A Few Of My Favorite Quotes On Friendship

"It's like a best friend, but more it's the one person in the world who knows you better than anyone else. That someone who makes you a better person, no actually the don't make you a better person, you do that yourself because they inspire you. A soul mate is someone that you carry with you forever. It's the one person who knew you accepted you, and believed in you before anyone else did or when no one else would and no matter what happens, you'll always love them and nothing could ever change that."
~Dawson Leery~
Dawson's Creek

"Friendship is essentially a partnership."
~Aristotle~

"A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway. "
~Fr. Jerome Cummings

"The only way to have a friend is to be one."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."
~Anonymous~

"In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit."
~Albert Schweitzer~

"Friends are kisses blown to us by angels."
~Author Unknown~

"But oh! the blessing it is to have a friend to whom one can speak fearlessly on any subject; with whom one's deepest as well as one's most foolish thoughts come out simply and safely. Oh, the comfort - the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person - having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."
~Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859

"Love Thoughts"

I randomly found this article, and I really enjoyed reading it. It is filled with a few short quotes I have heard before and really like. I just wanted to share.

Love Thoughts

The beginning of love, is to let those we love be perfectly themselves and not twist them with our own image -- otherwise, we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them? The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of every-thing...they just make the most out of everything that comes their way.

The best kind of friend is the one you can sit on a porch with, never saying a word and then walk away, feeling like that was the best conversation you've had.

Don't go for looks -- it can deceive.

Don't go for money -- even wealth fades away.

Go for someone who makes you smile, because only a smile makes a dark day seem bright. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of the people who have touched their lives.

Love is when you take away the feeling, the passion and the romance... and you find out you still care for that person. Love comes to those who still hope even though they've been disappointed, those who still believe, even though they have been betrayed and those who still love even though they've been hurt before. Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people, before meeting the right one, so that when we finally meet the right person, we should know how to be grateful for that gift. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return. But, what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past ... you can't go on in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return, just wait for it to grow in Their hearts. But, if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. There are things that you would love to hear, but you never hear it from the person you want to. Don't be deaf to hear it from the person who says it with their heart.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you are smiling and everyone around you is crying.

When one door of happiness closes, another opens. But often we look so long at the closed door, that we don't see the one which has just been opened for us.

Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too. A sad thing about life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you ... only to find out in the end, that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go.

It takes a minute to have a crush on someone ... an hour to like someone...a day to love someone...but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.

Love starts with a smile, develops with a kiss and ends with a tear.

Trigger Finger Is Painful

This past week-end I had a battle with "trigger finger," which is why I did not type out any blog entries all week-end. It is not a nice infection to have I must say. After 24 hrs. of pain shooting through my wrist whenever I attempted to move my finger at all my dad drove me to see a doctor. The doctor had me receive two shots, one was a pain killer, the other was an anti-biotic and let me go. She also told me to take 600 milligrams of motrin IB after six hours to help keep the swelling down. Let me tell you, even though my finger was feeling much better after that, my mind was completely loopy. I apparently lost it last night and was in no mindset to sit down and write a thought provoking blog post. When I say my mind was in a happy place I mean it. My sister found me entertaining enough to make a video on her cell phone. As soon as she leaves her cell phone somewhere alone I fully intend to figure out how to delete that video. I do not even know if I want to watch how I acted last night. All I know is next time my doctor says it is ok to take three-times the regular dose of a medication I will think twice about doing so.

Stay Focused On "The Divine Goal"

‎"Arm yourself with courage in order to go straight to Jesus, not allowing
yourself to be hindered by anything, looking not at the past which saddens you,
looking not towards the future, which terrifies you, not even dwelling on the
present which often troubles you; leaving everything aside, fixing your eyes on
Him crucified and, not growing weary of failing, walking towards the divine
goal."

- Mother Louise Margaret

"It's Big. It's Red. It's Metal With Water. It's Big. It's Red. It's Metal With Water...

... the fire truck comes to put out the flames. The fire truck comes to put out the flames."

This has been the soundtrack to my day at work today. A song about a fire truck. After awhile the song that was once about a fire truck ended up morphing into one about a dump truck, a garbage truck, an ice cream truck, a race car, a police car, and finally a tractor (all of which yours truly made up on the spot due to popular demand). It takes an amazing amount of creativity and genuine excitement over things as silly as truck and car songs to help make a great pre-school teacher. I have quickly come to the conclusion that the more joy I put into my work the more excited the children become of what we will be talking about. Finding activities which not only enrich a child's mind, but really interest them as well is more of a challenging task than some may realize.

It is also easier to do my job and feel comfortable letting out my inner child when I work with people who understand how important being on the child's level is. Part of the reason I enjoy working where I do is because of my co-workers. We are all really crazy and get involved with the activities as much as the children do. We laugh, joke, and really do have a great time. I have been able to observe a number of different child care facilities and I have noticed that the ones where the kids seem the happiest happen to be the ones where the faculty members are happy. I am one lucky person to have such a fun job, even if that does mean that at the end of the day I will have a silly truck song stuck in my head for the rest of the night. I thank God every night for being so blessed.

"It's big! It's Red! It's metal with water...."

"Just Play"

After working at a daycare for five years now I have truly understood the importance of play for children. The majority of adults seem to be so focused on school work for their children so they will do well as the progress into higher schools of education. Quickly I am noticing they do not want to see their child "play" they want to see papers showing the "work" they have done during the day. I ran across this poem that explains the value of play for young children. It is important for them at the early stages to play, because playing for them is work. I think I will keep it as a reference for parents who want to know why the daycare I work at stresses play time a little bit more than "work time."

"Just Play"

When I am building in the block room, please don't say I'm "just playing". For you see, I'm learning as I play, about balance and shapes. Who knows, I may be an architect someday.

When I'm getting all dressed up, setting the table, caring for the babies, don't get the idea I'm "just playing". For, you see, I'm learning as I play; I may be a mother or a father someday.

When you see me up to my elbows in paint or standing at an easel, or molding and shaping clay, please don't let me hear you say, "He is just playing". For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm expressing myself and being creative. I may be an artist or an inventor someday.

When you see me sitting in a chair "reading" to an imaginary audience, please don't laugh and think I'm "just playing". For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a teacher someday.

When you see me combing the bushes for bugs, or packing my pockets with choice things I find, don't pass it off as "just play". For you see, I'm learning as I play. I may be a scientist someday.

When you see me engrossed in a puzzle or some "plaything" at my school, please don't feel the time is wasted in "play". For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to solve problems and concentrate. I may be in business someday.

When you see me cooking or tasting foods, please don't think that because I enjoy it, it is "just play". I'm learning to follow direction and see differences. I may be a cook someday.

When you see me learning to skip, hop, run and move my body, please don't say I'm "just playing". For, you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning how my body works. I may be a doctor, nurse or athlete someday.

When you ask me what I've done at school today, and I say, "I just played", please don't misunderstand me. For you see, I'm learning as I play. I'm learning to enjoy and be successful in my work. I'm preparing for tomorrow. Today, I am a child and my work is play.

April Fool's Day: Official Athiest Holiday In Florida

You must read this.......a proper decision by the courts...for a change.

FLORIDA COURT SETS ATHEIST HOLY DAY

In Florida , an atheist created a case against Easter and Passover Holy days.

He hired an attorney to bring a discrimination case against Christians and Jews and observances of their holy days. The argument was that it was unfair that atheists had no such recognized days.

The case was brought before a judge. After listening to the passionate presentation by the lawyer, the judge banged his gavel declaring,"Case dismissed!"

The lawyer immediately stood objecting to the ruling saying, "Your honor, How can you possibly dismiss this case? The Christians have Christmas, Easter and others. The Jews have Passover, Yom Kippur and Hanukkah, yet my client and all other atheists have no such holidays.."

The judge leaned forward in his chair saying, "But you do. Your client, counsel, is woefully ignorant."

The lawyer said, "Your Honor, we are unaware of any special observance or holiday for atheists."

The judge said, "The calendar says April 1st is April Fools Day. Psalm 14:1 states, 'The fool says in his heart, there is no God.' Thus, it is the opinion of this court, that, if your client says there is no God, then he is a fool. Therefore, April 1st is his day.

Court is adjourned.."; You gotta love a Judge that knows his scripture!

It's About God's Plan, Not Mine

I have finally come to the conclusion that making plans does not really work for me. Something always tends to block me from my goals. I am really starting to get tired of something happening to prevent me from finishing my degree. This week, for example, I have gone to my classes, and somehow my name has not been on any of the teacher's rosters. I go and wait in a line for about forty minutes to talk to the registrar to be told that a lot of students are having the same problems. For whatever reason, a nice sized percentage of the students (like myself) who registered online for their classes somehow did not officially get switched over to the main office. I was also told that they could only the fix the classes that I had attended already and not the ones that I still have yet to go to. This frustrated me quite a bit because I had to take off two hours from work to get just one fixed (because I had not attended this evening's class yet) and that is some money that I cannot afford to keep on losing because of Ivy Tech college messing up. It really has bummed me out to the point where I do not see the point of going back everyday this week to fix a class at a time. I do not understand exactly why this last semester has been such a hard thing to finish. I am tired of dealing with it, and am really at the point where I could not care less about school. That is not a great feeling to have. I am just tired.

So... plans, as I said, do not seem to work for me. I need to remember though that even if it seems like things are not going the way I want them to, does not mean that they are not what God has in mind. I am not quite sure what God is trying to teach me about all of this frustration, but I am hoping that pretty soon I will be able to have a pretty good guess as to what I am supposed to learn. Maybe this is supposed to help me appreciate my degree even more once I finally do receive it.

Prayer of Discernment

Dear God, I wish to love You truly and to allow You to love and serve others through me. I want to live Your dream of me fully, but I may misinterpret Your will and inspiration as it refracts through my emotions and mental processes. Please nevertheless fulfill all that You desire through my life and prayer.

Flood Your love to others though all my efforts and errors. Grant me faith, fidelity, wisdom and prayer. Recreate me in the fullness of Your will and fill me with Your love, for sake of Your honour and delight, and for salvation of souls.

Please help me to be the person whom You dream me to be, so that Your desire for me and for each soul You place in my care or influence, is generously fulfilled.

Translate me into Your own terms as I come contritely and gropingly before You in humble trust, with my imperfect efforts. I know that You have mercy on good intentions even if these are misguided. Yet please let me know Your will—for You have said, “I will instruct you, and teach you the way to go; I will watch over you and be your adviser.” (Psalm 32: v. 8) (1981)

School's In Session...

It is finally that time of year when school begins. It makes me think back to my homeschooling days. The excitement of receiving our school books in the mail... Wondering what color rosary Seton decided to randomly send us... school supplies. I always enjoyed the first week of school the most. Everything always seemed new and doable. Nothing seemed too terrifying. I remember how the homeschool study program my family used always reminded us to put J.M.J. at the top of our papers for Jesus, Mary, Joseph pray for us. It seemed silly at the time, but thinking back on it I like that they made it such a habit. It reminded me to always pray for guidance and to focus on my work. It was automatic after the first few days. School was very difficult, not going to lie about that. My junior year of high school was the hardest year of my life. I never thought it would end. It did, eventually, with a lot of prayers and hard work.

I am still very much that way during the first week of classes. Granted, they are the easiest ones of the year when basically you sit and go through each of the rules, regulations, assignments, due dates, all that fun stuff. Actually sitting here thinking about it, it is the most boring week of classes too. There are some things I do not do anymore, such as putting J.M.J. at the top of my papers. That does not mean I do not think about it in my head as I am doing my work because I do all the time. I may not be "home schooled" any longer, but it is still there, and always will be, a part of what helped me become who I am.

What Love Really Is To Me.

Today I was facebook chatting with a friend of mine. He asked me why I had so many bizarre facebook statuses up lately. I was kinda confused at the time by what he meant by that, but he gave me a few examples. One in particular was that I said "I remember years ago someone once told me I should take caution when it comes to love. I did..." I explained to him how I put that up mainly because it is a song lyric that would not get out of my head because it kind of hits home with me. I tend to be cautious with who I let in. Really let in. I still have yet to decide if that has actually helped me or not. He offered some "perspective," and told me how he believed that love does not actually exist. I immediately shot him down and told him how love does indeed exist. He then told me he meant that romantic love does not exist. Now, a huge part of me would love to have disagreed with him, but when he said that I had to think about it for a minute. It made sense. Love is real. I love my family and friends more than anything. I would do just about anything for them, and I hope and pray they would do the same for me if I really needed them. Romantic love, however, seems a little fuzzy in a way.

I feel as though for a romantic relationship to work the best it should be founded on God and friendship more than anything. From the Catholic perspective, marriage is supposed to reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church, so obviously faith has to be the most important part of every relationship. I do want to be able to look at my future husband and know that he is my best friend too. I want to know that I can be my complete self around that person and no matter how frustrated we may be with each other, at the end of the day he is still the person who will be there. Do not get me wrong, I still believe there should be a healthy amount of attraction between a husband and wife, but if it is only based on the attraction factor it will not last very long. "Romantic love" as I see it is really more about the physical side of a relationship. It is not true selfless love. It is selfish love. It is not looking at a person with the perspective of "What can I do to help this other person make it to heaven?" It is asking "What can I do to get what I want from this other person?"

It was a very interesting discussion, and I have to say it did make me think again about how I can help my future spouse make it into heaven. I do not necessarily think about it from that perspective very often.

"Nature Is A Revelation Of God."

"Nature is a revelation of God; art is a revelation of man."
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow~

"To pay homage to beauty is to admire nature; to admire nature is to worship God."
~Anonymous~

Today at Mass during the homily Fr. Don talked about how we tend to take God's simple gifts to us for granted. We all often tend to be so focused on the prayers we think God has not answered and do not take enough time to just stop and look around us. There are many ways God tries to reach us. Through sunsets in the evening. Stargazing on a warm Summer night. Trees as they change their colors in the Autumn. The many flowers that bloom in the Spring. How gorgeous the ground looks after the snow falls and covers the grass during the Winter. Father talked about how if we begin to pay attention to these things we may learn something more about the One who created them all. I have to agree with him on this. I know that I can be so lost in my own little world that I do not always stop and take a look at the gifts that God gave to us to enjoy. I think it is about time I sit back and take a look around at my surroundings which God gave me to take in.

I Want A Guy Who Is "A Little More Country Than That." ;)

I have come to the conclusion that one can tell a lot about a person when music is brought up in discussion. Music is such an important part of culture and society. It is one of the topics that is easiest to discuss because people are passionate (usually) about their music preferences. Me, I am definitely a country kinda girl. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy pop music, and a little rock, but for the most part it's all about country. I feel as though lately country music has grown in popularity quite a bit. More people who want to keep life simple and laid back tend listen and enjoy country music. The more conservative members of this country tend to listen to country music. Country fans are the average person. They don't mind getting their hands dirty while working. They tend to be considered the politically incorrect members of our country. Country musicians have no qualms about thanking God in their songs and being patriotic towards the men and women fighting for our country. This is not so surprising to me, though, considering from the fact that in country music's early stages it's most popular theme was gospel music.

I was sitting down and talking to friends about guys and dating and how music tastes can be factored into relationships. It is true. I know that I would go crazy dating someone who enjoyed playing heavy metal in their car all the time. It would make me go insane. I have come to the conclusion that the man I will marry (whenever that happens) will have to enjoy country music quite a bit because I enjoy listening to it a lot. It would not be fair to make someone who does not like country music at all to listen to mine very much. Besides it is more fun to have someone who wants to sing along with me. :) My mom once told me how I should marry a "cowboy who knows how to sing country." I guess I should start praying for one to come my way, especially considering how there are not very many cowboys here in Indiana.

There is a song that came to mind as I was typing this out. I put it up on my music play list awhile back I will put some of the lyrics here.

"Politically Uncorrect"
by Gretchen Wilson

I'm for the low man on the totem pole
And I'm for the underdog God bless his soul
And I'm for the guys still pulling third shift
And the single mom raisin' her kids
I'm for the preachers who stay on their knees
And I'm for the sinner who finally believes
And I'm for the farmer with dirt on his hands
And the soldiers who fight for this land

Chorus:

And I'm for the Bible and I'm for the flag
And I'm for the working man, me and ol' hag
I'm just one of many
Who can't get no respect
Politically uncorrect

(Merle Haggard)
I guess my opinion is all out of style
(Gretchen Wilson)
Aw, but don't get me started cause I can get riled
And I'll make a fight for the forefathers plan
(Merle Haggard)
And the world already knows where I stand

Repeat Chorus

(Merle Haggard)
Nothing wrong with the Bible, nothing wrong with the flag
(Gretchen Wilson)
Nothing wrong with the working man me & ol' hag
We're just some of many who can't get no respect
(Merle Haggard)
None
(Gretchen Wilson)
Politically uncorrect
(Merle Haggard)
Politically uncorrect

"It's A Crazy Town..."

This past week-end was my trip to Nashville, Tn. with a good friend of mine. Tennessee happens to be a state which I love to visit. It is just gorgeous there, especially as you get closer to the Smokey Mountains. We left bright and early Saturday morning and arrived home Sunday evening. I had a blast shopping on Broadway street in downtown Nashville, which is where the old bars are which people tend to go to sing and hopefully make it in country music. We ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, which was delicious. There was so much to look at and quite a few tourists shopping around.

After we were done there we decided to drive around and find the Cathedral of Nashville, which is where we were going to go to Mass the next morning. After finding it we realized that it was not located in the safest part of town. It was actually a very shady area and we decided that we did not feel safe enough there at all with just the two of us to venture back. Instead we went to a church which was only ten minutes away from our hotel.

After driving around downtown we then went to check-in to our hotel room and go shopping at one of the local malls. We also drove around neighboring cities of Nashville. One of the main reasons for our trip was to help my friend figure out which part of that area she would like to move to. She is wanting to try and make it as a country artist, and so her plans are to move down there after she graduates and try it out for a year or so. The cities were all so adorable and beautiful. It was an enjoyable time.

Mass at the Church of the Holy Family was nice. It was all about Mary, which is should be considering it was the Feast of the Assumption. I felt all relaxed afterwords and ready for the day. After Mass the next morning we headed out to look at the Country Music Hall of Fame. There was so much paraphanelia from lots of different country music stars there.

Happy Feast Of The Assumption!!!

Almighty and everlasting God,
You have taken up body and soul
into the heavenly glory the Immaculate Virgin Mary,
Mother of Your Son: Grant, we beseech You,
that, ever intent upon heavenly things,
we may be worthy to be partakers of her glory.
Through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
One God, forever and ever. Amen.

Friday The 13th....

Today is most definitely Friday the 13th... It is a day some people fear. In fact the fear of Friday the 13th is known as paraskevidekatriaphobics. There are many different thoughts about why Friday the 13th is supposedly filled with bad luck.

Apparently the sixth day of the week and the number 13 have bad reputations that come back from ancient days. There are some people who think the bad luck comes straight from the Garden of Eden. Supposedly it was on Friday when Eve tempted Adam to eat the forbidden fruit and they had to leave paradise.

It has been proposed, for example, that fears surrounding the number 13 are as ancient as the act of counting. Primitive man had only his 10 fingers and two feet to represent units, this explanation goes, so he could count no higher than 12. What lay beyond that — 13 — was an impenetrable mystery to our prehistoric forebears, hence an object of superstition.

There is also an interesting story as to how there were thirteen people during the Last Supper, and then Judas left to betray Jesus. There is also the fact that Jesus did die on the cross on a Friday.

Despite all this bad luck surrounding Friday, I still have to admit it happens to be my favorite day of the week. Especially if it also happens to be my payday. So far nothing bad has happened to me just yet. I guess I should keep my fingers crossed and pray nothing does.

"Forget About Me Because I Love You"

I know I can complain about my family and the choices each one of us make. As much as I may complain about them, at the end of the day, they are my family, and I do love them dearly. The song below is actually a rap by Fr. Stan Fortuna. I think that it reflects a lot about how I feel. Just thought I'd share...

F.A.M.I.L.Y.

Words & Music: Fr. Stan Fortuna CFR (c)1998

Forget about me because I love you. I wanna put ya in my family and love ya through.
A family community ya give ya love free, That's the kind of family we gotta work to be.
With the love from above that's how a family is found. Through the problems and the pain there's enough love to go around. Pray for all the people give ya self in all ya do. Forget about me because I love you.

That's right, Now I'm talkin' 'bout me and my brothers, The sisters and the cousins and the fathers and the mothers. It's the creed, yes indeed, get hip to the truth he's on ya back. The breakdown of the family's the devil's prime attack. 'Cause ya know when we're together in a bond that lasts forever, We stay strong, forgiving wrong, walkin' the road that's hard and long, Pray for all the people for ya self and for ya crew, Forget about me because I love you.

Lord Jesus Christ shine Your light on me. Help me show the world how to be a family.
To make a gift of myself is how I keep it real. My broken heart, take it Lord, help me to heal. You're the medicine for every F.A.M.I.L.Y. With Joseph and Mary we got to learn to rely, On the mystery of the Trinity to love like You do And say forget about me because I love you.

Family Time

Family life these days is a little crazy here in my household... The average number of people here at any given time tends to be right around five. People are coming and going.

Just tonight, for example, my brother is somewhere around the house talking on the phone with one of his many girl "friends." My younger sister is in her room with the dog, probably talking on the phone with her boy friend or napping. She tends to stay up really late talking on the phone with him because it is the only time those two are really able to talk. Lately she is more like a walking zombie then a person... What can I say? Love makes even the most intelligent of us into complete idiots. My mom, baby nephew and I are all in the living room. I just finished putting the baby to sleep when my arm started to go to sleep and so I passed him onto my mother. My niece is running around somewhere in the back yard, but I can guarantee that within the next ten minutes she will be running through the door again. I know that both my dad and older sister will be home any minute now which will cause a bit of commotion with my niece when she sees them. It is an eventful kind of place to live...

I have to say my favorite part of my day today was being able to put Keegan, my nephew and Godson, to sleep. It is so peaceful watching the little guy fall asleep while holding him in my arms. He is now almost seven months old, but he still smells like a baby. :) It is crazy how fast he has grown in just the past few months. I want to freeze time for a little bit and keep him at this age. He is starting to crawl around, his only problem is he can only crawl backwards. He has not quite got the forward part of that down. I like to call it moving "Mater style." If you have seen the movie "Cars," then that reference should make sense. I have somehow gotten into the habbit of calling him my little Tigger because he loves to bounce. It is one of his favorite things to do, and he so cute when he gets going.

Yes, my family is most definitely full of drama, but I have to admit we have some nights like tonight when it is drama-free. Lately these nights have become rare, but we still have them. They are my family, and as crazy as we all are, for the most part I wouldn't want it to be any other way.

"The Truth About Mary And Scripture"

I stole this video from a friend who posted it up on facebook... It is very good. If you have the time you should watch it...

Joe Don Playing The National Anthem

The video below is taken from my concert last night... Enjoy the amazingness of Joe Don's awesome guitar skills.... :)

Rascal Flattin' All Night Long, Baby!!!

Last night was one of the most memorable nights I have had in a long time. I was able to see one of my very favorite bands in concert... Rascal Flatts.

Before their concert, my friend and I heard on the radio while driving up that Chuck Wicks was also going to be singing for free before the concert. For those of you who do not know who he is, he sings the song, "Stealing Cinderella."
It was a last minute decision to
go listen to him. After his concert
we were able to go up and get his
autograph and a picture with him.
He was such a fun guy to meet.

I was also looking forward to
hearing the two opening acts
for the Rascal Flatts concert,
Chris Young and Kelly
Pickler... Chris Young is most
popular for his song, "The
Man I Wanna Be." I have
actually seen Kelly Pickler
in concert before. It was fun
seeing her again and I knew
all the songs she sang, so that
was a great warm-up to
rocking out with Rascal Flatts.

The concert itself was a blast.
They sang all their hits. They
opened the show with "Bob
That Head." They then took
us on a memory lane kind of
trip, starting with all their early
hits, and finished with their
later ones. Their last song of the
night was "Summer Nights."
They sang "Mayberry," "Fast
Cars And Freedom," "Take Me
There," "Me And My Gang,"
"Life Is A Highway," "Here's To
You," and so many more... Joe
Don even did an amazing guitar
solo with the National Anthem.
It was such a great night! I am
so happy I was able to watch
them live.

"Letter to Claire"

In a previous post I wrote a number of months ago I spoke about this particular movie quote I put below. I finally got around to finding it and putting it on my blog. If you are interested in the previous post as to why I like this then you can click here.

Letter to Claire

"'What' and ‘if’ two words as nonthreatening
as words come. But put
them together side-by-side and they
have the power to haunt you for the
rest of your life: ‘What if?'..."

"I don't know how your story ended.
But I know that if what you felt
then was love - true love - then
it's never too late. If it was true
then, why wouldn't it be true
now? You need only the courage to
follow your heart..."

"I don't know what a love like that
feels like... a love to leave loved
ones for, a love to cross oceans
for... but I'd like to believe if I
ever felt it. I'd have the courage
to seize it. I hope you had the
courage to seize it, Claire. And if
you didn't, I hope one day that you
will."

"The Glory Of God Is Man Fully Alive."

Yesterday after my day of fun, I have to say ended up being a pretty frustrating day for me. I knew I could make it through my day once I had a LOT of caffeine in my system. Since I don't drink coffee, the next best thing is a polar pop. I pulled up into the parking lot of where I work, and as I am getting out of the car with my lunch, polar pop, and another bag I ended up spilling the polar pop ALL over myself. It was one of those moments where I could have snapped. I was tired and now all wet and sticky. I ended up going back home to change. I was not at all in the best of moods the rest of the morning, which is not usually the case for me.

My lunch break finally comes around and I receive a text from a friend of mine, which totally made me re-think how I had spent my morning... it said, "Thought for today on Feast of Transfiguration... How do you shine most before God? What in your life most gives Him glory? 'The glory of God is man fully alive.' -St. Ireaneas." I really needed to read that because it made me realize the way I had been feeling all morning was not at all the way to let God shine through others. I tried to be a little bit more pleasant after reading that, and hopefully those around me could tell. I am grateful to have friends like this one who help keep me on track with my faith life. They are truly a blessing from God.

The Perfect Place For Family Fun

This past Thursday I spent it at one of my favorite places... Holiday World. It was a fun family time. My whole family plus a few extra cam along to enjoy the family friendly theme park. This year I made it a goal to ride the Wildebeest... the world's longest water-coaster ride. We waited in line for this ride for a good hour and a half, but it was totally worth the wait. It was a blast!!! It was a nice relaxing day. The lines were all pretty short for the rides, other than the Wildebeest. I really did need a fun day like this off of work. I have not taken a day off for some fun since my birthday back in May. It was just what I needed...

The ride home from the park is a whole other story mainly because we got lost... I had no choice to laugh or cry when I realized how off track we were, but being me I chose the former... I think everyone in my car were troopers at that point and even though we did not get home till really late, I was not going to let that ruin my fun day. :)

Don't Settle For Spiritual Stagnation....

"Many people are afraid to grow spiritually because they don't want to be stretched. Don't settle for spiritual stagnation. God is fully able to uphold you in the process of spiritual growth."

Pornography: How It Hurts Women

Porn is something that is thrown to my generation like candy. I remember how at one time the only people that really looked at porn were men, but now women are also getting hooked on it...Everywhere I turn it is there. In television shows, movies, books, everywhere. Peers try to pressure each other into watching it. Even this morning my friend at work told me how her neighbors pulled a prank on her last night by sticking Japanese porn dvd's all over her truck. She was so upset over that prank.

The mindset seems to be that it is just for fun. In the end though, it does way more damage to everyone involved than one may realize while they are hooked. I found this article on a blog about how porn hurts women... I put a snippet of it below. If you are interested in reading more, you click here.

We need to keep praying that the men in this world stay strong against pornography. Women too, but I still feel as if it is more of a struggle for the guys...

How Porn Makes a Woman Feel

Porn is something that is thrown to my generation like candy. Everywhere I turn it is there. In television shows, movies, everywhere. Peers try to pressure each other into watching it. The mindset seems to be that it is just for fun. In the end though, it does way more damage to everyone involved. I found this article on a blog about how porn hurts women... I put a snippet of it below. If you are interested in reading more, you click here.The thought of losing someone to a porn addiction is crippling and feels like the most severe emotional pain that could exist, especially if it results in the complete loss of the relationship. We know the detrimental effects of porn because of its chemical nature and effect on the brain and on one’s actions, demeanor, and behavior and because you’ve probably felt it in the way that your husband or boyfriend treats you even without knowing the scientific evidence of its impact.

You may have heard your husband or boyfriend say to you, “If you only did X, Y, or Z, then I wouldn’t use porn,” or “if you dressed up every once in awhile,” or they may shift blame and get upset at you for things you haven’t even done or get angry at you for no reason and proceed to push you away. Sound familiar?

Because of their personal guilt and shame they feel due to their addiction, you’ve probably experienced them attempting to shift any blame onto you, while getting frequently angry. Have you noticed that they withdraw from family activities or in spending time with you, or retreat from church, and social activities – things they once were involved in?

You and I, the wives and girlfriends, know without a doubt that it changes our loved ones as we experience the pain of porn firsthand. In fact, husbands report loving their wives less after long periods of looking at women depicted in porn. Wives and girlfriends develop deep, deep wounds and they begin to feel inadequate. They don’t just feel discomfort, but the distress level can be so high that it can lead to clinical treatment for trauma, eating disorders, and severe depression. It’s not just “temporarily feeling sad” about a husband/boyfriend’s addiction—it’s a blow to the core of who that woman is, that could lead to years of depression and much more.

Many women might even say that it’s worse than actual infidelity, because there isn’t one “real” person that they are having an affair with, it’s many intangible women and they don’t know what they are up against. Many times, porn addicts do not comprehend the downward spiral that they are causing their wives or girlfriends to enter into by their actions.

The Church Is Most Definitely Universal

Today I was reminded again how universal the Mother Church is. I attended a Mass here in town that was completely in Polish. Even the reading and Gospel were in Polish. There were a few times when the priest spoke English during the homily, but other than that I did not really understand to much, and yet I pretty much understood all the main parts. I knew when the congregation was saying "Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy." I could tell when everyone was responding "Thanks be to God" and "Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ." I knew pretty much what the priest was saying during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I totally got it, because it was exactly the same, only in a different language. I enjoy attending Mass whenever it is said in other languages, because it really does remind me just how incredibly huge the Catholic Church is. It really is a blessing to know wherever I go I will be able to find a Catholic Church and go to Mass. I may be in a strange country, but during Mass, it will not feel so foreign to me. I will have my church family with me wherever I go. Not everyone is able to say that. It is something I am always thankful for.

My August Rush

This month of August has been shaping up to be the most fun month of the year for me. Granted I will be busy with lots of different things, which means I may not have much time for blogging... not that this fact is totally new. The past few months it has been hard to find the time to sit down and actually write out some blog entries. So what will I be doing this month???

August 5th - "Holiday World" outing. :)
August 7th - State Fair and Rascal Flatts concert!!!! :D
August 14-15 - Nashville, Tenn. week-end trip.
August 23- classes start back

Along with those dates I will be busy trying to find deals at garage sales for the new apartment my sister and I will be moving into, going to Zumba classes, and other church activities, plus catching up with friends who I have hardly seen all Summer. It will be a great time! I am excited. :) I just hope the weather stays nice for most of this month as I will be doing a lot of traveling. Time to pray even harder for sunny weather!