Space.

I do my best thinking in the shower and while brushing my teeth. When I was working full-time I'm sure my boss figured this out quickly, as I'd often waltz into her office first thing with a revelation saying, "I thought of something while brushing my teeth this morning!" Now, as the understatement of the week, I'll just tell you I'm a reflector. Even when I'm not in the process of cleaning myself in some way I tend to think (and overthink) about what I said and what they said and what it all meant and how this moment fits into the larger context of life and purpose and where am I going and where have I been and what are my goals and how will I get there and...and...and...

Recently, while thinking about thinking, (which is actually called metacognition, so there's your word of the day. Our number of the day can be 8 for no reason whatsoever.) I wondered why these bathroom activities allowed for the most focused, productive thinking. Why was it that I came up with the best topics to write about, the clearest answers to prayers, and the most innovative solutions to problems while I shampooed my hair? The answer, I realized, was space.

I was once told that we can hear God's voice when we're not thinking about anything else.  It is in these moments that we have the space to think, to consider; we're not thinking through to-do lists, our thoughts relatively blank, no distractions. Unless you count rinsing the shampoo out of my hair, that is. We must allow ourselves space to listen and ponder and wonder.

I'm not so good at building this space into my life, especially lately. There are many times throughout the day when I pick up my phone as though I'm bored with nothing else to do. Truly, though, all my smart phone does is distract me from my own thoughts. I even found myself checking instagram at a red light! When did I become so impatient...so removed from my own thoughts that I cannot sit at a red light without wanting to be entertained? And when did anything on instagram become so important...?

And then Lent began: a season of fasting, of working hard on my own impurities so that my heart is prepared for the Lord, of embracing suffering as a path to holiness, of praying more and giving more and needing less.

This year I'm intentionally making more space to pray and reflect and just be. Together Brandon and I will retreat to our bedroom by 9pm each night in an effort to treat our bodies better by getting more sleep and allowing for time to wind down from the day. We will cease using our smartphones at this time and read for at least 10 minutes, taking time away from technology and the distractions smartphones bring with them. We've always prayed together at the end of each day, but we will be adding an Act of Contrition to our normal routine. We hope that setting a time which is earlier than usual to start getting ready for bed will allow us to put more effort and thoughtfulness into our prayer, which sometimes had become a zombie prayer of sorts as we both struggled to stay awake.

I'm also creating space of less distractions during the day by not using my phone (for things other than phone calls and text messages) until 9 in the morning. Reading blogs and scrolling through facebook became my go-to in the morning, but I believe I can be more present to Silas or choose to do some spiritual reading during this precious morning time instead. I plan to leave my phone in the kitchen throughout the day as well so I'm not tempted to be on it as a distraction, and instead have to go get it if I need it for something.

Finally, we've decided that we will be attending adoration at least once per week during Lent. Perpetual Adoration is only 3 blocks from our home, so really we should be making it over there much more often that we do. What better space to pray and collect my thoughts and reflect on His holy sacrifice than right in his presence?

I'm certain I will be tempted to break the promises I've made this Lent...what's that they say about old habits dying hard? But I'm hoping that the extra space in my life will quickly become filled with prayer and reflection and peace. And being fully engrossed in how the current moment is being lived for God.

And with that, I'm off to our bedroom like Cinderella at midnight 'cause it's almost 9 o'clock!

7 Quick Takes: Fall, Facebook and Pope Francis

-1-
Hello?...yes, is fall available? I really thought fall weather was supposed to be here for the season, I must have misunderstood because it's been in the high 70s-low 80s all week! We sure have been enjoying this weather, getting outside to a park or for a walk every day.  Although I do love the cooler weather fall typically brings, it has been a treat to get a little extended summer!

-2-
On Tuesday Silas dressed up in his little overalls and we headed to a friends house with some other babies and their mamas to take some fall photos! Here are a few of my favorites that I took, but there were so many cute ones that others took, as seen on facebook.

 

You can imagine how difficult it is to get 7 babies in one photo looking in the same general direction. I'm sure it would have been funny to get a picture facing the other direction, as all of us mom's are clapping and yelling and frequently jumping in to position babies.

-3-
Our oven has been broken for a little over two weeks now, which means we've had to be pretty creative when it came to dinner.  Crock pot, stove top, grill. Tonight we decided to be uncreative and go out to eat! This is pretty rare for us so it was really nice to not have to cook or have any dishes in the sink. We went to a local place for Mexican food. Yummm.

-4- 
I've said it before, but I am way too addicted to checking facebook and have been reflecting a lot on how much time I waste. It really starts out innocently, I just check it from my phone as I nurse Silas.  I know, though, that there are about 1,001 other things I could be doing with that time! It's not enhancing my life like reading a book or saying a rosary or calling a friend would.
This morning another blogger (Hi Rosie!) mentioned that she was getting a smartphone for the first time and mentioned that she was going to avoid installing facebook because she'd spend too much time on her phone otherwise. This comment hit me--well, duh! SO I took the plunge and deleted it off of my phone. I can still access it if I absolutely need to from Safari (but in what circumstances does a person absolutely need to connect to FB via their cellular device?) I can feel the fresh liberation already.

-5-
The latest interview with Pope Francis has made waves and been taken completely out of context and been the talk of the town for the last week. I read a few articles describing it and quoting it, and I decided I wanted to read it for myself.  So I am, and actually have been reading it aloud to Brandon the last few nights before bed.  We're about 3/4 of the way through and I'm super encouraged by his words and reflections. It's so interesting to me that the media is reporting on what Pope Francis has to say so frequently lately, and also that they so easily take his words out of context. I still have a little bit of reading and a lot of reflection to do before I can make any sort of comment on it.

Want to read it for yourself? Check it out here. Want to see what others have to say about it? (Note: Not all of these interpret the interview in context. It seems like a pretty important thing to do, doesn't it?) Check out what CNN says, what Fox News says, what Kendra says (with links to quite a few other articles on the topic), and what Calah says.

I do have to say that it's amazing how the Holy Spirit works, though. How incredible that Pope Francis can make such an impact on people in the short time since he's become Pope. So excited to see how he will be used to evangelize and change the world.

-6-
Lately I've been getting this excited feeling because it's almost October which means it's getting closer to Christmas. I seriously love Advent and Christmas and the Christmas season.

-7-
I'm missing my family lately.  It's been about a month and a half since we've been home, which is not super long...but it seems like a lot has happened both at home and developmentally with Silas. Fortunately I've been chatting a lot with my mom lately and I even got to talk to my youngest sister for about a half hour this week!! She's in her first semester of college, so she's pretty busy--so great to chat with her for a little bit, but I cannot believe she is old enough to go to college.
Time really doesn't seem to make sense lately. The days are long but the nights should be longer; he's growing up fast and I can't believe we've had him five months, but I can't imagine what life was like before him.

Have a great weekend and check out other quick takes over at Jen's!

~Danielle 

NFP and Me...or Us, rather.

So, this week (7/21-7/27) is National Natural Family Planning Awareness Week and in honor of it, I've decided to tell our story along with some of the reasons we've become pretty passionate about fertility awareness.

(Note: Fertility awareness and NFP are the exact same thing.  However, I think some people equate NFP with the rhythm method, which it is not, and sorta has a bad reputation.  Being aware of one's fertility and the signs that go along with it are exactly what Natural Family Planning is, whether or not not that person actually has a "family" in mind at the moment.)

This story starts out with the fact that I was a whopping 21 years old when I found out that Natural Family Planning was a thing.  It seems crazy to me, but somehow I missed that the church isn't okay with birth control.  I missed it, or didn't care at the time so I ignored it.  As someone who decided early on that it "don't mean a thing if you ain't got that ring"--aka: I was waiting for marriage--I guess it was a subject I didn't really need to know about either.

It was at the FOCUS Conference in Orlando, FL over New Year's when I was a senior in college that I heard for the first time what birth control really did to a woman's body.  It was at this same conference that I heard the term "NFP" thrown around as an answer to this.  It was during a session at this conference that I came to understand just how serious the church was about not using birth control.  It was also during this conference that I met the man who would be my husband.  Divine intervention, much?

So I get home from this fabulous conference (which really didn't focus on fertility issues, I just happened to attend a few speakers who talked about it!) and am "talking to" this wonderful guy, and the subject comes up.  I remember Brandon saying that he knows his wife will never be on birth control.

woah.  Either this man is crazy or wants 23 children. I didn't think that I agreed, so pushed him on it, although I'm not truly sure where the confidence to talk about something like this with a cute guy I had recently met came from.

Conversations continued as we dated, and I began doing lots of research.  Now, if you know me in the "real world," you might know that anytime I ever have a question or concern or thought about anything, I do research.  What this really means is I google my question and read perhaps every article/blog/forum ever written about the subject at hand.  (You can imagine how many times I have googled something since Silas was born three months ago.  If you guessed at least 30 times a day, you'd probably be right.  I just like having information from a variety of sources!) I do typically stay away from wikipedia, because in college my professors told me it was bad, although I'll use it to cross-check information sometimes.

Anyways, over the next year I began looking at things like the USCCB website for Marriage and Family, the Catechism, websites on NFP, listening to "experts" talk, read Good News about Sex and Marriage by Christopher West, and chatted with some women in a Bible study (we happened to be studying the Feminine Genius and JPII's encyclical, Mulieris Dignitatum).

Exactly a year after we met at that conference, Brandon got down on one knee and proposed in the most wonderful way at the most wonderful place and I cried, which rarely happens.  That's another story for another time, I suppose.  My "yes" meant that I got to spend the rest of my life with him, and also meant that I would need to start thinking about this fertility stuff a little harder.

He proposed on that bridge behind us, my favorite on the Riverwalk, where we had our first date.

In the months that we dated I experienced a conversion of sorts.  It's funny how I thought I "disagreed" with the Church, and now so passionately agree with her after doing this extensive research.  It's also funny how the Holy Spirit sure has a way of changing my heart and head.

Three months after we became engaged, I started learning the Creighton Model Fertility Care.  Five months later we were married, and by that point I felt like we had the observing and charting down.

I didn't choose that NFP was right for us solely because that's what Brandon wanted.  The good Lord knows (as does Brandon) that if I disagree with something, I make it known loud and clear.  I also didn't decide NFP was right for us just because the Catholic Church says so.  Perhaps I should be able to do that, but I guess when I was thinking about my own future and that of my family, I was too stubborn to just accept this teaching without asking a million questions first.  I feel so blessed that the Catholic Church encourages questioning!

So why do I choose NFP/fertility awareness?
I choose NFP because it takes the burden off of me and places it onto us.  I watch my body's signs throughout the day and Brandon records them at night.  He has as much of the responsibility of our fertility as I do.  It's not up to me to remember to take that little pill each day.  Also, it's not a conversation about whether I have a "headache" at night...it always has to do with our fertility and whether we're open to children at that time.
I choose NFP because it increases our communication.  Discussing things like mucus signs are awkward at first.  But over time I have found that it increases our ability to relate to one another.  Brandon is able to predict my moods based on our chart.  (I kind of hate that he's always right on...but I kind of love that he is so in tune to my ups and downs that he's able to care for me better because of the information!)
I choose NFP because we're working with our bodies, not against them.   Birth control is one of very few medications that actually makes a woman's body work differently than intended.  NFP is completely natural, no chemicals whatsoever are going into my body.  Which means I have no side-affects and never need to worry that I forgot to take a pill.  wooot.
I choose NFP because it's cheap.  Yes, you have to pay for the introductory session, the follow-up sessions, and the chart materials...but once you know what you're doing, there are very little costs associated!
I choose NFP because it gives me knowledge about my own body.  It is rather incredible how smart God made women's bodies--I absolutely love knowing so much about what is going on in there!  Through the Creighton Model, we've learned how to speak the language of my body/fertility.
I choose NFP because it can be used to avoid or achieve pregnancy.  We used the system to avoid pregnancy for 10 months.  Silas was conceived on our first "try"--boy, are we blessed!  NFP took the guess-work out of it, each and every day you know whether or not you're fertile.I choose NFP because I can live out my Catholic faith, showing respect for my body and fertility!

~Danielle

(I'm writing everyday this week thanks to encouragement from Jen. Check her page out to see others who are taking up the challenge!) 

My First Link-Up!

For months now I have been yearning to write more often and for months now I have followed many gals blogs who frequent the weekly Five Favorites link-up.  I recently had a revelation: I should participate in link-ups.  *light bulb* followed by *face palm*  Why had I not considered participating in this easy way to get me writing before? the world may never know.

Top 5 Favorite Events Since Silas Joined the Fam

1. 

Silas' Baptism

Our little family with Silas' godparents

What a wonderful day this was!  We were surrounded by many family members and friends as Silas James was welcomed into the Catholic Church!  He was all smiles when we first got to church--just couldn't wait to get rid of all that original sin--and did brilliantly the entire time.  He was asleep when Fr. Alan poured the water over his head, but didn't make a peep upon waking up, just calmly looked around.  phew--what a good baby he is!  Afterwards we had a nice little lunch celebration where Silas was passed around from table to table so everyone could see his smiling face.

His little frock was worn by Brandon's mom, all of her brothers and sisters, all of their children, and all of their  grandchildren!  The blanket was used by my sisters and I when we were baptized.  And the booties were a gift from our NFP practitioner.  Such a special outfit!

2.

The first week home 

Brandon took off a week of work to stay home with Silas and I.  What a dream this was.  I never knew having a baby could be so romantic!  Brandon did so much around the house, made sure I had water anytime I was nursing, cooked me three meals/day and loved on Silas all the while.

3.

The second week home

When Brandon had to go back to work, my mom came to take over!  This was SO appreciated and such a blessing to have her here to help.  She also made sure I had 3 meals/day and even made quite a few freezer meals so that I wouldn't have to cook in the weeks following.  What was even more special was spending so much time with her.  Although we chat on the phone everyday, I can't remember when we go to spend so much face-to-face time together!  She's such a fabulous mom and grandma G.G.!

4.

Tori's Graduation Party

My youngest sister graduated from High School this year--craziness.  My mom threw her a party the last week of June, and it was so fun to see family and friends and introduce many of them to our little man for the first time.  I swear that the only time I held him all day was when I was nursing him, because no one else has that capability.  Otherwise, he was not put down and received so much love all day long!

5.

Other various happenings as a family of 3

Okay, so if I tried to include all of my favorites, there'd be more than 5...but it has been super fun to tote Silas around all the places we go (and also a little bit stressful, I'll admit it!)  Going home to the farm, 4th of July weekend, going for walks, heading to the winery, going out to eat--everything feels special because it's always Silas' first time!  Even bath time, although a bit of a chore, is so fun because of how much he likes it and how super cute he is when squeaky clean!

Happy Hump Day!

~Danielle

To stay or not to stay: On being a SAHM

Even before we were engaged, Brandon and I discussed what we would want for our future families.  In my mind, when I began having children I would want to stay home.  I've always felt called to this, a vocation of sorts.  My mom was able to be home with my sister and I while we were small and had a part-time job when we were around 4 and 2.  She worked full-time after my youngest sister was born, but my dad was working for home.  So, for as long as I can remember, one of my parents was with us at home for the majority of the week.

Brandon agreed, he envisioned his children being home day-to-day instead of in a day care.  He grew up on a dairy farm, so his parents were always around, albeit working extremely hard to keep things running smoothly! 

When we got engaged and were going through  Pre-Cana, it was brought up again.  As a sidenote, Pre-Cana was such a wonderful way to prepare our hearts for the journey of marriage!  It really helped us communicate about issues that may otherwise have not been brought up and focus on the vocation instead of the "Big Day."  It would have been easy to focus on the details of the wedding instead of the details of the marriage. Okay--where was I? Oh yes, future families.  In Pre-Cana, we discussed and decided that if we were blessed with children, I would stay home with them and Brandon would continue to work outside of the home.  I have to say that it was definitely a looong conversation.  Playing devil's advocate (sometimes too much, I'm sure) I pushed the issue and inquired about whether Brandon would ever consider staying at home.  This challenged his worldview a bit, but I really needed to know that I wasn't going to walk down the aisle towards a man who thought a woman's place was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen (I was a communications major at a liberal arts college who took--and loved--Women's Studies classes, what can I say?)  The more we talked about it, the more convicted I actually became that I would have it no other way than to be home with our children.  And, in the end, Brandon agreed that he would be willing to be the primary daytime caregiver for our kiddos if the job I had outside the home paid more and had better benefits.  Let's get real though, he's an engineer.  and it made me jealous just thinking about him being home and me heading off to work every morning.  and the fact that I really did know it was supposed to be part of my life plan to be at home with kidssince I was 12.

Fast forward a year.  We're married and go on a super great honeymoon and I have an amazing, fulfilling, challenging job and we join a parish and buy a house.  
Oh, and we're pregnant.  
Three months in, and I pretty much freak out.  Could I really leave a job I love so much? Will I really feel satisfied just sitting at home all day? (how wrong that statement really is...) Can I truly go with so little adult interaction day-in and day-out?  I'm not so sure I can do this and was having major trust issues--trusting myself, trusting my instincts, and trusting God.  I felt like the people I worked with would be judging me.  There were 4 other women I worked with who had babies under 1 year old, and every one of them returned to their position.  Maybe women don't do the stay-at-home thing anymore?  Maybe that's too old fashioned...

Brandon was pretty confused when I drastically changed my tune regarding post-baby plans, and so we began praying about it, pretty intensely actually.  Prayers for the baby's health and my ability to understand my own heart and mind.  I prayed a mass novena for these things, we asked for the intercession of St. Gianna and St. Gerard daily, we prayed rosarys...and I eventually did feel a shift when I took the advice of Sarah A. Reinhard, author of "A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism."  What an amazing read, by the way.  If you are pregnant and Catholic (or even if you're not!), you must get your hands on this book.  Reinhard suggested that you take all of your anxieties and lay them in Jesus' lap, because He can, and will, take care of them.  And God will be there with you in the future, too.  He doesn't leave after baby is born...
Well, duh!  I mean...mega-duh.  Of course I knew this, but I sure wasn't acting like it.  

So my prayers shifted.  I started asking what the Lord's will was for my life.  I asked God to be with me and this child, whether healthy or sick.  I realized this wasn't actually my decision at all.  And during our trip to Orlando, Florida for the FOCUS National Conference, my 26 week pregnant self and the hubs attended adoration with about 4,000 other people (talk about incredible).  I'm telling you, right then and there I was smacked in the face and over the head.  I kept thinking about something my (very wise) mom had said: "No one ever wishes they spent less time with their children." 
Right.
And I actually have the chance to choose!  What an absolute blessing that we can figure out how to live off of one income, that our benefits are coming from Brandon's job, that we can make something like this actually work.
I have the opportunity to be blessed by the presence of this child day-in and day-out.  Will it be challenging? Oh, you betcha.  
Worth it?
I dare to think--yes.

Since that day in early January, I became more and more convicted.  I began letting those in my life know our decision, and felt nothing but an overwhelming amount of support.  For some reason, this surprised me.  Many people I told responded with, "That's awesome, good for you!"  Ahh...yes...good for me :)

I have to add here that I have also felt so uplifted and supported by a handful of SAHM Catholic bloggers, whom don't even know I follow and read their blogs daily.  They prove the absolute worthiness (and sacrifice) it is to dedicate this season of their lives to their children.  I have linked to them below--thank you.

Bonnie at A Knotted Life
Rosie at A Blog for My Mom
Lindsay at My Child, I Love You
Emily at Glitter Rainbow Happiness Land
Ana at Time Flies When You're Having Babies
Hallie at Moxie Wife

Our Healer

Below you will find the "script" for my talk in Chapel yesterday. They say you only write about what you know...this week, I must say, I preached what I myself needed to hear. 

     Will I be able to handle that? What if someone is better at it than I am? This is going to be so hard! What’s the use? Should I even try to overcome this? 
It never fails that when we’re facing a problem or even an upcoming event in our lives, a little voice creeps into our head, questioning whether we really are capable; wondering if we’ll really be able to do what we’ve set out to do and wrapping ourselves in doubt. Many times even in areas of our lives where there aren’t any huge problems, fears, doubts and anxieties find a way of becoming present right along with feelings of excitement, gratitude, or success. 
Throughout Mark’s gospel we hear about Jesus’ ministry of healing. As I read a passage from Mark 1:29-39, think about the ways in which you may need healing in your own life. 

“And immediately after they came out of the synagogue, they came into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever; and immediately they spoke to Jesus about her. And He came to her and raised her up, taking her by the hand, and the fever left her, and she waited on them. 
When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city had gathered at the door. And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. 
In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons.” 

     This passage speaks of Jesus healing those people who come to him. In context of the book of Mark, this passage is preceded and followed by other stories of miraculous healings by our Lord. Jesus cures a demoniac, calling the unclean spirit out of a man in the passage prior to the one I read and cures both a leper and a paralytic in the verses following the passage. It concludes by telling us that he “drove out demons” throughout the whole of Galilee. Mark’s Gospel, although the shortest of the gospels, vividly tells us many details about Jesus’ public ministry. It proclaims the good news that Jesus himself is the son of God who was sent to rescue humanity by serving and eventually sacrificing his life for us. Although perhaps a burden at times, He took great joy in serving his people. 
     In verses 29-39, we heardthat people began bringing all who were ill to Jesus after the sun had set. Then, Jesus was up “very early before dawn” and went out to a deserted place to pray. While we don’t know how far Jesus’ deserted place was from Capernaum, it’s obvious that he was seeking to have time alone with His holy father. We find, however, that Simon and the other disciples seek out Jesus in this deserted place and tell him that “Everyone is looking for you.” What this means is that even though he had been up very late healing people, the people of Galilee are up very early the next morning, already eager to have an encounter with Jesus, so much so that they find his disciples and insist on them finding him and bringing him back. These people recognized that they needed healing and had the full expectation that Jesus was the man who could take care of them. 
     Are we eager in bringing our own concerns to the Lord? Do we expect that he will heal us of our anxieties? The Galileans give us such a good example for being eager about the Word of God and having expectant faith. Mother in laws sick? Go to Jesus! Friend has a demon? Find Jesus! Dealing with leprosy? Where’s Jesus? In our lives, these “demons” and “leprosy” may look a little bit like anxiety over midterms, an unhealthy relationship in our life, financial burdens, and other personal concerns. 
     When thinking about how to break the fever of the problems in your life, what do you do first? I know that I wish I could say I eagerly seek out God’s word and expect that whatever concern I bring to Him, he will control. Truly, though, I’m not sure I’ve fully allowed that to happen in every area of my life. Even the demons have faith in Jesus and are pulled out of the ones they’re possessing because, as it says in verse 34, “he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.” The demons themselves know and believe in Jesus! How much more should we as Christians have faith in Jesus? If Jesus is willing to help his followers in all that they ask, traveling for days, preaching and driving out demons through the whole of Galilee, why wouldn’t He do the same for us? We need to allow Him to be our Healer, bring any and all troubles to Him with the full expectation that He’s got it from here. 
     How would your life be different if you treated Jesus as your Healer in all things, whether that be preparing for your next speech, getting ready for your next big game, dealing with a “demon” that helps you forget your problems, such as alcohol, or having a difficult conversation with a friend? As Christians, we expect that our prayers will be answered, even if the answer is “No.” 
     Now, I say all of this knowing that often I find myself believing that my problems are too small for God, that I only need to step up and deal with them, be strong, quit being such a worrier... When I was in college, this belief was challenged when I read a reflection on 1st Corinthians 1:29-30 which says “so that no human being might boast before God… ‘Whoever boast, should boast in the Lord.’” Paul uses this expression to remind us that we cannot claim to be autonomous, we are not, and never will be, saved by our own resources. This is so easy to forget because of the way we are encouraged to live. We’ve grown up in a society that tells us to always do our best, get ahead any way we can, and fend for ourselves. We’ve been taught that independence is to be strived for at all costs, that you need to be good at something to do it at all. While it is worth it to be reminded that we cannot take credit for the good in our lives, it is so important that we remember that we also cannot keep our doubts and anxieties to ourselves. Looking internally for solutions and relief will push us only further into our problems—we’re not supposed to deal with them alone. Instead, we must expectantly bring them to our Healer, to the One who knows our hearts, to the one who sacrificed his life for our salvation. 
     Right now I’d like you to take a moment and pretend that Jesus himself is sitting here in front of you. Imagine the expression on his face, his eagerness to hear from you and his yearning to serve his people, his willingness to listen. Now picture yourself physically placing your fears and doubts and anxieties into his lap, giving them fully to Him, expecting that He’s got them from here. You are welcome to place as many of these as you want, forever, right there in His lap. Carefully revel in how it feels to place each doubt and anxiety there, in the place where they belong. Expect that they will be taken care of, because He’s got it from here. Now picture yourself laying your head in Jesus’ lap, putting yourself in a place where he can heal you, where he can cure your sickness, drive out the demons of your life. It is here that we, as Christians, are free to dwell. We, just like the Galileans, are welcome and called to eagerly and expectantly find that place often, within all of the various pockets of our lives. 
  
Thanks for reading,
Danielle  

Alleluia!

Happy Easter, He is risen!

This Holy Week has been reflective and moving for me, and I am so grateful for the awe, wonder, and humility which has been placed on my heart.  Jesus as my Savior is the only thing I can boast in, although a sinner in every sense of the word, I am on a path to holiness because He wills it.  Our Lord is the one who gives me the abilities and talents I possess and I must think, act, speak, and pray for the goodness of His glory on earth.

Alleluia, Alleluia!  

During lent my husband I were driving home from his parents farm and I felt moved to sing Hallelujah by Bethany Dillon.  He reminded me that per Catholic tradition, I shouldn't say Hallelujah during lent.  This made me frustrated, because I was just praising God!  Really, though, that's what Lent is all about, isn't it?  A time for us to remember what Jesus sacrificed for us, a time where you recognize the uncomfortable parts of being a Christian, and reflect on why it is so worthy to bask in frustration and sacrifice for the good of becoming closer to God.

Being able to sing Hallelujah on this blessed Easter day allows me to truly feel God's joy and saving grace throughout my entire being.

In joy,

Danielle