As I was running today this thought came to me. But first, let me set you up with the scene.

It is a beautiful day. Probably about 70 degrees, absolutely gorgeous. I am running, no music and hating every step. I'm frustrated with school, overwhelmed with work, and stressed out with my personal life. I keep having to move to the other end of the edge of the sidewalk too, because so many people have been spring cleaning their yards and there are tons of branches on their curbs to be picked up. this got me thinking..
The branches are dead, and are being cut away to make new growth. It truly is a positive thing. That is what spring is all about. I realized that the spiritual turmoil that I'm in is because I'm not allowing God to prune me, to cut away at my branches. And it is hard to allow him to take control, even Adam didn't want to follow God's lead.
So for the next few days that's my new prayer:
Lord, help me allow you to cut the noise, the hurt, and what is keeping me dead out of my life. It will hurt Lord, and I know that. That is why I'm scared. Do your worst Lord, so I can be your best. Amen.

BR: Wis 1.6

"For Wisdom is a kindly spirit,
but will not free blasphemers from the guilt of their words;
because God is witness of their inmost feelings,
and a true observer of their hearts and a hearer of their tongues."

~Wisdom 1:6

Wisdom is a kindly spirit. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit is often referred to as Wisdom. So this beginning part is about the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind, but why? What do we know about the Holy Spirit? It is the third member of the Trinity, contains fullness of divinity, and even descends down on us during the Sacrament of Confirmation. But one of the most popular stories of the Holy Spirit is when the apostles were in the upper room and the Holy Spirit descended upon them. The story of Pentecost can sometimes be a bit intense. Imagine you are just sitting there and then you are overcome and speaking in tongues. But even in the intensity of the scene, we have to remember that Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, is kind. He is a comforter and gives courage. He is God as companion, following us through our hardest and most confusing times, giving us Wisdom and grace.

What to do

NEW VIDEO CAMERA FOR CHRISTMAS!
which means that my next project will be to bring this blog to life!
get excited to see my face! :)

Inspired by the questions that I always get during Christmas, here is a humble thought.




I think that I may go back and edit some old posts, so you can hear how they are supposed to sound. Especially the poetry ones and the ones with a little more feeling/poetic tone to them.

Let's face it, what I love most about this blog is reading it to people (the people who I know who read this know that, because I usually read posts to them about 1 minute after they are up.)

That is all then, Merry Christmas!

The sweater

A poem.

Yesterday I wore

the sweater that I semi-stole

from you the last time you were here.

You let me wear it

Since I was cold that morning,

With a smile and wink saying

“now I better get that back.”

With the full knowledge

That you wouldn’t.

Yesterday I wore

That sweater,

Because I needed your arms around me

But the closest thing I had was sleeves and

Sometimes three hundred miles

Can be remedied by a sweater

And a cell phone.

Then there are times when it cannot be.

And all I have are sleeves, and not arms.

And the sweater that once held you around me

Doesn’t keep me warm.

-Alexa Schuele

Be Midbar

I went to class with my mom today at the Major Seminary, and needless to say, it was awesome sitting in that class room. So many Holy guys just giving God a chance to work in their lives. And there is something interesting about hearing a lecture on scripture where the background theme is "how can I take this to a congregation and how can this help me in my Sunday preaching?"

Anyway, we were talking Numbers (like the book in the Bible, not math) and I (always paying attention) wrote a small reflection, enjoy!

--------------------------------

It is in the wilderness, the wasteland where God Provides.

The place where there is no protection, no food; the place overrun with the wild and with the untammed. There in that place there is only room for trust.

When our lives are full of turmoil, when chaos rules our every moment. When our future path is unmade and unwalked. When we can barely see the next step. We find ourselves in the wilderness of life, scared and unsure but needed to move forward, it is there that we need to trust and seek God.

We are supposed to call out to him, like the Israelites in the desert wandering, We must shout, "Lord I'm here and need provisions, Lord I need your light, I need your support, I trust you, but also need your presence."

In the wilderness and chaos of the live we lives - Calling out to God and trust in him are essential and through that we will find peace.

M18, p&f, love

We are creation made out of LOVE &
called to carry that love to ALL we meet.
If we are bringing the LOVE then GOD will also be present.

We were created with Gifts&Talents through which we experience and bring God to :::others:::. If, however, they become the ->center<- of our lives, we hinder our growth in GOD and in LOVE.

With God at the ->center<- of our Lives
EVERY MOMENT becomes and opportunity to grow Closer to Christ.
Let's find where our Christ centered life is leading.

Once discerned, don't let any
selfishness...pride...
other person...reservations...
or any type of FEAR

:::STOP YOU::: from following the CALL.

Because w.a.l.k.i.n.g. that p.a.t.h. is where you find happiness,
as you give more&more
of yourself
to GOD.

M18 ::: Surrender to LOVE ::: TAP the BACK

The Invitation - Oriah Mountain Dreamer

I went on a retreat called Guidance earlier in the year. On the retreat, one of the speakers used the poem entitled "The Invitation" by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. It is a beautiful Poem, and I hope to come in and edit this post with my reactions at some point, but until then, here is the poem:

The Invitation

It doesn’t interest me
what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon...
I want to know
if you have touched
the center of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.

I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

It is a good poem, and very deep. What ever readers I have - It's your turn to reflect - comment, I'd love to see what you think :)