New Year, Same Me.

 Welcome to 2026, my friends! I hope you all had a wonderfully safe time celebrating the new year, spending time with those you love. 

I used to be huge on resolutions - absolutely dead-set on them being something I could control, change, make happen... but it LITERALLY means that I was taking my own path, not trusting God to lead me where He needed me to be. And every year I would inevitably fail at what I thought I set my resolutions to be. It was miserable! Reading back through my journals, it was pretty hard to face year after year. 

Resolution. Resolute. Resolve. 

Can we really find a resolute answer to who we are? Can we resolve our problems, shortcomings, etc, overnight? in a year? turn it all around? Not a chance! Not alone. Trusting in the path the Spirit puts us on, taking steps in Faith, yes... and it can happen any day any time. And you know what? There's no failure when you follow what God lays out for you! 

Trust who you are. Trust what God's got for you. It's not easy sometimes, but I promise you, it takes such a weight off yourself to not have any pressure of changing who you are, what direction you're going... you just enjoy the celebration, trust the process, have a good time watching the ball drop, and wake up ready for January 1! 

Migraines and Mysterious Moments

 It's been a few days, and my migraine-hangover has finally subsided. The darned thing started while I was singing at mass on Sunday, and didn't begin to subside until well after 4pm! I haven't had one of those that bad for a looooong time, let me tell you! 

The mysterious moments that I elude to are more about the couple days that followed - I'm not at liberty to discuss them, as they're not my direct moments or interactions with the Spirit to share, but man - when the Holy Spirit takes action, you either notice or get a knock upside the head, that's for sure! 

Have you had those moments? Where things seem to line up EXACTLY as they need to in so many ways that there is just no other explanation? It never ceases to amaze me, and I love it every time, praise God! 

What's So Amazing About Grace?

 

December 26th through January 1st is always an odd time, it's post Christmas and pre New Year's Day, and there's not really enough time to recover, and not really enough time to hide from anything, you just have to sort of glide/roll/float your way through those few days and hope that you don't explode or miss someone's appointments or burn the house down before your regular routines can begin again. There's so much on everyone's minds; did that really just happen? did mom say that to me in front of everyone? did uncle Joe really just ask if aunt Judy was going to go there with that again? did my brother in law really throw away a full serving of grandma's green beans without trying to hide it from her? .... and on and on with the family drama.... 

.... add the real stressors of work, and life.... 

It was our family's first year with loved ones not with us. It's potentially the last year with loved ones with us. Some of our loved ones are going through personal physical, mental, emotional struggles that we do or do not know about. At that point, do grandma's green beans really matter? 

I went for 6 weeks without pay, courtesy of Congress, this last Fall. Their temporary continuing resolution is only good through January. A new year is NOT a time of celebration for me, it's a time of complete stress! Does January bring another 4-6 weeks of having to work with no paycheck? Does it mean we may go even longer? 

Everyone has things on their plate, but everyone also has things they haven't unpacked, things they don't want to share. It's important that we remember this with every action, reaction, and especially interaction that we have on a regular basis. We are the words, actions, and works of Christ on this earth. We are here to share His love, not to judge, not to make others feel less-than, not to scare people or shame them into following Him. We are here to give them His Grace, as He has given it to us. 

I Will Pray for You

 Colossians 1:9 tells us "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives..."

I absolutely love praying for people. I do! I love to pick people, pray for them for at least 30 days, and watch the Lord work in their life. Have you done that before? Sometimes there's something specific that I will drop into the prayer for a day or two, but usually it's more of a "Please let them feel You working in their heart" or something along those lines... I mean, it's not like I know how that person needs God to move them. That's between the OG and them. 

One of my friends has a running-list she opens up every month, and I give her MAD props! It's a lot to take on, committing to devote time to every person she asks for every month! Not everyone is willing and able to keep that up on the regular. I wish life gave us time for our paths to cross more frequently, so often my soul longs for the connections with women of Faith that I had in college - it's so hard to find that connection in the "real world". 

Gentle Reader, I challenge you to pick one person - start with just one person - you see in your daily life, and pray for them. Don't tell them. Watch how your devotion, your conversations with God, your relationship with Our Father, Our Brother, the Holy Spirit, help to shape others too. 

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 

Amen.

An Experiment in Daily Posting....

 ... and other bits of word-vomit... 

It's been so long since I've written anything, I'm not even sure how to get started again, but here we go. 

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I have decided to try writing every day - be it a little, a lot, a haiku, a novel, random bits and pieces, lyrics to a song that got stuck in my head, SOMETHING that inspired me, helped me get through what I'm facing, or something I witnessed to or with someone else. Because, you know what, God happens all around us every day, whether we know it or not, whether we see it or not, whether we acknowledge Him or not - I'd rather be recognizing Him and knowing He is present than not! 

Where have you seen God, Jesus, and/or the Holy Spirit lately? 

The First Sunday of Advent

 December 2nd... Christmas is just 23 days away... are you ready? 

Ha! That's a loaded question!!! Are your cards in the mail? Are your gifts purchased and labeled, is wrapping paper selected and the plan-of-attack set for the Christmas Movie Marathon while you get all the presents wrapped and bows made? Has Santa made his list and checked it twice? Did you make room in your house and your heart for that pregnant, homeless immigrant couple that doesn't have any papers and is asking for a place to stay for just one night? Did you remember to stock your pantry in case the unexpected guest arrives and you need to add another setting or two at the dinner table?

What are you preparing for this holiday?

Just like any other expecting parents, Mary and Joseph did not know when their baby would be coming, not exactly... They didn't know when they would meet Jesus only that they would eventually, finally, get to meet this baby boy, this prophesized King that would change the course of history just by taking his first breath. We don't know when we will get to meet Jesus either. We are told in 1 Corinthians to be vigilant, and to live fully in our Spiritual Gifts as we wait for the revelation of Jesus Christ.... That means don't sit around! Don't save your "best" talents for when you think Jesus (or someone you deem deserving) is present to witness it! The passage continues on by saying God is faithful and we are called to fellowship with Jesus. 

Prepare the way of the Lord. Share your Spiritual Gifts. Find fellowship in your Faith with others who follow God, who find fellowship with Jesus. Prepare your home and your heart and hearth for the Holy Family as they end their weary journey, two undocumented, weary travelers on a donkey, Mary very pregnant and I'm sure Joseph stressed beyond imagination. 

Jesus and Xanax - 2023

 As December starts and reflection of the last year begins, it's been a freaking hard year. So many challenges, so many people dealing with unimaginable tragedies, untimely passing of loved ones, diagnoses of terminal illnesses, life changing events - I can't even begin to lay it all out! Don't get me wrong - there were some AMAZING memories made, lots of friends and family and good times and laughter and love! But there were also some devastating, soul crushing things that came about and are still very, very prevalent.

I got to a point where I found I couldn't really even cry anymore.... I feel the sorrow, the pain, the emotions and actions are still appropriate, but no tears come out. Have I cried myself dry? Were my prayers for compartmentalization and ease in coping with life answered? My friend even gave me one an "emergency xanax"... I keep it in a pill box in my purse, with my other meds, which happens to also be with my rosary. I will probably never take it, as 1)It's not my prescription and 2)I would be terrified of any sort of interaction with my meds.... but it's the thought that counts, for sure! ;-)

The last straw for me, the kick in the teeth, sucker punch in the gut, was finding out that my baby, my 9 year old pitbull Brynleigh, the doggo I adopted at 8 weeks old, has a mast cell tumor.... a mast cell tumor, just like the MCT that led to Stanley's death 10 years ago. On top of everything else that's happened this year, my dog has now been given a terminal ticket. Luckily it is a low-grade tumor, but it still means some big changes.

I did cry some at that.... I do cry.... the pain I felt when Stanley screamed "mamaaaa" and collapsed in my arms, that memory is burned in my memory. The idea of Brynleigh ever getting so sick that it gets to the point where she needs to be put down... Jesus and xanax might just do the trick for me...