Celebrating Friendship

When I say good morning I mean to say:

G-od
O-ffers us His
O-utstanding
D-evotion to

M-ake us
O-bedient &
R-eady for a
N-ew day with Him.
I-nspire others, and
N-ever forget
G-od loves you!

And so it is that I write to my dear friend, Kay. She is the one who offered me this pleasant Good Morning. We have been friends for, oh, so many years. She has been there for me in good times and bad. During the mourning and the celebrations. Providence brought us together over 30 years ago.

Dear Kay,

For all the times you have been there for me I want to say, Thank You! You are a most compassionate and caring lady. We have laughed so hard we cried. You have been a true "sister" to me, someone in whom I could confide. I also know that I can always rely on your forthrightness and honesty.

I have wonderful memories of shopping and picnics and bonfires. There was Keller's Corner on Labor Day, the parade and the eating and community we shared. There are trips to the State Fair and sitting in the grand stand watching your kids show their cattle. There is nothing like being with friends and celebrate life with them and in many ways you have offered me the most memorable celebrations!!!!!

My dear friend this note is to tell you how very much I appreciate you and love you!! May God bless you always, my dear friend!

Cathy

~~~^j^~~~
And for all my Friends I say,
"Thanks be to God!"

I invite you to join Ruth at Celebrate Friendship and other friends in this special celebration.

Bad Haiku Friday

My Friday just doesn't seem the same if I don't write a Bad Haiku! So here is this Friday's offering.

Peanut butter and
Kids clamoring for sandwich.
On white bread or wheat?

No jelly but jam
Can bring smiles to their faces
With a glass of milk.

If you have the chance stop by Catholic Teacher's Musings and join in the fun. Laura is a gracious host!Wishing all a Happy Peanut Butter Sandwich Friday!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Tea Talk

Teapot is on, the cups are waiting,
Favorite chairs anticipating.
No batter what I have to do,
My friend, there's always time for you
Author Unknown
from Take a Little Time for Tea
by Kathy Hatch

Ruth at Celebrate Friendship is hosting Tea Talk at her house. I do enjoy a good cup of tea. And this is just the perfect time to celebrate! Yes, first thing in the morning before the mind gets muddled with all the things it has to process. So visit Ruth, have a cup of tea and then share with us.

I'm having...Irish Breakfast Tea from Taylors of Harrogate. It is great on a cold morning as it warms me from the inside out.

My teacup is... actually "tea mug" that was given to me by Ron's sister and brother-in-law along with the Irish Breakfast tea. It's very plain with a bold shamrock and simply the word Ireland on it, but it means a great deal to me for it was given with love.

I'm feeling...invigorated. Yesterday was my meeting with Sister Dorothy for Spiritual Direction and I feel renewed.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Now dear friends please stop in at Ruth's delightful and cozy "tearoom" and enjoy! The book, Take a Little Time for Tea is a delightful book with recipes and sayings by the wise and learned.

One Day It Had To End

Today as a fitting end to the career of Collette my Canon camera I thought I would post her last picture as a puzzle. So as I bid a fond farewell to Missy and all the times we had making wonderful pictures that I could share in the Book of Wit 'n' Wisdom, scrapbooks, and postings. Collette you were a trouper!!!



Wishing all a grand day! Will be shopping for a new camera and so pictures may be from my archives until a new "Collette" is found!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!!

If you wish to offer a picture of far more elegance and grandeur to challenge our puzzle skills please link as always with Mr. Linky.

Winter Wonderland~2010

This weekend is one for which I am truly grateful. The snow was beautiful. Family time was wonderful. There were picture puzzles to put together, party to be had, and sledding most of the afternoon.

Wishing the beginning to a wonderful week.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!!!

Please visit Mary and The Little Red House. Her pictures are grand and so are the pictures of others!

Celebrate Friendship Saturday

I'm joining Ruth at Celebrate Friendship today to share with you a friendship rediscovered. Bev has been a friend I've had since grade school. Ye, that long ago. We went to the same middle school (junior high school in my day) and then went to high school together. She is a very intelligent lady. And for what ever reason we really lost contact with each other after graduation. She went on to college and I went to Mercy Hospital School of Nursing. I got married and moved away, she stayed and worked in public service and education.

Bev and I stayed in contact yearly with letters at Christmas. Then much to my delight, she invited me to face book. It has been such a treat to chat! Some things never change...she is still sensitive, hard working, and gifted in so many ways! And now she and I can share our lives as if we were just across the street again!

Open Letter

Dear Bev,

I just wanted you to know who proud I am to have you as a friend. You have been a source of pride for me for some time. I admire your courage in the area of education and politics and I know that you are sensitive to the needs of others. May God Bless you heartily!!!

Yours in friendship,

Cathy


I invite you to share with her a special friend you would like to celebrate! Please do, friends need to be acknowledged and what better way to do that than by praising them publicly!

Wishing you all a grand weekend!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Picture Puzzle Day

This is perfect day to do a jigsaw puzzle...Snow is on the way and it's cold. Wes, Annie and the Girls are coming to visit. Neil will be spending the night with us too, as Kellie has a winter guard competition in Spencer tomorrow and they need the space for the other girls in the car. (He doesn't want to go either.)

We'll sit around and put puzzles together here, so join in the fun. Get your cup of tea/coffee and gather round the table and begin. If you have a "picture puzzle you would like to share with us please link us to you "puzzle place" with Mr. Linky. Let's begin!!!

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

The Simple Things

Christina at Soul Aperture is inviting us to list the little things we appreciate in our lives. For every blog that participates, Christina & her family will generously donate one dollar to Doctors Without Borders (max $250).

So it is today that I list those Simple Things for me.

~The soft skin of a newborn child.
~The velvet petal of a rose.
~The Autumn Gold of the trees.
~Lilies in the pond.
~A child's giggle.
~Tears of joy.
~The full moon.
~The smell of freshly mowed grass.
~The sweet smell of the peony.
~The sun glistening on a lake.
~Cheering crowd at a sporting event.
~The choir singing in church.
~ Watching the sunset and its rising again.
~The surety of God's ever presence in my life.

Please wander over and share your "Simple Things" with Christina.

~~~^j^~~~
Thanks be to God!

Novena for Life IX

Montgomery Falls
Quebec, 2003

Day Nine
Meditating on the Gift of Life

Prayer
Father of life, may the mysteries of our Redemption stir us to contemplate with wonder the invincible hope which is our in the Gospel of Life.

A Reading form the book of Revelation 22:1-5
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like the crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the tree serve a medicine for the nations. Nothing accursed will be found anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it , and his servants will worship him. Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun. for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, may men and women of every time and place proclaim the Gospel of Life: a Gospel of God's love for us, a Gospel of human dignity.

A Reflection by Pope Benedict XVI*
[The] Eucharist is far more than just a meal; it has cost a death to provide it, and the majesty of death is present in it. Whenever we hold it, we should be filled with reverence in the face of this mystery, with awe in the face of this mysterious death that becomes a present reality in our midst...Death is the ultimate question...Only when this question is answered can men truly celebrate and be free. The Christmas feast, the Eucharist, plumbs the very depths of death. It is not just a matter of pious discourse and entertainment, of some kind of religious beautification, spreading, a pious gloss on the world; it plumbs the very depths of existence, which it calls death, and strikes out an upward path to life, the life that overcomes death.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life, p. 44

~~~~~~~

Spiritual Adoption prayer

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I love you very much. I beg you to
spare the life of ( Baby' s name) the unborn baby that I have
spiritually adopted who is in danger of abortion."
- Prayer of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen-
~*~*~*~*~*~

I have added this prayer that was first displayed by Kathy at Daily Grotto. It is an example of what to say when you desire to pray for a child you do not know and will never know, yet one who needs your prayers. I will be praying for "Matthew Thomas". I had decided that as soon as I read Kathy's plea.

And as God would have it, I had made the commitment to pray for "MT". Then my son, David, called to tell me he and his wife were going to the Dr. that day. Kelly is with child. This will be their 5th and I will be a grandmother once again. And so it is with joy I will be praying for two wee ones now. "Matthew Thomas" who I beg will be spared and another who will be loved and nurtured and cherished. God Is GOOD...all the time!

~~~~~~~
I truly say,
Thanks be to God!

Originally posted 1/24/2008

[Indeed, Maddie arrived healthy and happy August, 2008! TRULY, THANKS BE TO GOD!!]

Novena for life VIII

Pieta, Shrine of Sainte-Anne de Beaupre
Quebec, 2003

Day Eight
Consecrated to the Sacredness of Life by Christ

Prayer
Father of life, in every moment of the day remind me of the incomparable value of every human person.

A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to John 3:16-18
For God so love the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

(silent reflection)

Prayer
God of all creation, as by his birth, Christ united himself with us, so by the way we live our lives, may we witness the boundless love of the one who so loved the world that he gave his only Son.

A reflection of Pope Benedict XVI*
[The] words [of Pope John Paul II]...constantly echo in my ears: "Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!..." Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that he might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No, if we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation...Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything.

Our Father...
Hail Mary...
Glory Be...

*Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, Mass for the Inauguration of his Pontificate, April 24, 2005.

~~~~~~~

"No, if we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide." I can only imagine what it is like to stand in front of David's Pieta. I only know that standing in front of the Pieta at the Shrine of Ste. Anne I could only be filled with sorrow for the mother who held her lifeless son in her arms and gratitude to God our Father for his Son. I cannot truly empathize with her loss. I really have never experienced loss as devastating as this was, but because Our Lady was the mother of God...Oh! I cannot put what I want to say into words. They escape ME!!! Indeed, there are times when words are useless and one must only be quiet!! And so it is for me today. LIFE is GOOD!!!

~~~

In gratitude for quiet reflection, I say,
Thanks be to God!!!

Originally posted 1/23/2008