Ephesians 6:10

I am currently on retreat at Covecrest with other Youth Ministers from Atlanta. The camp has WiFi...so I am able to put my thoughts down.

This blog has become a sort of journal for me. Not so much one of sharing deep personal thoughts, but one of just sharing insights.

During our holy hour, I was led the Holy Spirit to read:

It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in accord with the exercise of his power working within me. ~~ Colossians 1:28-29.


How great is the Word, and how He speaks to us.

I labor and I struggle within youth ministry. I want to have each of my teens experience Christ, fall madly in love with Him, and allow Jesus to transform their lives. And, I want this to happen to each and every one of them every time they're at Mass and/or Life Teen. And, how shallow that is. Jesus works in His own time. And, for each one of us, His plan is different and unique. For some it might just be in high school. For others, after, or even way on down the road. And, definitely for all of us, conversion is a life long journey, not just one occurrence.

It really does not matter if I see fruits. I am just a laborer in His vineyard. I till the soil. Jesus waters. Jesus is the nutrients. Jesus is the Son. Jesus is the one who goes and talks to each vine encouraging them. He does all the work. I am just one of the many tools he uses.

My job/calling/vocation on earth, right now is to be His daughter. To be in relationship with Him. And, if I struggle, if I have challenges or difficulties, I draw from the strength of the Lord and His power (Ephesians 6:10). All that matters is that I rejoice in the path He has me on right now. The path that is leading me back to Him.

One True Media

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Brrr It's Cold Out There

This is my new winter jacket Lands' End 3 in 1 Parka...I love that its PINK....we are in a freeze warning for tonight....its really windy outside....and...brrr....its cold...ok, you're right, 45 is not really cold...but for my southern bones, it is...


Ok, also, you should head on over to PhatMass.com b/c they are having a sale on NEW Hoodies...go on, just scoot!

Legal Sounds

I just signed up for a new service - www.LegalSounds.com...my friend T, who's also a YM, told me about it. 9 cents a song. LOVELY...you know how I hate and point out to people that LimeWire and copying friends CDs is STEALING....this website is paying royalities (is that the right word)...and so now I have to go through my songs from Rhapsody and get them through LegalSounds.com...

Movies this week: Iron Man, Lars and the Real Girl, Cloverfield, Sahara, The Italian Job, The Long Gray Line

Countries that frequent this blog: USA, UK, Canada, Malta

Top 5 Cities: Millbury, MA ~~ St Louis, MO ~~ Ft Wayne, IN ~~ Wrightstown, NJ ~~ Dallas, TX

The last 5 states to visit here: MA ~ VA ~ WA ~ NJ ~ MD


alright, I am tired and spent...but its been a holy day...I LOVE my TEENS!!! They never cease to amaze and astound me every day!!! GOD is GOOD! All the TIME!

We are sold out of the pocket calendars, hallelujah! though I will buy one more box 2mrw and pray it comes in by Friday...okay maybe 2.

You Can Adopt

a Life now at OneBabyOneVote.com

The site is fully up. Please forward this info to all of your friends and family.

Quirky Meme

I was tagged by Candied Ginger to tell six quirks about myself:

1. I have an obsession with checking my email. I usually check it at least 7 times a day. Knowing that people are not writing me, but in the hopes that some long lost friend will have emailed.

2. I am an abnormal sweater. Meaning I sweat more than most people. To counteract this occurrence, I live for the A/C. So, that means unless I am working out OR doing an activity that other people are also sweating doing, then I am doing my best to keep myself cold. Even if that means having the windows down in January during a snowstorm.

3. I love to watch movies. Something about going into another time/place just enthralls me. Mostly I love action/suspense movies. But, I will watch on average 6 DVD's a week. I have a subscription to Blockbuster. As of this writing, in the last 3 months, I have watched 221 movies. I know!

4. I love love Hip-Hop and Rap music. I love the beats. Not necessarily the words. And, I could never just throw down some rhyme (only if the Holy Spirit moved me), but I love hearing people rhyme the Word. My favorite at the moment is KJ-52's "Do Yo Thang".

5. I am obsessed with t-shirts. I am truly a t-shirt and jeans kind of gal. I wear what I believe. Before I entered the monastery, I had over 150 t-shirts. And, I didn't want to give them to Goodwill so I made them into t-shirt quilts. I miss them all now. I have only 5 t-shirts. But, I am sure, I will begin collecting them all once again.

6. I love to eat my food goulash style - all mixed together. I LOVE casseroles. I love 7-layer dip. I love to play with my food, mix it around until its unintelligible as food, and then eat it.

I tag:
1. Julia
2. Martha
3. Anne
4. Alison
5. Matt
6. Carla

One Baby One Vote

www.OneBabyOneVote.com

Vote LIFE ‘08

Please join us in our efforts to get Americans to Vote for Life on Election Day ’08!

The game isn’t over yet! If you believe that Human Life is sacred and should be defended, we need you to join us and dig into the fight like your life depended on it – because millions of your fellow Americans lives do! We are recruiting a “virtual” community of defenders of the unborn who will spend these last few days of the presidential campaign working to help people understand the vital importance of VOTING for LIFE. And we can’t do this without YOU!

The 3 Part “Hail Mary Pass” Plan:

1. WEB - 49 Million Americans have been aborted since 1973 and 20 million of those would now be eligible to vote! Go to www.onebabyonevote.com and give one of those babies a name and pledge to cast your vote for LIFE in their honor!

2. WORDS – Read our Q & A email and send it to as many people as you can! The last election was won by 3 million voters – the truth needs to be told!

3. WITNESS – 50 Vote LIFE Rallies across the nation November 2nd (All Souls Day) at 3 pm in each of the 50 states with the intention of consecrating our nation to God.


WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1. PRAY and intercede that walls will be knocked down, doors will be opened and hearts will be changed! This is a spiritual battle so put on the armor of God!

2. Become a Vision Carrier and help us spread the message by researching and contacting groups, websites, blogs, email lists to make them aware of our plans

a. Direct people to the website to spiritually adopt an aborted baby. Even if they can’t vote, people can adopt a baby, give it a name and ask them to intercede for us.

b. Forward the persuasive email to as many people as possible – friend, foe, and family! Copy our Contact Coordinator so we map our outreach.

c. Spread the word Tell everyone you know, contact the media, write our website in comments or on blogs, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

3. Host or attend a Vote LIFE Prayer Rally; Help get the people out in your area. Remember - “For where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:20. We’ll provide an Operation Consecration planning packet to walk you through the planning.

4. Travel to a swing state (FL, NC, OH, Nevada, Colorado, etc) Campaign and host the rally!

• Building a team for LIFE: We need a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 20 million people to make this work! Will you join our team?

Contact us - info@onebabyonevote.com


2 Chronicles 7:14 -16 “If my people, upon whom my name has been pronounced, humble themselves and pray, and seek my presence and turn from their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven and pardon their sins and revive their land. Now my eyes shall be open and my ears attentive to the prayer of this place. And now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever; my eyes and my heart also shall be there always.

Our US Tax System

Borrowed from Delusions of Grandeur

I did not write this, it came to me in an email, but I thought it fitting!

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

• The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
• The fifth would pay $1.
• The sixth would pay $3.
• The seventh would pay $7.
• The eighth would pay $12.
• The ninth would pay $18.
• The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.” Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers?

How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his ‘fair share?’
They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings)

The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).

The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).

The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).

The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 ( 22% savings).

The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $ 20,”declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,” but he got $10!”

“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a Dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!”

“That’s true!!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!”

“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!”

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, this is how our tax system works.
The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics

University of Georgia

Four, 4, Cuatro, 4

Four places that I go to over and over:

Youth Office, Home, Wal-Mart, Old Navy

Four people who e-mail me (regularly):

Lisa, Work, Teens, Amazon.com

Four of my favorite places to eat:

Chili's, Johnny's NY Style Pizza, Los Reyes, Chick-Fil-A

Four places I would rather be right now:

Heaven, Home, On Vacation, Adoration

Four people I think will respond

Stinky Pete, Candied Ginger, Cowboy Greg, Combustible Mark

Four TV shows I watch over and over:

Lost, Jon and Kate plus Eight, Food Network, Law and Order: SVU

Wouldn't you say SNL is for McCain/Palin 2008?

A Nice Cold Sweat

I am ill...sick for the last 7 days...confined mostly to the bed...I am awake for about 3 hours and then sleep for about 7...thought I was cured on Friday/Saturday...then was kicked into reality with a splitting headache Saturday night...and a nice cold sweat...bummer...stupid virus...or whatever it is...hopefully tomorrow, the doctor can let me know...we shall see...

Its getting closer...15 days... and our prayer needs to be stronger and more intense... coming soon - One Baby One Vote ... more on that later... a new prayer campaign... consecrating our nation, one state at a time... saving the babies, one vote at a time...praying that God has mercy on our country although we don't deserve it... will you endorse this campaign? Will you do all you can for lives in the future and those we have lost in the last 35 years...

Fr's Response

Hey Ya'll! Someone sent this to me...I think that it explains very clearly who the better Pro-Life candidate is (John McCain)....please please please, if you are batting for the other side, please keep say a prayer and keep an open mind...God might just be using this email to reach you...

This is really a response from a Catholic priest (Fr Larry Neise). A Catholic priest who is not afraid to speak the truth from the pulpit, who is not afraid to speak the truth of the Eucharist and who holds the sacrament of Reconciliation in high esteem...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Dear Father Larry,

I am a Catholic and am struggling with this upcoming election. My conscience tells me that the war in Iraq is wrong, and I am strongly pro-life. One candidate promises to get us out of the war, but is not pro-life, while the other one supports the war, but says he is pro-life. I am confused. Can you help me sort out the church teaching on these issues as they pertain to an election?

Thank, L.

Dear L.,

First of all, in this election, it seems to me that we must choose between the lesser of two evils. If you want to look at the war in Iraq , you must look at the war on the unborn. In our country we have 4000 casualties daily. I mean every day! So just by shear numbers, the war on the innocent unborn is by far a greater evil. The bishops have said when you have two candidates whose positions are not totally pro-life, you are to choose the lesser of the two evils. John McCain is not totally pro-life. For example, he is for embryonic stem cell research, which is the destruction of human life when taken from newly conceived embryos. Barack Obama, however makes it abundantly clear that he is pro-abortion all the way.

However, John McCain said he will appoint conservative judges to the Supreme Court, which may help us overturn Roe vs. Wade. Now whether or not he does, that is another story. But Barack Obama is clear that he will appoint pro-abortion judges. He has made that perfectly clear! The most important role the President has is appointing Supreme Court Justices, because they are judges for life. We are one judge away from overturning Roe v Wade. If Barack is elected, for sure the war on the unborn will continue for a number of years. Take 4000 babies killed daily in our country and that amount most certainly dwarfs the number of casualties in the war in Iraq.

Now some may not see it that way, because they do not see it as a war on the unborn. When any segment of society is being killed in mass numbers we would consider that war. Look at 9/11 where almost 3000 people were killed, and we considered that an attack on the American people. The Church is very clear and so is science that life begins at conception. If you think about it and reflect for a moment, ask yourself when did your life begin. It began at a certain point in time.

In Evangelium Vitae, Pope John Paul said that the politicians are in a large part responsible for the killing of the unborn, but who puts them in office? It's you and I!

Father Larry Niese

We had an awesome holy retreat this past weekend! We took about 100 teens on retreat and learned:

Jesus can call us at any time any where and all we have to do is say yes!
God does not use my past to determine my future.
We are supported in our walk to Christ by those around us.
Be consumed by God's grace.
Be UNSTOPPABLE by living LOVE.

Pray for an outpouring of God's grace upon my teens. I am seeing more and more as to why He has brought me to STA.

STAND for something or fall for anything!

Don't just be "present."

Top and Bottom 5

i am sick as a doggggggg and am about to go back to bed....i just really needed to check email b/c of this weekend's activities...

the top 5 visitors to this blog today are
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Wantagh, New York
Philadelphia, Pennylsvania
St. Louis, Missouri
Pittsburgh, Pennylsvania

and the bottom 5 are

Montclair, NJ
South Orange, NJ
Tunkhannock, PA
Cardiff by the Sea, CA
Essex Fells, NJ

Thanks for visiting, and I'll update when I feel better.

It tis no longer...I removed the nose ring tonight...yeah I know, I paid a pretty penny for it, but its just a "fad" as my mom would say...and its just money...

also, I am putting a plug in for Seignadou soap, as I am buying some more tonight...I am out and in need of more as well as a few friends so we are stocking up...it makes great gifts at any time of the year...the sisters in Summit also make lotion and lip balm....so go get u some!!!

There it is, my pretty lil nose ring for all to see...its pretty discreet, wouldn't you say.... :)

Well, its almost time for the retreat, and we are full...I know, I can't believe it myself...that we are at capactiy...its amazing... tomorrow brings us to putting everything we're taking in the middle of the youth room and cutting items and making sure we've printed off everything...also printing name tags...awesome!

We're doing things a wee bit different than other retreats, but it shore is gonna be a blast getting to know the teens and Jesus some more.

I can wait to see the t-shirts on Thursday! whoo-hoo.

oh, yeah, I've got to empty my trunk of all the snacks before the tootsie pops melt into oblivion...

movies watched this week: Drillbit Taylor, Highschool Musical 2, The Astronaut Farmer, National Treasure 2, The Namesake...

book read this week: Kristen Heitzmann's "Sweet Boundless"

It is done....my nose has been pierced.

I watched Max (the professional piercer) mark my nose with a sharpie...and when he picked up the needle, I closed my eyes...one tear came out and stayed on my cheek as he pierced my skin once and then twice to put the nose-ring in...don't worry ya'll, its just a stud...a cute little glittery cubic zirconia...I would post a picture but I am on a Mac and my teens have dibs first...so the blogging world will have to wait...

it didn't really hurt until about 30 minutes later when we were at Chik-Fil-A...then it became a slow dull ache...kinda of like a headache...so I took some tylenol and I was great...

To clean: soap and water once a day....and turn it around....that's it folks...and I have to do that for 4 - 6 months!!!! that's crazy....

I wonder now if I decide to remove it one day, how will I go about doing that? will I have to go back to the tattoo parlor....how embarrassing...whatever....

other than a weird thing being in my nose, its cool...and the inside is like a tiny corkscrew...and no, my parents haven't seen it yet....well, my dad is clueless, so he might not notice until Christmas...

other than that, I went to Six Flags for Fright Fest with SR, CC, and JC....twas awesome!!! not hardly anyone in the park...no lines...really cool!

Poor pumpkins...why didn't someone set a limit for them?

hehehe!

Renovation Video

The sisters at Summit are in the middle of fundraising for a new kitchen and refectory (dining room) and a new wing. As you watch, you can see what a pressing need this really is.

Please consider donating. They offer their lives in Radical Love for our salvation. They offer up our prayer requests day and night.

Thanks!

I am off tomorrow...glorious...I get to sleep in past 8 am...HURRAH!!!

God heals us in a-m-a-zing ways....I compare today to a similar one several years ago when I re-connected with AR (who used to be AH)...That day I was feeling different...as I feel today...Jesus works mighty wonders upon us. He delivers healing just when you least expect it. Doesn't He?

at any rate, dear blog readers, the said nose piercing did not happen today...
but, it will happen on Friday @ approximately 2pm...the piercer was in another location today, so I got to take my seriously nervous and shaking all over self back out to the car...

so, please pray I don't get an infection...that would be good...

but, I am feeling rebellious...b/c I almost said out loud to the tattooed employee: "well, then, I'll just have to get a tattoo." but don't worry, it didn't come out and I won't be inking my body at any point in my life.

as for hip deep in retreat planning:
retreat shirts: check
affirmation sheets: check
journal: check
supplies: check
snacks: check
retreat center: check
priests: semi-check
small group nametags: semi-check
small groups:
ppt slideshow:
ppt songs: semi-check


MSC info meeting stuff: check

off to work out...toodles!