Heart of the Matter

Hello friends,
       Lord, thank you for creating courageous men and women who risk their lives in the name of justice. In Jesus' name. Amen
      "Speak Lord, your servant is listening."
       This is what I pray before I read the daily scripture readings for the day. I'm glad I was listening today. I felt like I was Lydia, the woman in the first reading. (You'll need to read this passage to understand what I mean: Acts16:11-15.)
      Then, this morning at mass, Fr. Alfonse gives me the ultimate God-wink when he said, "In today's Acts of the Apostle's, Luke tells us a personal story about something that happened to him and the other disciples. It's important to write things down: the good, the bad, and the ugly." Thanks, God, for 'okaying' this message, lol. Love you!
(Prelude: Forgive me if this blog gives you whip lash, he he, because I am jumping from topic to topic; I am doing my best to make it coherent, but I also like to write from a stream of consciousness perspective too, so things may seem unrelated, but hopefully I can tie them together...)
      I am only the best person I can be "through Christ who strengthens me."
     "Forgiveness."
     As I think about what I want to say, and how to say it, one word from the Don Henley song, "Heart of the Matter," comes to mind.
       "Forgiveness."
        And in the bible, how often are you to forgive your brethren? "Seventy times seventy times."
       Then an image from the movie Thor yesterday leaps to mind, Thor's hammer flying through the air into Thor's hand. Thor's hammer came to him when Thor realized he needed to lay down his life for his friends. Thor was ready and willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. Notice, too, Thor couldn't retrieve the hammer, he had to earn it.

      We have to humble ourselves before our problems and let God work through us, with His hammer, to resolve them.
      Fr. Alfonse often mentions how great love comes with great sacrifice.
     Jesus Christ laid down His life for us, and we are asked to lay down our lives, our vulnerabilities, our weaknesses, and our egos, for those we care about in our lives. It is only then that Christ will bestow His grace, His truth, and His strength to enable us to do what we need to do for those in our lives.
        Everyone has been blessed with some wonderful talents, and one of the talents I feel God has bestowed on me, is that of healer. I find that people open up to me fairly easily, and that God's grace allows me to be available, completely available, to people's needs, and their sufferings. I always want to honor people's pain and where they are in life; to become Christ-like in that sense.
       But I've got to be wise in the use of my healing!
      When I was younger, I thought my purpose was to heal family members, or those I was dating: the drug addict, the alcoholic; that my partner needed to have some sort of defect I could fix, even though they didn't want, or think, they needed healing! Woops. They were fine in their pain, but I wasn't. Nowadays, I know God is the true healer, and that on the occasions people seek me for consolation, it's the Christ in me they seek. I am only the lowly vessel He uses to heal others. All glory and honor goes to God.
        There is a friend who is going through a terribly rough time right now. I keep them in my prayers...and I know it is not for me to heal this person. Thank goodness they aren't asking me to heal them either - as if I could. Recently this person was disrespectful to me, and I asked God what I could learn from the hurt of this disrespect, and here's what I learned, nothing new or unusual: I've got to forgive them. I don't excuse the behavior, but I do forgive them.
      When I googled the words to the Don Henley tune, and then listened to it on CD, I realized the only part of this song I'm to own is "forgiveness."
The rest is for them:
I got the call today, I didn't wanna hear
But I knew that it would come
An old true friend of ours was talkin' on the phone
She said you found someone
And I thought of all the bad luck,
And the struggles we went through
And how I lost me and you lost you
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment
And beg for something more?

I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you sometimes
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

These times are so uncertain
There's a yearning undefined
...People filled with rage
We all need a little tenderness
How can love survive in such a graceless age
The trust and self-assurance that can lead to happiness
They're the very things we kill, I guess
Pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
And the work I put between us,
Doesn't keep me warm

I'm learning to live without you now
But I miss you, Baby
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I figured out, I have to learn again
I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But everything changes
And my friends seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

There are people in your life who've come and gone
They let you down and hurt your pride
Better put it all behind you; life goes on
You keep carrin' that anger, it'll eat you inside

I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
But my will gets weak
And my thoughts seem to scatter
But I think it's about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore

I've been tryin' to get down to the Heart of the Matter
Because the flesh will get weak
And the ashes will scatter
So I'm thinkin' about forgiveness
Forgiveness
Even if, even if you don't love me anymore


"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

We be trippin'

Hello friends,
     Thank you Lord for safe travel. May God bless you and keep you safe, dear reader. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

My trip began with a flight to DC, then a plane to CT, where my friend Cy is going to school. The reason for this excursion? She is returning to Tx for the summer and needed someone to drive her back to Texas (where she resides); she asked me to accompany her on her trip.

The house where Cy is staying is amazing, so I had to take photographs to share with you. This was the view from the kitchen window. The house is three stories: an upper floor, a middle floor, and then a basement that is a complete living area; it has a washer/drier, refrigerator, two full bathrooms, two bedrooms, and a pool table. (not shown) 

The majority of my photos are from the middle level of the house, because that's where the best lighting happened to occur.

There are plenty of windows showing off the spectacular landscape, and this is the view directly across from the kitchen window. You are seeing correctly: that's a deck.

This is the other side of the deck, on the outside. When's the party, Cy???

The stream that runs behind the house was hard to take pictures of, but you could hear it. This pathway leads you to the stream and the huge backyard.

 

Cy was packed and we were ready to go!

Just a couple of welcome signs from the states we crossed on our way back to Texas:

 

Upon entering Tennessee from the East, we saw this:

This was the view from our hotel. I took this picture because I was amused by how many "World Famous," signs I saw in Tennessee.

We arrived in Nashville around 8ish p.m. We didn't get to Broadway, a street similar to Austin's Sixth Street, but Austin has many more bars, until 11ish.

Here are some of the sights and sounds of our excursion into the night life:

I don't know what this building was, but I like the architechture. My guess is that it's a courthouse of some sort.

It is an unspoken rule that if you come across anything Jimmy Buffet, you must take a photo.

Cy took this photo on Saturday afternoon. I am standing outside of the Memphis Welcome Center. Notice there's a guitar for the 'i' in Memphis? Anywhere you looked and saw the word "Memphis," it has a guitar for the 'i'. ;)

Inside the Welcome Center, which is right behind where I'm standing, you'll find him:

And almost directly behind Elvis is:

These photos are just some of the black and white photos inside the Welcome Center that I thought were cool:

Aretha Franklin

Yes, this IS Ray Charles.

A super young Elvis and B.B. King.

It's always wonderful to travel within the United States. And yes, there is also tremendous benefit in traveling abroad; however, I think Americans don't realize the real treasures and important historic places we have...and many people don't take the time to find out what is right here in our very own backyard. More's the pity too, because it's worth seeing.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

God winks at us

Hello friends,
God is always speaking to us, if only we would slow down and listen. And, "if today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts." In Jesus' name, Amen.
It is with great pleasure I want to tell you about a book I'm reading, entitled, "God winks."
It is with great displeasure I tell you that there are people (you may even be one of those people) who think God doesn't answer prayers.
However, IF (and I realize this IF is ginormous for some readers) IF you are open to His "speaking," what I call 'winking' for the purpose of this blog, then you will "see" that God does indeed respond to our prayers. What does a wink from God mean? It's a confirmation of your request, a "yes" of sorts.
Let me give you an example:
When I was discerning whether it was God's will for me to become a school counselor, I had the following dream.
I am in a strange, grimy, never-seen-before, city. I am walking along the street, when I come upon a police car, with it's lights flashing. Another police car is parked diagonally to the first car. There is a young man in the middle of the "V" the officer's cars are making.
He has a gun and is threatening to shoot himself.
I walk through the cars, toward the young man, when a policeman approaches me, "Ma'am, I'm going to need you to step back, please."
"I'm a counselor, I can help him." I confidently reply.
These words seem to appease the man in the blue uniform, as he moves aside to let me through.
Somehow, by the grace of God I'm sure, I'm able to talk the gentleman out of killing himself, and get him some help.
I consider this dream a God wink. A confirmation on the direction of  my career.
Another 'test' and God wink confirmation I received that solidified this first yes to me, was when I said to God, "If this is Your will, then financially You'll need to show me the way." Because when I looked at my finances closely, I laughed. No extra cash there!
But my income tax was due shortly...And once I did my taxes, I was able to afford three semesters! Now I felt that God wasn't just winking at me, He was Blinking, lol.
Then I was blessed with a summer school job. This money was for books and any other school supplies I needed. I was even able to afford a laptop - paid in full with currency. Thanks God.
Please consider this: have you ever had a petition or some heavy question on your mind, and then bam!, you feel like a family member, or a friend, or a stranger, in some random conversation you are having with them, maybe they do something, and you have an answer to your heavy question? God has winked at you, my friend. Keep the faith.

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

The Servant Song

Hello friends,
     Heavenly Father you gave us the best example of motherly love in our Blessed Mother and her relationship with Christ; a "Love beyond all telling." Please continue to bless and guide all your children, wherever they may be, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Mother's Day reminds me of many things, but the most pertinent to the present moment is that I'm not a mom, lol.
But mother's remind me of the best example of God's love for us. So for all the mom's reading this, I dedicate this song, which I intend to have as a wedding song between my beloved and me,
Lord of the Rings, Servant Song
Please note: Lord of the Rings is one of my all-time favorite movies, and to have this edifying song playing to some of the most endearing scenes from the movie, is an incredible find and a "God wink." (In another blog I will discuss what a "God wink," is...stay tuned!)
God bless you, my friends, today and always. Amen!
Here are the lyrics to this precious song, just in case you're wondering:

Friend, Let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I may have the grace To let you be my servant, too We are pilgrims on a journey We are friends on the road We are here to help each other Walk the mile and bear the load I will hold the Christlight for you In the night-time of your fear I will hold my hand out to you Speak the peace you long to hear I will weep when you are weeping When you laugh I'll laugh with you I will share your joy and sorrow Till we've seen this journey through

When we sing to God in heaven We shall find such harmony Born of all we've known together Of Christ's love and agony Friend, let me be your servant Let me be as Christ to you Pray that I may have the grace To let you be my servant, too

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa

As we grow in wisdom, we pardon more freely.

Hello friends,
God blesses each of us in wondrous and amazing ways; my prayer today is that you take the time to see how He's working in your life. In Jesus' name. Amen.
I began these blogs with these objectives in mind: to address the superficial politics of being pro-life, or pro-choice; the idea of conscience; and lastly, to decide how the information has changed me, if indeed it has, in any way.
I gathered a lot of information about what it means to be pro-choice and pro-life, and a dear friend loaned me a book entitled, "Unplanned," written by Abby Johnson, and this is what tipped my thinking (besides God, of course)to the pro-life side.
Just a very brief summary of the book, Abby came from the same place I did: pro-choice. Through her book, I was able to see what it's like to be inside a Planned Parenthood facility, and outside the facility, through some of the pro-lifers. It's a good book. Check it out if you get a chance.
My point being: everything starts with education. Once people gather information about a topic, the more adept they will be at making a good decision for themselves.
Surprisingly, I thought I was going to still be a smug pro-choice advocate at the end of this 'series.' But I've got to tell you: God has really worked with me. He has gently lead me to a greater understanding of what goes on in abortion clinics, what circumstances lead a person to choose to have an abortion, etc.
I am not condemning or judging anyone if they decide to have an abortion, but, just like my friend at the very beginning of this 'talk,' told me, I'll pray for them.
Because ultimately, at the end of our lives, we stand before God and have to atone for the things we've done, or not done, with the talents God has given us.
I cannot, in all good conscience, stand before my Lord and Savior and say, I was pro-life, Lord, in everything (besides Jesus sees my heart and through any lie I'd tell). I was opposed to war, I was opposed to the death penalty, but I thought it was okay for people to choose to kill a life. I realize now the hypocrisy of my thinking. I understand too, that war, the death penalty, and yes, even abortions are 'government decisions,' i.e. law, and that as an individual in our society, I don't have a large say in any of those things, these things do and will happen, regardless of how I feel, or think about them...Wrong. I've protested wars before; I'm familiar with Amnesty International. I am an activist. No law will stop me from being an activist. And now I will work for the pro-life movement. Not fanatically, probably very low-key and behind the scenes, but I'll be in there and working for this cause.
Having written this much, I must also say that I can no longer vote for Democrats that are pro-choice. I'll be praying and asking God where He wants me politically.
As I learned, I hope you did too, and that maybe you'll be interested in checking out the book I mentioned.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa