Jesus Hid Himself

...but Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

366. My Lord,willing to suffer for me
367. Passion week starting out with suffering for my boys,from rugby injuries
368. My boys are not seriously hurt
369. My daughter helping our neighbor with her garden
370. Homemade bread to share with them too

Jesus hid himself for it was not yet His time to give His life for us. That would be coming soon. I am reminded of His hiding by draping my sacred images and I am saddened. I look to the crucifix daily as I pray,I look to the face of Our Lady for help and consolation when I am worn smooth from the noise and concerns and I am left lonely as I look and I see purple. I am lonely for the face of my Lord and His Mother and the saints in my home.

371. Missing the face of my Lord
372. Anticipation of a canning class and good food from the garden
373. Laughing at the gas prices! What else can I do?
374. Hearing my soul sister say she is proud of my sons
375. Surgeons who will skillfully repair my mother-in-laws wrist

My heart sinks further in my chest when I think of how often He must search for my face,a face that is turned down towards myself and my little crosses. He searches for me to catch me up into His Friendship and my eyes are closed and I do not see. How many times do I only look to Him occasionally? Or halfheartedly?

376. Medicines to ease pain and prevent infection
377. A sweet husband doing so much more for his family than he knows
378. The smell of freshly mowed grass
379. Sunshine but a little cooler
380. The Friendship of Christ

Can you not spend one hour, my Lord asks of me and I yearn to say "Yes" and to be as overzealous as St. Peter and say "Not just one hour but all of them!" And I know that I struggle to stay faithful for even a short time. Today, I will strive to stay in the presence of God, turning my face to His.

Joining Jenny

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Giving thanks....

351. My husband spending the morning at a farm to help out
352. A good week of schooling
353. Pictures taken by my daughter
354. Making cheese
355. Stations of the Cross
356. Joking around with my kids
357. Ice cold tea
358. Resting
359. New glasses
360. Making plans for Easter dinner
361. That the ACT test is over for my son and he feels good about it
362. Saturday
363. Dogwood tree blossoms that remind me of our Lord's Wounds
364. Flowering "weeds" in vases
365. Draping the sacred images and crucifixes for Passion week

Joining Jenny

Kites and the Lessons They Teach

The joy of a windy day, a girl and a new butterfly kite brought a smile to my face as she and I ran together to launch it into the blue sky.

336. Bright blue skies
337. Yellow and orange butterfly kite
338. The blue of my daughter's eyes
339. Her wonderfully curly hair
340. The lift to the spirits in flying a kite

Up,up, it would go only to waft helplessly then drift down when there was not enought wind or taughtness on the string, bringing to my mind the thought that so too do I drift through my days when I do not turn my face to the holy wind of the Holy Ghost to inspire my thoughts and actions. So too do I slowly fall when I chafe and pull at the things that keep me grounded;prayers,laundry,teaching those God has given me, the mundane and the beautiful.

341. Two nights in a row of good fellowship and direction
342. The distinction between meditation and contemplation
343. Jenny,patiently explaining them again to me
344. Healing mass at the cathedral and getting to venerate and thought the reliquary of St. Damien's relics
345. The powerful healing found only in the confessional
346. Looking at all the others and realizing how small my sufferings are by comparison

And it is brought to my mind that through submission and living constantly in the presence of God that then we can soar and just like flying that kite we get chances over and over to keep flying closer to our God and relish in His Love.

347. Tired, and bruised young men
348. That they, though bruised, are safe
349. A good book, explained better so I can really benefit from it
350. A upcoming visit to the farm we buy our milk and eggs from to learn about interning with them

Joining Jenny

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317. A day spent with friends
318. Baby girls everywhere and one just 10 days old!
319. Cake and ice cream
320. Twirly skirts on a windy day
321. Noisy bread machine
322. Cool morning after a muggy hot day
323. No smoke in the air this morning, hopefully the grass fires are all out
324. A great deal at the store
325. Beautiful piano music
326. Smelly, sweaty kids in the car after playing hard with friends
327. Grass,soft as a carpet, on my feet
328. Wise words of counsel from my soul sister
329. Good priests sharing in the family celebration
330. Laetare Sunday
331. A wonderful retreat with Michael Voris
332. Staying off the computer these last few days
333. Faith
334. Family
335. Kind words from those who read my blog

Searching for the Son

It's been cold, dark and without sun for almost a week. The weather brought a little bit of much needed rain and a great appreciation of the sun. My eyes searched for the sun every morning these past few days and not seeing it they blinked blearily and I started my day having to try just a little bit harder to be cheerful and kind.
Yesterday the sky started to clear but the sky was not blue just a dull gray as though it had forgotten how to push through the spectrum and reflect the blue.
I feel that way too, especially on the dull and wearisome days.The days spent in self, refusing to take the time to pray or let my first thoughts be of Him. I forget or some-days refuse to reflect the Son instead letting my spectrum of emotions and selfishness get in the way of Him.

Today though, I will start the day over and will work to reflect His love and hope that when others see me they will see that I have My Father's eyes.

My gratefulness to My creator continues..

292. Blue sky
293. Bright son
294. Warmer days
295. Songs that inspire
296. My hard-working husband, dealing with the unpredictable work of computers
297. Hot, soapy water
298. Her words and friendship and her dreams
299. My children
300. a house messy from a busy week, yearning to be cleaned
301. Sunshine pouring in to show me what needs to cleaned, both materially and spiritually
302. A fun camera
303. Lent, half gone, so that there is enough left to begin again and try harder
304. Phone call from my god-daughter,wanting me to be part of her life
305. Gray skies, reminding me to search for Him
306. Missing my grown sons
307. Sleepy steps on the stairs
308. The internet and being able to listen to the song you want when you want
309. A phone call bringing relief
310. Free glasses for Terry and me!
311. Watching Bella chase her friend, the squirrel
312. Enjoying right now
313. Practicing living in the Presence of God
314. Reordering and redefining self-discipline for myself and my children
315. Our Lady and her perfect example
316. The anticipation of seeing St Damien's relics

Joining Jenny