Try, Try Again

I just wrote a blog and for no apparent reason it disappeared. You cannot imagine the restraint I am using in not slamming down the top of my laptop. However, I did that once on a used laptop I'd had that had been giving me lots of trouble. Well, after that slam it didn't give me anymore trouble; I killed it! And forever were my words lost in the process. So I've learned a lesson of sorts with that experience. Patience is a virtue, so I've heard.

Sometimes I think patience is only meant to go so far though. Patience to the extreme can be a bad thing. Patience has its opposite in change, and most times change is very hard but very necessary for one's life. Status quo never really has a very good connotation. It implies stagnation. Are you experiencing stagnation in your life right now? Do you wish to be doing something you have not yet found the time or money or inclination to do? Do you just need a shot of courage? Too bad we can't walk down the Yellow Brick Road to Oz to get that shot of courage. Do you feel like the Cowardly Lion at times in your life?

What can you do about your circumstance today to make it better? Can you surf the Web to find answers or ideas? Can you call a trusted friend to ask her opinion? Do you have a quiet place in your house where you can go to ask God for some much needed guidance? Today, instead of patience, I wish you the courage to do just one small, yet important, thing. Steal the Nike motto and just do it. Remember if at first you don't succeed...
~Maureen :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The title says it all: I wish you happiness this Valentine's Day. And happiness does not necessarily come tied around a dozen yellow roses. Or hidden in a box of overpriced candy. Or, or, or...

Yesterday I sat down to write a few valentines. My heart was not in it. Not in it at all. I actually put them aside. But then I thought, "This person will be really happy to receive this tomorrow and how much actual effort does it take?" So I picked up my pen and wrote and licked and stamped and sent. (Similar to took, blest, broke and gave, don't you think?) And I'm glad I did. I gave something of myself even though I didn't feel like it. Do you think Jesus WANTED to die for our sins? Do you think He woke up each morning knowing exactly what was ahead of Him jumping for joy at the prospect of starting His day? No. But He did it. He did it for us.

Just like everything else in life, it's not what you get or how YOU feel on this Valentine's Day or any given day; it's what you give. So give, just give - spread some joy today. A little bit of valentine joy goes a long way. Go make your heart happy by making someone else's happy. Happy Heart Day!

~Maureen :)

Will You Walk the Walk?

It's bitter cold in these parts right now. Quite unlike the climate in Jesus' whereabouts way back when. Nowadays people move at a frantic pace; back then more leisurely, I think. But 2000 years ago we did not have antibiotics or washing machines - two wonderful creations. I do not wish to live in Jesus' time. At least I don't think I do.

I always like to think that I would never be the one to yell, "Crucify Him." I refuse to do so during the Passion on Palm Sunday. I would hope I'd be a Mary Magdalene, but one never knows, does one? Would I really have the guts to buck the system and drop everything to follow Jesus if He asked me?

I'll let you in on an incident that happened at my house two weeks ago after Mass: For various reasons people were all in VERY bad moods after Mass. (Except me, of course.) So we head home, downward spiraling as we near our home sweet home. We arrive. The meanness and stupidity continue until I have had enough, and I scream in the middle of my dining room so all are sure to hear, "So where's the peace of Christ in this house?" (Remember, I am screaming these words. Crazy, huh?) I continue, "If Jesus came right now and asked me to go with Him I'd leave children, husband, nets, everything - and go."

But would I? Would I really?

I think I made my point. It took its toll on me though. I think being a disciple of Christ is one of the hardest things to do well. Note I said "well." Anyone can, as they say, talk the talk, but will you walk the walk? No matter what?

When you think of me think of me as a nearly empty vessel. God has systematically been presenting me with challenges which have gotten progressively harder. A few days ago I knew there was only one way to go, and that was up.

And so I asked God to begin filling me up with only the things He wants in me. Thankfully and finally, He has begun doing just that. Every one of my days is like a mini-play. There are only two central characters: God and me. Everyone else and everything else are secondary. They play bit parts in this life of Ours.

The Bible tells us Jesus was not accepted in His own hometown; sometimes I feel the same way. I think many here think I've jumped off the deepend into the Jesus pool. To me I'm just better for it, but they wonder, I'm sure. I can't worry about what they think though. Sometimes I simply brush their dust from my figurative sandals and go on.

So would I leave all to follow Jesus if I lived in His time? I don't know, but I know I'm trying in my time. Send a little prayer my way, will you, please? I'll return the kindness.
~Maureen :)

God's Will Is Always Goodwill

Hey, I'm back. You must be too if you're reading this. Were you able to carve out 15 minutes for you and God today? Did He speak to you? Did you recognize Him in the kind word of a friend or were you God to another with your kind word? Either way you're on the right track.

That's all most of us can do, I think - start small. One friend to one friend. Ladies, do you remember that Herbal Essences Shampoo commercial many years ago: "She tells two friends, then they tell two friends...?" Pretty soon the TV screen was filled with tons of little faces, all begun from one friend who had some good news to tell.

Well, I think that this Good News is certainly more important than what shampoo you use. So tell two friends. You need not spout Bible verse. Simply smile at them. Ask them how their day is going. TV commercials must be my theme today because I am reminded of the current ad from Liberty Mutual. I love this ad! It's the one where one person helps another, a third person witnesses the good deed and continues the chain of good will. I love everything about that commercial: the conveyed thoughts of helping, the music, all of it.

So when you ask yourself tomorrow morning what God's will is for you, remember that God's will is always goodwill. There is no bad will from God. So, go tell two friends...

~Maureen :)

Crunchy Ashes

Did you feel the crunchy ashes glide across and down your forehead today? Were you a visible reminder to all you met that we have begun a very special time of reflection for the next 40-something days? Are you giving up things this Lent or are you giving more? Or a combination of both? Enough questions.

When I look at the many and varied people in my life I can be in their presence for a very short time before knowing for whom they are living at any particular moment - whether it be living to do God's will or their own will.

I look at my own children. There is a life I want for each of them. I want them to learn the things I have been learning these past few years of daily Mass and attention to God's will in my life. But I can't force it on them. They must choose it. They are all old enough. I am greatly disappointed that none of them opted to go to Mass today to receive ashes. Why should it be an option? But it is. Everything in our lives is an option; it's called free will. Yet another instance of God's genius.

Ash Wednesday is so much more than being smeared with the burnt palms. It's a solid beginning to a time of reflection. In today's non-stop pace I wish for my boys and for all of you readers to take the time to slow down. If one doesn't avidly seek a slowdown it will never come. Unless perhaps God decides to intervene to seriously slow you down and in my experience that's usually a little scary - until you fully realize God's purpose.

So what is God's purpose for your life right now? Do you have a pretty good handle on it or are you clueless? Everybody must start somewhere, so clueless is OK - for now, if that's where you truly are.

Maybe you do not have the luxury of attending daily Mass; I consider it a great gift from God and I hope I must never live without it. Mass centers me. That's the key to a worthwhile day which, before you know it, turns into a wonderful life, George Bailey!

Too many people don't have a clue as to what God wants to do with their lives. Many simply do not care. They don't ask Him. Find that quiet time. Steal it if you must, but find 15 minutes a day if that's all you can muster.

Ask God what He wants you to do and look and listen all day long for His answers. You will be amazed at the ways in which He replies, and how frequently. It's scary and freaky and fun and awesome all at the same time. Do it and you'll begin a frienship for life - the Friendship that is life.

Happy Ash Wednesday! Find that time tomorrow. Come back. I'll be here. I promise.

~Maureen :)