James' Confirmation & First Communion & Mother's Day {Weekend}

This past weekend was definitely one of the busiest weekends we have had in a LONG time. I don't think our wedding weekend was nearly this jammed packed. Oh hey-on that note, my beloved Timothy and I have been married for 6 months today! Happy Anniversary my love!!

Our weekend started on Friday, when my very handsome son, James received two of his sacraments, his confirmation and first holy communion.
As Catholics, we are sealed with the holy spirit on our confirmation. We chose a saint whom we admire or have some special connection to, to pray for us and guide us in our life. James chose Saint George, who you may recognize by him fighting the dragon. I am pretty sure he chose this saint solely for the dragon component, after all he is in third grade. None the less, I firmly believe that God was guiding him in his choice, and it works for him.

After the mass, we went home and ate pizza. How else do you get six hungry and tired kids fed fast?


The next day, we had James' party to celebrate his sacraments.  We had amazing weather for May in sunny Phoenix Arizona. It was only 79 degree's and was absolutely beautiful. My parents were here along with James' Godmother and her husband. We celebrated with our family and close friends. Being the Italian mamma that I am, I made sure we had enough food to feed an army (which, really our family is a small army) and at the request of the man of the hour I made over 100 meatballs! My husband, keeping up with his mad cooking skills made about 10 pounds of pork butt. A-MAZ-ING.

After we filled our bellies with all this good food, we headed up to Scottsdale to the Butterfly Wonderland, which I had never been, and we soon found out that our darling Zoe is the butterfly whisperer! She had about 3 on her at once, which kind of freaked her out. These butterflies are beautiful, but I have to admit are kind of freaky, and I wasn't too comfortable when one landed on me either.

We then went to dinner with my parents and finally called it a night. We were all so tired, that we passed out pretty quickly.

The next day was a little less busy. We started the day by going to mass, which was really nice to go to mass with my mom. It had been 15 years since I had been with my mom on mothers day. Crazy, huh?

We were able to take a three generation picture, which had not been done since Zoe was 2 or 3.

We then met up with my step dad and had a late lunch at the most amazing place, Fogo de Chao. They basically bring you all of these delicious meats and cut them right there for you.  Defiantly not a place for vegetarians.

After we ate our fill, we took our food coma selves home to rest.

It was definitely a blessed weekend, and I am so happy we were able to spend it with our family!

The Holy Family {The Feast of The Holy Family}

In the Catholic church, the Feast of the Holy Family is relatively new, being added to the church calendar in 1921.  It was added to counteract the breakdown of what was happening to the family at the time, and still, nearly 100 years later.

That being said, it was not until last year that I really paid attention to the day. I am sure I had heard about it before, maybe in passing.  Last year, however, on the feast day (which was Dec 29-as it changes to be the first weekend after Christmas) was when my beloved husband proposed to me.  He says he did that on purpose, perhaps to ask for the extra intersession of the Holy Family to bring together ours. 

Family is complicated. No two families are alike. Some are big, some are small. Some have one parent, some have two. Some have step parents, some have grandparents being parents again.  Regardless of the make up of the family, they are still made by God.

In our family, we are always in a constant 'battle'. We are a blended family, and when children return from the other parents home,  we have to do our best to remain calm, and remember that they are living in a different world when they are not at home.  This is challenging, as we never want to speak poorly of the other parent, even though in our heads we want to just scream. Yet, it is not the children's fault and that is what I try to keep in mind when, for example they came home after their Christmas with their dad. All the expensive new toys they got, and I knew what was still wrapped under our humble tree, it is hard to hold back what I want to say. Instead, I pray silently in my head that the children learn to know Christ and His humble life.

They (the children) do take me by surprise though. On Christmas morning, they opened their few gifts that we and family got for them, and the few from Santa (yes we believe in Santa more on that another time), and they were over joyed and thankful. So maybe they do get the meaning after all. Maybe the time we spent focusing on our family, watching holiday movies together, playing family games, having dinner every night together and going to church as a family all pulled together.

Last night during the homily, our deacon spoke about families, and the challenges that families face in today's society to stay together.  Financial hardships, resisting the urge to "keep up" with everyone else. To take from one of my favorite bible verses, Philippians 4:12-13; "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
I know that our family, this verse is one we sometimes struggle with. It is hard to look at the situation, and say "I know we are going to be ok because God will not abandon us".
When we look at today's readings, we see that God keeps His promises to those who are faithful. During the homily when the deacon said "sometimes we wonder if God has abandoned us when we have been faithful" my husband let out a quiet sigh. I was thinking the same thing...ok God, what more do I need to do? Patience is not my highest virtue. It is easy for me to say "ok this is a test by God (God has been testing us for a long time, come on now, lets pass!) we need to figure out the lesson". I think the lesson is to rely more on God than on anything or anyone else.
It is discouraging when we think we are finally getting ahead, we are brought back down to be reminded that it is not that time, just yet. God isn't finished with this stage of our life.

So, maybe it was with God's intention that my husband proposed on the Feast of the Holy Family. That this family will follow the guideline of the most Holy family in our life. To stay faithful, and work for the Lord.

P.U.S.H

Pray Until Something Happens.But-know when it does!
I heard this story a while ago, and it always makes me laugh;

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" 

 So often, we are like the drowning man.  We are in a perilous situation, we pray for help, and it arrives, but now how we think it will, so we ignore it and let it pass.

I have been out to sea for a few years now, my ship is almost destroyed, and I am clinging on for dear life...
There are times when I wonder if God is punishing me or testing me. Maybe just trying to teach me a lesson.  I am not sure what that is just yet, but I am praying more and more for ....something.
Not too long ago, I had a really good job. Granted I hated my boss, and the job was beyond boring.  Yet, I did my best (although in hindsight I could have done more), and after four and half years of working for the company, I was let go.  I spent two months unemployed, living off of savings. Then I took a job, mostly because I needed a job, not because it was what I wanted.  After three months of things just not going they way I had expected, I left (there is more to that story, but not now).
The day I left my job, I went to a career fair and the next day was hired on to a law firm. I am supposed to start Monday. I would be lying if I said I am having a lot of second thoughts about it. It is not a job I necessarily want, although I am trying to figure out if it is this dang depression that is holding me back or if I really shouldn't even start.
Is it my ideal job? No. Is it a job? Yes. Is it going to pay me more than unemployment? Yes.  Will it be worth it? I don't know.

Last year in a bible study I was in, we talked about how work is a blessing.  I remember thinking then how thankful I was to have a job.  My ex husband has not worked in over three years. I don't know how he really feels about it, but I do know that if you allow yourself to get comfortable unemployed, you are more likely to stay that way.  Is that what is happening to me? Did I get comfortable? Yes it was nice to be with my kids all day over summer vacation. Even this past week with them on fall break has been fun.  But the reality is; I need a job. My boat is sinking, remember? And I cannot control everything, but I can control a few things, one being work.
I think of Proverbs 14:23 (this is the NIV translation, because it is easier to read) "All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty".  All hard work brings profit.  To me, money is not important. Sadly though it is a necessary evil, but we need it to survive.

So, what do you do when you aren't enjoying your job?  That is what I think is killing me, because it is not what I want to do.  In Ecclesiastes 3:22 it is said  "So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them" , and John 6:27 says "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval". Shouldn't I wait to find a job that will bring me joy and serve God? But what do I do in the meantime? 1 Corinthians 4:12 tells us "We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it"...in lamer terms, it is still a blessing to work. 

When I think about the interview I had (and when I was at the career fair), clearly they saw something in me. The man who hired me told me at the interview that he wanted to hire me the day before, but I needed to do a formal interview. Obviously, I have what it takes. I just can't psych myself out about it.  I need to remember that God is on my side, and He brought me to this door...now I need to open it and step through it with confidence.it is a blessing to work.

  It may not be the door I wanted open right now, but I do not know what God has planned for me for later on, and this may just be a place of in between while I finish my degrees.  

Back to my sinking ship and God sending help.  I am in a position where I need to move probably by the end of this month (seriously, when it rains, it POURS).  I have been put in contact with a lady who is renting out a house in a town nearby.  It again, is not ideally close to where I am now (which is near my kids schools), but it is a house...not an apartment. Again, I think this is God sending me help, I just need to stop being scared and take the blessing. The landlord is working so much with me, it is not really that far from where I live now, and it is a good area.  My hesitation is my own, and I think, I should move first and then start working, but then I think "how am I going to pay for this?" and again, God is working, not me. I just need to take the blessing...
Take the blessing.
With a gracious and humble heart-take the blessing. 

For Jesus walked out to them in the storm-and that is another thing to remember. Jesus did not STOP the storm. He walked out to them in the storm. 

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-101-Drowning+Man.html#sthash.FdK1iCR3.dpuf

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-101-Drowning+Man.html#sthash.FdK1iCR3.dpuf

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-101-Drowning+Man.html#sthash.FdK1iCR3.dpuf

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-101-Drowning+Man.html#sthash.FdK1iCR3.dpuf

While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life. Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help.

"No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."

The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued. As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by. Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline. "I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again.

After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died. Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly.

"Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"

"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" - See more at: http://www.spiritual-short-stories.com/spiritual-short-story-101-Drowning+Man.html#sthash.FdK1iCR3.dpuf