My Child Has Struggled......

My child has struggled,
She struggles now,
She will always struggle...
                                 it seems.
Worried about the future with genuine legitimate concern.

I told her, with all the faith I could muster
                                "Don't Worry."

I reminded her, in the midst of her dryness,
                                 "You are happy 90% of the time!"

To which she said,
                                  "no I'm not."

Then she stopped and thought about it and said,
                                  "well, I'm usually happy."

I admire her, without faith, she would be absolutely desolate,
                                  by worldly standards anyway.

She seems to always find a way to think of something to make her happy.
This time it was thoughts of the amusement park we had just been to.

A few moments later I, with all the faith I could muster, assured her again,
                                  "God always has taken care of you and He always will."

 And she looked at me and nodded and smiled.

 So I had to go to church and adore our Lord at my regularly scheduled Holy Hour soon after this talk.

I didn't know I needed to be evangelized until....

9:05pm when I entered my silent church on a hot Sunday night,
except for the creeks of the church,
movement of adorers,
sound of a car engine on the adjacent street,
and the buzz of cicadas,
it was as silent as possible.

I recognized four others in this House of God to be:
an attorney and her mate, a seminarian, and the regular adorer who is always there before me.

On my way to the side chapel I knelt in the center of the pews and made the sign of the cross. I then made my way over to where I signed in for my 9:00pm hour and then took my spot of adoration.

I knelt and greeted our Lord.

Within minutes a strong looking husband/father/grandfather whom I also recognized came over to the side chapel where I knelt. From where he came I did not see.

He kissed his hand and touched the feet of the statue of Jesus who stands tall with his right finger touching his sacred and exposed beautiful heart, while his other hand is raised and making the peace sign.

And the grandfather, recovered from his winter heart attack, looked at Jesus in faith for a moment.

Then he took three steps over to the relic of a Doctor of the Church, St. Teresa of Lisieux, and again kissed his hand then touched the statuary holding her relic at the place where it stays.

Then he took another step over, and touched a crucifix which was directly in front of me.

Yes, he touched our Lords feet where they have been crucified.

The faith of those present there with me was thick and heavy and definite.

 It only took but a few moments for me to be assured of His real, true, unwavering, constant presence.

 This is a union of Saints, those living here and now that evangelize me.

Pope explains how to let God work wonders :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Pope explains how to let God work wonders :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)
Great Article to Share!!

A Link Recommended by Michaela, "He is My King"

My teenage daughter showed this to me and she has watched it over and over!
It's Powerful!!

Faith Hill A Baby Changes Everything

St. Agnes of Assisi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

I've been thinking about my mom a lot lately! And today is the feast day of her confirmation saint....St. Agnes. Since mom has passed away I can't ask her if this is "the" St. Agnes that is her confirmation saint. If it is though, it's not surprising that she is very tied to one of my favorite saints, Saint Francis of Assisi. Regardless if it's the same Agnes I hope my mom is having a great time up in Heaven with St. Agnes of Assisi today, celebrating. Click on the following link for a short bio of a wonderful contemplative, St. Agnes of Assisi.

St. Agnes of Assisi | Saint of the Day | AmericanCatholic.org

Patrick Madrid - Why Be Catholic (When You Can Be Anything Else?)

I JUST HAD TO POST THIS ON MY BLOG. HISTORY IS HARD TO DISPUTE. THANKS PATRICK!! Click the above arrow to hear Patrick describe the history of Christianity.

"Life is Not About What We Do but Who We Are"

(Please read this post to the bottom before watching the video.)

Well.....again.....it's been a while since I've posted anything on my blog. And again.....for GOOD reason.....I just haven't had much extra time.

As you may remember, I started a new part time job on September 1rst and it has been a huge change for me. I'm still in learning mode which takes a lot of my energy. But, at my work we just accomplished our biggest event of the year, the Annual WorkWell Wellness Award Banquet. WorkWell is a wellness council and a non-profit organization in partnership with the City/County Department of Health, and we promote worksite wellness. Each year we facilitate the Governor's award for companies who achieve high levels of wellness accomplishments along with individual awards for employees who have made major lifestyle changes that have improved their health. It was fabulous to see all the people at the banquet who are now wellness champions. One woman lost 120 pounds!

WorkWell invited Dave Dravecky, former MLB pitcher, to keynote the banquet. Dave developed cancer in his pitching arm at the height of his career. He was told he would never pitch again but defied the odds and returned to the mound 10 months later. Five days after his return he threw a fast ball and it snapped his arm in half. His cancer returned and he had to have his arm amputated from the shoulder down. He was devastated at the time but recounted in his speech what he learned through his experience.

The Director of WorkWell, my boss, arranged for WorkWell staff and their spouses, to have dinner with Dave the night before the banquet. We have a very small staff so Dave and three couples met at Lazlo's restaurant and had dinner. It was an honor to have dinner with Dave. I've posted a video here that gives you a better idea of his life and what he talked about in his speech at our banquet.

What I took from Dave's speech is that life is not about what we do but who we are. Also, life is about relationships. So all the wellness and health stuff we do is for us to be able to spend good quality time with our family, friends and co-workers. And sometimes God has a plan for us that can only be accomplished when we go through adversity. At the end of Dave's speech he said, "cancer has been a blessing." I've actually said that before regarding my daughter Michaela's cancer. She may not see it that way yet because it's sometimes hard to understand. I know though that it was the story of the cross of Christ? He had to suffer to redeem the world. We should all expect that our suffering can redeem ourselves and others as well......through Him!

Soon after Will and I arrived home from dinner at Lazlo's, Michaela showed me a facebook message that her friend had posted. Her friend is a 16 year old cancer survivor like Michaela. I thought the message was so profound, and timed so well after having just had dinner with Dave Dravecky that I'm sharing it with you.

Here it is:
God gave me the chance to stay here on earth but took the life of Brandon Hoersch today.. cancer has taken the lives of many,.no one knows why God makes the decisions that he does to take his angels back up into heaven. All I know is Brandon is in a much better place, a place that we all hope to be someday. Brandon was blessed because he got to go early. God has reasons for his decisions and sometimes its hard for us to comprehend. But I know that God gave us a special bond that we will have for a lifetime even though our bond took your life.. You will always have a special place in my heart now and always! Brandon, you are a true champion in my eyes and I will miss you forever! Please be my Guardian Angel! Love you with all my heart, from one fighter to another♥ Kylie
Brandon you gave it your all and you won your last match!

Brandon is the fourth child since last June that we have known that has died of cancer. All of those deaths in some way bring new life to others. All those that survive are doing the same. God, in his mysterious way, has a plan for us all doesn't he?

Be sure to go back to the top and watch Dave Dravecky's video. You will see that he uses a baseball card in his speech. My boss gave me the one he used at our banquet. I had Dave autograph it and I plan to frame it and take it back to the office. Also.....I showed this video to all my kids! Thanks to Dave for a good life lesson.