The World Keeps Turning…

Sorry for all the silence lately; May 2013 was one of those months where I had noteworthy stuff going on but no time to write about it.  I now have a few minutes to tell you about one of the more recent developments:

DH and I have been contemplating moving closer to his family for years.  (They live about 700 miles away from us.)  Last week, a job opened up in his parents’ town that seems to match my skill set.  After a quick discussion, I sent in an application.  I haven’t heard anything yet (not surprising since they’re still accepting applications).

I could be happy if I got the job.  I could be happy if I didn’t.  That’s in God’s hands, and that’s not what I’d like you all to pray for.

Instead, I’d like you to pray that I don’t let my overactive imagination run amok imagining all the ways that this potential move – or even going out there for an interview – would be difficult.  I can’t drive myself crazy before I even get an interview!

Urgent Prayer Request (Promoted From Comments)

Kate writes:

“My husband and I tried to claim Larisa.They have lost track of her paper trail! It’s been a week since they told us. Rosaries UP!”

I spoke with Kate via email and learned that the Ukranian facilitators are looking for Larisa.  Please pray that they find her, and soon!

Intention Fatigue

Those of you who work in healthcare have probably heard the phrase “alert fatigue.”  This is a malady associated with electronic medical records in which providers entering orders on a patient’s profile receive so many pop-up alerts about things that are unimportant (e.g. “Warning: This patient has two laxatives on his profile!  This is duplicate therapy!”)  that the alerts that are important (e.g. “Warning: The combination of these two drugs can cause an irregular heart rhythm and kill your patient!”) get ignored.  It’s like the boy who cried wolf.

I sometimes find myself with Intention Fatigue – that is, I feel obligated to pray for everybody who asks for prayers on their blog, not to mention the Holy Father and his intentions, tragedies such as the Boston bombings, societal evils such as abortion and the death penalty… you get the idea.  Often I worry that I’ve left out someone or something important.

Has this happened to anyone else?  What have you done about it?

RED ALERT!

Adeye (No Greater Joy Mom) has asked all her readers to share the story of Sebastian, a young man who turns 16 (thus aging out of the system) in just nine days.  Nine days to find a family for this young man before he’s cast out of the orphanage with little more than the clothes on his back.

Do you know Sebastian’s family?  Maybe you do and you don’t realize it yet!  Please, share this on your blogs, on Twitter, on Facebook.

Anyone wanting more information from someone who has met Sebastian, please contact Nicole at diveshark@yahoo.com. For all inquiries about his adoption and the legalities, please contact debbie@reecesrainbow.com.  Serious inquiries only please!

Habemus Papam!

As you’ve all heard by now, we have a new pope: Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio, now Pope Francis I.  I am cautiously optimistic about this pope’s election.  The new pope appears to be a man who is deeply modest and deeply spiritual, and that’s exactly what the Church needs these days.

Reading about the new pope, I feel much the way I did when I heard that Wayne LaPierre was holding a press conference the week after Newtown.

[The author pauses while you all wonder if she's lost her marbles. She assures you that yes, they've been gone for some time now.]

At his post-Newtown press conference, LaPierre had an excellent opportunity to admit his organization’s mistakes and failures, to apologize, and to begin to atone for them.  As a gun owner, that was what I had hoped to hear and I believe that if he’d taken this tactic, he could have done a lot of good in the world.

Similarly, Pope Francis has an opportunity to excise the cancer from the Church, to admit and atone for her mistakes, and potentially do a great deal of good in the world.  

LaPierre blew his opportunity; let’s pray that Pope Francis doesn’t blow his.

Small Things, Great Love

I have a weird relationship with faith.  Man in the sky who loves us all and has a plan for all our lives?  No prob.  Sky-man sent his son to die horrifically and save us from Gehenna?  That’s cool.  Husband thinks this all a crock?  No big deal.  It’s a free country.

But get me in a traffic jam?  All the other people on this stupid highway were put here specifically to RUIN MY DAY!!!

Car got stuck on the snow at the end of the driveway?  I am going to be late for work and it will be THE END OF THE WORLD!!

Minor slight from a coworker?  Everybody [expletive] hates me.

One negative comment on an otherwise good performance review?  Boss hates me even more.

One of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa is “We cannot do great things on this Earth. We can only do small things with great love.”

I’ve often though of that quote in terms of small acts of kindness, such as giving directions to a stranger.  While that’s certainly true, this Lent I realized that there are more meanings to that quote.

“Small things with great love” could mean seeing a traffic jam as an opportunity to relax for a few more minutes before work.

“Small things with great love” could mean shoveling the driveway more thoroughly so that you don’t make yourself late.

“Small things with great love” could mean understanding that Becky is just having a crappy day and it’s got nothing to do with you, and maybe you’d see that if you did something about your rectocranial inversion.

“Small things with great love” could mean understanding that there was only one person who ever walked on water, and honey, it ain’t you.

Small things.  Great love.  It’s a good theme for Lent.

Not Dead Yet!

I don’t want to go on the cart!  I feel happy!^*

Yes, I’m still blogging.  I’ve recently returned from vacation and am currently trying to dig my way out from under a mountain of laundry.  Once I get out, I shall have August’s Prayer of the Month for you.

^{*As a card-carrying Nerd, the author of this blog is required by the American Federation of Nerds to quote Monty Python at least once a year.}

Happy 4th of July!

Memorial Day

Lest we forget…

It ain’t just the start of grilling season.

Click here for more great pictures.

For Another Orphan

[Thanks to Leila at The Orphan Report for this tip!]

Until 2010, a little girl named Gabby lived in an orphanage.  Gabby has Down’s Syndrome and needs extra attention. An orphanage is a bad place to be when you have Down’s, because often the workers don’t have enough time to give you the extra care you need.  That, sadly, is what happened to Gabby.  She became a listless child who rarely moved.

Then one day, something wonderful happened.  Sylvia and her husband came to the orphanage and adopted Gabby.  And guess what?  Gabby is doing better than anybody expected.  Gabby runs around outside, laughs, and has learned some new words.  Life is pretty good for Gabby now… except for one thing.

Gabby had a best friend when she lived in the orphanage.  She and Ava did everything together.  Sometimes they even slept in the  same crib!  And now, Gabby’s family is on a mission to adopt Ava and reunite these two little princesses.  And they need our help!  Gabby’s parents had a difficult time raising the funds for Ava’s adoption, so let’s give them a hand.  Gabby and Ava were like sisters in the orphanage – with our help, they can be sisters again.

Click here for the Middleton family’s grant page on Reece’s Rainbow.