People we meet, books we read, family experiences, simple day to day activities could all be put in our paths to guide our journey back to God. Coincidences or God-instances? Watch. Listen. Share. Be open to the possibilities.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Give the Man His Credit
"O LORD, you mete out peace to us, for it is you who have accomplished all we have done."
Ah Ha! This is why my world is not in a constant state of peace. Ya know, it is so easy for me to get caught up in accomplishments. It is easy for me to forget that ALL the Glory goes to Him.
My kids are complimented for their behavior and I smile and pat myself on the back for being such a good parent. People stop me and comment on what a great bookstore St. Mary's is and I thank them and think how much my hard work has paid off. Someone takes the time to tell me how much they like my books and I tell them stories about the next book coming or how well one of them has worked out. Give Me A Break! I ask God every morning to hold my children in His hands and to send the store customers and to allow my writing, His Words, to touch one person each day. I bang my head against the wall about situations and yet, He'd be glad to measure out the peace if I'd just give the Man His credit. They are His children, the store is all about Him and the ideas sit confused unless He has something to say so why in the world do I forget that it's just not about me?
Lord, "it is you who have accomplished all we have done." You give us the strength, You give us the wisdom, You give us one another and when we acknowledge all that, You give us peace.
Ah Ha! This is why my world is not in a constant state of peace. Ya know, it is so easy for me to get caught up in accomplishments. It is easy for me to forget that ALL the Glory goes to Him.
My kids are complimented for their behavior and I smile and pat myself on the back for being such a good parent. People stop me and comment on what a great bookstore St. Mary's is and I thank them and think how much my hard work has paid off. Someone takes the time to tell me how much they like my books and I tell them stories about the next book coming or how well one of them has worked out. Give Me A Break! I ask God every morning to hold my children in His hands and to send the store customers and to allow my writing, His Words, to touch one person each day. I bang my head against the wall about situations and yet, He'd be glad to measure out the peace if I'd just give the Man His credit. They are His children, the store is all about Him and the ideas sit confused unless He has something to say so why in the world do I forget that it's just not about me?
Lord, "it is you who have accomplished all we have done." You give us the strength, You give us the wisdom, You give us one another and when we acknowledge all that, You give us peace.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Images of Mary

This morning as I sat in the Chapel with this image of Mary in my mind, I began to think about the significance of having her in my home, in my life. As often as I pass her each day, as often as I have thought about her handling her life with Jesus and me handling mine with my children, I have never really thought about how often I cling to her with all the scattered pieces of my life. I am all over the place. As a wife, as a mother, as a writer, as a daughter, as a co-worker, I approach life somewhat scattered in pieces. I struggle with keeping it all together. I struggle with trying to do all I do well. I am often frustrated putting the pieces together, running out of the glue so to speak or simply getting myself stuck. I believe the message for me this morning, as I contemplate the image of Mary, is that she is with me regardless. She knows I come to her in pieces. She knows I am all over the place. She knows I am often tired and frustrated and I may only show up when it's all about me. She just does not mind. All she cares about is that I come to her, to her Son. He will make the pieces come together. He will make it all make sense. He will get me unstuck and He will put me back together when it seems most impossible. Today, I hear Mary say to me, just keep showing up, no matter how small a fragment you have to offer. Together we will make all the pieces fit. Together we will find time. Together we will make a difference. Just keep showing up.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Creve Couer, MO
Saturday morning I was up in plenty of time to jump over to 8:00 Mass at St. Monica's Church one block from our hotel. Ya see, I'm thinking about writing something on Our Lady and I thought after all the places we'd visited, I should go to Mass and contemplate what she has in mind. The Blessed Sacrament is still exposed and the Rosary is being prayed as I enter and as I open my Magnificat I see that it is the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hmmm. Mass begins and I hear some rustling behind me and I have to turn and peek. It's Bernadette McCarver Snyder for cryin' out loud. She's as shocked to see me as I am to see her. A regular writer for Ligouri, we have had her sign in the bookstore many times. She's from Nashville. After Mass she calls over another friend from Nashville. Graduated from St. Bernard's just like Bernadette. They invite me to breakfast but I explain about the kids and the husband waiting for my return. I give her my newest book, Jesus at my Side, along with a copy of the Illustrated Book of Mary and mention the possibility of a new venture. She simply says, "I believe she wants you to do it." The entire trip was just like this moment. Signs and messages and moments I need to wrap my heart and my head around. Wonderful trip. Fun trip. Full of God-instances.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Shrines and Grottos

The GPS (an amazing little contraption) took us through more cornfields and this time through tiny twists and turns up slight hills until we arrived at a small road with No Trespassing signs everywhere we turned. As we came upon the sign for the Shrine (I'll post pics later), we turned in and drove up the hill. We were greeted by a trailer, a large open area with pews and a field of Grottos. The sign on the gift shop read, "Sorry. Closed." There was a tin box that had a self tour map and so we began. In front of the pews was an altar with votive stands on either side and behind the altar was a huge mosaic area with a large picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa. It was striking. We then followed the path through the field and admired the work of this one Polish Franciscan Monk who dedicated his life to honor Our Lady and her Son. The man died right there in front of one of the Grottos. The time and work obviously put into each area cannot be described. We pointed out different glass and miniature animals and concrete designs made into the Grottos. My favorite was a small pathway up above which led back to an area called the Mother's Sanctuary where water trickled down from around Our Lady of Sorrows into a small pond. After we walked the stations and filled our bottle with holy water, we drove down to where there was once an Infirmary (quite large) and in front was the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes. Worse for wear it was one of the most beautiful places in my mind. My kids ventured through the cut stone around the back where obviously water was once hooked up to run through the Grotto. I could only imagine what it once was and loved, once again, all the work of the small details. The Monastery around the back was still in use and the sheet mentioned not to go back there so we were headed on our way.
More treks through the hills and back onto the interstate to St. Louis where we easily found our hotel, cleaned up and moved on to "The Hill" for dinner at Guidos. As we dined on amazing Italian pastas and tapas and paninis, I asked which place the kids liked the most and much to my surprise they talked and talked about the amazing dedication and work put into each Grotto. When I mentioned that I would love to know just why these people felt so inclined to dedicate their lives to these projects, literally dying as they tried to finish, my 12 year old got kind of quiet and said, "Mom, you know why." "No, I really don't. It's part of my journey. It's what I wish I could ask these people to their faces." There was a slight blush and a grin and a whisper, "For the Glory of God." For the Glory of God. And that's what we had journeyed to witness.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Ave Maria Grotto
Now it wasn't until I got home that I found out this connection...
Sharing with my mother about the trip, I explained that displayed in the gift shop were several miniature grottos that at one time must have been something Brother Joseph sold, maybe to help with finances for St. Bernard Monastery. My mom reminded me of the shrine she has that is made from concrete with the colored stone and pieces of glass embedded throughout. It is on her balcony. Come to find out, my grandfather did some work for the monastery "back in the day" and this small replica was his payment for the work. Pretty neat to have that connection to circle back around and complete our short Pilgrimage.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
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