Want to Hear God Laugh?

Tell Him your plans....


It's truly amazing the journey that God has planned for our lives in Jeremiah 1:5 the Lord says "Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations." 

The power of those words is staggering, in recent days I've begun to true ask the Lord "What is it that you have planned for me?" This isn't a new question for me but in the past it has been "What is it that you have planned for me Lord? Right, you really mean this don't you? I could possibly be the one you have slated for that, I'm not good enough for that!" It's amazing how the Lord works on your heart though, gently nudging and guiding you to where you knew you were supposed to be all along but never had the courage to go. 

What was I trying to say with this?? Oh, that's right, once again I'm begging for prayers. HEY! Calm down, it's only because I know that the more of us that go to the Blessed Mother with an intention the more likely it is that she will condescend to take that intention to the Lord. I'm not daft, I know that there's a whole big world of starving people, many of whom are right here in this country, but hey, I have to take my chances when I can get them! So my intention?  Courage, I need oodles and oodles of courage. Because I have this marvelous feeling my life is about to change, in an amazing, life altering, peace bringing to my soul kind of way. Thank you all so very much for your prayers!

Do You Remember What Your Knees are For?

Pray. That is what your knees are for, to pray. And if you forget this, God has a funny way of reminding you. I was fortunate to be offered a job at an insurance company not three day after I walked in my college graduation. God is truly Awesome! Unfortunately around this time I also started to realize that the relationship that I had with M that I thought was flawless began to crumble. Which was entirely my doing. I am NOT making excuses for my behavior but I began to fear that what I had experienced in past relationships (which were very bad business) was coming to pass in my relationship with M. So I did what any sane 21 year old would do and sat M down and talked it through, right? Wrong, I did probably the stupidest thing I could have and turned and ran in the opposite direction as quickly as I could. Fast. And without warning. I was a selfish, selfish person and hurt my best friend in the entire world. I lost sight of the fact that God has a plan and lost trust in the Lord. I am not proud of this at all. Maybe that's why it's taken me two months to face it.

So where do I go from here? Well I know that the babies and chicken I had dancing in my head are a lot farther off now, but I still feel that it's in God's plan for my life. But where I go is to my knees, I thank the Lord for every beautiful moment He gave me with M. I thank Him for introducing me to M's wonderful family. I pray that a family and love like I experienced with M is planned for me by Him. And I never lose hope.


"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

St. Monica and I are Becoming Well Acquainted...

                              So I think that I've mentioned in previous posts that I'm finishing my last semester of college. And working full time. And helping to run a student organization. And working to build a good relationship with both my family and boyfriend, M. So I was thinking one day and thought "You know what sounds like a really, really good idea? Starting to look for an internship on top of all of my already burdensome obligations! I couldn't possibly be offered an internship at the first law firm I walk into! And even if I were, they wouldn't want me to start right away! That would be silly business!" So can you guess what happened? That's right! I was offered an internship in the very first law firm I walked into and they wanted my to start the next week! Be careful what you pray for people, you just might get it.

                          I am truly overjoyed that I was able to find an internship so quickly, I've had friends search for months to no avail. I really do know how blessed I was to walk into the position I got. I am getting wonderful experience and would not trade a minute of it for the world. The one thing that has suffered is my free-time, the time in which I would blog, or I don't know, sleep.... Oh sleep you ever elusive creature.

                    The good news is that I graduate in less than a month and then I can find a full time paralegal job. Then I can quit my clothes store job. Then I can start a regular blog schedule. Then I can run away to the farm more often and love on some babies. And sew with The Russian. Then sleep and I will no longer be mortal enemies.

                  Oh and Saint Monica is the patron saint of patience, which I have little of at the moment due to the fact that I am so close to graduating that I can almost literally taste it. (Oh graduation cake, thous wilst be mine) Oh and the sleep deprivation  that's not really helping the patience. But praying to Saint Monica is and will continue to do so.


        So if you find yourself with a spare moment I would really appreciate a quick prayer to the saint of your choice, really any ear works! Although the Blessed Mother does have some mighty pull, you know how sons are when their momma asks them something. The Lord is no exception! Thank you all so much for reading and I hope that you have blessed day where ever you are!

7 Quick Takes

1. Last Sunday I got to go to Mass and spend most of the day with M. It was really nice since most of the time we only get to see each other on Sundays. We were able to talk about the future and resolve some issues. My favorite part of the day was sitting on his parent's back porch on the swing and just enjoying the day.
2. Monday brought meetings. I am the president of a club on campus and every Monday I have meetings during the morning. Then class at night. Then occasionally some sleep. You think I'm kidding! 
3. Tuesday was my final exam in a seven week class I was taking, but don't worry y'all! My new seven week class started Thursday. No rest for the weary I tell you!
4. Wednesday I didn't have class nor did I work, which is a blessing since I started to not feel well. I have a feeling that M gave me the cold he picked up from Q (M's brother) and his family. So I spent most of the day in bed nursing what I think has now become a sinus infection but not to worry! I have found a cure on Pinterest!
5. Thursday was the first day of my second seven week class, which means that my last semester is halfway over! Woohoo! After class I came home and slept for six hours, I still wasn't feeling very hot.
6. Friday I was feeling better so I ventured out to redeem a few coupons I had stocked up. This resulted in the purchase of two new candles and a CBTL coffee machine. So maybe I splurged a tad bit? It came with a $50 rebate AND I got an employee discount thanks to my sister which means minus $30 AND I got five free packages of things that make the coffee (worth $40). Long story short, I saved more than I spent. 
7. Next week is spring break and with any luck I'll be on Q and the Russian's farm playing with These baby chicks for a few days. PLUS I get to see M in two days! Now that's a great way to end a week!

Pinterest Success

I saw this mantilla on Pinterest:

 And needless to say, I was enchanted and could just imagine wearing this to Mass during the Lenten season. Since I already have a black veil, I decided to recreate it myself. I also decided that I wanted to add three drops of blood. I am really happy with the way it turned out! See:


It's in about the same position as the one above. I'll upload more pictures once I get to wear it.

Have y'all done any fun or creative things this Lenten season?

Saint Anne, Saint Nicholas, and I

For those of y'all who don't know, Saint Anne is the patron saint of mothers and Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children. I'm including them in this post because I was frantically praying to them on Friday after work.

I'll start at the beginning of the story. On Friday I worked an eight hour shift at the clothing store that I work at part-time. When I went out to my car I noticed that the car next to me still had it's motor running and appeared to be empty. That's when I noticed the little boy, who looked to be about two or three, and the baby, who looked to be maybe six months old. My first reaction was shock, how could someone leave there two young children alone in the car? After absorbing the situation for a minute, I got back out of my car, marched back into work and told my manager about my discovery. We located the mother, who had been shopping for about half an hour before I found her kids in the car, who promptly told us that she had left the car running so that they would be warm and not to worry. I'm not a mother yet my self but when she said that to us, I felt physically ill. So I went back to my car, sat there, and watched these two babies to make sure they were safe. At one point the baby started to fuss and the two year old reached over and calmed the baby. By this point I was crying and praying with all my might. I sat and watched those babies for forty-five minutes before their mother came out of that store. An hour and fifteen minutes they sat in that car by themselves.

As I sit and type this out, I wonder why I didn't call the police, it just didn't cross my mind at the time. Like I said, I'm not a mother yet, but I already know that I could never leave my children in the car like that. If I can't be bothered to take the time to get my babies out of the car and into the store, that new pair of jeans just isn't happening. It still blows my mind, an hour and fifteen minutes.....

What do y'all think? What would you have done?

The Elephant in the Pew

                       I'm sure your first question is "Why would an elephant be at mass?" Not your first question? Man, I need to work on my mind-reading skills. I'll ask my mom for some pointers. But on a more serious note, the elephant that I'm referring to is veiling or wearing a mantilla to mass. If you have done this or even just been in the same pew as someone who was then you know what I'm talking about. There seem to be two stock responses to a woman who walks into mass with her head covered.

A) "Why are you doing that?" " Didn't you know we aren't in the Dark Ages?" " Vatican II abolished/destroyed/freed you from the slave hood of the veil."

B)"Good for you!" "I am so glad to see a young woman wearing a veil!" "You are so brave!"


                    The thing is, I don't feel enslaved by my veil. I feel empowered, set free. When I pin my veil on before I walk into church it focuses me. I'm reminded that I'm not there to compete with the other women to see who is wearing the best dress or made the best pie. I'm there for my weekly date with Jesus. My veil is a sign of my womanly dignity. I can't really put into words what I want to say, but that's what more intelligent bloggers are for! So I'm going to link to a few blogs that say it better than I ever could. In the meantime, enjoy this picture of an elephant in church!




And now the links:

This link is to an article about veiling, the article is kinda long but really well written.
The Catholic Knight











Fish Eaters

This blog post is very concise and has great resources about wearing and making your own veil.

















Catholic Mothers Online

This last one is my favorite, it's written by a woman who converted to the Church and is very honest and beautiful. She also raises an interesting question, Have you ever seen a picture/statue of Mary without a veil or headcovering? Something to think about....