Archive for Miscellaneous
Happy Mother’s Day!!
Posted by: | CommentsHAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!!
God bless us all, everyone. 
I wish you all a wonderful day. Hopefully, you’ll find at least a moment (if not more) for some peace and relaxation. Take time to marvel at your children, the way you did when they were babies and it was hard to tear your eyes away from them. Also take time to marvel at your life as a mom and all that means. It’s truly a wondrous “role” we’ve taken on and, I think, the most noble one any human being can have. Fatherhood is a very close second but motherhood…well, it’s different. These children came from our bodies! (to say nothing of the pain that was involved with that )
At any rate…you’re amazing women. Be aware of that today and always. And follow Mary’s lead. She’s there to guide us in motherhood (no easy task – motherhood). She experienced immense joy as well as horrific pain as the mother of Jesus…and as our mother. No matter what trials you face, she understands. Embrace her…follow her…and you’ll always find the strength you need.
May God bless you and bring you peace.
Manya
Divorced Catholic Moms – On Vacation
Posted by: | CommentsI know this note is a bit late to be getting out to you… Just wanted to let you know that I’ve been on vacation all week ! So, if you’ve left a comment or sent a message to me, I apologize for not having responded. I’ll get back to you ASAP after I return and settle back into “regular” life.
God bless you and your families.
Manya
Updates At Divorced Catholic Moms
Posted by: | CommentsI know I’m stating the obvious but….the blog has had a makeover! I’ve also moved it from wordpress.com to wordpress.org. You probably are not as excited about that as I am, but remember that I’m a virtual assistant and, therefore, somewhat ‘techie’ and get excited over such things.
Now that the blog is “self hosted,” I have more flexibility and it has capabilities it didn’t have before. For example, now when you leave a comment, you can click a little box that will send you updates via email when more comments are added to the same post. That’s very cool because it means that if you ask a question, you’ll be notified when there are answers!
Now that the site has been updated and moved, my next goal is to post more often. Yeah, I know, I know….that’s been my goal since the start but miracles DO happen!
And some REALLY good news! As you know, my father broke his hip earlier this year, which switched everyone’s priorities for quite a long time. I’m happy to say that he’s much better now and becoming more mobile all the time. My mother is also doing much better. Thank you, Lord!
The end of June is coming up so quickly. I’ll be attending the Catholic New Media Conference the weekend of June 27th (will YOU be there?!), which I’m sure will motivate and inspire.
I hope you’re all well and enjoying the beginning of summer.
Til next time….
Blessings,
Manya
Holy Week!
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- Image by TW Collins via Flickr
Wishing you a wonderful and blessed Holy Week!
What Easter/Holy Week traditions do you have? I attended the Holy Thursday service for the first time in my life last year! I plan to attend it again this year. I think afterwards, I’ll watch The Passion ( a great movie for bringing Christ’s passion to life). Friday I’ll take off from work. For years I’ve been wanting to go to the midnight mass on the eve of Easter but we just don’t manage to stay up late enough. Maybe this year…. I hear it’s beautiful.
My exhusband’s family are Russian so for the past 20 years I’ve been making Paska during Easter week. Mmmm…. His mother taught me how to make it the first Easter after we married. It doesn’t quite look like the picture here because it’s actually baked in a coffee can…so it’s tall and cylindrical. But it IS covered with icing and sprinkles. This year, my oldest daughter plans to make them. I love the passing on of traditions!
God bless all of us this week and bring us closer to Him during this, the holiest week of the year.
Manya
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Valentine's Day:Theology Of The Body Message from Christopher West
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Image by karin! via Flickr
The following message comes from the TOB newsletter that I received just a few minutes ago. I highly recommend that you go to the Theology of the Body Institute to see the info there and to sign up to receive their monthly newsletters!
Redeeming Valentine’s Day
A Message From Christopher West
I once heard it said that more “legal prostitution” takes place on Valentine’s Day than any other day of the year. It was a reference to the idea that, on this insecurity-inducing day, couples around the world basically exchange chocolates, romantic dinners, diamonds, and other gifts for sex. Men and women, it seems, will go to great lengths to save themselves from the loneliness that creeps up when all the red hearts and romantic songs replace Christmas decorations and Christmas carols. It seems we all wonder at times, “Am I really loved, or do I have to buy his or her attention with something?”
This makes Valentine’s Day an annual event ripe for redemption, ripe for John Paul II’s Theology of the Body.
The fact that we set a day aside each year to celebrate romantic love points to the importance we all place on it, and rightly so. The love of man and woman is what makes the world go around. When the love of man and woman ceases, so does the human race itself. And it’s precisely because it’s so important, so valuable, that it has become so terribly distorted by the enemy. The devil is not creative. He cannot create his own parallel universe of raw evil. All he can do is take what God created to be true, good, and beautiful and twist it; distort it. This means that behind every temptation the father of lies uses to lead us away from God, we will find something that God created to lead us to him. And behind every distorted desire in our own hearts that lures us away from God, we can discover a God-given desire that will lead us to him.
So, Valentine’s Day can become, if we allow it, an opportunity to celebrate the love we all really long for, the love of Christ for the Church, of which man and woman’s love is a mere shadow. We needn’t prostitute ourselves to know we are loved. We needn’t spend lots of money. We, ourselves, have been purchased at a high price. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Just a thought — this Valentine’s Day, share what you have learned of John Paul II’s Theology of the Body with someone who needs to hear it.
Blessings,
Christopher West
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Have a wonderful St. Valentine’s Day. It really is NOT necessary to be a part of a couple in order to do so. There are plenty of other kinds of love to experience – love of your children, your parents, your siblings, your friends. strangers who could use a smile, kind word or a hand and, last but not least, yourself!
May God bless and bring you peace!
Manya
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Giving Thanks for Unpaid Bills (and Other Acts of Kindness)
Posted by: | CommentsHi there! I apologize for not having posted for almost a month….man the time passes quickly. Life becomes incredibly hectic in the fall for some reason. I can’t quite figure out why.
I hope you’ve all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Today’s post was written by a good friend of mine – Jennifer Ryan of I Choose Change. Her message is an important one and, when taken to heart, will change YOUR life. Wise, wise words….enjoy!
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Giving Thanks for Unpaid Bills (and Other Acts of Kindness)
It’s only fitting that in this week of Thanksgiving, we talk about giving thanks and having gratitude. While some may view this week as chaotic, stressful, and anxious-ridden with extended family, my hope for you is that you give thanks for the abundance, prosperity, peace, and joy in your life.
Giving thanks really means being thankful for the gifts you have in your life. If you don’t already view the things in your life as a gift, try shifting your focus from what you DON’T have to what you DO have. You can even do this in the midst of chaos and when your life is feeling particularly stressful. Even mounting bills are things to be thankful for. The vendors behind those bills have provided a lifestyle for you that you wouldn’t otherwise have had. Your bills are a gift. That’s an example of a true shift in focus.
As soon as you start feeling grateful and happy about the things you have, you will start to attract and have more blessings in your life.
Everybody goes through things they don’t like and times that are hard, but it’s those who remain grateful and thankful for what they DO have, who have true joy, peace, and abundance in their lives. Start to see EVERYTHING as the gift that it is.
There is a distinction to be made between happiness and gratitude. They are not the same, although we sometimes use them interchangeably. To be grateful means giving thanks for something that’s been given as a gift. It can be a person in our life that was giving, or nature, or God. It was such a surprise to me this time last year as I pulled up to the window of Starbucks for my traditional “Non-fat, Peppermint, No-whip Caffe Mocha” (I recommend the drink wholeheartedly!), the car in front of me had paid for my drink! I tried to get a glimpse of them, but I didn’t catch them in time and they sped away. The person working in the window said, “They told me to tell you Happy Holidays!” It was such a treat. I felt grateful for the gift of not only the drink, but the thoughtfulness.
Contrary to feeling grateful, happiness would be something one just feels good about. You can be happy that it’s sunny outside, or grateful that the sunshine has been provided (the gift of sunshine!). You can be happy to have an extra $100 in the bank, but grateful that the extra money has been given as a gift. You get the point.
Having gratitude means being content. Being thankful and grateful leads to more contentment. Conversely, continually wanting more and more external things leads to the feeling of emptiness and unhappiness. It is human to want more, but that does not keep you from growing and evolving; it’s easy to get trapped by the feeling of not having enough in your life. To be content, get out of the rut of wanting more, more, more, and just experience that right now, in this moment, you are satisfied and content.
Research shows that “daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determinism, optimism, and energy.” According to Michael McCullough of Southern Methodist University, “Anyone can increase their sense of well-being and create positive social effects just by counting their blessings.”
So for this week, give thanks, have gratitude, and experience the overwhelming abundance, peace, and joy pouring into your life.
© 2008 I Choose Change
