Monday Memo

"True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in the family, at school and at work, and in social and political involvement."
- Bl. John Paul II

A Student Missionary

In a few short days I will be heading to Minnesota for a week long retreat/training session for being a student missionary. I am so excited. I am so excited for this year. Mainly, I'm excited for school to start so I can have a consistent schedule; however, it won't be that consistent, it will be more consistent than what it has been because lately it has been crazy, and I personally don't like it.
So - what will I be doing this year? Good question. I'm living in a house with 6 other women, who are going to be striving after the Lord, to live their lives fully for Him. I will be continuing at Capital University, and striving to fulfill a dream of building up the Catholic community at the university. My hope is to start a bible study, at least for fall semester, and hopefully have students get involved with St. Paul's Outreach by having them come to One Gospel's and women's nights. I will also be in a small group, with about 3 other girls where we will share life together, and love one another with Christ's love.
Basically, I am so excited to for this year to get started, and am so excited to attend School of the New Evangelization in Minnesota, to gather tools to live life as a student missionary.

The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness. — Pope Benedict XVI

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, makng the world more human and more fraternal.”

― Pope John Paul II

May God bless you, and stay tuned for more updates on my year as a student missionary, and reflections on living a Christian/Catholic Life.

Monday Memo

It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.
It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal."
— Pope John Paul II

Getting to Know You

So I was tagged in a blog award some time ago, and now you will learn 7 random facts about me. hooray! You should be so excited right now :)
Before we get started here's the jist of this little game: The rules consist of listing 7 random facts about myself and passing the award along to 15 other people. 

1. I converted to Catholicism three years ago. It's a long story you can read about it here. Any who, I love being Catholic and wouldn't have it any other way.

2. I love country music. I know so many people who complain about it, or say they hate it. It's what I listened to as a kid. Plus, if you actually listen to the lyrics - there's a truly beautiful story behind the songs. However, I also have passionate love for Christian music - specifically Matt Maher & Audrey Assad :) They're the best!

3. I'm going to be a student missionary this year, along with living in an women's household affiliated with St. Paul's Outreach, don't know what that is? read more about it  here and here. 

4. I love dogs and I passionately( that might be a slight exaggeration) dislike/despise cats. Part of my dislike of cats comes from a poor childhood memory, and a bean bag chair getting ruined. 

5. I've always taken pride in knowing myself, knowing who I am, and knowing my limits - the older I get the more I realize how little I know about me. I do know this much though - I can be loud and obnoxious, and quiet and contemplative. I take after my grandmother (dad's mom that is) in my loud speaking. Everyone tends to know when I have something to say, and they normally listen too ;) Everyone knows my laugh as well, it's part of my obnoxiousness. At my brother's wedding my mom knew the bridal party had arrived because she heard my laugh. I also take after my father in spending(rather saving) money. I pride myself on being his little girl, and often wonder what I would do without him. I did however inherit my mother's clumsiness.

Mi familia 

6. I love making rosaries. It's probably my favorite hobby/pass time. 

7. A life goal of mine is to learn guitar. My uncle got me one for graduation. Now I just need to make the time to learn it.  

Here are some other fun photos to share more about me. 

One of my best friends :) 

mi familia catholica

buckeye awakening family 

Mary - I'm going to miss her

my sister. 

3 of my best friends. 

my sister 

my addiction 

my brother <3

Blessed mother = my love 

my brother

my sister

my brother

my daddy & I..told you i was a daddy's girl :) 

my bible & journal aka how I start my day :) 

oh yah know - we just like to get dirty. 

I'm currently too lazy to tag the 15 people or whatever it is - I'll get around to it eventually. Until then you now know some stufffs about me :) 

He is Jealous for Us

How often do we experience forms of jealousy in our lives? Of course we're not supposed to be jealous of what others have, and should simply be thankful for what we do have; however, by our human imperfections this is sometimes the case. I know I sometimes long for a relationship with a sister, like my two best friends have, especially growing up with all brothers. I'm sometimes jealous of those who were raised Catholic, as I am a convert. At work, 2 of the girls are on vacation, and as each of them left I would tell them that I was jealous because I wanted to go on vacation. In relationships there is sometimes jealousy. For example, when you first start dating someone, and spend a lot of time with that person, then your friends start asking where you are, or what you've been doing because they aren't getting to spend as much time with you because you've been spending some of that time with the other person, whom you are trying to get to know better, and discern if you are called to marriage. And you may even be spending your time very well, but when things change people often feel jealous. Really, it happens to us all. 

So, if we can experience so much jealousy, how much more must our God be jealous for us. Scripture says: 'For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24. 

Our God desires us. He desires for us to be united to Him. If we become distracted by things of this world, he is sure to bring us in, to draw us back to Himself. 

Take a moment and think of a time when you have felt jealous, specifically in a relational sense. That jealousy you felt doesn't even begin to compare to God's jealousy for us, because he loves us so much. He wants us. He wants our hearts. He desires to reign in our lives.

May we respond to the call of our God in courage and confidence of His perfect plan in our lives. may He consume us and be the fire of our spirit. 

Monday Memo

"If you are willing to serenely bear the trial of being displeasing to yourself then you will be for Jesus a pleasant place of shelter."- St. Therese, the little flower