With Thanksgiving on the horizon, a little perspective and thanksgiving is in need on this little blog of mine. On October 31, 2010 my Grandpa Fred went to join God's party up in heaven, and as difficult as it's been to lose him, there were some pretty beautiful things that happened with his passing.
Through this whole process of getting older, it has really opened my eyes to how important it is to stay close to your family. I mean, I'm someone who is already very close to my family (both immediate and extended), and I realized that without this closeness, the death of my grandpa would have felt like an impossible "part of life" without the rest of my family. Moreover, had I not invested my time with my family, I wouldn't have all of these wonderful memories of my grandpa to hold onto now that he's gone. I am so grateful that I didn't skip out on Sunday mornings with them because they were almost always spent telling stories, scratching lotto tickets, and enjoying each other over breakfast. I do not regret the time spent caring for any of their needs--when I could be out doing my "own thing" instead. The idea of investing time in others is so crucial, and I am glad I have not taken that for granted.
In addition to family, my faith has been so vital. To have peace and know that my grandpa trusted in God so much--in everything he did. I have no doubt that he is being taken care of by the King of Kings. I also love the beauty of the mass and how when I take communion, I am sharing in the same meal of all those who have passed and are with the Lord. It's really quite amazing when you think about it.
So, to sum it all up, I am grateful for the many blessings I have received--even within my sorrow and loss. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
On September 11th, I will be flying into Washington, D.C. for a Eucharistic Congress held by the Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious. The theme of the Congress is Sacrifice of Enduring Love. The Congress will draw participants to the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of enduring love, the way of all communion between God and His people.
Speakers will focus upon priesthood, religious life and marriage as:
• an irrevocable commitment;
• an identification with Christ in his submission to the Will of the Father; and
• a complete gift of self in love.
I'm so excited to go to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which is also known as America's Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic Church in the United States and in North America. It's actually one of ten largest churches in the world. This trip is a pilgrimage of sorts for me. The retreats, trainings, and other events I've attended of the last several years have been primarily focused on teens, or the service to teens in ministry. Don't get me wrong, these types of events are great and I do get to spend a lot of time in prayer with the Lord. However, they have not been focused on the discernment of my personal vocation--nor do I take time to allow Christ to fill my cup completely in order to serve.
The last three, four, five times I've been to adoration, I've felt this calling and overwhelming love of Jesus Christ. I have just wanted to stay there and sing, "I love you," to my Savior over and over again. It is this stirring that has lead me to go on this trip.
Also, I want to share with you a book I'm reading...it's called "Climbing the Mountain" by Anne, a Lay Apostle. This beautiful book has provided a link between myself and the messages of Jesus. Reading this book, I have realized I should not ask whether I am called to serve--because we are all called--but rather, I should ask the where, how, what questions with respect to service. It is in this place I begin. With the inklings of the Holy Spirit, I move forward.
O the beauty He has in store for me and for us all!
For having as big of a family as I do, I'm kinda surprised something like this hasn't happened sooner, but we lost three family members in one week exactly. Living in a culture/society that doesn't have a big connection with the concept of death, I too, had kinda forgotten about the mortality of my human physique.
This is not an easy topic to discuss on a regular basis, nor do I think it's particularly healthy to do so; however, it does require our attention from time to time. Every living being will reach an end on this earth. Even being thankful for the opportunity to wake up morning after morning is overwhelming...the Lord has called us to live here one more day, and for that we can rejoice. Our lives may seem mundane or even unbearable, but He gave us this day to live out.
Death affects the youngest of young and oldest of old...it most cases, it breaks our hearts. The circumstances surrounding a death are shared, the time of his passing, his state of mind, his state of being are all shared, and news usually spreads quickly among those who knew him. We talk about times we shared with him, how he loved, memories slip into our mind about how he rubbed his nose or expressed an emotion uniquely. All of the memories seem to be fleeting and simply not enough...we are left longing for more time to be with him.
That's when we are drawn into faith...into a belief of something greater than ourselves. Heaven is an appealing and popular line of thought. Although, people don't like to think about what it takes to get there. Now, I don't claim to know what God has planned for us...but I do know He wants us to have a relationship with Him and with His Son, Jesus Christ. I believe that heaven is beautiful...a marvelous light where darkness has no foothold on us. We get to be in the presence of the Lord Almighty forever and ever. We get to worship His holy name. Understanding will be given to us as a gift, but that doesn't even matter, because we get to just BE in existence with the beautiful Lord of lords.
So, my thought is....if people don't want a relationship with Jesus here on earth, why do they want one with Him up in heaven? Why do they think they will get to spend eternity in heaven with God, when they wouldn't even consider getting to know Him while they were alive on earth? Although, I understand God has every right to allow anyone He chooses into heaven, it seems odd to me that we presume Jesus didn't mean what He said when He said, "No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). I'd rather not risk it...I want to be in heaven with Him.
During this difficult time, I had the opportunity to serve my family by creating one of memorial videos. This is the video I created for my great-aunt, Irene Valdez. She died at the age of 77, just surviving our grandson, Steven by 16 hours. Steven passed the day before at the age of 32. Later that week, another one of my cousins, Julian passed away during surgery.
All three are deeply missed, and I pray they are gazing upon the face of the Lord Jesus.
Sometimes we must be crazy in the eyes of others to worship Christ. I pray I have such courage:
2 Corinthians 5:12-21 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
The two party conventions showcased vastly different directions for our country. Senator Obama and Senator Biden offered the new ideas and positive change America needs and deserves after eight years of failed Republican leadership. Senator McCain and Governor Palin do not.
After listening to all the speeches this week, I heard nothing that suggests the Republicans are ready to fix the economy for middle class families, provide quality affordable health care for all Americans, guarantee equal pay for equal work for women, restore our nation's leadership in a complex world or tackle the myriad of challenges our country faces. So, to slightly amend my comments from Denver: NO WAY, NO HOW, NO McCAIN-PALIN.
Well, according to the calendar, we're in the thick of summer, however the school districts seem to think it's time to start the fall semester. Aside from the hustle and bustle of school starting, our summer co-ed softball team went from worst to first in the league! That's right, starting the season off 0-4 didn't seem to stop The Roots from winning the entire championship!! Our impressive game play was a shock to all, and a lot of fun! Everyone is now wearing their custom-made Roots shirts with pride!
Here's me as catcher...my official duty during the season because I wasn't so skilled at any other position. I did catch a few pop-flies during the season!
The entire experience was a blast and I loved getting to know more people in the Denver area my own age!
I've made all kinds of videos lately...a couple for The Academy, another for my Grandpa's surprise 78th birthday party in Rocky Ford. It's always so weird going back to RF. It's like jumping in a time machine and looking at how people lived 30 years ago. Most of the time, you'd never guess it was 2008 when you visit aside from an occasional '08 vehicle. My sweet grandpa LOVES ferris wheels. He rides one with my sister, Amanda, every chance he gets. He told her during this ride it's his favorite because as a kid, this was the first amusement ride he ever rode. The joy in his eyes is perfectly captured right here!
Other things up and coming:
ToBy as I like to call it is starting September 6th...for those of you unfamiliar with the Theology of the Body, JPII gave his weekly Wednesday speech on his views regarding the bodies given to us by God. It's an amazingly insightful redefinition of sexuality and culture. I'm very excited and honored to be leading a teen rendition at church this fall. Please, pray for me in this!
I'm sadden to see the Olympics in Beijing come to an end...so many amazing stories of triumph, hard work, and unity have emerged. Although the time of spotlight on China is coming to an end, I implore you...please continue to pray for China and her inhabitants. May the grace of Jesus Christ reign over this gi-normous country.
Yesterday, my family and I made sure we got our DV-R all ready for recording the Olympics, and I had mixed feelings about recording them. By watching the Olympics and not protesting them, am I adding to the injustices and injury of Chinese nationals being kept in jail unrightfully or without legal proceedings? This is not exactly clear in my heart, but I do know more than just Christian believers are suffering by the lack of Human Rights in China. I found this article on the front page of MSN today:
I find it ironic that the theme for the Olympics this year is "One World, One Dream." Sounds a little too stifling to me. Yes, we are one world; however, in my opinion, our world should have countless dreams. By making us all "totally unique and unrepeatable," God created us to dream BIG (ToB). I wonder what dream the Olympic planning committee had in mind for our one world....was it love thy neighbor? world peace? or how about one UNITED world...
But if we become one UNITED world, under whose authority do we proclaim sovereignty? If we do not give honor and glory to the one whose blood was shed so that we could have life, we are nothing. I doubt the Chinese citizens who are sitting in jail waiting for the Olympics to end are feeling very loved, peaceful, or united to the rest of the world.
In Revelation 5, John shares about the four living beings and the twenty-four elders of the Church who sang of Jesus, the Lamb. They sang a new song with these words, "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. And you have caused them to become a Kingdom of priests for our God." Now, that's a Kingdom I want to be a member of...today, tomorrow, and forevermore.
Let us pray that all of our neighbors, from Colorado to China be united under the love, grace, peace, and unity of Jesus Christ the Paschal Lamb whose life was given for you, for me, for them.
"Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare war, stir up the warriors. Let all the soldiers draw near; let them come up. Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning books into spears; let the weakling say, "I am a warrior."" (Joel 3:9-10)
Dear Friends, As the 2008 Olympic Games approach, the whole world is getting a unique and unprecedented look into China. We will undoubtedly see her beauty, her culture, and her history via the media during the Games; however, we will not be shown the underbelly of the government's attempts to persecute the Christians in the country.
Many individuals are in danger (or have experienced persecution) from the government because they have interacted with Christian Americans who are encouraging these brothers and sisters. These Christians refuse to register with the government to indicate they agree with the Chinese PSB's (Public Security Bureau) version of Christianity (which upholds that there is no lordship higher than the government itself). Click here to see a recent story of a believer's persecution.
If you would like to join me in praying for China-for the Christians, for those who do not believe, for the government, for the time foreigners have while visiting for the Olympics, Voice of the Martyrs has created a prayer band. I have several to share, but you can also order more from their website.
Let me know if you'd like one of these prayer bracelets (if you're out of Colorado, make sure I have your address), and I'll send one your way.
May Christ Jesus be Glorified!
Joyous
P.S. Feel free to pass this along to your friends!
