Dog-Gone It

Today my daughter threw a birthday party for her dog. Ginger is 1 dog year old this month. It was a hoot! There were so many people here, it was like one of the kids having a party. Grandpa came. He's pictured. 2 of my sisters-in-law came with their children. So, with us, there were 14 people here for Ginger's party. They brought gifts (on their own accord, unexpected) and we all had a chocolate brownie and ice cream. The kids played and two of the cousins ended up spending the night. It's almost 11pm and only a few kiddos are asleep. It's Fall Break here with the schools, so there is no strict bedtime tonight. Although, I'm getting rather sleepy, so it won't be long until lights out.
I was embarrassed to tell the cake decorator at Wal-Mart that I wanted paw prints on the brownie. She didn't even ask.
Ginger enjoyed opening her gifts. I think she could smell the rawhide in the sack.
Grandpa had a fun time. He's such a great guy!

Listen.............God is Talking

Today I received a call from a new friend of mine, who also happens to be a frequent reader, if not commenter here. She was going to be in town and was going to stop by for a visit. This was wonderful news and I was very pleased to have heard from her. She is a beautiful person and does so much for my soul when she's near. I truly believe that some friends are brought together not by worldly circumstance, but by the greater intentions of God. This friend is this type of friend-----a Godly one.

So, if I was going to be blessed with company, I had a lot of work to do in a short time. Too bad I wait until company is to arrive before I clean the house. I have a favorite item, pictured above, that sits on my mantle. It is an arrangement of three women, gathered in prayer, with the scripture, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them". As I was cleaning the mantle, decluttering and dusting, I noticed that one of the women was turned away from the group. This made me immediately stop and take notice------not only of the woman turned away, but of the state of my soul. As I stood there, dust cloth in hand, reflecting on this woman, I began a conversation with God.
"Yes, Lord, that is me. I have turned away from you for way too long. I neglect my time with you. Please, forgive me. I will be a better woman. I'm sorry I've been so far from you."
These feelings came because of my guilt, I guess. I used to be so diligent---reading the Gospel daily, daily Mass, Rosary, Adoration. Then I had two children 12 months apart and my world changed. I had no time for daily Mass and was so tired that I'd fall asleep during my prayers. Then, what was once daily routine became things that were done few and far between, and a Rosary here and there is not quite cutting the mustard.
Finally, the house was clean and I'd had my shower. I sat down at this computer to check my email. There were no comments from any bloggers on my email, so I checked my husband's email--------this is an address that we used to share and I still get some emails there. Now, you have to understand something. Everyday, on both of the email addresses, I receive two emails that contain the daily Gospel. One is from "The Daily Gospel" and one is from "Regnum Christi." Since I'd seen that woman facing away on the mantle, and I saw that I had an email containing the Gospel, I chose to open up the email from Regnum Christi. The Gospel today was Luke 10:1-9. I read it and then read the reflection that the priest had written about today's Gospel. Now, remember, I could have opened any other email today. I could have opened the one from "The Daily Gospel", but I didn't. As I was reading this reflection, here is what was written, "The Lord sent the 72 in 'pairs.' They doubled up. Why? There may be several reasons for us to reflect on. First, Jesus goes with them and, indeed, goes with us when we do his work in pairs: 'Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them." WHAT??? Okay, Lord, I'm listening!! I had goosebumps and tears in my eyes. God is so good.
Who am I that God would come to me today with an open invitation to get back "in the good" with Him? Well, I don't know the answer to that, but I do know, especially after today, that I am not in control. I'm going to once again, release the wheel to the one that is actually steering the boat, and work to keep this ship afloat, sailing on the open abundance of the grace that is mine for the asking.

Picnic

Last night I had a little "freak" session. Isn't it nice when moms set a good example? I thought maybe we would go and pick something up for supper, but on the way, there was so much bickering going on that I just snapped. I yelled at the kids of being ungrateful, sassy, disrespectful, etc. etc. I said we were going straight home and would eat something there---they didn't deserve to have the treat of eating out. I bagged on the fact that I had to shell out money for gymnastics, swimming, golf, soccer, blah, blah, blah...........and they all had money, but never offered to pay when they wanted to have a meal out. Yes, I was a real hag, I admit, but that happens in my world sometimes.

SOOOO...............I started to feel guilty and thought I would give everyone a little fun. I made soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, a pitcher of Tang, spread some blankets out on the deck, and served them their supper out there. It was really fun, eating under the stars with warm soup in our bellies. It made up for the fit I threw. Well, maybe not made up for it, but made everyone feel better anyway.