Lord, Hear Our Prayer

The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-filled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.

How about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?

{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.} 

Gospel

Luke 3:15, 21-22

The people were filled with expectation,
and all were asking in their hearts
whether John might be the Christ.
John answered them all, saying,
“I am baptizing you with water,
but one mightier than I is coming.
I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

After all the people had been baptized
and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying,
heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven,
“You are my beloved Son;
with you I am well pleased.”

Think:

"The Lord was baptized, not to be cleansed Himself, but to cleanse the waters, so that those waters...might have the power of Baptism." ~St. Ambrose

Pray:

Remember how beautiful the blessing of parents is after a child is baptized?

A. Celebrant: God the Father, through his Son, the Virgin Mary's child, has brought joy to all Christian mothers, as they see the hope of eternal life shine on their children. May he bless the mother of this child. She now thanks God for the gift of her child. May she be one with him (her) in thanking him for ever in heaven, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

Celebrant: God is the giver of all life, human and divine. May he bless the father of this child. He and his wife will be the first teachers of their child in the ways of faith. May they be also the best of teachers, bearing witness to the faith by what they say and do, in Christ Jesus our Lord.

All: Amen.

Act: 

Read this part of the second reading from today's Mass again:

When the kindness and generous love
of God our savior appeared,
not because of any righteous deeds we had done
but because of his mercy,
He saved us through the bath of rebirth
and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom he richly poured out on us
through Jesus Christ our savior,
so that we might be justified by his grace
and become heirs in hope of eternal life.

(Titus 3:4-7)

Tap into to abundant grace available to baptized Christians, and look for opportunities this week to pour mercy richly over the lives of the people we meet. 

So, How Was the Day?

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It was fine; thanks for asking:-)

It started before dawn, when I found five children asleep together in the family room. Apparently, when you're sad at bedtime and you live in a big family, you snuggle in with your best buddies to sleep. I looked up from a cup of very strong black tea and saw Paddy, ready to go. He indulged me in a picture. After he and Mike left and before the children awoke, I had some very peaceful quiet time. I'm forever grateful for God's voice in the quiet. 

Michael and Kristin brought me roses for my birthday last night. On a whim, early this morning, I set them together with our JOY luminaria on the hutch in the foyer. I always hate to put those luminaria away after Christmas. This year, I think I won't. So pretty.

The children all woke at once. Karoline and I had a very solemn conversation about the State of the Family while Katie played with my camera. Then, all at once, it hit Kari. Hard. She began to sob and blurted, "My whole childhood will be people leaving!" There was a bit of a deluge, I admit. And Katie saw it as a picture moment. In all honesty, there is a truth to Karoline's observation and it worries me sometimes. But we aren't the type to hang out in the puddle of tears.

We planned a tea party to celebrate girls and invited Hilary to come after school. I set Karoline to work in the great meditative art of flower arranging. And Mike sent me a picture of Paddy. There he was, looking out at a view I know and love so well. His dorm is almost exactly where my first year dorm was. Since I seem to have a struggle with dorms in general, it's nice to find comfort in thinking of it as a place where I was very much at home. I envision his room with matching peach comforters and curtains we made minutes after we got there--- oh, but that's the 30-years-ago room. I doubt Patrick will even make his bed.

Back at home, we set a very pretty table, complete with a beautiful bouquet that Megan sent me yesterday as a centerpiece and individual bouquets for every guest. I couldn't help but remember that Mother Teresa said you can never have too many children or too many flowers. Indeed.

Hilary arrived and neither of us cried. Big high five there, girl! We might have been helped by Stephen, who agreed to meet her at the front door wearing a bowtie and escort her to her seat. Big brothers are the best. They really are.

And then, unprompted and unscripted, but definitely inspired by Christian and Nicky, Karoline rose to give a toast. To a girl house!  The numbers have shifted. We have more girls in this house than boys. A dozen years ago, when Mary Beth was the only girl with five brothers, I could never have imagine such a thing. God is full of surprises, no?

The last few months have been exhuasting, exhilarating, excruciating, exciting, and extraordinary. Words will never adequately express how grateful I am for your support. Your notes and texts and instagram comments, and especially your prayers, have so blessed me and my family. Thank you.

Good night, y'all.

Patrick Leaves for College Today

The last time a child left for college, I allowed myself  to be very vulnerable online in the days that immediately followed. I mused aloud, did a lot of soul searching, took a long look at homemaking and mothering and home education up to that point. I left my heart bare. It was probably one of the worst mistakes I've ever made. I doubt I'll ever fully recover and I know I'll never do that again.

I know now that there are some people who will never understand the enormity of such transitions in a wholehearted household, particularly in the soul of a woman. They will never understand how a mother's heart and home are not fair game, especially at a tender time.

And I know that there are kindred spirits who understand without words.

For those dear friends, I'm very grateful.

So. Here goes. The leaving-to-college post.

Goodbyes don't seem to get easier for me. If anything, knowing how this whole off-to-college thing can play out makes goodbye harder. I really like our family life, so change doesn't come without a huge struggle. Patrick, however, has said goodbye previously; we've had a bit of a practice. And we have a good coping strategy. Last time, Mary Beth made a slideshow for him. The plan this time was to update the slideshow (particularly to include Hilary), but I have just discovered that all the pictures from the first time (and from most of the last 3 years of family life), carefully saved on an external hard-drive, are now inaccessible. And since that is way too much emotional overload for me to process today, I'm just going to re-run the old slideshow. The sentiments are all the same. We love this boy so much and our "wish" is really a fervent prayer.

Paddy is so ready to take on the world. And he is going to both bless and be blessed by the University of Virginia and that sweet place of heaven-on-earth called Charlottesville. It's going to be amazing!

Your prayers for him are very much appreciated.

Hilary, tea time is at 2:00 and the girlies are so looking forward to having you with them this afternoon! It's all good. God's got this.

needle and thREAD

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Good morning! I think I'll share some December sewing with you. Just before Christmas, Cari and I made drapes for my sewing space. I know, all the cool chicks call it a "studio," but in our house, studios have long been places where Daddy goes to make TV shows or girls go to dance. So, it's the "sewing room" or my "sewing space."

These drapes were the last to be hung. Cari hasn't even seen them finished! And they're my favorites. Mike's favorites, too, I think. The room is so pretty and inviting. I made some pillows to match for a chair where kids plop while I work (I write in my sewing space, too, just this little side hobby, the writing). I love to be in there. Next week, I'm going to give you a tour of the shelves. I think I need to write a post detailing my intentions for all that fabric and yarn over the next year. Then, you can hold me to it!

There's no picture here of my chair, where I sit to sew. Mary Beth and I have some plans for that chair. Perhaps you'll see it here in the next few days. 

No picture of my book, either. In the past couple days, two people have independently recommended Brene Brown to me. So I've downloaded the audible versions of The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are and Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead.

What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!

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Yarn Along

It's time to begin to dissemble the Christmas decorations. First up this morning was the dining room tablescape. I really need to use the whole table today to try to make some progress on sewing nightgowns while flannel is still a desired fiber. So, the promise of sewing was just the shove I needed to get going on the packing task! As I store things carefully, I ponder the fact that I must get back the strict autoimmune protocol Paleo way of eating. I'm consoling myself by remembering that if I hadn't veered off the straight and narrow, I wouldn't have such proof-positive that I cannot veer off the straight and narrow.

Food. Sigh. Such a weighty issue. To that end, it's a good thing I'm slated to share Cravings here with you next Monday as part of the release celebration blog-hop: pray, love, and then eat. It's really a wonderful read, so perfect for me right now. And knitting? I'm knitting a Tiny Tea Leaves cardigan for Katie for Easter out of Amy Butler Organic Aran in Poppy. I very much love to knit ruching. Very much.

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs.  I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. Join me at Ginny's to see what the whole bunch of us are reading and knitting.