Takeaways from a Parish Mission

On March 7, 2019March 7, 2019 By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Catholic, Churches, Faith, God, Joy, Renewal, Thankful Thursday4 Comments

Our church – St. Jude – concluded a 3 evening Parish Mission on Tuesday night and it was a great way to begin Lent.

Fr. Ron Hoye is an amazing presenter and his joy and passion for life and our faith is contagious. His reminders of what our faith should look like were an inspiration to the packed church he spoke to each night.

Fr. Ron Hoye

Fr Ron with Della, Teresa, Mary

A few reminders (in no particular order and not complete)

To be a disciple of Christ I should serve God with joy AND enthusiasm
God wants my heart and my hunger for him
God wants me to be happy!
You’ll never find in the Bible verses that say, “I came so you could barely get by”.
Why did Jesus come? John 10:10 says, “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”
Is what I’m doing putting a smile of the face of Jesus? Even if I’m not doing it ‘perfectly’?
Gratitude – for 25 days take a moment to write down 3 things and tape them to my bathroom mirror. As the sticky notes increase, marvel at all for which there is to be thankful. (no repeats)
Sunflowers follow the sun throughout the day – always turning towards the light. Jesus is the sun – keep turning my face towards him.
The longer meat marinates the more flavor it takes on. It becomes more tender. Spending more time with Jesus helps to soften me and make me more like Him.
God Moment App – random reminders throughout the day to stop and say, “Thank you, Jesus.”

www.parishmissions.org – serious, funny, inspiring, thought-provoking Vincentian Priests spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to all ages.

Mother Teresa

“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

Daily Post – Miraculous

On December 21, 2017 By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Christmas, Daily Prompt, Family, God, Holidays, Thankful Thursday, The Daily Post1 Comment

I have always considered the birth of a child to be a great miracle. God is wondrous and amazing, and when I think how a beautiful new life is created by an act of intimate love, I am awed.

Our first miraculous event occurred more than 30 years ago today with the birth of our first child; our daughter, Krista. She is a continual blessing in our lives, and I am blessed to be her mom.

Happy Birthday to our first born miracle (holding her last born miracle) You are loved simply for being gifted to us by God.

Solitude In The Middle Of Town

On April 28, 2016 By My Crazy Graced LifeIn animals, Daily Prompt, Nature, Spring, Thankful Thursday, The Daily Post1 Comment

A beautiful and perfect spring day resulted in a 3 mile walk around town. And, even though Allen, Texas is a busy place there was no shortage of solitude found.

This dove looked a little lonely.

Dove

The turtle was having a little mid-morning adventure.

Turtle

And a duck found a water-filled ditch to have a little swim.

Duck

You would never guess the amount of traffic surrounding this little oasis of abandoned tracks.

Railroad Tracks Railroad tracks 1 Railroad sign

The tracks provided a treasure of wild blackberries.

Blackberries Wild Blackberries

And, that resulted in this delicious blackberry cobbler for dessert.

Blackberry Cobbler

I love my little town.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/solitude/

A Spring Sunday

On March 17, 2016March 17, 2016 By My Crazy Graced LifeIn Boys, Dogs, Family, Nature, Photography, Seasons, Spring, Teenagers, Thankful ThursdayLeave a comment

Sunday morning brought blue skies, warm temperatures and a sprinkling of clouds. It was a beautiful contrast to the week just finished, which had been dreary, gray, cloudy and rainy.

Having enjoyed Mass followed by lunch with friends, the weather was too pretty to stay inside. So, with hubby out of town and, looking to spend some time with my boys, I coaxed my teenagers into putting on their shoes – and putting down the game controllers – to go for a walk.

After loading dogs, baseball gloves and the camera into the car we headed off to explore a newly completed walking/biking trail in our town.

A relaxing, laid-back time was had by all as we wandered, played, explored and enjoyed each others company. The mild temperatures and rain ‘greened’ everything up – seemingly overnight – and the natural beauty we experienced was fresh and new. Flowers and trees in various stages of blooming along with green, green and more green everywhere we looked.

I managed to snap a few good pictures; capturing moments on this journey called The Teenage Years. At 14 and 16, my boys, in the blink of an eye, will be heading off to begin the next chapters of their lives and I’m grateful for these moments of togetherness.