Rice Bowl plus Spring Break Fun

 "Prayer should be the key of the day and the lock of the night." -George Herbert, Poet

Spring Break has officially started and it is nice to get some sleep!  So far this Lent I have mostly stuck to eating rice and beans for dinner with a few exceptions.  I miss my morning coffee but at least on Sundays I can partake.  I did go back to listening to music in the car this week because the car was making me very nervous and the only way I could stop worrying was to put music on and pray.  But today the gas gauge seems to be back to normal- Praise to our Lord Jesus Christ!!!  Lenten devotions are on a little pause but I still try to vote and read when I can.  For Lent Madness I voted for Emma of Hawaii because I use to live there and that seemed like an obvious choice.  I had never heard of her before. 

Yesterday, Hermione and Lucy and I went to the capitol building and had a tour.  We walked around and took pictures with the cherry blossoms.  We had lunch at A&W.  I think I finally have the hang of Spring Break!  Spring break in Oregon is so rainy and cold and use to make me really depressed.  But I was determined to make this one fun with as many gift cards as we could and using the Spring Break Passport.  You can get stamps at fun places in Salem like the capitol building and some museums.  Ariana would rather play video games all day and I don't want to take any complainers so she can stay home with dad.  Here are some pictures from yesterday:

 

Happy Spring Break!🌸

Rest and the First Day of Spring

 "The important thing is to do charity, not to talk about charity.  We must understand the work with very poor people as God's chosen mission." -Sister Irma Dulce

Thank God for Spring Break- we have already had much needed rest although I haven't done much cleaning.  I also went for a beautiful spring walk and was greeted by rain as well as sunshine and all manners of daffodils and grape hyacinth.  It has me longing for the colors of my own garden knowing that that may be months down the road provided we have the funds.  I will start praying for that right now.  

 "Fasting is identifying with Christ in his suffering." -Asheritah Ciuciu, author

 

This Sunday was the first day of spring and I celebrated by planning our spring break week.  As always being conscience of budget constraints I went through all of our gift cards and had the girls pick at random from a bucket for where we would most likely be able to eat and what we could do.  I am getting very nervous because our car is acting up a bit and I still have not been contacted as to our eligibility for food stamps.  I turned in our application nearly a week ago now and usually I hear back by then.  Here is where I continue to pray and trust God in all circumstances.  If things go as planned it should be fun and meaningful.  But even if things don't go as planned I pray for grace and understanding and that God will give me the creativity to make some memories. 

Clovers and a Fish Fry

 "Take a day to heal from the lies you've told yourself and the ones that have been told to you." -Maya Angelou

We celebrate St. Patrick's Day a little early this year because I was running out of meal ideas for the youth group.  I thought well why don't we just do corned beef and cabbage and mashed potatoes and such then we can eat the leftovers on actual St. Patrick's Day.  It turned out very well because Hermione had a band concert that night so leftovers made it much easier.  I also made a lot of cupcakes and Lucy helped decorate them.  

In my mind I feel like I didn't get that much done but I think that might be another lie I am telling myself when I feel like I am comparing myself to others.  At least taking a break from Facebook helps to keep some of the lies at bay- it helps a lot.  

"We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world." -Stations of the Cross

On Friday since there was no school I let myself sleep for as long as I could and it was glorious!  Praise God for sleep and restoration!  I spent most of Friday, here, blogging and reflecting.  I cooked our fish, vegetables, and rice & beans while listening to the Stations of the Cross.  It was a simple, good day.  

Healing, Ministry Mentor, & the Challenge

 "Simplicity of life is essential for greatness of life." -Sister Erskine Stuart

Confession Time- I have been letting my heart get too busy and believing the lies of "you will be happy if you do this or get this"....  So I bow before my Creator and Lord, to please give me contentment in the simple things.  Heal me and bring me to life.  I confess some worry and I confess that I love sleep more than most. I had trouble every day this week getting up to read  A Book of Hours, but I believe have the grace to try again and again.  I need pray to stay focused on my tasks.  

"There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature-- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter." -Rachel Carson, Marine Biologist

 

Lent Madness Update- between Youth Group, St. Patrick's Day, anticipating Spring Break with my girls, and Hermione's band concert- I actually missed a day of voting AND didn't read a couple of the biographies, yet.  It maybe a bit of stretch but this is the picture I took of my bracket and used for Instalent Challenge for the prompt Ministry Mentor.  I am counting the Saints as my "ministry mentor(s)"  Here were a couple of the match ups this week:

Perpetua vs. Cecilia- I voted for Perpetua because she was a mom and suffered terribly in jail.  It was tough because Cecilia is the patron saint of singing, but her story didn't move me as much.  I think you can guess by now that my choice did not move on.  

Jose Hernandez vs. Constance of Memphis- This one was a bit of an upset for me.  I wrote down Jose Hernandez on my bracket to win this round but funny story- I ended up voting for Constance of Memphis just to give the girl a chance.  I feel like I should have known about the story of Constance of Memphis and I feel like more people should know about her too.  Plus I have a friend who just moved to Tennessee recently so there is that.  But guess who moved on?  Jose Hernandez!  So 4/10 called correctly, not great odds but my guy is next so he is not out of the running!!!

Origen vs. Hilda of Whitby- okay, so this one was a no-brainer for me and I have to admit that I didn't even read the biographies yet.  But I will be cheering on Origen from the beginning for the simple fact that he is one of my husbands favorites and I still remember when I was pregnant that this was one of the names he was tossing around as an option for if we had a son, which we obviously did not.  He is widely considered the father of the church and I am going to stop right here and go read the biographies in case I got that wrong and because I know literally nothing about Hilda of Whitby.....So after reading the biographies Hilda was sounds pretty awesome.  Good thing I already voted so I don't have to do what I did today.  

Felix vs. Oscar- I missed the voting time for this one!  I was busy listening to the 500th episode of the Holy Post Podcast and doing laundry and dishes while also feeling very tired that I didn't read or vote.  Hang on again while I read up on these two and then tell you who I probably would have voted for...I put Oscar in my brackets and he passed on btw.  After reading the stories of these two, I think I would have voted for Oscar because he brought Christianity to Scandinavian nations and my husband's family is from Norway.  

Juliana of Leige vs. Blaise- this was today's (Friday) match up.  I actually tossed a coin for this one because on my bracket I put down Blaise to win but I really wanted to vote for Juliana of Leige.  But ultimately I voted for Juliana because my girl loved the Eucharist and helped start the Feast of Corpus Christi through a vision.  I am usually not into the mystics but I am really into liturgical living which I think gives me more in common with Juliana of Leige than Blaise who is the patron saint of throat problems.  Maybe things would have been different if I had woken up with a sore throat this morning, but we will never know.  

"Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you." -Princess Diana

So far I would say this Lent has actually been pretty do able.  Do I always do what I should? No, but I give myself grace and I really need to understand that I don't think I am any good to God when I don't get at least 8 hours of sleep.  I just don't feel alive or well when I regularly get less than that.  I also haven't taken many pictures of my kids during this Lent because they are really in that old kid phase were I don't want to push them or force them to do things that don't make sense to them or cause them to reject Christ.  But the picture prompt for today was #Challenge and I couldn't think of anything that I hadn't already taken a picture of but then it occurred to me that the most challenging thing I am doing right now is being a mom and especially trying to guide and teach Lucy.  She is my daughter with Type 1 Diabetes and very artistic but she can also be moody and easily discontented.  I could have put up a picture of all my girls, but at this time in my life, Lucy, has a rough road ahead and it is all so challenging.  I have to put my trust in God so completely to get through this even knowing that this is not the end.  Saint Sophia, patron saint of daughters, pray for us! 

Stations of the Cross, a Stone, & Church

 "Ignoring food when you have surplus and appetite, to deal in weightier matters of the soul, this is what it means to fast." -Oluseyi Akinbami, Nigerian Poet

Friday- I abstained from eating meat and have been reading things on "weightier" matters.  It has been a fine balance of not wasting food but not eating randomly or out of boredom.  I am so glad that the Father of Mercy and Grace gives to those who ask as I try to walk in way that is worthy and challenging to my life.  I listen to the "Stations of the Cross" on Youtube while cooking.  I have the Stations printed and ready to be hung up when I get the chance, but for now they are just sitting on my desk/table.  

"Choose every day to forgive yourself.  You are human, flawed, and most of all worthy of love." -Alison Malee, Poet and Artist

 

I don't think I agree with the sentiment of forgiving yourself, exactly, but letting God work in your life to forgive me- now that I can get on board with.  I spent Saturday in a bit of a strange funk.  I did a lot of cooking and binge watching, but not much prayer, reflection, or reading.  I confess a gloom of laziness and the fear of Daylight Savings time change came over me.  I drank way too much soda to counteract the feelings of exhaustion- so with caffeine and the power of God I was able to wake up at 5am to put a roast in the crock pot and bake a loaf of bread.  I confess discouragement over my children and their attitudes and the rice and beans project.  I knew it was going to be hard, but it is still discouraging when hearts aren't changed as quickly as one would like.  I have to remember that teaching them and seeing them grow is a marathon and not a sprint.  I pray that I may one day see the fruits of my labors.  

"Where there is plenty, charity is a duty, not a courtesy." -Owen Feltham, English Essayist

Today, Sunday, I am also challenging myself this week to pray the hours with Thomas Merton's book A Book of Hours.  The cycle of prayers is at Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Dark- I love alliterations!  I am planning on reading the selections at 6am, 9am, 7pm, & 10:00pm.  This will have to be a bit flexible as life is sure to interrupt.  In fact, this mornings 9am prayer got pushed to 1pm because of church.  But I am glad to be able to set aside the time and examine this life.  Merton is a bit of a mystic so sometimes some things don't make a whole lot of sense to me.  It deals with a lot of paradoxes, but I know God will lead me to understanding and even if this is not the kind of book or prayers for me the plain old ability to sit contemplatively four times a day for at least 15 min. is a miracle alone.  

Hobby and Hometown

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Psalm 27:14

Yesterday I had an amazing time of prayer and crying out to God.  I focused on the Penitential Psalms- more specifically Psalm 130.  I am finding I need a lot of patience as I wait for God to reveal His word to me and to trust Him.  I listened to an episode of the Holy Post Podcast while I was cross stitching last night.  I have been working on the Hogwarts Crest Pattern for at least two years- I know because I took a picture of my progress in 2020!  I haven't made much progress since then!  

 

"I can live for two months on a good compliment." -Mark Twain

Today's photo prompt was Hometown and I was debating with myself on what to photograph.  I broke my Lenten fast of rice and beans to get some coffee and a puff pastry.  But I also did it to honor St. Drogo who I just learned is the patron saint of coffee and people who are unattractive!!  See how much I am learning from Lent Madness?  Speaking of Lent Madness my bracket is not doing so great- it started off pretty good.  I had Stephen beating out Wenceslaus and Kateri beating Olaf.  I even got Teresa of Avila winning over Crispin.  But I was a bit surprised when Madeleine Barat beat Mashtots!  I will tell you why I voted for who I voted for:

-Stephen over Wenceslaus because Stephen was the first martyr and his story made a big impression on me when I saw it reenacted in a mini-series as a kid.  Plus I have a cousin named Stephen.  

-Kateri over Olaf because Native Americans need some love especially right now and from reading her story you could tell she had huge amounts of trauma.  Olaf just seemed like a big meanie!  

-Mesrop Mashtots over Madeleine Barat because he loved translations and words- just like me!  He used his skills to create the Armenian alphabet and write out the Bible.  Plus his name sounds so fun!  He didn't continue on, unfortunately.   

-Melania the Elder over Hilary of Poitiers because she gave up her life as a rich ruler and even left her family behind to support the work of Christ and the monks that worked in the desert of Egypt.  I also felt a bit guilty for voting for a man yesterday during March (Women's Month), but in the end it didn't help.  Hilary, a man btw, went on to the next round.  

-Teresa of Avila over Crispin because I can tell she is one of the most popular saints around here and one of my husband's cousin's daughters is named Avila- so I had to vote for her.  She, of course, made it to the next round.  

-Lydia over James Holly because she is in the Bible as one of the first European converts and I have a friend named Lydia who is Catholic.  Plus I felt that maybe I should keep voting for as many women (they feel like underdogs) as I can at least during the month of March.  Again, my vote didn't make it and James Holly went on- he was cool, too, though.  No hard feelings on this one.  

-Today I voted for Drogo over Columbanus because of the obvious reasons- the Saint of Coffee and Unattractive People- duh!!!  As of right now it looks like he isn't going to pull through....ugh!  This one is going to sting a little.  

Tomorrows vote is going to be extra hard because it is two men and I have picked Aloysius Gonzaga to win this round but with my luck is not looking so good.  I picked him because Gonzaga school is near here on the West coast but I come to find out that his rival Thomas of Villanova also has a school but on the East coast and the East seems to be represented in Lent Madness much more.  I think that is why they were pitted against each other!  They seem equally great as far as saints go BUT the one thing that Gonzaga has up again Villanova is that Aloysius is the patron saint of THE PLAGUE and that feels appropriate after going through COVID.  A little dramatic?  Yes!  But I will take pity votes at this point- hahaahaha!  

Any way, this is all in good fun!  

Lastly I want to leave you with the Prayer of St. Francis which has meant so much to me this week.  

Purple, My Favorite Charity, & Pretzels

 "In God's will, there is great peace." -St. Josephine Bakhita

I can take in a deep breath and receive His peace.  I gave myself a lot of rest in these couple of days as I prepare myself spiritually, mentally, and physically to go back to 5k training.  I haven't been taking care of my body as well as I could.  But here in this space I have created a place to reflect and pray and plan and used a lot of PURPLE to do so!

"Lord, help me be willing to live in the gap between the way things are and the way I wish they were." -Heather King

One of the challenges of Lent is trying to pick a charity to give money to because I don't really have a "favorite" charity.  But this year we are doing the rice and beans challenge from Lahash so it is obvious where we will be giving our money this year.  

"Truthfully, I don't like the binge-watching model.  I think that if you give everybody everything all at once, there's very much a law of diminishing returns as far as their enjoyment of them."

 -Timothy Simons, Actor

One of the Microchallenges from the Busted Halo Lent Calendar was to fast from watching TV and streaming shows, but of course I didn't see it till the day was almost over and I had basically spent all day binging because my husband was gone at a pastor's conference and I so very rarely get to watch what I want.  To make up for it I didn't watch any shows today and spent the day doing the Microchallenge for today- praying the penitential Psalms, but I will talk about that another time.  

Lucy made a snack mix with pretzels which is absolutely perfect for Lent- it even looks a little purple!