Taking Time Out To Appreciate Beauty

Taking the easy way out today...too much going on. I had a blog post in mind but neither the time nor energy to write it...feeling kinda funky hormonally today...either that or it's allergies. Got this in an email from a faith sharing friend, and it's a message we all could benefit from...

In Washington, DC, at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

About 4 minutes later: The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

At 6 minutes: A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

At 10 minutes: A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception – forced their children to move on quickly.

At 45 minutes: The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour: He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made ...

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Enjoy life now....you never know when things will change.

I Am Thankful For...

A friend's granddaughter's preschool class shares what they are thankful for this year...

"I am thankful for..."

"...family and hot dogs." -Nicholas
"...my sister Gracie and candy." - Tucker
"...my family" - Wesley
"...friends." - Jed
"...family and Thanksgiving." - Isaac
"...food." -Veronica
"...butterflies, animals and family." -Lilliana
"...my mom, my dad, my sister, my brother, and food." - Daniel
"...horses and flowers." -Adrianna
"...ice cream, mommy, daddy, and my doggie." - Trevor
"...playing outside." -Michael
"...fruit." - Rory
"...for my family." - Liam

Still limping along with the crud, here, but thankful to be getting better :).

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Taking Time Out To Say Thank You

If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. ~Eckhardt von Hochheim, German theologian, philosopher, and mystic

I’ve often mentioned in this blog the many blessings in my life, and how thankful I am to be so abundantly blessed. So today I want to share with you a little thing I do to remind me to say thank you throughout the day. It’s really quite simple. If you walk into my house, you’ll see Thank You notes of all kinds and colors discreetly propped up in different places. If you look closely you’ll see that they’re not all notes written to me by others. Some of them are, to be sure, but others are blank. The ones sent to me remind me of people I have helped in one way or another. The blank ones I use to remind myself to say Thank You to God for all His help, and the many blessings I have been given.

So if you’re looking for a way to increase your prayer life, here’s something you can try. Just get yourself a box of Thank You notes, and prop or tape them up in the places where you’re most likely to see them. In your house it might be your bathroom mirror, your bedroom nightstand, or even on the ceiling above where you nap or sleep, so you see it when you open your eyes :).

Your entertainment center might be a nice place to put one, or somewhere over the kitchen sink. Maybe even your laundry room, or somewhere you can see it when you fold clothes. You can put one near your computer, both at home and/or at work, or tape it to the top of your laptop. If you don’t work with a computer, I’m sure you can find a place to put one in your workspace, wherever it is. If you’re shy about people seeing it, a simple post it note with the letters TY will do. You’ll know what it means, and chances are no one else will even notice it there.

In your car, there’s the visor or dashboard, or even the trunk. Maybe you can find a place for one in your purse, or gym bag. If you have an exercise bike or treadmill, that’s a great place to put one.

Be creative. I’m sure you can come up with something special. And when you see them, just take a moment to stop, smile, and say Thank You.

Have You Said Thank You Yet?

Not what we give, but what we share, for the Gift without the Giver is bare.
~James Russell Lowell, author

Very, very tired tonight. Went a-visiting to beat the storm today :). But before it got too late, I wanted to post a short message about Christmas. Father’s homily on Christmas Day was about the gift of Jesus and while I’ve thought about this in passing in previous years, this year it really struck home.

The reason for the season (as so many church billboards remind us this time of year) is Jesus. It’s His birthday we celebrate by giving each other gifts. But what gifts do we give to Jesus? Imagine a birthday party where the guest of honor was neglected or even ignored, while all the guests spent weeks and weeks shopping for gifts for each other. Seems a bit odd, doesn’t it?

Take that one step further and imagine a party where all the guests (except the guest of honor) received a gift from the host, and nobody stopped to say thank you.

Jesus was God’s gift to us, and through Him, the gift of everlasting life. I hope during this Christmas season (because now it truly is the Christmas season, all twelve days of it :)) we all take time out to think about what that means to us, and, at the very least, say thank you.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night :). Stay safe and warm if snow is headed your way, or already there.

The Colors of Thanksgiving

We praise you, O Lord, for all your works are wonderful.
We praise you, O Lord, forever is your love.

The colors of Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving I went to church, to give thanks for the many blessings in my life, and was treated to a wonderful program that tied in the colors of our life to the liturgy. Afterward, I asked Sister Mary Rose if she'd written it, and I could have a copy to share here.

To explain, she had someone process down the aisle with an object representing each of the following colors, colors that matched the programs we were handed as we entered the worship space. Those objects were:

A Green Plant
A Yellow Basket
An Orange Pumpkin
Red Apples
A Brown Floral Arrangement
A Blue Votive Candle
White Mums
Purple Grapes

What follows are the words that accompanied these symbolic objects. I hope you'll take the time to reflect on them, and will get as much out of them as I did.
Today’s Liturgy is both a HOLIDAY and a HOLY DAY. For people throughout our land,
today traditionally marks the day on which we, as a nation, pause to give thanks for the bounty of the earth.

Those of us who have gathered in THIS sacred place...at this moment in time...are also gathered to give thanks for the gifts that come to us from the goodness of God.

In the spring, GREEN symbolizes breaking from the shackles of winter. At this time of year, it represents bounty...and hope...and the promise of victory of life over death.

YELLOW conveys energy and warmth...and is the symbol of light and purity. It speaks of youth...and happiness...and harvest...and hospitality.

Symbolic of endurance and strength, ORANGE is the color of fire and flame...and represents the red of passion, tempered by the yellow of wisdom.

Signifying action...charity...and spiritual awakening, RED testifies to the joy of life and love.

BROWN represents the earth and the humility of those who work the land. It reminds us that God is connected to the common things in life...and so are we.

Inspiring us with insight and freedom, BLUE symbolizes honesty and integrity and reliability. We have also come to associate this color with loyalty and enduring commitment.

WHITE calls to mind all that is pure, and innocent...and for this reason, it is often associated with the newness of life.

PURPLE brings to mind valor and bravery. Used by royalty, nobility and the church, PURPLE enhances many celebrations of rich ceremony and deep penitence.

And then, after Mass, these blessings were bestowed.

Upon you, whose program covers are YELLOW and ORANGE: I ask God to bless you with the grace you need to bring light to a darkened part of God’s world, filling it with understanding, and renewing it with an energy that will bring others to Jesus, the true Light.

Upon you, whose program covers are GREEN and BROWN: I ask God to give you the gifts that will nurture life and hope in others. May you stay rooted in the values of the Gospel and be always grateful for the common and the ordinary things of life.

Upon you, whose program covers are RED and BLUE: I ask God to make you strong in your commitment to live in imitation of Christ. May your love extend to those most in need of your compassion and care.

Upon you, whose program covers are WHITE and PURPLE: I ask God to bless you with new life as you face today...and every day...as God’s chosen people. May you rejoice in the blessings God has shown you, and become instruments of goodness and peace.

My cover was blue, and I extend my love and blessings to you, as we progress through Advent and into the busiest and one of the most holiest times of the year, Christmas.

In Gratitude for Friendship

"The friendship that can cease has never been real." - Saint Jerome

Okay, as promised, part two of my eight day sojourn south. I left my friends and their new black lab puppy and headed around the beltway to Springfield, where I met up with more friends from childhood. Can you say Chicago/Beach Boys concert? We were there, whatever summer that was—1974, I think it was, maybe 1975. Anyway, the three of us went out to dinner at their favorite restaurant, a wonderfully trendy place where I had the tastiest filet mignon and real mashed potatoes made from red-skinned potatoes.

I’m the kind of girl who would rather have a second helping of mashed potatoes than dessert, so I was in hog heaven. Those potatoes were my dessert! Afterward, we went back to their house, where they invited me to try out their new wireless internet thingy---it wasn’t a computer, but you could check your email and surf the internet on it--so check my email I did, for the first time in four days.

Amazing how quickly it piles up—and how quickly you can forget all about it—which is what I did at the conference. Totally. Didn’t give the internet a second thought. I was on vacation. The lobby of my floor, however, was a mysterious pocket of free wireless in a hotel that charged $12.95 a day for internet use, and $3.95 for 15 minutes of use down in the lobby, ka-ching ka-ching, so every time I stepped off the elevator, there were people left and right hunched over as many laptops as in a computer showroom. Over the course of four days, I watched our floor’s secret grow and grow. Nearly 2000 writers and free internet?...you do the math.

My friend’s husband went to bed and she and I sat up late into the night, talking books and trips. She’s a librarian and had attended the RWA booksellers and librarians luncheon the day before the conference, so we’d missed each other at the hotel. The national conference is known for passing out free books—each publisher hosts an autographing of their authors and provides the books for it—but the booksellers luncheon is a true bonanza. My friend came home with four shopping bags full of books.

Fortunately, she can donate the booty where she works, so even more readers will be able to enjoy them. Me, I managed to keep my take down to only a dozen books I don’t have time to read, knowing I’d just have to carry them back on the subway. But if you plan to attend a RWA conference, I’d suggest bringing a second carry-on size suitcase (empty) just to take home the free books. Every time we sat down to a meal there were free books on our seats. We also got free books in our free extra-sturdy tote bags provided by Harlequin, celebrating its 60th year in business.

Anyway, my friend and I talked about going to the RWA conference in Nashville together next year (still up in the air), and made tentative plans to take a trip to Ireland together in about eighteen months or so. Just enough time to save up for it and go. She’s on her way to London in the fall, but I’ve already been to Florida and DC this year, so it’s time to step back and save my pennies for a while.

The next morning we had breakfast, I checked my email again, and headed off toward the Chesapeake Bay for my next stop, the home of another childhood friend, the sister of my friend in Rockville (their brother was my 6th grade boyfriend.). She lives in a delightful beach community. Before I was even out of the car, the neighbor across the street was over offering to help if I needed anything. I just handed the phone out to him so he could talk to my friend directly, whom I had called to let her know I’d arrived.

My friend recently lost her husband, so I’m glad she lives in a community where they look out for each other. I spent the afternoon reading and resting and catching up on my laundry, an unexpected bonus, since I was now out of my conference clothes and into my casual wear. That night we went out to dinner at a steak and seafood restaurant on a pier at a marina. We sat on a picnic bench outside, ate our broiled scallops and fried oysters in the balmy breeze, and watched the lights come on in the boats on the water and the array of stately homes that lined the waterfront.

We also had a beer, my second of the year. For that story, read my blog post from the Florida cruise. After I ordered mine she looked at me knowingly and asked, “When’s the last time you had a beer?” I smiled proudly… “January.”

I’m such a wild woman, I know. We sat there, two friends of 40 years, sipped our beers, and talked about life and love and loss, until it was time to go. Then we went home and made peach tea with fresh mint and stayed up late talking some more, while she showed me the bead jewelry she makes and sells at craft fairs. She asked me to pick something out and I went to bed with six bracelets and a necklace, undecided. The next day I chose one bracelet and bought two more.

The following day, another friend from our childhood arrived. (I told you there were three of them, remember?) I’d called her the day before and asked if we could get together for lunch. Said I’d be happy to meet her half way or even drive all the way down to the county where we grew up and she still lives. But no, she wanted to come up and see everybody, so she all but dropped everything and came right up—on crutches, no less. She fell off a ladder cleaning windows and has been on crutches for two months.

We spent the afternoon catching up—I hadn’t seen her in three years, since my high school reunion—until my hostess got home from work. Then the Rockville contingent arrived (including the new puppy and its sleep-deprived family) and we all went back to the same steak and seafood restaurant on the water for dinner. Theirs was not the only dog present on the pier as we ate and took pictures and teased and reminisced. The Rockville group left right after dinner, no doubt to go home and catch some Zzzz’s. A sound plan, as long as the puppy didn’t sleep all the way home :).

Back to my friend’s house, where the three remaining women stayed up too late again, once again drinking tea and talking about love and loss—and faith. How faith gets you through. Both of my friends are overnight widows. One minute they had husbands and the next---they did not. One killed by a drunk driver, another lost to a heart attack. Then there’s me, divorced after 16 years of marriage. As one of them asked, “Who would have thought that three out of four of us would end up single in our fifties?”

You never know. And that is why friendships like ours are so important. So that you have someone in your life who will tack a couple of days onto a trip and come and have a beer with you at a picnic table on a pier. Or one who will drop everything and borrow a car (hers was in the shop) and drive a couple of hours (while on crutches!) to see you.

Here’s to 40 years of friendship, ladies, through good times and bad. I love you.

It's All About Gratitude

I got this from an email someone sent me this week, but unfortunately all the pretty pictures didn't copy over here to the blogger.

No matter, the message is still as true. Happy Sunday!

Attitude
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'I think I'll braid my hair today.'

So she did and she had a wonderful day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

'H-M-M,' she said, 'I think I'll part my hair down the middle today.'

So she did and she had a grand day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed she had only one hair on her head.

'Well,' she said, 'Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail. '

So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

'YAY!' she exclaimed. 'I don't have to fix my hair today!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,
Love generously,
Care deeply,
Speak kindly,
and pray continually.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

Of Mice and Toyotas

The car saga continues, and has completely usurped my inspirational piece on the Pennwriters conference, which I still intend to post eventually.

So...After walking home from the repair shop a second time, I realized I’d left my cell phone in my car, which was last seen being towed to the repair shop, and since the repair shop usually calls me on my cell phone to let me know the car is ready…

I thought I should go and retrieve my phone. As it turned out, that is exactly what happened—the repair shop had called the cell phone in my car to let me know I could come and get the car—and I didn’t get the message.

So when I stopped by the following day to pick up my cell phone, the mechanic said, “I’m sorry, but we’ve taken it as far as we can, and we can’t find the problem. It appears to be in your computer, and we aren’t equipped to do computer work here.”

He said he’d spent six hours the day before trying to trace the problem and was unable to do so. He told me he would refund my $263 since the problem had not been corrected, and recommended that I take the car to the Toyota dealership, as it appeared the car’s own computer was sending the car signals to misfire and stop without warning.

I called the dealership for an appointment and was able to get in right away. My ex then kindly followed me across town, as I stalled out three times and nearly a fourth, but the good news was now the computer had new information to provide to the dealership, since I had inadvertently wiped out the malfunction information by replacing the battery.

The car was doing the exact same thing it had the week before. It also cooperated by doing it for the people at the dealership when they moved the car into the service bay.

The dealership called four hours later to say that the computer had to be replaced, but it was covered under an extended warranty. A search on the internet comes up with the information that Toyota knows these ECM’s (computers) are defective, but refuses to recall them, instead accepting them on this “extended warranty” basis when they come in for repair. Technical Service Bulletin in reference to 2005-2007 Toyota Corolla & Matrix ECMs, TSB EG042-07, was issued September 20th 2007. They say not enough people have reported problems to warrant a recall.

Could it be possible those people aren’t around any more to report the problem? Think about it—what might have happened had I been moving down the highway at 60 mph (as has happened to many people already) and my car shut off without warning? I was fortunate enough to be in a residential neighborhood and the worst thing that happened to me was I was in my PJs at the time.

So that was the good news, sort of. But then came the bad news. The dealership lady tells me the car has “other issues.” She said it appears that “rodents may have chewed on your engine wire harness assembly and caused the short which shorted out the computer.”** And while she has been gracious enough to “squeak me in” under this extended warranty, if I do not get the wire harness assembly repaired, and the computer goes bad again, it won’t be covered under warranty and I will have to pay for a new computer, which runs at least $1000. (her price quote, not mine)

However, for only $355, I can forestall this potential problem.

I said, “Thank you, but I don’t want you to do any more work right now. I will take your information back to my mechanics and if they agree with you I will be back.” Because I know my mechanics looked that car over and over trying to find the problem, and it was deemed mechanically sound.

“Please, ma’am,” the woman says, “You don’t want anybody but certified Toyota technicians working on your car. If anyone else works on that harness, the warranty will be invalidated.”

“I understand that,” I said. “But I have been going to my guys for twenty years. I just want to consult with them first. I have my annual inspection scheduled for Wednesday. I’ll ask them to look at it and I’ll get back to you if they agree with your assessment.”

“I’m just trying to save you some money down the road,” she insisted, then invoked the fear factor. Something along the lines of God forbid it should happen again and you didn’t get it taken care of here and now.

To which I said, “I appreciate that, but I don’t think the car is going to give out in another week (at least I would hope it wouldn’t, considering they just put a new computer in it), and I need to check with my guys. They’re the ones who sent me to you in the first place, so if they think I should come back, they will have no trouble telling me so.”

“Well.” A disgruntled pause. “Then you’ll have to pay the diagnostic fee of $69.90.”

“I understand that.” Unlike my regular guy, who spent six hours looking for the problem the day before, and didn’t charge me a penny for it, from the dealership I expected no less. “I’ll be by to pick up the car on Monday.”

I then hopped on the internet to see what an engine wire harness assembly is, because it sounded kind of scary the way she was talking. Turns out it’s the hose and cable system that connects everything in the engine. See picture above.

To replace it, one place listed a price of 558.35. Another listed a price of 645.00. Or, the genuine Toyota model for $1156,58.

Since it’s all connected, I’m not sure how one would “repair” it, short of duct tape. Something I will definitely have to ask my mechanics.

When I find out, I will let you know. In the meantime, if you know anybody who owns a 2005-2007 Toyota Corolla, please let them know of this potential ECM computer problem in their cars, and that their car could suddenly shut off without warning.

Thank you and God Bless.

**I do live in the country, but I have three cats. I seriously doubt they are going to let any rodents close enough to my car to feast on the wiring, and I doubt my mechanic would have let that pass unremarked upon, but we will see...

Update, February 2014 (almost five years later)....My car runs just fine, with no problems at all.

A Day for Giving Thanks

I have been ruminating all morning on what to say about Thanksgiving. It’s now after noon and I still don’t know where to start, because I have so much to be thankful for…

So I’ll just start at the beginning and see how far I get.

Last week I went to Mass (I don’t always go, so I was relieved to hear in the homily, that it’s not going to church that gets you into heaven, but how you live your life the whole week long) and the gospel reading (in part) was from Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, `Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, `Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'

I took the message to heart, and after Mass, my son and I joined a friend who is having some financial troubles in this economic climate for a bite to eat. We listened and shared, and offered support.

The next morning I decided to visit my friend Marc, who is in prison, and has been for the past ten years. I hadn’t made the hour-and-15-minute drive in almost three months, and would have gotten there eventually, but Father’s homily moved Marc to the top of my list. It was a surprise visit--usually he knows to expect me--but I put it in God’s hands and it turned out perfectly. Marc had just showered and shaved his head and was having a cup of coffee when they called him, so I didn’t interrupt any of his classes or anything. He’s taking an office software course, to keep up with computers as best as he can, learning word processing and power point and excel.

I treated him to a vending machine lunch—which I always have fun doing—I don’t usually eat out of a vending machine, so I am like a kid in a candy store, picking out things he wouldn’t ordinarily get to eat—to give to him. (He’s not allowed near the vending machine at that particular facility.) I tend to choose things on the healthier side—like fresh fruit and yogurt--but he doesn’t seem to mind. It’s all a treat for him, and he says he has no preference, as long as it has beef in it, which he doesn’t often get. (It’s mostly turkey, turkey, turkey.)

After three hours of conversation, I headed back home in the rain.

That night, my faith sharing group met, and we had what I felt was a rather intense meeting. I am somewhat empathic, and so I tend to pick up on the pain of others as I go through my day, especially if I don’t have my shields up. For the most part, I prefer to be open to what others are feeling and experiencing, so I keep my shields down. Health problems, family discord, financial uncertainties….turns out we all face them to varying degrees—and Monday night was our opportunity to share and support each other in our efforts to keep the faith and prevail.

Which left me feeling pretty wiped out the next day. It seems everyone we know has something going on in their lives, and it’s not something fun.

But still, there are those who are so much less fortunate…Tuesday night my sisters in faith and I met for two hours of standing outside a grocery store to collect donations for the homeless. I was feeling pretty beat up already, and—quite honestly--not looking forward to standing out in the cold, begging, but I thought the least I can do is stand there for two hours to support someone who has no where else to go but into the cold.

Just before I left, I collected a few boxes and bags of clothing, books, and stuffed animals my son has outgrown, including two three-foot tall versions of Rabbit and Tigger. As it turned out, that was a good move, as there are currently 27 children living in this particular shelter. Once I heard that, I wished I’d collected more. I’ll be making a trip to the shelter with the rest in a few days.

The collection experience itself was a blast. My sisters in faith knew what they were doing, and came prepared with gloves and coffee and creamer and Styrofoam cups. We also had lawn chairs and blankets. And a tambourine, of all things. I took over the tambourine, just shaking it lightly, and it sounded like sleigh bells. I think that helped to let shoppers know there was someone waiting to waylay them at the door, because many of them came prepared, with money in hand.

There were six of us…three inside and three outside, and we switched off to keep warm. We chatted, caught up with each other’s lives, and collected what our group coordinator reported in an email today was an impressive amount of money.

Here’s what she said: “The Executive Director reported that she heard my group really had fun with the experience and she felt that helps greatly with bringing in donations - she said that donors know when the volunteers are sincere about and committed to the mission and are also attracted to those that are obviously willingly participating and felt it was one reason we had such good results (they had not counted the donations yet but said the cans were fuller than any other attempt to date this year).”

Afterward, my friends and I went to one woman’s house for hot chocolate and birthday cake, which we felt very blessed to be able to share, along with our fellowship and her warm home.

Wednesday, I guess I had an off day. I didn’t do anything special but pray for the needs of others. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday made me really aware of how much pain and suffering there is in the world, right here in my own little community, and how blessed I am to have a warm house, a full refrigerator, a healthy child, my own health, work I love, a car that runs, and money to put gas into it.

So today I drove to Mass to say Thank You. The purpose of going to Mass is to give thanks to start with, for all the blessings we have been given during the week, but this was a special Thank You I wanted to say. Thank you for opening my eyes so clearly to the needs of others, and thank you for guiding me to make a difference, if only for this one week. Because of my friend’s nudge, 27 children now have nearly new stuffed animals to play with and books to read over the holidays. Because of Father’s homily, my friend Marc got to see me a lot sooner than he would have otherwise. Because of my new awareness of the suffering going on in my own community, my son and I will shift our holiday donation (in lieu of Christmas gifts) to a local organization this year.

As I was procrastinating, trying to figure out how to start this blog entry, I came across Dear Abby’s prayer of Thanksgiving, written by her mother, Pauline Phillips:

Oh, Heavenly Father,
We thank thee for food and
remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and
remember the sick.
We thank thee for freedom and
remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir
us to service,
That thy gifts to us may beused for others.
Amen.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Love, ABBY

That said, I want to offer my own list of thanks for this week:

That it was raining instead of snowing when I went to see Marc.
That Marc doesn’t care what he eats, and thinks it’s all good.
That it was closer to 40 degrees than thirty, or even twenty, when we were collecting for the homeless.
That someone thought to bring a tambourine.
That I was able to pass on my son’s books and toys to someone who can use them.
That I have friends who share my beliefs and values and who provide me with opportunities to live them.

God bless you all, and thank you for being in my life.

Sunday's Inspirational Quote

When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate.
--Ann Landers, columnist

I know I do, each and every day.

God bless and have a great day.