On the Feast of the Holy Family

Happy Feast day and Happy 5th Day of Christmas!

We are back home from a wonderful week away, spent at my parents' house and surrounded with all but one of my five siblings and their families. What a whirlwind! What a celebration! So fun! I am so glad to be from a large family, it feels full and rich and blessed when we all get together. And, it reaffirms our faith that God's intention for couples to be open to life IS a very good intention, even among the messiness and ups and downs of family life. Relationships and communion with others is what life is all about, after all, and that boils down to one word. Love.

And though we are back home we are still full swing in the true Christmastide season. Some people want to put away Christmas the day after and they are missing out on the meaning entirely. No time to truly reflect in the mystery and gift of baby Jesus after all the stresses and hubbub leading up to Christmas Day. I suppose with Christmas being shoved down our throats in the stores since October, its easy to get caught up in that and then be tired of it when the true Christmas season actually begins. Now is the time to celebrate the baby Jesus. Its our babymoon time!!

On our drive back home yesterday, we were talking about the upcoming New Year and resolutions and things like that. We thought it might be fun to have a theme or word to define an area of focus for 2014 for each of us, and that's when it hit me: Our family should have a word or theme.  The kids are welcome to each choose a word (reach, stretch, courage, kindness are all possibilities), but what came to my mind was The Holy Family. That should be our theme. Striving to be a Holy Family modelled after the Holy Family.

So it was appropriate that the Feast of the Holy Family happened today, and the readings from today's Mass clearly define what we are to aim for.  Goodness knows we fall so short! But I'm looking forward to it, and I'm so excited for the possibilities! What, exactly, that will look like on a day to day basis I'm not sure, but I do know that God will surely lead the way if we are open to His call.

xo



  

The Holiness of Laughter

Over the course of my life I have had some dreams that I feel breech into the divine world.  That God somehow communicates with me.  Like, a few years back I dreamt that my deceased grandmother gave me a hug, but the hug filled me with sooooo much crazy love and joy that I was bursting with it and it woke me up.  And I knew she had sent me her love from Heaven!!  When I awoke and thought about her, I realized that it would have been her birthday that day.  OK, so to me that was like a special gift from my grandmother and God, who enabled the spiritual hug.  Its not unreasonable you know, God communicated with many Biblical figures through dreams.  I've also had dreams where words were spoken: "Wait for me."  This phrase is in the Bible in many different spots, but I really wish He would have made His message for me a little less generic!  What do I do with that?  What choice do I have but to wait for Him?? And on yet another occasion I feel that I was actually awake, and my bedroom was filled with white white light.  When I actually "woke up," I was filled with an incredible sense of deep-down rock-em-sock-em peace. 

Last night I had another such dream.  I feel like I was moving through time and space, I was not in my body so to speak.   I call on the Lord.  I began to hear murmurings of voices and I'm thinking what the heck is going on, who are all those people talking?

And then, a voice spoke to me.

It went, "Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow."

Huh???  Pardon????

And then, bang, I experience this rapid movement of myself being transported back to reality and in a few seconds my eyes explode open.  That was a strange message, I think to myself.  I guess it was just a typical crazy dream.  No profound message from God there.

Hmmm.  Really?  Maybe He's telling me to lighten up a bit?

I think God has a great sense of humor!  He must have, for He made us to enjoy a good laugh and we are made in His image and likeness.  I must tell you, I absolutely LIVE for a good belly laugh each day.  It feels soooo good, doesn't it?

and you can't just wait for it to happen TO you, you have to look for it and be open to it and seek out that laughter!  If you're short on material just laugh at yourself!!

Today I have had a several really good laughs (thanks C for the "can" of laughs).  And if you're running low on the chuckle tank, view the following video of my daughter, who was filming herself and got an unexpected surprise.  The whole thing makes me laugh.  Enjoy!