Be You Very Well

After all that energy I used focusing on getting ready for (and then going on and enjoying immensely!) a long overdue and refreshing week long family vacation, then there’s the inevitable decrease of energy during the process of recuperating from the trip (plus I started to get sick again, something that had occurred the week before the trip itself). Getting back into the swing of things–which in our case included keeping assorted extra appointments the first week back on top of our regularly scheduled activities, not something I recommend or normally do, but “Que Sera, Sera”–is harder when you live with chronic illness. Thankfully with each trip I’m learning how to return to our regularly scheduled programming a little more smoothly. For this I am most grateful, as being away from home used to increase my symptoms–not to mention knock me out of my normal parameters of functioning–so badly that it took a lot of courage to be willing to travel and/or be gone away from home for any length of time, not knowing just how bad the fall-out would be when I returned home. It’s still not easy, but it’s getting better. Thanks be to God!

Inevitably, though, there’s always the added challenge of the assorted unexpected “things” one has to deal with–a sort of miniature version of Murphy’s Law, I guess–which in this case included multiple loved ones’ emotionally challenging events as well as the dishwasher deciding it was ready for a permanent vacation. No time for blogging in the midst of all that living but I am looking forward to sharing bits and pieces of our trip and getting back into my very sporadic blogging groove. But, as I was going to say earlier–before I got sidetracked with all my venting–I am glad to be home again. Dorothy was right; there’s no place like home!:-)

And to all of my fellow Christians who celebrate the liturgical year, a most blessed second week of Advent to you!

Make your home in me, as I make mine in you. Whoever remains in me, with me in him, bears fruit in plenty.

John 15: 4a, 5b (JB)

Today’s Gospel Acclamation, 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

The following post is one of those can’t-resist-sharing ones that I also printed out a hard copy of for future reference for myself. This is a keeper for what I call my “intentional living playbook,” a collection of things I need to be reminded of from time to time by physically seeing the words or images and pondering them before going back to the hurly-burly of life. From time to time I get away from home and go somewhere quiet so I can slow down enough to examine my life and consider whether the choices I’m making are reflecting my intentions toward living out my vocation. Using God’s Word, prayer, silence, journaling, and my playbook (to jog my brain) I am better able to make sense out of the many options clamoring for my attention. Then comes the tricky part: living them out once I get back home!

http://karenedmisten.blogspot.com/2011/10/keeping-god-in-my-planner-at-faith-and.html

Timely reminders this morning on having patience while depending upon the grace of God to get the job done, as I am one of the most impatient people on the planet.

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them–every day begin the task anew.

–St Francis de Sales

The favors of Yahweh are not all past, his kindnesses are not exhausted; every morning they are renewed; great is his faithfulness.

Lam 3:23, JB

We must never get tired of doing good because if we don’t give up the struggle we shall get our harvest at the proper time.

Gal 6:8, JB

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.

Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart.

Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.

Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so.

One day I shall dig my nails into the earth,

or bury my face in the pillow, or stretch myself taut,

or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

~Mary Jean Irion

Yesterday’s epistle reading was a long beloved passage–certainly for at least 35 years of Bible reading and marking up favorite verses (thanks for the great personal example, Da’ & Mom!)–that I thought I’d share an excerpt from it this morning because God’s Word is always timely and perhaps someone else needs the reminder like I did. Instead of quoting the New American Standard translation used in Mass, I’m using a one I became familiar with while growing up but didn’t become a regular reader of until becoming Catholic (incidentally, I’ve always read multiple translations; my current two regulars are the RSV-CE and the JB). I’m also including Eugene Peterson’s unique idiomatic translation because I find it helps shake the cobwebs out of my brain by giving me the ability to look at familiar verses with new eyes. The verses are Philippians 4: 6-8 and the emphases are mine.

There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.

The Jerusalem Bible

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language

My prayer for you–as for myself–is that today we’ll each be able to set aside ingrained habits of worry and instead convert worry into prayer. Some of us may have anxiety issues that make this more complicated but it still can (and should) be done. God’s Word is always efficacious and therefore should be a core part of our daily routine; for me that comes through the daily Mass readings as well as verses from Elisabeth Elliot’s A Lamp Unto My Feet, a wonderful six month collection of brief devotionals I’ve gone through most years for over a decade now. I like to think of how I’m sharing readings with my fellow Christians and it gives me goosebumps sometimes to feel a foretaste of the unity we’ll have in Heaven but that is sadly often lacking here on Earth. In the meantime, it’s great to be able to have this blog where I can share without the confines of us being in different places on Sunday mornings. I hate the feeling of not being able to “let our hair down,” so to speak, and share what’s in our hearts as to what truth we received during our Sunday worship that gave us that particular nudge we needed from the Holy Spirit to work on better putting His Word into practice in the week ahead.

In the meantime, let us all “Live Jesus!” to the best of our ability and not let our Adversary divide our efforts to let Christ be at the center of all we think and do. I’d love to hear what Scripture(s) inspired you lately to keep on fighting the good fight of faith amidst the worries and cares of your own life, so feel free to share them in the com box. We all have areas of anxiety–be they great or small–and Our Lord cares about each and every one of them equally. He will help us bear them all with His abundant grace if only we will let go of our habitual grip on them and hand them over to Him! We may need to also practice breathing exercises (as I do) to get our anxious brains to slow down enough to remember to do this<g>, but as we continue to deliberately choose to meditate on Scripture we will be able to replace unproductive, anxious thoughts with “that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand.” Amen to that!

My favorite lines from a new favorite book series.

‘Tell me one last thing,’ said Harry. ‘Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?’ Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure. ‘Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?’

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

My Teen Guy finished reading this aloud this evening and his first comments after uttering The End were “Good gravy! That was flipping awesome!” I heartily agree. This was my third time through the series and it only improves with rereading. It is one of the many things in my life that, for a season, I had made up my mind about without bothering to check the sources themselves until fortuitous circumstances changed that. If you have not read the series and enjoy the classic works of the modern masters Tolkien, Lewis, and L’Engle, I heartily commend you to give them a read.

My patron saint, St. Francis de Sales, offers the following reality check to all those of us who are prone to be overachievers, perfectionists, and/or scrupulous, via the excellent Depressed & Catholic website (and you don’t have to be depressed and/or Catholic to benefit from the good mental health info offered there).

http://depressedandcatholic.com/post/6398300873/inspiration-monday-a-humorous-comment-on

I love the idea of marveling that we ever manage to remain standing up as I so often find myself focusing on having landed on the ground–once again–and forget to be grateful for the grace that allows me to remain standing the rest of the time!  His humor is especially germane when I’ve become proud of myself for finally standing up more than falling down in a particularly challenging area and then–whoops!–there I am, flat on my rear again<g>…I love the saints and I especially love my patron!

Here’s a reminder that some of us can never hear too often–and her approach can be tailored to whatever type of work you do.

http://pathofpossibility.com/2011/09/16/secure-your-own-mask-before-assisting-others/

I particularly appreciate her comments about defining our own terms instead of making assumptions and taking a cookie cutter approach to our lives. Additionally, I second her advice to look for what energizes vs drains you so that you can get rid of your energy leaks and maintain a steady flow of oxygen to your life. I want to point out that this is something that may involve an ongoing process instead of just a one-time inventory and single tweaking.

Just as hikers’ breathing needs are different from those of us on more level terrain, what we’ll need will fluctuate as our lives’ demands upon us change over time. Hikers have to breathe deeper and more often to get enough oxygen going through their muscles because each breath contains less oxygen and likewise there will be times in our lives when this is also the case for us. The bottom line is that when we get what we need for optimal functioning first then those around us get a better version of us than they do when they get an oxygen-deprived version of us. Been there, done that. Just this weekend, in fact (sigh). Time to adjust my oxygen mask…

It is God to whom and with whom we travel, and while He is the end of our journey, He is also at every stopping point.

Elisabeth Elliot

And because that is so true, to quote from Spider Man 3, “You know, I guess one person can make a difference. ‘Nuff said.”

There. ‘Nuff said.