Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving season, everyone!  We pray that God continues to move within your lives to draw you ever closer to Him, and that you give thanks for the sufferings and the joys which inevitably assist that process! :)  Our fall has been intense with some sufferings and changes in our life but we give thanks even for those as we see how God continues to bless us when we strive to follow His holy will - our love for Him and for for each other has immeasurably deepened.  Despite all, we've been having so much fun enjoying each other as life companions - so, I thank you, Lord, and thank you, Hubby!  The love and support of our friends and my family, especially, has been invaluable; thank you all! 

We had a lovely little Thanksgiving weekend.  Laura and Dilanji Co. came down Tues-Sun; it was great to have them all here for sharing, laughs, games, loving precious boys, and of course, baking!  Laura and I cooked dinner together - exhausting but delicious!  Andrew unfortunately got food poisoning from eggnog the day after, so sadly we missed a day at the beach with them - but overall it was a wonderful weekend.  (Miss you guys already!)  Here are a few images from around our house this past weekend... 



Music and love.

(I just realized I never posted this entry...)

Just stopping in to say hello - we've been very very busy with our respective jobs but have been squeezing in some fun as well!

We have been attending some good concerts and performances lately, as a Naples lady graciously donates tickets to Ave Maria University faculty and staff for Naples Philharmonic events.  We're thankful for these opportunities - an evening to go out, enjoy dinner and each other and bask in some great (free!) music.  This past Sunday we saw Rossini's opera La Cenerentola (Cinderella) performed by the Sarasota Opera who brought it to Naples to pair with the Philharmonic. 

Here we are beforehand....

We thank Him for this kind of love...

"I create for My Kingdom"

"You see, the child lives. Instead of the wind he hears the sound of angels singing before My throne. Instead of the beauty that passes he sees everlasting Beauty—he sees My face. He was created and lived a short time so the image of his parents imprinted on his face may stand before Me as their personal intercessor. He knows secrets of heaven unknown to men on earth. He laughs with a special joy that only the innocent possess. My ways are not the ways of man. I create for My Kingdom and each creature fills a place in that Kingdom that could not be filled by another. He was created for My joy and his parents’ merits. He has never seen pain or sin. He has never felt hunger or pain. I breathed a soul into a seed, made it grow and called it forth.”

I am humbled before you, my Lord, for questioning Your wisdom, goodness, and love. I speak as a fool—forgive me. I acknowledge Your sovereign rights over life and death. I thank You for the life that began for so short a time to enjoy so long an Eternity. – Mother M. Angelica

 <3 Little Hope <3

In Paradisum.

Andrew was asked to sing the bass solos in the Ave Maria University of Music Department's Fall Concert this semester, and I had the privilege of attending the first one last night. Scheduled near the Feast of All Souls, the AMU choirs appropriately sang works from various composers centered on themes of death, judgement, hope, eternity, and salvation. They did a great job. Andrew participated in Bach's Cantata No. 106 "Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit" and Gabriel Faure's Requieum in D Minior.

Texts from the Bach have been resonating within me all weekend..."God's time is the very best time. In him we live, move, and are, so long as he wills. In him we die at the right time, when he wills....Ah, Lord, teach us to think that we must die so that we become wise...Today you will be with me in paradise...With peace and joy I travel there in God's will, my heart and mind are confident, peaceful and calm. As God has promised me: death has become my sleep."

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace. Amen (Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let your perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.)

Thankful.

Thankful for lovely time spent with a sister and 3 precious nephews this past week...
thankful for the cooler weather...
thankful for a loving and caring hubby...
thankful for a special sister-in-law who listens so well and says the right things...
thankful for technology/Skype, which allows me to feel close to my family...
thankful for the jobs that keep us so busy but allow us to survive...
thankful for a wonderful holy pastor/boss...
thankful for the love and companionship of friends...
thankful for the examples and intercession of the saints...
thankful for God's grace and for prayers answered this weekend...
indeed it is time to give thanks and praise Him.

Also dwelling on these words of Padre Pio..."Pray, hope, and don't worry."

His eye is on the sparrow

"Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?  Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.  Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.  Do not be afraid.  You are worth more than many sparrows."

Luke 12: 6-7

"O my Lord, how obvious it is that you are almighty!  There's no need to look for reasons for what you want.  For, beyond all natural reason, you make things so possible that you manifest clearly there's no need for anything more than truly to love you and truly to leave all for you, so that you, my Lord, may make everything easy..."

~ St. Teresa of Avila

The better part.

"The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

 ~ Luke 10: 41, 42

There are so many worries, foolish cares, and distractions in our simple and jaded view of life.  We must not allow ourselves to be so wrapped up in our bubble that we forget Who stands nearby awaiting our love, and that our attention must first, foremost, and always be centered on Him.  How tragic when we allow those petty cares we grasp so tightly to interfere with our devotion to our Lord.  Better to remain always at His feet then to be rushing in and out of His presence because there is "so much" to be done.  So silly of us, of me. He should be at the desk, at the stove, sink, and laundry room, in the car; always on our minds like the Beloved He is.  Our daily work will indeed even go much smoother, be more peace-filled, and feel less like drudgery if we consciously keep Him at the center of all that we do.  A perfect opportunity also to offer Him love and consolations instead of wasting time uselessly bemoaning our own tiny, tiny problems.  The reward? He will provide us with the grace to plow through our duties, and peace to sooth our frantic minds and weary spirits.  We struggle even to offer Him so little, and He gives ten-fold in return.

  

PS.  St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray for us.