Great Post Concerning Mary, Martha, and a certain famous Rabbi

Great post from K8t.

Although I'd read about how extraordinary it was for Jesus to be talking with the a woman, let alone a Samaritan woman, in John 4.  I hadn't thought about the implications this line of thinking had on the interaction between Jesus, Mary, and Martha in Luke 10:38-42.

Blessings.

Tim

Back on the air?

Yes, I have been a way for a while.  I must admit that I've felt bad about not posting regularly, but, I haven't had a anything to say.  And I don't want to post just to post and drive up traffic.  I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with that, it is just not my style.  Besides, I follow a lot of blogs like that and I get a lot out of them.

Perhaps it is the start of the season of Advent that, quite in line with the intent of the season, I have become more reflective.  Perhaps it is because I am traveling to Helsinki for some training this week that I have actually had time to do some reflecting.

So anyways, here I am in Frankfurt, Germany waiting for my connecting flight to Helsinki.  This week I will be at a workshop to learn about LTE as well as network with some folks.  Hopefully, I will be able to have a beer with some old friends from one of the other wireless programs I used to work on.  I will keep my fingers crossed.

So I am sitting in one of these airport lounges, waiting for my flight, and I am looking at all of the people.  About 100.  All sitting in their own chairs, going about their business.  With the exception of a few folks who are obviously business partners, no one is talking to each other.  We are a gregarious species who hunger for human contact. Why aren't we talking to each other when we are so far from our homes and families.  The ones we love?

A great many of them are probably Christian, why aren't they sharing their love of Christ and his Father?  What is it about our condition that we feel like we need to restrain ourselves with respect to our love of God around strangers?

I must admit that I would not make the first move to discuss something, so I'm guilty.  I'm just wondering why we are like this.  Why do I have to wait for my weekly bible study or write behind the facade of a blog in order to share my thoughts and love of God?

Just pondering.

Blessings

Tim

Concise, to the point, gets to the heart of what is wrong with their arguments

See here, I can't agree more with what is wrong with all the pro-choice arguments.

Shielded from Grace

Holy Cow!  It has been almost two months since my last post.  To be honest, I've had writers block.  Not to many ideas.  Not a whole lot of time to devote to writing either.  My prayer life has been abysmal.  And guess what? I feel like I'm in the desert.  If you look at this post, I think I'd be somewhere near the bottom of the cosine.  Do you think there is any coincidence?

For me, being in tune with the Father starts with a good prayer life.  It is the foundation on which all things are built.  The best results for me are when I start and end the day in prayer.

With the exception of going to Mass every week, and bible study when my business travel allows, I have not been too good a son to the Father nor a good brother to the Son.  In a way, I think that not having a good prayer life and/or not participating in the sacraments shields you from the Grace of God.  In much the same way as a child/teenager shuts themselves in their room and locks the door.  They are trying to shut out their parents.  It is the only place that they can go and (hopefully) be alone.  They are shielding themselves from their parents and what they consider prying questions or interference from their parents.

But the question is, why do we want to shut out the Father and his grace?  I think with me it just starts with being tired and frustrated with work and skipping prayer once.  If we don't have enough discipline to get back on track, we hit the downward slope of the cosine curve.  Hopefully we realize where we are going and get back on track.

Thankfully, the Good Shepherd is always glad to have us back in the fold.

Blessings

Tim

More on Caritas in Veritate

The USCCB blog, in their analysis of the media's coverage of Caritas in Veritas, touches on something that had been bouncing around in my head but was not able to articulate.

... the strength of Benedict's mind and his ability to synthesize seemingly disparate issues into a consistent ethic.

Precisely.  A sign of a great teacher.

Blessings

t

I will not let some old man from Rome tell me...

...what to do.  So went one of my rants against the Catholic Church before my reconversion back to Christianity and conversion to Catholicism.  What I used to consider it's greatest weakness, I now consider to be it's greatest strength.  Now I embrace the fact that there is a pastoral leader who is able to shepherd Jesus' universal flock.  In particular, I love how the last two Popes have been great teachers.

Case in point, the Holy Father's latest encyclical Caritas in Veritate (Love in Truth).  You can get it at these locations.

• PDF at  New Advent dot org
• Text at New Advent dot org
• Vatican Link

It is a letter that touches on many things that I've thought about over the last couple of years.  I think it could be best summarized as:  "It's not about you."  A post at Fathers for Good has a great summary.

 

I've only been able to read bits and parts, but I can already say that it is well worth the time.  Here is a snippet from the conclusion.

Without God man neither knows which way to go, nor even understands who he is. In the face of the enormous problems surrounding the development of peoples, which almost make us yield to discouragement, we find solace in the sayings of our Lord Jesus Christ, who teaches us: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5) and then encourages us: “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). As we contemplate the vast amount of work to be done, we are sustained by our faith that God is present alongside those who come together in his name to work for justice. Paul VI recalled in Populorum Progressio that man cannot bring about his own progress unaided, because by himself he cannot establish an authentic humanism. Only if we are aware of our calling, as individuals and as a community, to be part of God's family as his sons and daughters, will we be able to generate a new vision and muster new energy in the service of a truly integral humanism. The greatest service to development, then, is a Christian humanism[157] that enkindles charity and takes its lead from truth, accepting both as a lasting gift from God. Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity. On the other hand, ideological rejection of God and an atheism of indifference, oblivious to the Creator and at risk of becoming equally oblivious to human values, constitute some of the chief obstacles to development today. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism. Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life — structures, institutions, culture and ethos — without exposing us to the risk of becoming ensnared by the fashions of the moment. Awareness of God's undying love sustains us in our laborious and stimulating work for justice and the development of peoples, amid successes and failures, in the ceaseless pursuit of a just ordering of human affairs. God's love calls us to move beyond the limited and the ephemeral, it gives us the courage to continue seeking and working for the benefit of all, even if this cannot be achieved immediately and if what we are able to achieve, alongside political authorities and those working in the field of economics, is always less than we might wish[158]. God gives us the strength to fight and to suffer for love of the common good, because he is our All, our greatest hope.

Blessings to you.

Tim

PIXAR is a class act

PIXAR makes great movies.  Some are better than others.  Emily loved Cars.  Allison loves WALL-E.  Up was awesome.  The quality of PIXAS's animation and the exceptional stories never fail to impress me.  The ability to make an insightful, animated movie suitable for children, yet entertaining for adults, without resorting to low brow humor and gimmicks is great.

PIXAR is a class act.  Here is an inspirational story for us all, courtesy of Catholic Exchange, Jimmy Akin, and the OC Register.  Colby was diagnosed with vascular cancer and her dying wish was to see Up.  Click through the links for details.  The OC Register has the most back ground information.  The PIXAR employee brought toys from the movie and an adventure scrapbook like the one from the movie.

What a great story.  Especially poignant is that Colby was unable to watch the movie because she was in so much pain.  Her mother gave her a scene by scene description.  She passed 7 hours later with her parents.  Pray for her and her family.

Another testament to how much we should treasure our children and love them as much as possible.  It seems, from Colby's experience, that children have an incredible will to live.  Even under extreme pain they do not want to give up.  At what point do some folks think that their life is so worthless that they think the only way to have dignity is to take their own life?

If you get the time, drop PIXAR and Disney a line to thank them for being so thoughtful.

Blessings

t

Stripping away our dignity

Great post from "The Heart of Things" about how our society and how we are objectifying ourselves. The part that really struck me:

"We're gorging ourselves on feelings and casting away our fertility. We've severed the life-line that is tied to the ship that is meant to take us home. The most God-like attribute we possess, that of generating a new human life, is stripped away from the sexual embrace."

This is true, yet our society is searching for something else in life.  Something I call the True Light. In addition we seem to be attempting to be god (small g on purpose) in other ways or trying to replace God altogether through drugs, porn, sex, etc.

Blessings

Tim

Prayer for Patience

I have a problem with patience. There is nothing wrong with patience, I just don't have enough of it. Through the Father, all things are possible. During my prayers, I ask for help with patience. One day, I was struck with the thought that I need to write a prayer for patience. Here is what I came up with. Be gentle.

My Father,
only through you are all things possible.

By your Grace, I am made whole.
You complete me.

Help me to recall
- the joyful noise that was their first cry.
- the unconditional love I felt when I first held them.
- the joy and pride in each small accomplishment.

Help me to remember that they are a precious gift from you. Left in my care for what seems like a lifetime but is gone in the blink of an eye.

That however impatient or angry that I may be with them, they will learn from my words and actions. Help me to remember that by teaching them these things, I am perpetuating that which must stop.

Help me to remember that I am called to protect, teach, and above all, love them as you love me.

Help me to unshackle myself from
- the stress and fatigue of the work day.
- the crush of the pressure from the World.
- the anxiety from the uncertainty of these tough economic times.

Father, I know that through you, all things are possible. Complete me with the grace of patience and perspective so that I may fulfill my sacred duty as husband and father.

Lord Jesus, pray for me.
Your Holiness JP II, pray for me.
St. Joseph, pray for me

Amen

Blessings

Tim

Feast of St. Joseph is the Real Father's Day

March 19th was the Feast Day of St. Joseph. This blog post from Catholic Dads prompted me to ask the family to change the Father's Day from the Hallmark dictated day to this wonderful feast day.  They agreed!!

I guess that this is also the tradition in Italy and Spain (link to a homily discussing St. Joseph and the feast day).

What better way to celebrate Father's Day then on the day of one of the greatest fathers!

Blessings

Tim

Updated: Foot Washing. No Job to Small for Our God.

This post is actually an update of a post from earlier today.  I was fortunate enough to attend the Holy Thursday Mass. Our assistant pastor gave a great homily that provided an additional insight.  I got another insight the repose of the blessed sacrament, I was reading William Barclay's commentary concerning the footwashing.  The additional info is in italics.

The Holy Land is a dusty place.  Imagine how dirty your feet would be if you walked around in sandals, all the time. When going into someone's home, a slave or a servant of the owner would wash your feet. If there wasn't a servant, the homeowner would wash your feet. In the case of Jesus and the disciples, if there wasn't a servant or homeowner about, the disciples probably took turns. It would be unprecedented if a rabbi washed the feet of his disciples and a major breach of etiquette if a guest were to wash the feet of others.

William Barclay, in his commentary on the Gospel of John, points to Luke 22:24 as another potential reason for performing the foot washing.  In this passage, a dispute arose amongst the disciples about who would be the greatest. Perhaps they no one was willing to do the washing before entering into the building for the Passover meal?  Jesus takes things into his own hands and does what none of them are willing to do.

Another interesting thing about the footwashing that our assistant pastor brought up concerns what Jesus and his disciples are celebrating?  The Passover.  What is the Passover all about?  Celebrating their physical delivery from slavery under the Egyptians.  What did Jesus do, he delivered us from the slavery of our sin, our sickness, our blindness.  The Lord who has set us free from slavery has become the slave to his disciples.

What an example the Lord has set for us.

So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it."

John 13:12-17

God humbled himself by coming as a human to share in our experience. He could have come as an earthly king. Instead he came as a servant to set an example for us all. What does that say about his Love for us? What an awesome God.

Blessings to you

Tim

Foot Washing. No Job to Small for Our God.

The Holy Land is a dusty place.  Imagine how dirty your feet would be if you walked around in sandals, all the time.

When going into someone's home, a slave or a servant of the owner would wash your feet. If there wasn't a servant, the homeowner would wash your feet. It would be unprecedented if a rabbi washed the feet of his disciples and a major breach of etiquette if a guest were to wash the feet of others.

What an example the Lord has set for us.

So when he had washed their feet (and) put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it."

John 13:12-17

God humbled himself by coming as a human to share in our experience. He could have come as an earthly king. Instead he came as a servant to set an example for us all. What does that say about his Love for us? What an awesome God.

Blessings to you

Tim

How I felt after my conversion. Forgiveness and Thankfulness

I was watching the "Passion of the Christ" recently.  This scene speaks to me.  This is how I felt after my conversion.

Not a slave bowing down to a master. But as someone reaching out in supreme thankfulness for the realization that Jesus has come to help us to realize that we are forgiven and the Father loves us so much that he sent his only Son.

Our Father and his only Son are awesome.

Blessings

Tim

My Greatest Fear

As I mentioned in a previous post, when I am away from the kids, I miss them deeply. I reflect on my relationship with them. One of my reflections this past week and a half?

My greatest fear:  Not being a part of my kids life. Not seeing them grow up.

Tim

To Love and Serve the Lord

1. We were made to love and serve the Lord.
2. We are given a vocation. Either to love and serve the Lord as a religious or love and serve the Lord as a husband and father.

As a husband and father, how am I to love and serve the Lord? To love my wife and children as the Father and his only Son have loved and continue to love me. Ultimately, to boil it down, my job, my vocation, how I am able to love and serve the Lord, my reason for existence is to ensure that my children are able to love and serve the Lord.

QED

Tim

Ton of Bricks - A Solution?

Jen and the kids were off to Michigan to see family this past week for Spring Break.  I was unable to go with them because we usually spend quite a bit of time during the summer and Christmas there and I could not afford using up my vacation.  Besides I had to go to Espoo, Finland on a business trip.

When I'm away from my daughters for a while, I begin to miss them deeply. There is a hole in my heart that causes me to reflect on my relationship with them. In a one of my first posts, "Ton of Bricks", I talked about how I could be pretty overbearing. I've prayed for help with this and I have been blessed with some assistance, but I know that something else has to change. This past week has allowed me to take a step back and think about it more.

Jen, God bless her, is much more even keeled than I am.  She is slow to anger and able to handle the kids pretty well in almost every situation.  Whereas I am more quick to anger and more things tend to rub me the wrong way. She knows when it is time to discipline and she is not afraid to pull out the "wait till daddy hears about this" card.

When I get stressed out, my personality is such that I become more controlling. I'm wired to try and control my environment with the assumption that if I do, my stress will be relieved.  Unfortunately, this leads to more stress for myself and everyone around me. Things start to downward spiral. I can see that my oldest is not doing well when handling whatever stress she may have, I think that she is getting it from me.

To that end, I'm going to try and "let go" in regards to handling the kids when they are misbehaving.  I will take my cue from Jen. I will try to be as patient as she is and help discipline when she needs my help. I need to be more even keeled in order to provide a better example for living with others for my children.

St. Joseph, pray for me and all fathers.

Tim

God is Good

I was in Finland last week.  Intercontinental travel, especially short trips can be tough because your body clock gets all out of whack.  Case in point, no matter what time I went to bed last week, I woke up at 4am Finnish time.  This made for some very long days!

While in Finland, I had the opportunity to discuss Christ with someone.  Over several hours we were able to share our thoughts and feelings about our faith. He was a fellow engineer with a young daugher who believes as I do. That the more you analyze and put creation under a microscope, the more you have to realize that there is a creator.

We also talked at great length about the relationship we have with the Father and how this mirrors our relationship with our children.  It is so good to meet people that share your beliefs.  It is even better when you are able to talk about those beliefs together.

God is Good.

Blessings

Tim

Hell as the absence of the Father and his only Son

The God of Fear in the Old Testament is the God of Punishment. If you are sinful and don't repent you are punished with hell. The people at the time needed this message. The Father was the God of tough love because we needed it.

I bounce back and forth between the Old and the New. Lately, I've been thinking more New Testament. God is Love, as embodied by Jesus. Jesus shows us the mind of God and I think we can take our cue from him. He does not force us to follow. Quite the contrary, he tells how tough it will be. It is our choice to conform ourselves to his will and, in so doing, loving one another.

In this plane of existence, we are surrounded by God, we choose how much of his grace penetrates into our life. Either a little or a lot.

To that end, I think of hell as the complete absence of God and his Grace. No beauty. No truth. No love. Nothing. Yet, it is our choice to make that happen.

Yet the catechism tells us that Hell is a very real place. So there must be a place where all the souls who choose to shut the Father out of their existence go. So what are we to make of the torment we are told we face? I would think that not being within the presence of the Father, Son, and their grace would be enough. What is the torment then?

Is the source of torment from souls that have shut the Father out tormenting the weaker ones due to the their frustration and helplessness that they feel from being shut out from the Father based upon their own decisions. Retribution because they have no one else to blame?

Just wondering. Based upon a comment exchange on this post.

Blessings

tim

Lack of Worship

and lack of prayer, fellowship, and participation accelerates the corrosion.

Blessings

tim

In Memory of Kathy Westendorf

Kathy was a wonderful woman.  She and her husband Bill led the RCIA program when I "went through" it.  Their marriage was a wonderful example of how things should be in terms of love and marriage.  Their ministry in the RCIA program was also an inspiration.

I attended her funeral today, and I have to say that this is really the first time I have felt so emotional at the passing of a friend or relative or while at a funeral.  What is interesting is that I am not so emotional about passing, all though that is saddening.  What stirred my soul is that Kathy was a great reflection of the True Light that we are all looking for in Jesus Christ.

I've commented before that studying scripture and bible commentaries will often times "convict your soul" when you discover a nugget of truth that shines a light on a part of our life that is sinful or otherwise needs work.  When I say "convict your soul" I mean the part of you that feels like "oh no! I've been dong that. I really need to do better."

Kathy was the type of person that made you want to be a better person because of the way she lived and how the Father's love really reflected in her words and actions.

Kathy passed as a result of a long fight with cancer. Fortunately here family were with her. She was a loving person who was everyone's best friend.  Even through her struggle with the terminal illness, she continued to love.  The circumstances of her struggle also helped those who loved her to love each other more and as well as to learn more about what love is.  A testament to what I think is wrong about the "death with dignity" movement.

Kathy, you will be missed. I pray that the Father welcomes you into his presence and Jesus is there to hold your hand until you are united with Bill.  Kathy, please pray for me so that I may be a better husband, father, and friend

Tim

Loving the Father

Posted during a break taken while doing some work at a local coffee place.

How do we love the Father?  For the longest time I didn't feel love for the Father or Jesus.  Why, because the feelings I had for them did not feel like what I felt for my wife and kids or my parents.

I'd sit in my bible study and here folks talk about how in love with Jesus they are and you could tell from their sincerity that what they were saying was more than words and grandstanding.  They were in love.  I kept wondering to myself, why don't I feel that?  Where is the great burning in my heart for Jesus and the Father?

But I'm coming to realize, that through my spiritual journey and the cosine post from the other day, that we need to put our shields up to the outside world and put down our shields to the grace and peace of the Father and Jesus.

How is this done? At least for me it is continually trying to be "in the Spirit" through spiritual exercises such as prayer, bible study, frequenting the sacraments, Mass, etc.

Blessings

Tim

Flash of Genius update

A while back I posted my thoughts concerning the movie "Flash of Genius".  The son of the main character has left a comment on that post concerning his father.  Definitely worth a read.  It can be found here.

God Bless

Tim

The Post Only a Christian with an Engineering Background Could Enjoy

I am an engineer and scientist by training. I have a B.S. and M.S in Electromagnetics from Michigan Technological University. One of the greatest things about my education is that it has helped me to recognize similar patterns in seemingly different phenomena, activities, situations, etc.

On my faith journey, I have had many ups and downs. In mathematics there is a rhythmic function called cosine that fluctuates between 1 and -1, or up and down. It looks like this.

Not only does this represent the ups and downs during my faith journey, but it also represents how I think I waiver between feeling in the Spirit and feeling pre-occupied with other things. During the week, starting with Sunday Mass, I am Spirit filled. But as the week goes on, the crush of the world causes me to be preoccupied with other things. It is only until next Sunday's Mass that I am filled with the Spirit again.

So what I needed to find was something to keep me "centered" with the Father. One of the things that has helped has been our Parish's Bible Study. Our group is a great, faith filled Small Christian Community. It meets on Wednesday and it helps to refill the Spirit in my soul.

There is still a big difference between the peaks and valley's. The valley's aren't in the "shadow of death". But they could be better. And I had noticed that even though I am feeling more centered, I still let the crush of the world affect my relationships with the ones I love. At confession, a priest suggested I enhance my prayer life. Since then I have tried very hard to have some good quality prayer time in the morning after getting up and before going to bed. This has helped a great deal. So now, the ups and downs are more like this.

The goal of course is to keep smoothing out the peaks and valleys so that we are always in "tune" with the Father. A flat line across the top is where Jesus probably was. The Saints probably had curves that had minimal peaks and valleys.

So what do you think, is it attainable? Only through the Grace of God and discipline and a desire to continuously improve myself. St. Joseph pray for me.

Blessings

Tim

Quality Time From a Quality Husband and Father, #46

Today, I am standing on the shoulders of giants.  Two really good posts from the Catholic Dads Blog.  The first one is from Wednesday of last week, and it points to Fr. Wade Menezes' Ten Commandments of a Husband and Father.  Good stuff.  I couldn't agree more with the Jason's statement that it is a great meditation and couldn't come at a better time than during Lent.  Find the document here at the bottom of Father Meneze's bio page.  Two of the commandments that really touched me were:

1. Get your priorities in order: Jesus first, your wife second, your children third, your work fourth, etc. Develop a weekly schedule, blocking out quality time for the Lord, your wife, each child and the family as a whole. A husband’s most important time during any given day is the first five minutes when he gets home from work and the love and attention he shows his wife and children at that time. Remember that your human fatherhood is rooted in the Divine Fatherhood of Almighty God (cf. Ephesians 3:14-15; cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2214).
2. Spend quality time with each child. Treat each child in a unique and personal way. The power of a father’s affirming love is tremendously overwhelming and something truly wonderful. Children need it. They require it for their full and proper development. Let each child share his or her ideas, feelings, fears and problems with you. Do everything in your power to ensure that your child can always approach you in any matter. Be sure to share periodically with your wife your insights concerning each child. Discipline with firmness and love (again, your model here is that of the wise and prudent king who rules over the inhabitants of his kingdom with a firm, but great love and not of the master who rules over his slaves).

Text in bold with italics is my emphasis.  The second point above struck me and gave me pause.  This is something that I really need to work on.  At the end of the day I am tired and I am usually stressed out about work or something that I need to do from the seemingly never ending task list.  When I get home it seems all I want to do is have dinner, get the kids to bed, and veg out.  How Selfish!  Not only that how am I making them feel if my attitude is such that I'm trying to get rid of them (by wanting to get them to bed) as soon as dinner is over.

Indeed, how selfish.  I really need to change this and take this commandment to heart.  I need to make sure that I spend good quality time with each one of the kids so that I make sure they feel loved by me.  So from this point forward, I am resolving to spend good quality time with each child either before dinner or just after dinner when getting home from work. 

The other post, entitled "All work and no play..." reinforces both of the commandments I listed above.  It talks about quality time with the family.  When I do spend time with my family, it has to be good quality time where I am present, thinking about them and concentrating on them.  Giving them my all.  All to often we come home from work and we are still thinking about a problem that we have to figure out. Because as men, that is what we do, solve problems.  But our family needs us to be ever present in their lives.  They need quality time from us.  When thinking about it, this is a no brainer.  They deserve it.

Taken with our other actions, it only makes sense.  After all, in everything we do, don't we try to give our family quality things?  Quality home, Quality clothes, Quality food, Quality Education, Quality Toys.

Don't they need Quality Time with a Quality Husband and Father?

Set in order of priority:  There is a time for the Father, there is a time for Family, and there is a time for work.

I have been working on spending more time with the Father by increasing how much and the quality of my prayer time.  I now need to spend more Quality Time as a Quality Husband and Father with the family that I love.

St. Joseph Pray for us fathers.

Blessings

Tim

P.S.  I was originally going to call this post #46 because I couldn't think of a title and this is my 46th published post.

How do you describe the indescribable?

How do you describe the indescribable?

A couple of years ago, Emily asked Jen and I what Heaven was?  How do you describe the indescribable to a 3 year old when you can't even imagine how glorious it is?

Emily loved (and actually still loves) going to our neighborhood parks.  When she was really young and first going down the slides we would say "Wheeeeeeee" as she slid down.  The word stuck and she called every park "Wheeeeeee".  She differentiated between the parks by some unique feature.  Like the "Horsey Wheeee" or the "Fishy Wheeee", etc.  Emily loved slides.

So when she asked us about Heaven, Jen was able to explain it right away. She said "Heaven is full of "Wheeees" and slides. All the best "Wheees" you could ever imagine."

How have you described Heaven and other indescribable things to your children?

Blessings

Tim

Sorry for the missed post

Emily's Birthday was on Saturday.  We had a big party with a bunch of her friends at Pump It Up. Here is a picture of the birthday girl with her Tinkerbell cake.

So, after a long string of posts regularly scheduled for Saturday mornings, I slacked off.  Sorry!  I do have some good stuff coming though.

Look for "the post only an Christian engineer could love" this Saturday.

Blessings

Tim

"My soul is sorrowful even to death."

I read this story and "my soul is sorrowful even to death."  It aches.  Granted the baby was born so premature that it may not have survived.  But they didn't even try...

All I can think about...to say...to pray is:  Father I am sorry.  I'm sorry we have lost our way.  I'm sorry that we have so objectified all that you created that the only thing that matters is our own wishes, desires, our own happiness. Why don't we understand that only through conforming our will to Yours will we ever be happy?  I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Forgive us.  Forgive me for not doing enough.

Pray that we can all do a little more.

Tim

Can't wait to share!

I had several hang-ups with Christianity before I had my conversion back to the Church a few years ago. One of the more relevant hang-ups had to do with how sterile and one dimensional the stories from the bible seemed to be. As a child we'd talk about the bible stories and what they meant at Sunday school, but at only a really superficial level. As a teenager and then as a young adult, no one bridged the gap between the bible stories of my childhood and the deeper theological meaning. Yes, I am a victim of poor catechesis for young adults. But that is ok. By the grace of God we found a great parish with a pastor that gave good homily. It is also why I think we need to do a better job of teaching our teenagers and young adults.

After my conversion and as I grew in faith, I joined a bible study. We started out with Little Rock Scripture Study and also use William Barclay quite frequently. William Barclay was a Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at the University of Glasgow and author of the Daily Bible Study Series. Which I think is the most popular New Testament Bible Study on the planet. Barclay does a great job of providing historical background and is has summarized several different viewpoints and theological views for you. In essence he has done all the hard work associated with trying to understand the scripture. He boils it down so that the lay person can understand it. While, he isn't Catholic (he misses the point in regards to the Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin), the many view points provided are helpful.

Anyways, bible study and reading commentaries on the bible have helped me bridge the gap between the bible stories for children and the deeper theological meaning buried in scripture.

Case in point, and somewhat significant given that Lent is here, is the foot washing of the disciples. Barclay provided a lot of information on this. For example, foot washing was reserved for slaves or servants of the house. At the very least, the owner, if they didn't have slaves or servants, would wash the feet of their guests upon entry into the house. But here we see our Lord, a Rabbi, our God made flesh, doing the work of a slave or servant. How extraordinary, how are God is humbling himself just to show us how we are to treat each other!

I can't wait to share these types of insights with my children when they are old enough to appreciate it. I pray that this type of catechesis, along with the example that my wife and I provide, is enough to keep them from falling away from the faith like I did.

Blessings

Tim

Ramping up for Lent

His Holiness, Benedeict XVI, has a great message concerning fasting.  His message talks about the utility of fasting and provides a view of fasting going back all the way to the beginning of salvation history.

You can also Fast from something other than your favorite food or a meal for the day.  You can fast from something you enjoy, taking that time to devote to prayer and being with God.

Conundrum.  We are already a couple of days into Lent, and I don't know what to fast from.

Finally, our pastor had a great homily concerning the Holy Father's words concerning prayer, fasting, and charity.  When the podcast is up, I will post a link.  Definitely worth a listen.

Blessings to you all

Tim

Giving Glory to the Father

How do we give Glory to the Father?  For some it is through great works of art or sculpture, music, their vocation to religious life, or through their work.

For those of us not called to a specific vocation where we can express our love of God and give him glory through our talent, what are we to do?

How about through how we raise our children.  Could it be through this humble and most challenging of vocations, that we give Glory to the Father?

Blessings

Tim

he did not say "I am the custom."

Over at The Heart of Things Bill Donaghy talks about St. Toribio Alfonso Mogrovejo. Interesting quote from St. Toribio, which is somewhat applicable to our times:

Christ said, "I am the Truth";
he did not say "I am the custom." 

Blessings

Tim

How about being a better husband, too?

I've talked a lot about being a better father, how about being a better husband?  Better father, better husband, better person.  It's all part of the faith journey.

 I am Husband is a pretty good blog.

Blessings

Tim

Don't Blink

"Don't blink
Just like that you're six years old
and you take a nap and you
Wake up and you're twenty-five and
your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don't blink
You just might miss your babies growing like mine did
Turning into moms and dads
next thing you know your "better half"
Of fifty years is there in bed
And you're praying God takes you instead
Trust me friend a hundred years
goes faster than you think
So don't blink"

-Kenny Chesney, from the song "Don't Blink"

How easy is it to get wrapped up in the world and all of a sudden, our children are all grown up. We are left standing there, scratching our head, wondering:  "Where did my little girl (boy) go?".  Don't Blink.  As the rest of the song continues:  "...best start putting first things first."

Don't Blink.

Blessings

Tim

Pulling on the Father's Arm

Note:  the genesis of this post came from something that happened to me before I started Blogging.

One day I was working on the computer. Well all right, I wasn't actually working. I was on Facebook catching up with what was going on with my friends.  Anybody who is on Facebook knows that it can be addictive. There seems to be a deep seated desire within us to want to be up to date with what is going on in each others lives as well as to let everyone know what you are doing.

It was after dinner and the girls were running around the house playing. My youngest came up to me, started pulling on my arm and said "Daddy, Daddy! Play Monster Chase!"  Monster Chase is a simple game where I basically chase after them with my arms up in the air like Frankenstein and growling like some ferocious monster. Other times I chase after them as "Grandpa Pants Monster" where I hike up my pants over my belly button with my shirt tucked in. After chasing them for some time I will either tackle and tickle them for a while or let them tackle and tickle me. It is great fun.

Anyways, it had been a long day and I was feeling selfish. I did something in retrospect that was very foolish and regret. I brushed them off and said "Not now." I really have no excuse for my behavior. Thinking back, I should have dropped what I was doing and started chasing them around. I do not want to set an example for them that it is ok to "blow off" your children.

Does the Father do that when we are in prayer or carried away in the Spirit so much that we are pulling on his arm to enjoy his presence and love?  Of course not.  A couple examples in Scripture come to mind. The Annointing in Bethany (John 12:1-8) and Mark 10:13-16. Now I realize that the passage Mark has other theological implications, but it also me that even though the Lord was busy trying to save the world, he could still make time for kids.

Since then I have made a concerted effort to make sure that I don't miss out on these opportunities.  But it is tough.  With all of our obligations and work and responsibilities.

I just don't want them to know that every moment with them should be peace and joy.

Blessings to you all.

Tim

Best going away present ever, continued...

As promised in this post, I put Emily's going away present on my laptop for me to have where ever I travel on business.  Here's a pic

 

and yes, I'm at a Starbucks.

Blessings

Tim

Flash of Genius, Justice, and Vindication. What About the Ones We Love?

One of the movies playing on my flight back from Washington, DC was "Flash of Genius".  It was a very good movie that told the story about Dr. Robert Kearns.  Dr. Kearns invented the Intermittent Windshield Wiper that is now on over 145 million vehicles worldwide.  Ford Motor Company, like all the other automakers in the world had been trying to develop the intermittent wiper for years.  In a flash of genius Dr. Kearns, an Electrical Engineering Professor, figured out how to make it work.

In good faith, he provided to Ford a prototype.  Ford requested a prototype because they said they needed it to prove out the longevity and the safety of the device.  A couple months after giving them the prototype Ford got back to Dr. Kearns with the news that they were no longer interested.

Several months later, a redesigned Ford Mustang was unvieled with...Intermittent Wipers.  What ensued was a long drawn legal ordeal that ended up causing Dr. Kearns to have a nervous breakdown, he and his wife to separate, and for him to come very close to totally alienating his children.  All for the sake of wanting Ford to capitulate and admit that they stole his idea.

The movie was good.  And indeed, Dr. Kearns was vindicated.  Ford paid him 10 million dollars, Chrysler paid 18 million. His kids, as they grew older, helped him out with the case.  I am happy that justice was served.

What saddens me is that his marriage was ended by Dr. Kearn's singular desire to prove that he was right.  Justice is important, but at what cost? At the price of his marriage? At the risk of his relationships with his children.

What kind of message does this send to people?  That it is ok to pursue justice even at the expense of ruining the relationships that are so important?  The relationships that are the basis for our society?

I have no bone to pick with Dr. Kearns and his family.  I'm inspired by the werewithall he had to stand up to one of the largest companies on earth.  But, my heart aches for the hurt it caused for those that loved him more than anything else.

I immediately thought about how this applies to me and the important relationships in my life.  On more than one occasion I've ended up hurting people I love for the sake of proving I was right, or proving a point, or insisting on justice. 

Our relationships with our spouses and children are the most important things in our lives after our love of the Father.  Nothing that we do should hurt them or do irrepairable harm to those relationships.

I hope and pray that I can do a better job of keeping this in mind.

Blessings

Tim

Does the Father Beam with Pride?

Does the Father Beam with pride when we do something that is according to his will? How about when we are baptized or after our first Sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharist? What about when we are confirmed or have a reconversion that brings us back into his Grace? Does discovering our true vocation give him a warm feeling from the fact that our actions will bring him glory?

Why am I asking this? Because of the pride I feel whenever one of our daughters hits a milestone in their development. It is these milestones, both small and large, which really make parenting a joy. I'm writing this a couple of weeks after our oldest, Emily, that did something that made me extremely proud. Let me explain.

Emily has a couple of jobs to do when she gets up in the morning. They need to be completed before coming down to breakfast or climbing into bed with Mommy and Daddy. These jobs are nothing major:  make her bed and give the cats fresh water. Giving the cats fresh water is an important one because she would like her own kitten and she is trying to prove to us that she can be responsible.

Well, Sunday morning was very cold here in the Pacific Northwest. I heard her get up and give the cats some fresh water and I expected to her to make a beeline for our bed. After about 10 minutes, she was a no show.  Concerned, I got out of bed and walked over to her room. I opened the door to her room, and there she is lying on her 95% made bed, covered with a blanket.  "What are you doing?" I asked.

"It's cold, I'm warming up", she said.

"Why didn't you come into bed with Mommy and Daddy?"

"I didn't finish my jobs."

I was stunned and couldn't have been more proud. My little girl was showing responsibility. She was starting to understand the difference between knowing what she had to do and what she wanted to do.

I scooped her up, gave her a big hug, carried her into our room, and plopped her on our bed so that she could snuggle up with us.  (The only thing she hadn't done was putting her stuffed animals in place. Good enough in Daddy's eyes.)

So does the Father beam with pride when we hit a milestone in our faith journey? When we are baptized, confirmed, have our first reconciliation, and our First Eucharist? What about a conversion? What about when we conform ourselves to His will? How about the little things like this? Is he looking at the both of us with a smile happy that we are doing ok, learning from each other?

Blessings to you all.

Tim

Indifference

Our bible study group is currently studying the Revelation of John.  Last week we read about and discussed the letter to Laodicea.  We are using William Barclay's commentary, and he discusses the issues that Laodicea had with respect to indifference.  When I read that part of the commentary, I didn't think very much of it because it talked mainly about the indifference of a community.

But, one of our bible study members discussed about the cruel power that indifference has on relationships, and the effect it had on them.  Are we guilty of indifference to our children, spouses, and other loved ones?  What kind of damage does that do to the ones we love?  I know that I am guilty of it.  Both in regards to my wife and children. 

I thank God for our bible study.  A Small Christian Community that helps to really understand our Lord's Word and how it applies to our daily lives. 

Without this tidbit of perspective concerning indifference, I would not have realized what potential damage I could be causing in my relationships.  Fortunately, armed with this info, I can do what I can to seek forgiveness, rectify the damage and work on improving my actions (or lack thereof).

Please look at your relationships and actions and see if your indifference is causing problems.  It may help you to put a better spin on this year's Valentine's Day.

Blessings

Tim

I am blessed to be a father

I'm headed to Herndon, VA for work this evening.  Nothing like a red-eye to help balance work and life.  :-)

Here is a going away present from Emily. Jen laminated it and I'm going to attach it to my laptop.

This has to be one of the best going away presents...Ever. Makes the red-eye all worthwhile.

Blessings to you all

Tim

Blessed are those...

Blessed are those that can begin to understand and feel the love ofthe Father before they become fathers.

I wish I had put down the "shields" to His Grace a lot earlier in my life. I thank Him for penetrating those shields and for his only Son for showing us the way.

Blessings

Tim

Wondering

As I continue my faith journey and am learning more about my relationship with the kids and with the Father, I wonder if my daughters will be asking the same questions and having the same insights.

Blessings

Tim

Small Christian Communities and the Kingdom Of Heaven at Home

In our parish, there seems to be a resurgence of lay people taking a more active roll in the church today. Many of these folks are working in Small Christian Communities (SCC) within the larger parish community. I firmly believe SCC's are the way of the future for the Catholic Church. One of the more successful small christian communities in our parish is the Wednesday night scripture study.

Four years ago it started it out as a group of 9 people interested in learning about the bible and scripture. Since then, it has blossomed into a group of about 35 people. We started out using sources like Little Rock Scripture Study and have branched out into using a variety of sources. It has become a very successful Small Christian Community. What is wonderful about this group is that it has become an extended family for all the members. We are able to share our experiences, both life and spiritual, openly and honestly.

In a way it is helping the Kingdom of Heaven to "break into" our world.  Every Wednesday, a little bubble of the "Kingdom of Heaven" breaks into the world, trying to make the world a better place through it's members learning more about scripture, the Word, his Father, and each other.

In a way, the home and the environment parents make should be like the Kingdom of Heaven for our children.  A place of peace, happiness, and unending love.

Surely this is something that is tough to strive for in our daily lives.

Blessings

Tim

Sharing Peace and Joy

Every encounter with the Father through prayer and the Sacraments fills us with joy and peace. Why shouldn't our children's time with us be any different? The peace and joy of His Grace is always there for us to ask for and take part in. Why shouldn't it be like this for us and our children

Granted, there is a time for discipline and keeping them on the straight and narrow. But when they come home from school, is it just business as usual? Or do you greet them like the father when the Prodigal Son returns home?

Our lives are so complicated, so busy, so hectic, so stressful. It's a tough thing to create this "bubble" of the Kingdom of Heaven around our children. It's worth it though, isn't it?

Blessings

Tim

Strawberries

Ever see the T-shirt that says "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" ?

It's actually a quote from Benjamin Franklin.

For me strawberries are proof that:

1. God loves us and wants us to be happy. Of course this takes second place to Him sending his only Son.
   
2. Proof that heaven exists.

What am I doing to show that I love my children and want them to be happy? Am I creating a stable loving home? Am I caring for them? Am I showing their mother the love and respect that she deserves? Hopefully I'm not showing them my love by spoiling them. Am I giving them opportunities to live their life to the fullest? Am I teaching them to be empathetic?

Am I being a light to them that reflects the True Light?

Blessing to you

Tim

Great Testimony

A great testimony from Kristin on "why she wastes her time worshiping". Good stuff. Hint: She really doesn't think it is a waste of time.

Blessings

Tim

Emily is a light of the world

Our oldest, Emily, is a kind, warm, loving child. She is also very outgoing, which is totally different from her mother and I. In many ways this is a blessing because she is able to make friends with a variety of children that are different from her. Whether they are children of different races, different gender, or just have different interests. She seems to be this light that other children are drawn to.

Something that I struggle with is how do we nurture this so that she can use this for good and not for bad? Jen and I have told her on occasion that since she makes friends so easily, that she needs to make sure that other kids are included and not left out. I just hope that she doesn't learn to use her charisma as a tool to hurt or exclude others.

Hopefully we are helping along the right path. We have such a good foundation in that she has the right temperament and the charisma to be the light of the world. My wife and I should therefore always keep in mind the following (emphasis mine) as we raise her:

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father."

Matthew 5: 14-16

Any thoughts or useful suggestions are gladly accepted.

Blessings

Tim

Facebook and Reconnecting with the Pleasures of His Creation, Part 2

In my previous post I talked about reconnecting with the pleasures of His Creation. Namely, enjoying everything around me because all things were created by Him through his Son.

At this point you are probably asking yourself, what does this have to do with your Blog - "fatherhood and the Father"? The Father has created this world for us to enjoy so that we can love and serve him. It is a gift to us that we must take care of.

And this gets me to the point. Together with my wife, we have created a small microcosm of the world in our house and their little "bubble" of life which consists of mommy, daddy, the pets, and the house. This little microcosm is their little world created by my wife and I. Just as the Father has created this world for us to enjoy and show us his love, it is our duty to ensure that our children's world is as secure and enjoyable as our love for them is deep.

A difference in my mind, and I know there are many but this is the one that is relevant for me at this point, is that we do not create this world for our children in order that they serve us. Quite the contrary, we create the world around them so that they learn to be loved, to love, and to love the Father and his only Son.

Blessings to you

Tim

Papal YouTube Channel

While looking through my blog reader, I noticed that Michael Barber's blog "Singing in the Reign" had a post about the Vatican and YouTube.

Wow! The Vatican has taken the plunge into Social Networking! This is great news.

They have their own channel on YouTube now.  Check it out here!

On the videos page here , there are about 12 clips to watch.  Not a lot of material yet, but it is good to see that things are moving in the right direction.

I'm wondering if the Pope is going to start blogging.  That would be a great way of getting out his messages from his weekly audiences.

Blessings to you all

Tim

New Addition to the Blogs I Follow

You might have noticed that on the right hand side of this page is a list of other blogs that I follow.

I found the blog Letters to Liam while visiting another blog I follow: Catholic Dads.

Anyhoo, Letters to Liam is a great blog about raising a special needs child. It started out as a way for a father to write letters for his newborn child once he had become an adult. Liam's Down Syndrome has changed the focus of the blog, and it is quite inspirational.

It is reaffirming that there are other dads out there who have found the blogging outlet useful for talking about their relationship with their children!

I'm adding Letters to Liam to my list of blogs and hope that you get a chance to visit the blog and be sure to check out the introductory blog post.

Blessings

Tim

Enjoying His Creation

We took a ride to see the Snow Geese up near Mt. Vernon and the Bald Eagles who are wintering along the Skagit River. Short trips like this are how we try to spend our Sundays together as a family. Sometimes, life intercedes and we aren't able to something like this. But we do the best we can, right? Here are some pictures from the trip.

This one is looking across the fields of the Skagit Valley towards Mt. Baker.

Another shot of Mt. Baker, this time framed by some trees on the edge of the farms fields.

Close up of some of the snow geese and even some trumpeter swans

Finally, a shot of the final rays of sun on the Cascades near Rockport, WA. I beg to differ from those who say there isn't a God. Our Father has a wonderful, beautiful pallete.

Blessings to you all

Tim

Birds of a feather

Here's a couple of nice posts concerning fatherhood.  It's good to see I'm not the only one concerned about being the best that we can be.  Fulfilling our vocation to the best of our ability.

The first one is from Catholic Dads.  The second is from ihusband.com

Schedule

Thanks for checking in on a regular basis. It is appreciated. Sorry for the lack of posts. The two year old and five year old are keeping Mommy and Daddy very busy. In addition, one of my colleagues at work decided to take a different job (good for him!) within the company, so I have been struggling with double the work load.

In case you haven't figured it out, I post "major items" on a weekly basis. These items are things I have spent some time on and are fully baked. I've got quite a few in the queue, so please check back at least every Saturday evening!

I do try to post smaller items on a daily basis. These posts are usually based on material from other blogs that I follow or small sparks of insight that I may have.

Some things that I have been thinking of but haven't found a way to articulate and convey in an understandable manner are as follows:

• The post only a Christian with an engineering background could enjoy
  
• Working tirelessly, foot washing, JP2 the Great
• Working hard, playing hard, praying hard
• Why do I have a blog?
• Compare and Contrast

Hopefully, that is sufficiently vague to peak your interest and come back for more: ;-)

Blessings to you all.

Tim

Proof for the existence of God. At least for me

Conservation of Energy - Energy can neither be created or destroyed. There is a finite amount of energy in the universe. Although, to our finite sized brains, it may seem like there is an infinite amount!

How is it then, when we have a child, that we can love them so much? How can we love someone so completely all of a sudden. Yeah, some say that love is a chemical process. But chemical processes require energy and/or fuel to unlock the energy. Where does the extra energy come from? We don't eat or drink anymore than normal as the love for our children grows from nothing. We don't lose weight as a result of the extra energy it takes to love someone. (Weight lost due to breast feeding and extra physical effort does not count) We don't love our spouses any less, so we aren't stealing energy from them.

The Father has shown us, through the death of his only Son, that he loves us infinitely.

Therefore, the source of our love for our children is the fount head of love, the Father, his only Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Here is a classic proof of the existence of God from St. Thomas Aquinas

Blessings to you

Tim

"Go God"

Kristen is a former babysitter of ours.  She is a full time student and very talented amateur photographer.  She has felt the call to do some missionary work with Youth With a Mission.

Kristen has started a blog chronicling her adventures. The end of one of her posts really caught my eye: "Go God".

Pray for Kristen and her new adventures.

Tim

A reflection of the True Light

Last week went well with the kids. Sunday was a tough two year old day. Monday didn't start out any better. At some point I was wondering if we were going to have to get some warranty work on her baptism. ;-)

It is amazing where the Father can point you when you ask for help.

I came across this blog post entitled "Amazing Grace" on Monday night as I was doing some random searches on catholicblogs.com. Wonderful story. Wonderful testimony. I won't spoil it for you. Go ahead and read it. I wouldn't be able to do it justice.

Not that I have it terrible by any stretch of the imagination and don't get me wrong, this isn't a case of "thank God I am not in that situation". It's two things. First a realization of how fortunate I am to be called to the vocation of being a husband and father. Something that I need to remind myself of constantly.

Secondly, the story is inspirational on so many levels. I don't even think I could list them. For me,

• despite the many issues, they kept trying to have children
  
• They adopted a baby and if you read the blog post on fatherhood, you will feel the how this father has made a "quantum leap" in his vocation as a father.

I can identify with these quantum leaps. It is like a switch goes on in your soul that says you are in a different place in regards to where you are at with respect to your fatherhood.

The father, Bill, is a reflection of the True Light.

I don't want to spoil it with any more words. Needless to say I am inspired to be a better father. The best father that I can be.

"reflected in another source of light
when the moment dies
the spark still flies
reflected in another pair of eyes"

Chain Lightning, Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson

Pray for Grace. Pray for Bill. Pray for all fathers.

Blessings to you all

Tim

catholicblogs.com

I stumbled across this site yesterday. Catholicblogs.com is a website that let's you search a large number of catholic oriented blogs on the web. Pretty cool if you are looking for something in particular.

Pretty awesome. Check it out.

Tim

Facebook and Reconnecting with the Pleasures of His Creation, Part 1

How can we love and serve the Lord if we are not happy with ourselves, our surroundings, and those around us? What does it take to enjoy your life? I've been thinking about it a lot lately. God has made this world for us so that we can love and serve him. We should take pleasure in His creation.

A couple of weeks ago my wife and I joined Facebook. We have been enjoying the hyper-connectedness that social networking offers. Often times it can be very time consuming which can be a problem for some. But it is a nice distraction. Especially being able to connect with old friends. For me, this has been the best part.

Recently, I reconnected with one of my best friends from college. I hadn't talked to him via phone in over a year and a half. But like most of those types of relationships in life, it was easy to jump right back into a conversation with him and it was like we had been talking just the day before. In college, my friend had a considerable zest for life. While visiting his Facebook page, I realized from his profile and pictures that he had posted, that the fire for squeezing the most out of life was still burning in his soul.

That got me thinking about how, in a way, I had lost that fire for squeezing the most out of life and that I had seriously insulated myself. This has kept me from really enjoying everything that is going well in my life. A good job, wife that loves me and that I love, two beautiful little girls, a roof over my head, bible study group that is like an extended family, living in one of the most beautiful places on earth, etc. Yes I was momentarily happy now and then. But I wasn't actively "squeezing" everything out of life that I could.

In my conversion story I mentioned some of the things that really give me pleasure about the Father's Creation. Truly, the Glory of God's Creation pours into everything in our life. Therefore it is not just nature, but everything in my life that I need to really start enjoying. For how else can we love and serve him if we are not happy with ourselves, our surroundings, and those around us. I must do this right now.

Much like someone who has an addiction must first realize they have a problem, I have realized that I'm really not enjoying life like I should. I pray that I have turned a corner and can really do this. With the crush of life and work, it is very easy (at least for myself) to hunker down and insulate from what is good in my life and everything that the Lord has put in our life to enjoy.

I think this ties directly in with this previous post concerning being a light for my children. If I'm not actively enjoying my life, how will they learn to do so?  Now things aren't as dire as they might sound.  I do enjoy life.  Probably just not as much as I should.

Update: I actually wrote the text of this blog about a month ago.  I am happy to report that things are going better and am actively trying to seek out and enjoy life a lot more.  Now that I have been back to work for about a week, it has become more difficult because of the pressures of life.  But with some diligence and prayer, we'll get there.

Blessings

Tim

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Small Changes Mean a Lot

A friend of the family has posted a challenge to the readers of the Diocese of Marquette paper. 

See here: http://www.dioceseofmarquette.org/upcarticle.asp?upcID=1845

Great insight into how people are called to their vocation, whether it is to the religious life or married life.

Something that struck me, concerning my blog in particular, is Mike's paraphrasing of a quote from St. Francis de Sales—"something to the effect that holiness is slow as sunrise: imperceptible changes realized only in retrospect."

This is good for me to keep in mind as I try to improve myself in my continued faith journey. Small changes may not seem to be making much difference, but in retrospect they can mean a lot.

So to with how we work with our children. As I've said in a previous post, "Ton of Bricks", I can't expect my kids to immediately change. If there is something wrong with their behavior, we need to work with them to improve with small changes. Also relates to another post, "Our Father, Part 1", catechesis of our children in bite size chunks that they can take into the future.

Blessings

Tim

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Good News! My sister Amy is entering the RCIA program back at her parish on the east coast. She will be confirmed at Easter. She and her husband are expecting a baby around Easter, hopefully they will be able to have an Easter Baptism as well!

Please pray for her and her journey into the church.

Blessings to you all.

Tim

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Reflections of the True Light

Interesting article from a home town newspaper. Amy's brother, Michael, is a friend who recently volunteered as a chaplain's assistant out here in the Pacific Northwest.

The article is very good. Especially poignant is the impact she is having on her students.

Amy is a reflection of the True Light. An inspiration for us all.

Blessings to you all

Tim

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Toughest Thing About Being a Parent

Do you know what is the toughest thing about being a parent, at least for me?  It's not the long nights up feeding or changing a diaper.  None of the things that one might expect, although some of those things are tough.  

No, the thing that makes parenting tough for me is correcting all of my bad habits so that they do not pick them up.  Things like my short temper, over reacting to things, etc.  I want my kids to be better than me in every way, including not having my bad habits.  Especially the habits that make it extremely difficult to live with.

Children are incredible sponges in the first few years of life.  They soak up everything.  They view life through the lenses that parent's behavior creates for them.  That view of life shapes how they will behave now and in the future. Including, and probably most importantly, when they become parents.

I pray that I can change my bad habits to be a shining light (or reflection of the true Light) for them AND I pray that I will be able to work with them to break the bad habits that they have learned.

Blessings to you.

Tim

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Our Father, Part 1

We started saying bedtime prayers with the girls when they were 2 years old. Now that they are 5 and 2.5, they seem to have them down pretty good. We say the "Our Father", "Hail, Mary", and the "Glory Be". All followed by "God Blesses" where the girls ask for God's blessings on family members, friends, and sometime toys. For instance our youngest occasionally asks for God's blessing for her Hippo Bank or Dora Hat. We try and steer them towards their sister, Mommy, Grandmas and Grandpas, Nana, and the rest of the family.

One of the things that turned me off about the church when I was in high school was that I knew all the prayers, but I just didn't get anything out of it. The rote memorization wasn't helping anymore. It wasn't until later when I started bible study that I actually began to more fully understand what I was praying. Last summer, our Bible Study Group covered the Lord's Prayer as part of our study of the Sermon on the Mount. We used William Barclay's commentary on Matthew for the study. I really recommend reading it. It's quite illuminating and you will probably never say the Lord's Prayer in a hurry again.

From this learning, I plan to slowly break out the meaning of the "Our Father" for our oldest daughter. So, rather than knowing the prayer by heart and trying to get through it as quickly as possible, as is starting to happen, she will hopefully come to love and understand the prayer as I have.

Our Lord told us to pray like this: "Our Father"

So every once and a while, I will talk to her about the phrase "Our Father". I start by asking her what she thinks this means. At first she didn't understand, so I would explain, starting with something all the lines of: God is not YOUR father, God is not MY Father. God is Our Father. All of us are the children of the Father. Sisters and Brothers are supposed to love each other. Sisters and Brothers are supposed to be nice to each other. If we hurt or are mean to one of our sisters or brothers we say we are sorry and we ask for forgiveness. If one our sisters or brothers hurts us, we forgive them and move on.

I've been doing this in small digestible chunks with her and it is starting to sink in. When I ask her about it, she is able to explain it to me. Awesome!

Hopefully these small bits of learning will stick with her when she gets tired of the rote memorization. My biggest concern is that she falls away from the church like I did.

Blessings

Tim

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