, sweater, socks, slippers

I am thankful for – everything God has blessed me with! Especially the fact that my voice is back! It is not yet 100%, but it is back after a 5-day hiatus…

I am thinking about – food storage, ‘brown envelope alerts’ (inside joke with a long-distance friend), algebra

I am reading – The Hunger Games (trilogy) – by Suzanne Collins and Sometimes a Light Surprises – by Jamie Langston Turner

From the kitchen – This season’s hosehold job is working on more cooking from scratch and food storage. I just printed out a couple of good basic recipes for tortillas – both wheat and corn.

In the learning house – I have been working a lot with Fratello Maggiore with algebraic concepts. We seem to have to concentrate a lot on distribution and order of operations. (Thank God he is home and not struggling in a classroom.) Fratello Piccolo seems to readily grasp the concepts and is doing pre-algebra in 6th grade.

Living the Liturgical Year – We are gearing up for the start of Advent. I look forward to decorating the house in purple next weekend. I also cannot wait to listen to new LCM CD’s of various topics

We are making – a household binder of homesteading/survival – it is a slow process and it looks as if it will fill up fast. This binder will include lists of supplies for a self-sustaining homestead, etc.

A few plans for the rest of the week – we are so excited to visit a friend of ours tomorrow – we will all learn together how to slaughter lamb and will end up with ½ a lamb for meals!

One of my favorite things – my hands wrapped around a mug of hot cocoa or coffee

My opinions of the news – YIKES! Prepare for the worst, but always hope and pray for the best – as it is His Holy Will.

LAUS DEO!

Beware of smilin' lions

"When I was studying Arabic literature, I came across these words - ‘If you see the lion's canines exposed, don't think that the lion is smiling!’ We see it even in the dogs when they show their teeth. That is not the sign of friendship. You might say “Oh, but the dog is smiling!” He has something to tell us and today in our world you have many people who smile or who pretend to smile, pretend to be peacemakers, just to be lawful teachers, and yet we find so many writings which have misled the Christians, the members of the Church. There are so many justifications today in the modern world to dilute the teachings of Christ and of His Church. And this is the biggest danger that we face today: we try to justify unjust actions, to justify our sins, to justify our immoral behavior. Particularly to justify the suffering we inflict on the innocent."

~Bishop Macram Gassis - Diocese of El Obid, Sudan - Spoken at the EWTN homily on 11/19/2010

Please pray for our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world!

So we have our patron saints for 2011!

This year I was able to get Angela M. at  Where Angels Blog to pray for our saints for 2011 liturgical year.

My patron saint is St. Peter!


Babbo bear – Andrew

Fratello Maggiore – Thomas Aquinas

Fratello Piccolo  – John Neuman

Sorella Half-Pint  – Veronica Guiliani
 
Thank you Angela!