"A Wink and a Smile"

As much as my own mother did what she thought was enough with teaching me the Catholic faith, I'm not sure there was much of any emphasis placed on my Catholic call to political responsibility. In fact, I don't think I even thought much of it until a few years ago. The mid 70's to the mid 80's were the years I was influenced by my faith. Unfortunately I don't think they were strong years. I only went to Catholic school for part of 1st grade before I moved to another state and went to public school. My religious education was called CCD and it was watered down ... weak! Of course this is MY experience and maybe there were plenty of good religious programs out there, but it wasn't part of my upbringing. As a parent myself I really do try my best to know what my children are learning ... in school and in our parish religion program. Of course I know what I teach to my homeschoolers ;) Thinking back to years ago I don't recall my mom really KNOWING AL...

MIRACLES do happen. A good friend of mine pointed this out and it really took my breath away ... "I ache to think of the laws of protection that will be repealed on Wednesday. Obama promised it during his campaign. You know, that famous speech where he said that he never wanted his daughters to be "punished with a baby...?" Elaine's punishment is now a teenager. She is brilliant, beautiful and a gift to this world. She will change this world forever and for the better." AMEN to that!

My husband asked me if I was going to blog about him tonight. I told him ..." probably not!" HOWEVER, I changed my mind ... I AM! Today he took his first step into the Church. Today was The Rite of Acceptance into the Church. It really was a very special time for my husband, for me, and for our family. I really don't know the words to express the way I feel ... a myriad of feelings. Taking this step has not been one pushed by me. I have known my husband (from when we started to date) since 1987. We got married in '95 and all of our girls have been baptized and raised in the Catholic faith. The exposure has been there, but never the real "pressure". Back in August I jokingly threw my husband an RCIA pamphlet from our Church, and he said to me "I was thinking of going to the next meeting". REALLY????? I was quite excited, but then I didn't want to make a huge deal. I knew that this was a step that could be encouraged, but not forced by myself. I ...

Their hearts are heavy with grief and sadness {w} right now. My prayers are certainly with them. At RCIA this week our Monsignor spoke of Advent and reminded us to be prepared ... Jesus was coming. Although trying not to sound like a downer he reminded us that we need to live each day the best that we can because we can't know what tomorrow will bring ... only God knows. I've been particularly drawn to the stories that Monsignor tells. He has a great way of connecting things to the faith. This year has been an emotional one. Losing my Dad has been terribly sad, but it also provided me with a gift ... the need to reconnect and grow spiritually. I know our time on earth is only a temporary stop. We can't live life thinking "is this it?". We need to have something to look forward to. Recently I heard Tim McGraw's song which has some (corny)sweet lyrics that are a great little reminder ... "And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, "And I gave forgive...

This has really made me angry, but I think this person made some great points concerning it. I have a 12 year old daughter (and 4 more to follow her) and this just hits home . In many ways I just can't imagine. WHY??????? Just saddened, angered, and confused. Praying for some changes ... * This too is just so upsetting!