Be a Good Example for Your Family

 Good morning out there - almost afternoon! The temp at 11:58 am is 92 degrees with 35% humidity. I can always tell when it's humid outside because my hair poofs out like I'm back in the 80s. The expected high for today is 98 degrees. Yee haw! I watered all my outdoor plants and topped off my regular birdbath, my redneck birdbath, and my oblong goldfish pond/birdbath/water for all animals great and small! And...I was blessed to have an orange dragonfly swoop up and down around me as I filled up the assortment of birdbaths! 

Today's date is special to me - my mom's birthday. She passed away when I was twelve and I've been thinking about her a lot this week. Her name was Martha and everyone called her Marty. We were members of a Methodist Church and my mom was a very faithful woman. She was a wonderful example for me. She had cancer and died a little more than three and a half years after her initial diagnosis. I learned many life lessons from her. I remember when one of our neighbor's husband died. Mom and I went to the store and she purchased a large can of coffee, a package of foam coffee cups, a canister of powdered creamer, and box of sugar cubes. We only knew these neighbors by sight and would wave when we saw them outside. My mom explained to me that it's important to reach out to those who have lost a loved one. She and I walked across the street with our bag full of things needed to make coffee for all those who visited. My mom taught me how to mourn with those who mourn. My mom and our neighbor became friends. One of my friends, had to have her appendix removed and was in the hospital. My mom and I went to the flower shop and she bought a pillow corsage and then we went to the hospital to visit my friend and her mother. She loved the corsage and they pinned it on her pillowcase. My mom took me to visit the sick. We hardly ever missed going to church on Sunday morning. There were times I know my mom didn't feel like getting ready but she did and we went to church. My mom taught me to persevere when things are tough. She was a beautiful woman and I miss her still.

After Jim and I were married I converted to Catholicism. I know my mom would have approved - she would have been glad that Jim and I were committed to raising our family in a faith filled home. I had been raised that way and understood the importance of our going to church together as a family. My dad enjoyed going to Mass with us when he would come and visit.

Today is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. I love that my mother was born on this special day and that she was named Martha. The scriptures below are from my post last year on this date:

Mary and Martha. On their journey Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed him to her home. She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord's feet and listened to his words. Martha, who was busy with all the details of hospitality, came to him and said, "Lord, are you not concerned that my sister has left me to do the household tasks all alone? Tell her to help me."  The Lord in reply said to her: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and upset about many things; one thing only is required. Mary has chosen the better portion and she shall not be deprived of it."       Luke 10:38-42 (Saint Joseph Edition of the New American Bible)

Back to today's date!

In my Magnificat, today's Gospel is from John 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].  When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home.  Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world."

When my mom died, our church family and friends reached out to my dad, my brother, and me and the rest of our family. Life is a journey. Let's walk with each other through the good times and the bad.

The following is one of my favorite hymns. I know it by heart and sing it often:

The Servant Song by Richard Gillard
Verse:1,6
Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.
Verse:2
We are pilgrims on a journey, we are travelers on the road;
We are here to help each other walk the mile and bear the load.
Verse:3
I will hold the Christ-light for you in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you, speak the peace you long to hear.
Verse:4
I will weep when you are weeping; When you laugh I'll laugh with you.
I will share your joy and sorrow til we've seen this journey through.
Verse:5
When we sing to God in heaven we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together of Christ's love and agony.
Verse:6
Will you let me be your servant, let me be as Christ to you;
Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.

Peace and blessings to you and yours,

near and far, wherever you are!

Bye for now, Sharla

My mom cut this out of a magazine and it was tucked inside her bible.

Scriptures and Faith - Life is a Journey

 Hello out there! I hope you are all doing well, near and far, wherever you are! As I begin writing this post at 3:56 pm on Monday afternoon, the temperature is a steaming hot 103 degrees! The weather app on my phone says that it will cool down to 102 degrees at 7:00 pm and by 9:00 pm it should drop to 94 degrees! Please stay hydrated! I pray for everyone who is dealing with this extreme heat! I think about all the people who work out in this weather, those who live on the streets, the elderly, and the list goes on! My prayer list gets longer every day.

I love the scriptures from Mass last night. The first reading was from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah 55:10-11

Thus says the Lord: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; my word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

The second reading was from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans 8:18-23

(I'm not going to write this one down - look it up if you have time!)

The Gospel reading was long and it's one of my favorites so I'm going to write/type it all out! 

Matthew 13:1-23

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such Large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the  mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and hear what you hear but did not hear it.

"Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

I pray that my eyes will always be open to the path God has for me. I know that there will be detours, and potholes, and probably a flat tire or two on my journey. And where we live...the potholes are "big honkin" potholes! But I also know, that God has been and will continue to be, with me through it all! God has blessed me with my husband and we travel this road together. During this journey, my glass is not only half full, my cup runneth over. I am thankful for our children and the laughter and hugs of our grandchildren, the phone calls, visits and all of our adventures. I pray that my eyes will always be open to the beautiful sun rises and sun sets, the moon and the stars, and that my ears will be open to the melody of the singing birds, the sound of wind blowing through the trees and the roaring thunder before the rain. I pray that I will be a light to others and that God will continue to guide my hands as I type these words.

Peace and blessing to you and yours,

 near and far, wherever you are!

Thank you for reading my blog!

Bye for now, Sharla