Peace

Follow Me & Rest

I started listening to the Hallow app’s Advent Challenge today titled, “Follow Me & Rest”. Part of the reflection was on how when we see our Nativity scenes, it seems so pristine. However, the reality of a young woman giving birth in a stable was difficult and humbling. And yet, we sing Silent night – […]

Buying Cheese and On Our Knees

Some time ago, a friend gave me the book, “Monuments, Marvels, and Miracles – A Traveler’s Guide to Catholic America”. I have had the dream of traveling and visiting many of the sites. The first time I was on the highway to visit my aunt, we drove by a sign to a shrine and I […]

A Serene Moment

I am spending a couple days at the cabin with my brother. I got up pretty early this morning and walked with my brother and his dog. It was so peaceful and still. The air was crisp and fresh with the smell of rain on the trees. After our walk, I sat on the upstairs […]

Retreat Day

Today felt like a little retreat. I took a break from visiting and spent much of the day by myself. The weather was beautiful, so I enjoyed a couple walks and took some pictures. I sat outside, took in a beautiful view, and soaked in the sunshine. I was grateful for the peaceful, relaxing day. […]

Peace in Remembering

Today is my dad’s birthday. I was happy to be able to go to church this morning and pray for him. I also prayed for my daughter in law and her family as yesterday was the anniversary of her dad’s death. I prayed a rosary, went to Mass, and spent some quiet alone time just […]

Religious Programming

As I started making my Easter candy in the kitchen today, it was too quiet in the house. So, I started listening to some music. I listened to the Christian Contemporary channel that I like for a while. Then, I switched to classical. Neither were really what I wanted, so I decided to turn on […]

A Slow Start

I had a hard time waking up this morning. But, I had no commitments, so I didn’t worry too much about it. I would wake up, then go back to sleep. When I woke back up again it was an hour later. This actually happened a couple of times. I figured I must have needed […]

The Power of Silence

I listened to a podcast this morning which ironically talked about silence. But I found it spoke to my heart. The author read some thoughts from his book ‘The Power of Silence”. Here are some that particularly struck me. “…the noise tries to prevent God himself from speaking.” “In this hell of noise, man disintegrates […]

Blessing of the Deacon

Today I was surprised to learn that one of the deacons from my parish was moving out of state. This particular gentleman has been such a blessing to me for many years. I met him when I took my 4-year Bible Study class. He was in my small group for 2 of those 4 years […]

Make a Peaceful New Year

This morning I watched the local news. They had a conversation with Victoria Reynolds, author and family trauma expert. She shared some advice on how to make 2025 a little more peaceful. According to Victoria, an attitude of gratitude can shift just about any situation. She suggested that when things inevitably don’t go the way […]