Romantic men rock, or tango

Hello www, Lord continue to bless and guide each one of us. Heavenly Father, as Easter draws near, help us to stay focused on our lenten sacrifice, seeing You in all things and people around us. Amen. I was at a coffee shop last night where people were tango dancing. COOL! I know a coffee shop may not seem like the ideal place for tango dancing, but once I settled in a comfy chair, and began watching the couples, it had a wonderful I'm-at-home-with-a-group-of-close-friends feeling. I was asked to dance, and since I have no experience tango dancing, I took the invitation. My partners were young, handsome men. One man had on a tie and looked ready for church. His reverence for the dance was intoxicating. As he held me close and gently but firmly guided me around the dance floor I asked him where he learned to dance, "Argentina. I lived there for nine months." My mind immediately flooded with images of him dancing with Argentinian beauties; women with passion and long, dark tresses. My reflection continued: black and white images of a man sitting on an untidy bed, tie undone, head in hands, and in the background a woman's silouhette standing in the doorway in a slinky black dress... Maybe the guy dancing with me had experienced incredible heartache, as only good romances can give, and was here, in this coffee shop, back in the USA, trying to recapture some of the fable he felt with her, dancing in Argentina before he left, before whatever it was that tore them asunder happened. Maybe he wanted only good memories to remain: how they fed each other one starry night, after having cooked a delicious meal together and sipped wine on the veranda of his run-down apartment. He wanted to dance away the pain of his loss. And maybe he just went to the coffee shop to tango. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaahd bless ya!

How's Your Lent going?

Hello www, Many thanks to God for: the continued Great Health of my mother, who has five years of being cancer-free! For 76, my mom is a real power house! I recently learned she only takes two meds! Two! Them's bragging rights for anyone over 60! Yay, love you mom. May you live long and continue to prosper...And, also, the exciting return of MikeD from his fantabulous around-the-world-trip! Looking forward to catching up to you Mike and talking non-stop, listening to you tell others about your trip, and of course seeing you again is a blessing! Heavenly Father, we need Your help with the global economy. I add my prayers to those who are asking for Your help, Lord. With You, ALL things are possible! As always, I sign myself in Jesus' name. Amen. Lent has been going well: I've kept the promise to myself to go to mass everyday, which has been wonderful. After Lent I always wonder if I should continue to go to mass everyday, and I know I should, but then I let work and the gym get in the way...Before Lent and after Lent my cup is refilled from church on Sundays, but when I go everyday to mass during Lent, wow, my cup is refilled Daily! Oh, and to those of you who don't know, Catholic daily mass is only a 1/2 hour. He he. Maybe I will go to mass everyday...okay, I go on Tues' anyway, for adoration...maybe I could add one more day...build up to it so as to not overwhelm myself... Do you ever have these kinds of conversations with yourself? "I'll do this for God..."when if we really think about it, God doesn't need us to do anything for Him. He's God! Going to church everyday would be for Me. So I can strengthen my relationship with/in Him. By strengthening my relationship in God, God will work through me to show His Love to others. We are God's vessels. By opening ourselves up to God's graces, everyone around us benefits. God's blessings abound. Knowing all the benefits of going to daily mass, I am still relunctant to commit to attending. This is a problem God can help me with; He'll lead me to the truth... In the mean time my continued Lenten prayers are for the economy, and for God to work through me so I can Love All. May Gaaaaaaaaahhhhd bless you!

On the Outside Looking In OR Teacher Pride

Hello www, Thank you Jesus for continually blessing my life, my family and my friends. Thank you for always helping me Lord, in times of trouble, and for always being with me, in every difficult situation. All praise, glory and honor to you Lord. Amen Recently a teacher friend of mine was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now this is terrible news to be told, but my friend has fortitude. Cancer will not keep her down. She worked diligently to have her classroom ready for a long-term sub. She came in early to prepare and stayed late to finish. Those of you not in the teaching profession may have no idea how difficult it is to plan for a sub. Here’s an analogy to give you an idea. Planning for a one day sub is like leaving directions on how to assemble a bike: it looks easy, but there are many important details. Planning for a long-term sub is like leaving a blue print for a pyramid. It takes a tremendous amount of time to construct lesson plans for each day you are absent. My friend’s absence time is six weeks. Once lesson plans were in place, my friend’s focus shifted to readying herself mentally, physically, and otherwise for her surgeries: a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction. She gave me her boyfriend’s phone number and I bombarded him with phone calls for two days: the day of the surgery, of course, and the day after. He kindly told me the surgeries went fine, praises to God. On the second day following surgery, I boldly asked if I could call my friend directly. He said yes and I was elated. I only became apprehensive when her cell phone was ringing: would she feel like talking? When she answered I realized my fears were unnecessary. In fact, on one of the days I called, the background noise gave the impression a happy family reunion was taking place. I didn’t keep her on the phone long that day. Every day I called she sounded better, and stronger. I’ve sent updates to the staff on a fairly regular basis – many emails the week she was in the hospital and when she was released from the hospital – to not as many now that she is in recuperating mode. Firemen and policemen have a bond with all firemen and policemen everywhere. The bond between teachers is no less strong. When a teacher falls ill, other teachers rally around the teacher needing support and assistance. I am constantly being thanked for my updates, some have shared personal stories about how my friend has touched their lives, and still others have sent cards of encouragement. She still has some major surgeries she’ll need: continued breast reconstruction and we’re praying she won’t need chemo, but she has such a strong spirit. I know she’ll be fine with whatever craziness life throws at her. Besides, she won’t need to go through things by herself; God is with her and she is part of an elite group of people: teachers. God bless us, always.