good friday

It is Holy Week, one of my favorite times of the year! That may seem so odd and contradictory because it is filled with self-emptying, betrayal, torture, and death. But it is ultimately about true love.

So many times we are busy looking at ourselves, thinking about ourselves. And that is what makes this week so different. It teaches us to pray.

How does one pray? Turn the inner monologue into a conversation directed toward God. Yes, He listens the instant we address Him, and the thoughts (eventually) become more clear, more supernatural, rather than spiraling on a bitter path of self-absorption.

And ask. Ask for what you need. The key? We have to really want it and trust Him. Prayer Pulls off the exterior layers of life and allows us to enter a beautiful, hidden realm of flowers in the same world we inhabited before. the difference is that now we are starting to see with the eyes of the one who made it. "Lord, that I may see."..( Luke 18:41). "And your prayer has only just begun.

spring break!

(image: merchantcircle.com)

Don't we all wish laundry provided this blissful experience? ;) Spring Break is here and I look forward to it and I also in some respects fear it. By 7 AM, my kids had set up a mattress on some shelves and were gleefully sliding down it complete with tile floor below. Luckily these two can turn any chore into a fun experience, including folding laundry. They soon turned their creative powers into pretending they were delivering laundry to each room. My Spring Break motto? "Find something to do, or I will find something for you to do!" I will add that it made my morning much happier working with my children. Imagine that; the feeling that your work is shared, that is, the experience of what being in a family is all about :), and the added enjoyment of the individuality of my kids. They bring so much to my life in the form of mini surprises at the wonder of their growing into their own.

Before I need to dash, guess what I received from a friend for my birthday?

PAPER!!

Have a wonderful day!

magic of giving

If finding gifts was a hobby, I'd consider it one of mine. There is something so pleasurable in thinking about someone and finding something that expresses appreciation or finding something that tells the person you know just what they like and what makes them tick. And making it look so pretty that the wrapping alone can bring a smile. As you can see, it doesn't take much! These are little boxes of chocolates for my kids' teachers for Easter.

(image snapped at the grocery store from Southern Living. The following as well)

The above picture is like a dream of mine. At one point I had a gift drawer, but this is much more curated. I can't say I agree with the choices, but the idea? Fabulous. How many times are we running to someone's new house and wishing we had something beautiful to give them? I'll give some thoughts as to what would be in my gift closet. This is of course entirely different than a birthday gift or something more planned and thought-out. I think part of the nuturing this closet provides is directed toward yourself because beautiful things are at your fingertips, and you know the joy they will bring to someone one day.

Another delicious nook?

Writing notes is such a special occasion, and the right, inspiring papers and accoutrements make the experience an experience rather than a fly-by occurance. As a sweet aside, one of the questions my BF Michelle asked at my wedding shower was what my favorite hobby was. The answer? Paper! My soon-to-be hubby was the only one who got it right. He's also the one who at Barnes and Noble one day long ago removed a stack of future anonymous "books as gifts" from my hands. Think of something from "Mad About You." It was very funny! :)

My mom's b-day is coming up and I am coming up with a special something to send to her. She reads this ( Hi Mom!), or I would tell you... but maybe post-birthday I'll share.

Have a wonderful day!

good things come from Argentina

Viva el Papa! I can see Good Things for you and I. :)

Have a wonderful day, friends!

the color purple

(image: www.hiren.info)

So more on the inner life inside each one of us. Sometimes Lent can be perceived from the outside ( or even the inside!) of Catholicism as a time of gloom. Is this true?

Let us consider. Inside of us there is an infinity, an eternal source. This inner life is meant to be understood. What drives us, what attracts and deflects us and understanding how we relate to and interact with others make up the more beautiful (or ugly part) of our lives. Being eternal, these pools run deep, and in Lent, we look at them, and discover...

We discover there is another, more beautiful way at our fingertips, and that we are given the aid of a generous God who shares His own living water with us. And we can only see this brighter path if we look at our pool as is, and sometimes this causes us some sorrow because we see the pain we have caused ourselves and others.

But we know that because of the time of reflection, of repentance ( an unpopular notion!) and the chance to see something we might otherwise have missed, we rise again with Christ on Easter, to a cleaner, clearer pool that is refreshing and generous, too.

I am grateful for the time set aside each year to discover the potential beauty within, so that if we want to compare life to a flower, it unfolds as it was meant to.

Have a wonderful day!

Gratitude

(image: nrv.macaronikid.com)

I have 5% power on the iPad and about 3 minutes to write a little something. The BAR is over, and we are out of the desert. I am so thankful to have my husband "back," but thankful, too, for the experience of the desert. Somehow what we have becomes more crystallized when life isn't smooth, like our own personal ice sculpture.

During that time I wondered if I should continue this blog. And you know what I am grateful for? I realized I write because the most beautiful thing in life isn't what is outside of us, but inside of us. It's the discovy of the inner life each of us has, and tapping into that that drives me to write.

So I'm back and grateful and will see you soon.

Have a wonderful day!