Election Day

Well, here we are in the midst of Election Day 2012. I can say with all certainty that part of me will be very glad to wake up tomorrow-whatever the outcome-because I won't have to endure all of the charged political ads that have even invaded Pandora and Facebook. I am also very anxious about what the future holds for our country. I know that I need to simply trust in the Lord-that He will provide for my needs, the needs of my family, and the needs of His Church. However, I can't help but sometimes feeling downright scared about the future. As the wife and I have watched some of the debates, experienced the campaigns, and checked out voting records, I am sure of one thing only. Regardless of today's results, I need to pray for our country. A lot. Especially as we prepare to bring a son into this world. I hope that our son will grow up in a country that is better than the one I grew up in and better than the one I live in now. But on this Election Day, I simply offer a prayer for those who will be elected and for all of the tough decisions they will have to make.

Lord, please bless today's election. Bless all those who voted, all those who will vote and all of the candidates. Whatever the outcome, help us to trust completely in Your providence.

Amen.

Life barrels on....

A friend was recently bugging me about updating my blog. I told her that I haven't had anything to write about and besides, it hasn't been that long since my last post... right? Well, I'm not too sure about you, but for me August 26th was a long time ago and a lot has happened since then. In a little over a month, our life has changed drastically! Not only did we purchase a home (yikes!) and move, but we're also taking on a larger role in a ministry we've been helping out with since we got married in April. Not to mention baby boy will be here in roughly 13 weeks!!! But like I said, I have nothing to blog about....

We started looking at homes in late July. After 25 houses and a month of looking, we found our house and made an offer! If you had told me even a year ago that the wife and I would be homeowners by 23, I would have laughed in your face. But, The Lord is so good! After some negotiation, our offer was accepted. There was lots of red tape (and packing tape), but on September 21st, we closed on our first home. We're still settling in and on most days, it's still surreal that we own a home. There's no feeling like coming home after a long day of work and settling into the couch inside your living room. That actually belongs to you. You're not renting it. You own it. WHAT?!?! Didn't I live in a dorm four years ago? Man, how time flies. On Friday, we had some friends over and a priest friend of ours blessed our home. It was a beautiful night and one I won't soon forget. I am very grateful for the blessings in my life including all of our friends and our new home.

The second big thing that has happened since August 26th is that the wife and I agreed to become a presenting team for our local Catholic Engaged Encounter Community. Catholic Engaged Encounter is a Catholic (obviously) ministry that provides weekends retreats for couples preparing for marriage. During the weekend, two presenting teams who are married couples share witnesses about specific topics which are relevant to an engaged couple. Some of the talks focus on understanding ourselves and what we bring to a marriage, decision making in a marriage, and the idea of marriage as a sacrament, among others. Throughout the weekend, the engaged coupled have a really good chunk of time to reflect and talk to each other about what is shared. When the wife and I attended our weekend in February, we really received a lot from it. It was very blessed because it gave a us a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of life to step back and focus on our relationship. It was very affirming for us, because we had actually already talked about most everything that was brought up. At the end of the weekend, we indicated that we would be interested in helping with future weekends-greeting couples, setting up the facilities, handing out papers-and that after we were married for a year we might be interested in becoming a presenting team. Well, about a month ago, the only presenting team in Tallahassee invited us over for dinner and asked if we'd like to be a presenting team on an upcoming weekend in April (one week before our first Anniversary). The couple who usually presents with them is trying to lessen their load and another couple who was working on their talks had to step back due to some family issues that came up. Which left us. The newlyweds. The only couple from the last year or so who indicated they were interested in becoming a presenting team and have kept in contact. Since the wife and I had spoken at length about feeling called to this ministry and helping in this way specifically, we agreed to begin workshopping talks to present in 6 months. Ahhhhhh! The Lord really likes to keep us busy.

We are very excited for this opportunity to serve and witness to God's awesome gift of love in and through the sacrament of marriage. But boy do I feel unworthy. For one, a lot of the couples who attend these weekends are older than we are. Also, we've only been married about six months. Will we even have enough to talk about? But as we have begun work on our first talk, I am assured that The Lord truly is calling us to this and desires to work through us to show His desires and His love to others. And we are both very convicted that marriage is a supremely important sacrament and that there is a lack of understanding of it both within and outside of the Church. If we can help to reach even one person and help that person to better understand God's desire for their marriage, then it will be worth it. I'm also certain it will greatly enrich our marriage as well.

In the midst of all that, life is great! The Lord has abundantly blessed our growing family and I can be nothing but grateful. If you hear me gripe or complain about anything in the next few months, just tell me to come reread this post. I am thankful to have this peace filled and joyful time to fill me for the trials which I am sure will come. Please keep myself and my family in your prayers as we continue on this adventure and know that I am praying for you.

Lord, thank you for your abundant blessings. You are so generous and loving. Thank you for the gift of live, our new home, and the opportunity to serve you. May I never forget that these and all the good things in life are gifts from You. Please continue to bless our family, our home, and Catholic Engaged Encounter. May we be witnesses to Your love and mercy, always keeping you at the center of our lives. When people see us, may they see You.

Amen

Reflections and Thoughts of this guy's heart

Today's readings at Mass were awesome!  The second reading from the fifth chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians is the same second reading the wife and I used at our wedding.  In verse 25, Paul charges husbands to "love [their] wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her."  I wonder how well I have done this over the past four months.  To love another person as I love myself can be very difficult, especially when I sometimes have a hard time loving myself!  Of course, Paul reminds us later in the passage that he's referring to the great mystery of Christ's love for the Church.  Most days this makes me shake in my boots.  Those are big shoes to fill (two footwear references in a row, ha!).  I'm supposed to love as Christ loves?  That's crazy hard!  Christ died on the cross for us.  I fail at this more often than I succeed.  Just this afternoon I came home from the store with a list of things to do around the house before the wife got home from a meeting.  Completing even one or two items on the list would have been a small sacrifice that would have shown my wife I care for her and for our home.  What did I do instead?  Sat down and watched two episodes of Parks and Recreation and an episode of Psych.  What a waste of time!!  I was too tired to wash the dishes.  Going to Best Buy, the Dollar Store, and Sams wore me out and I could put the laundry in after one episode of Parks and Rec.  These are the excuses I told myself as I laid down on the couch and turned on the T.V.  Do you think any dishes got done this afternoon while she was at her meeting?  Do you think the laundry made it into the washer before she got home?  Guess what I did when she got home.  I took a nap.  Fail.  The life that Christ calls me to is not easy and I'm far from perfect.  Guess it's time to pick myself back up and try again.  After my nap, I did the dishes and we packed a few boxes (we plan on moving in the next couple of months).  I didn't tell her I was planning on doing these things while she was out.  She knows now, because she'll probably be the first to read this.  Hi honey! =]  But when we mess up, we pick ourselves up and we try, try again.

Why?  It's hard to keep trying over and over and over again.  It's a pain!  No one thinks it's fun to mess something up and have to start over again.  At least not anyone I know.  That brings us to the Gospel reading from today's Mass.  John tells us the disciples were grumbling (again).  "It's hard to follow all these rules!"  "How can we believe all that you tell us?"  Jesus had just finished preaching about His body and blood.  He literally told them to eat His flesh and drink His blood.  He gives us these gifts as the ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.  He calls us to give up our lives daily for the good of others.  John tell us all but twelve of his disciples walked away and didn't look back.  They just couldn't wrap their heads around it.  Jesus asks the twelve if they too want to leave Him.    Peter responds saying, "Master, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-69).  This is what it's all about.  That's why I can get up and try again when I let others down.  I have lived a life outside of God's law.  I have sinned over and over again without any thought of what it did to me or those around me.  After living that life for years, I looked back and I didn't like what I saw.  I was unhappy and I didn't have real friends.  I wasn't real.  My life had become a lie.  When I moved to college, I got a fresh start.  I found genuinely faithful people and started real friendships.  I witnessed life with God in the people around me and it was appealing.  I started seeking God and turning away from sin.  I found peace and joy.  God continued sending people into my life to draw me closer to Him and to show me His plan for me.  I'm living the life He chose for me and there's no doubt in my mind about it – I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.  Am I going to mess up countless times?  Yes.  Will God still love me?  YES!  That's the reason I can move on when tough stuff happens.  That's what keeps me going when I have a hard day.  That's why I can choose believe in the "hard sayings" the Lord has for us.  Because at the end of the day, where else can I turn?  I want to get to Heaven!  Jesus has the words of eternal life.  I have come to believe and I am convinced that He is the Holy One of God.

Lord, give me the grace to love others as You love me.  Remind me daily of the call to lay my life down for my wife and help me to to joyfully embrace it.  Give me strength in my weakness to love her in the little things as well as the big things.  Show me how to lead her to holiness.  Remind me constantly that I am created in Your image and that I am perfect in Your sight.  Help me to look past the distractions of this world to see the beauty of Your truth.  Enlighten me when I have trouble accepting your "hard sayings."  Continue to bring men and women into my life who love you joyfully and live holy lives.  Give me the grace to persevere in the life you call me to, especially when I face temptation.  Open my eyes  more and more each day to see You.

Amen

School Days

The wife and I just had a quick cry.  Missing the grandparents who have already gone to heaven – a quick flood of emotions as we remember the happy times and mourn that our little one will never get to meet them in this life.  As we hugged, I was reminded just how grateful I am to be married to her.  A friend was recently sharing about how the blessings are found in the little things in her marriage and I am struck by that this evening.  The Lord reveals himself in so many ways in the day to day happenings of my union with my wife.  I see Him when we are being goofy with each other.  I see Him when she knows I need a hug and she is right there to give it to me.  I see Him when I am annoyed at her and choose to love her anyway.  Every day, I grow as a man because of her love and because of the ways in which she calls me to love more deeply.  I am truly thankful to the Lord for the life he has given me and all the blessings that come with it.

On another note, tomorrow is the first day of school!  I can't believe it's time to start a new year with new little ones to teach and love.  I can't help but miss my kiddos from last year as I psyche myself up for all of the new challenges that come with a new group of students.  I get to start all over and teach them how to be little people who will be unrecognizable eight months from now.  I keep thinking of all of the tasks that need to be accomplished when I get to school early tomorrow morning.  I pray that the Lord will help me to see Him beyond all of the distractions and focus on loving all seventeen of my little ones.

Lord, give me the strength to love as you love.  Help me to always give freely of myself to my wife and to our child.  Help me to remember lovingly those who have gone before me and allow me to show our son all of the love they showed me in my life.  Thank you for all of the little blessings throughout my days.  Help me to recognize and be truly thankful for your presence in my life.  Be with me as I start a new school year.  Allow me to always see Your face in the face of each child I encounter.  Help me to take pride in my work and always do my best.  Be with me always.

Amen