The Lenten Fast of Two Sisters

 Lord, I got so much stuff

Each bedroom has a pile of junk in it

Five bedrooms for three people

Its just too much

I've gotten to where I'm ashamed of Sheri cleaning up my house

Firing her is no good because she needs the money

Lent, a time of renewal

A time to offer all my sufferings to Him

An opportunity for more rosaries, confession, and ponder Divine Mercy

Happy Lent Laura

Not quite sure its happy, but happy Lent

What are you giving up for Lent

Well, I haven't thought about that

I know what you mean

Thought about giving up watching the news, it always makes me so darn anxious, and madder than a hornet

Pamela, I'm not good at giving up stuff, its so hard

Well, maybe you could offer forty free cupcakes to the first forty people that come in the shop

That's crazy talk, I got people to pay 

Ok, donate some stuff you don't use

Didn't Father Gabe suggest that at Mass

He sure did

Thank you for reminding me, I got so much stuff to give away

just make sure you do it 

Jesus is watching

Caffeine, it seems like a pretty good Lenten offering

No coffee, no cake, no tea, no chocolate

Thank God, I get a break on Sunday, otherwise I don't think I'll be able to make it

Gotta make sure I don't cheat especially after midnight

After all, Jesus is watching

Call Me Juan

 My bones are beginning to show their age

They creak like old wood in the morning 

My fingers, stiff from the cold makes it difficult to weave

That’s just my body

My soul, youthful as a baby’s

Maybe that’s why the Lady came to me

She saw my soul and not my bones up on Tepayac

Child, she called me

Like a child, I set out to do what Mama asks me to do 

Even though, I don’t know how to do it

Like. a mother she shows me the way

Rachel’s Lost Baby

 They took him from her breast

His screaming and distress caused by a single tooth trying to come through 

Soldiers bursting through the door just exasperated the problem 

The men in arms showed no mercy 

Slit her baby’s throat in front of her

Even with this pain, there was a sliver of hope

She still had the twins who were nearly four

Twins should be safe

Should be, but weren’t

They looked smaller than they were

Saul, sweet Saul came to check on his mama, and  Micah followed 

No questions as to their age, just heartless murder

Rachel cried out in sorrow for there were no more

Night Birth

 He made his appearance at night as people slumber

Only a stable full of animals were in attendance and kept watch

His mother's body ached, not from labor, but from exhaustion

Only hours ago, she sat on a donkey as a traveler looking for lodging

How serene our Queen must have been holding her Savior

Snow Globe

 There right location and a small fee is all that's required to step inside the globe. For forty-five minutes you can watch teens in athleisure wear, tailored coats on eight year olds, and moms wearing seasonal graphic sweatshirts. Of course there's the kid who's underdressed and shivering as well as the overdressed kid with neurotic parents who fear a winter cold. Around and around they go. With each lap they get a little more daring If I could, I would lock us in here and stop timeThat way my daughter will always be ten and willing to try new things, even if she falls

Beauty of Youth

 For two hours we drove on a Sunday afternoon through small town underneath a canopy of pines and oaks

Once we got into town, the magnet of Ellianos drew us inside the cafe for cookies and iced coffee

As we took our seat, six teens came in and ordered $5.00 lattes. 

The boys had that all American look and dressed like they stepped out of a catalogue.

The girls, they were the ones that stuck out almost like a sore thumb

Midi skirts with leggings in the hot Georgia sun along with shirt collars up to their neck

Hair pulled up in a ponytail with a little poof on top

If you looked only at their Nikes and Addidas sneakers they would look normal 

Everyone in the county knows their religion by how the women dress

I've mocked their kind before, but not today

That day with my daughter beside me, I only saw a couple of beautiful modest young ladies comfortable in their own skin

I'd love for my daughter to be the Catholic version of this

Drink Garnishments

 Three blueberries sit atop the plastic lid of a 12oz cup

A lavender cold brew with blueberry foam, then garnished with fresh blueberries

It's the berries that got me with its three little edible jewels

On Amazon, I search for drink garnishments and found a little company in Ireland that sells all the garnishments I could dream of

It sits in my cart untouched

There's nothing special about putting freeze dried strawberries or blueberries in your coffee everyday.

We've got to have something to look forward to in this instant gratification world