clouds are scattered all around! The birds are singing, the wind is blowing and
it is a peaceful Sunday afternoon here at the Ynostrosa hacienda (not really a
hacienda - just our happy little home - but I like the way hacienda sounds)!
April has been a very busy month for us. My little desk calendar has something
written on almost every day. I have tons of things to share with y'all and I'm trying
to figure out where to start. Let's begin with the Responsorial Psalm that is in my
daily Mass booklet, the Magnificat. I read this last night (late last night) and I
was singing the response in my head because Jim was sound asleep!
Psalm 98
R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm.
(I sang this verse too and I added at the end
"and sing to the Lord a new song!"
R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
The Lord has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
"and sing to the Lord a new song!" It just seems to fit!
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the Lord, all you lands; break into song; sing praise.
R: All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
"and sing to the Lord a new song!" It still fits!
I love to share prayers, scriptures, and hymns with y'all!
(This is the prayer request box that my friend, Candi and I made to
put out during the 40 Days for Life Campaigns.
The tote bag behind the prayer box with the beautiful picture of
Our Lady of Guadalupe
holds the large rosary we use when we are praying as a group.)
Next item up is..............
I am going to tell y'all one of my crazy, "it could be the lyrics to a country song"
stories -
Last Tuesday we were going to serve chili dogs at the sack lunch ministry.
We had done this two times earlier in the month with no problems and no mess!
The first thing that went wrong was our hand held twist it yourself can opener, that
I had just purchased a couple of weeks ago, broke! No problem, I power walked
across the street to our church cafeteria (let them know that I needed to borrow a
can opener) rummaged through the drawers, found one and power walked back
across the street. My friends/volunteers for the day already had the weenies
heating up in the crock pot. We opened the cans of chili and poured them in the
electric roaster and waited for everything to heat up. They already had the sacks
ready and filled with chips, applesauce, and peanut butter crackers. We couldn't
find the metal tongs we usually use and I grabbed a pair of plastic tongs thinking
they would work out fine. Alfred and Jane put the buns on a foil wrap and then
handed them to me. (I had placed several weenies in the chili and would use the
tongs to take them out and simply put one in a bun and hand it back to them to
wrap up. Easy peasy, right? Not this time - those tongs did not work and chili
splashed all over my shirt. I did not have on an apron, and for some
reason I wore one of my favorite shirts. I just kept going because the damage
was already done and we needed to get the lunches ready. After the next splash
that got chili on the white walls we decided we better find that other set of tongs!
Miss Rose, who is like my grandmother, looked at me and shook her head. I went
to the sink and rinsed the chili off my shirt and she took a wet towel and cleaned
the wall. We found the other tongs and got back to work. The lunches were made,
the people we served were thankful for chili dogs, and we laughed about the way
our morning began. Everyone gave me ideas on how to get the stains out of my
shirt and I decided that the next time we have chili dogs was going to be on a day
I wasn't there! Times like this always make me think of the "I Love Lucy" shows
and we all laughed about the episodes we remember. My shirt - I think is going
to be fine! I did not have any Spray n Wash so I squirted Dawn dish washing
soap all over the many stains; scrub, scrub, scrubbed and put it in the washing
machine and prayed that soap suds would not come bubbling out while it was
washing! I was amazed - I let it air dry, there was only one small place that still
looks a little discolored (I forgot to tell y'all - this shirt is white with some blue
splashes) and I think I will get some Spray n Wash and rewash it with that! Yay!
Miss Rose and I shared the chili story with our friends on Wednesday morning
while we were making lunches; ham and cheese sandwiches, bananas, chips, and
crackers - now that is easy peasy! Dominic said, "That sounds like a country song,
got chili on my shirt" and we all laughed because you just have days like that!
Wednesday night I was able to do one of my favorite things - I was blessed to
spend time with the 9th and 10th grade Confirmation Class at St. Thomas Catholic
Church in Miles. My daughter-in-law is one of their teachers and she invited me
to bring my babies (the fetal model sets) and talk to them about how amazing
the miracle of life is. We talked about their hopes and dreams and I told them
that they are all special and that God has a wonderful plan for each one of them.
The time flew by way too quickly - so much more to say - but they were listening,
really listening. I will hop in my truck and drive wherever I am able if I can
help share the pro-life message and God's love to our youth!
I told them that they all have a gift, a talent given by God and that they may not
realize what it is until later on; I told them to pray and ask for God's guidance in
their lives and to remember that their church is a community of people who care
about them. I told them to take care of each other and the younger children, and
to be good examples. I laid out book marks and rosaries (that Father Tom had
blessed), and some bracelets for them to take what they wanted. I also had my
prayer intention box with me. I told them that if they had a prayer request and
wanted to put one in the box that I would take it to the Adoration Chapel with me
and put it in their prayer request box. There are two prayer requests for me to take
to the chapel in the morning - their request is not for me to read. Just writing the
the request down was a prayer in itself - our youth need prayers.
We live in a world that pushes drugs, sex, live for the moment type attitude,
and our kids (I mean all children everywhere) need our prayers. They need to
know that we care; they need their dads and they need their moms to be parents!
They need guidance from people who care about their well being. I've been to
five different church groups this year. I drive home with tears streaming down my
face and my heart feeling like it will explode because I want to protect them all.
I know that seeds are planted - I see it in their eyes - God please keep them safe
and make them strong! Amen.
The following scripture is from the
"Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible."
Jeremiah 1:4-10
The word of the Lord came to me thus:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
"Ah, Lord God!" I said,
"I know not how to speak; I am too young."
But the Lord answered me,
Say not, "I am too young."
To whomever I send you, you shall go;
whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Have no fear before them,
because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.
Then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth , saying,
See, I place my words in your mouth!
This day I set you over nations and over kingdoms,
To root up and to tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and to plant.
I have more to share but this is a long post so I will save it for another day!
Blessings to you and yours!
Bye for now, Sharla
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