....and the meek shall inherit the earth....

Hi all....just thought that I would share this....it's part of a 2 month spiritual guidance series through Cukierski Family Apostolate. Go ahead, check them out, you know you want too! :)

Are You Strong Enough to Be Meek?
By the late Father Kilian McGowan, C.P.

What's wrong with meekness? Is the meek man a Milquetoast who is
too spineless and weak-kneed to face up to the battle of life?
This is the false face of meekness spread by our TV and modern
novels. Life to them is an "asphalt jungle" where every
difference is settled by a six-gun or a pair of fists.
Strength is equated with violence and brutality.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The meek man has the
courage of the martyrs, the reverence of the poet, and the
patience of a saint in his make-up. Meekness is the son of
self-conquest and father of self-control. The meek man has
studied hard in the school of Christ Crucified, who was meek and
humble of heart.

You don't really need a show of force, or external bluster, or a
display of self-righteousness to overwhelm those who do you wrong.
You must overcome your enemies with the force of the divine life
that flows in and through you. You must conquer the world-and
your enemies-with the love of Christ.

Have you noticed that the most excessive demands always seem
to be made on you when you're at your physical or nervous worst?
Remember that our Lord rebuked His apostles for trying to spare
Him from the thoughtless crowds that pressed about Him following
an exhausting apostolic day: "Suffer the little children to come
unto me and forbid them not," He commanded them.

What do you do when insulted or rejected by otherwise good
people? Perhaps even by those you love? Recall what Christ said
to the Apostles who wanted to rain down fires from heaven on the
cities that refused Him entrance. He warned them that they knew
not of what spirit they were. (Luke 19:55).

What happens when a trusted confidant or friend betrays you in
speech or action? Peter, who swore he would go to the death with
the Savior, betrayed Him in His hour of greatest need. Yet
Christ's only rebuke was a look of infinite tenderness and meek
forgiveness. Was it any wonder that this look brought tears of
immediate repentance?

The truth is that even a little meekness takes a lot of strength.
Now, more than ever, the world filled with so much violence needs
truly meek men. The times call for the manliness of meekness
more than the false courage of violence and uncontrolled anger.
We need the self-conquest of meekness more than the
self-centeredness of hate and brutality. We need the meekness
and humility of Christ.

Helps to Meekness:

1-Reverence every other person, regardless of race, color of
skin, or religious background, as a child of God and a potential
saint.

2-Compassionate with the weaknesses and faults of others no matter
how vicious and mean. Begin at home, remembering that no once can
hurt you when you are truly meek.

3-When your best efforts are unappreciated, or your wise counsel
is ignored, go your way in peace. Prayer is another tool of
meekness that heals and wins souls after words and actions have
failed.

Finally, pray for the courage to be meek. And remember that
there's no victory that is sweeter than the conquest of self!

Tattoos....

Yep, we have them...tattoos....and we continue to get more. Why? I like them. Hubby likes them. We only get them if they mean something personal to us. For instance: my favorite bible verse around my ankle (Ecc. 3:1-8), my hubby's St Micheal tattoo, my cross (made out of 3 nails)....etc.

One thing that has always annoyed me is when people grab ONE bible verse and use it to defend their reasoning to do/not to do something. I guess that if you only pull out one or two words or phrases, you could make the bible say anything....but it MUST BE read in context.

Here is the verse that most people will quote in their defense of NOT getting a tattoo:
Levitcus 19:28 (KJ Version):
Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD.

Yep, looks pretty clear - probably shouldn't have any piercings or tattoos according to this verse....but what context was it given in?

This verse was for the Jews when they were operating under the old law. We were set free from the slavery of the law when Christ came. (Gal. 2:15)


Also: 1 Cor. 6:12 says that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial.

Hmmmm....

So....anyways - anything that may (or may not) be said or thought about this will likely not change my mind. Hubby and I have even talked to our priest about this and we are totally at peace about our decisions to get tattoos since talking with him. I've always given much thought and prayer to my tattoos....at the very least, they mean something to ME - and in no way, shape or form dis-honor or dis-respect the church or the Lord.

"daycations" or "staycations"

We've been SUPER busy these last few weeks....lots of  "staycations or daycations" - you know, a vacation - but you stay close to home. We have done these types of "mini-vacations" with the children for years. Our kiddos just love to sleep at home (just like their mommy - I love MY BED!!).

So, we have went to the Weston Aquatic Center with a high-school friend and her kiddos for the day, of course bringing our newest "stepson" (the neighbor's boy - he's 10 and Son and him are about the closest to bff's as boys get, lol).  That was a BLAST!!! All of the kiddos had fun, as they have stuff for small children as well as older ones. My friend's daughter loves spending time with all of our girls - cuz she only has a brother - ewww!!

We have also been to Rock Dam a few times (oh yes, and are going again tomorrow!!) The kids are loving the beach and picnics that we do.

Ok, so the house is suffering a little because of not being here all the time, but I would rather have my kids look back and say "wow, we had sooo much fun in the summertimes - all the trips to the beach, picnics, daycations....mom and dad spent time with us!" rather than "clean house, that's all mom and dad EVER talked about was cleaning house - we had to clean before we could go anywhere." The dirt will still be there when I get around to cleaning it, but I will never again have this moment in time (with my children) back, as they will grow.....

On another note: I seem to be losing and gaining back the same 5 pounds - yuck - I am at a stand-still. So, a friend of mine invited me to join a weight-loss support group (nothing nationally known) with her. The cost is $38 for 12 weeks - we talk about nutrition, exercise, etc. We weigh in at every meeting - got measurements taken, etc. The motivation is being held accountable EVERY WEEK - which is what I need - the accountability AND: the person who loses the most weight, gets 50% of the "pot" - which should be about $200 - we could use that! Today, I have already logged breakfast, planned lunch, exercised and am planning supper - and am WELL within my calorie range...hope the motivation can keep up!! 

Neat article to share

Mass

This article really spoke to me. I have an online friend that drives truck tag-team with her hubby....they get to mass whenever, wherever they can -which means lots of new churches, local customs, etc. Exciting!

A gift ...

Today was a gift. A gift from God. Straight to us. Thanks dear Lord, we loved it!

We got up early to go to a dermatology appt. I had a feeling that something might be amiss, but couldn't put my finger on it. When I got there, I could NOT recall getting the reminder phone call. Um, yeah....because THEY rescheduled it. Argh. Never to fear though - this is our first gift of the day: they squeezed us in within the 1/2 hour! Yes, they did! If you call the Derm. Dept., you won't get an appt for over 3 months or more. However, established patients receive preferential treatment....so we got in. Dr. Smith (yes, her REAL name!) is a honey and Daughter #2 loves her dearly! All turned out fairly well, but with all the pool time, her skin IS getting dried out....she says: use Target's brand 30 SPF sunscreen. It is creamy, moisturizing and stays on the best when in and out of the water. She is so impressed with it that she says that no other moisturizing for the day is necessary!!

Our next gift came in the way of my high school friend. She came over with her kiddo and we went to the beach. Picnic and all. The kids LOVED it and begged to go back. This is the same friend that we got together with on Monday. Love her dearly...she brought some (barely) used clothes over for the girls. We had an awesome time talking, watching the kids play, discussing faith...etc. We even made plans to meet up on Monday next week....depending on the weather, we'll see what we can do! :)

Laptop...in the shop!

Well, the laptop is in the shop. Again. But I am so glad that Dell has such a good warranty - when the time comes, we will get another Dell, for sure.

So, back to the desk-top for me!

Last week, hubby had paid vacation. It was nice to have him home. He undertook a large project - making a new deck. This one is twice as big and will have a built in table and bench seat when done.

We took a day and went up to Minoqua. I love that place, as do the children. Jim Peck's is an awesome petting zoo and of course, we must always stop at Paul Bunyan's for breakfast!

The rest of summer should be pretty fun - we are planning many "day trips" - things like going to the beach, the park, a picnic....etc.  Tomorrow we'll be getting together with my friend from high school and her two kiddos and taking advantage of the Pizza Hut summer deal (kids eat free with purchase of adult buffet!).

The kids and hubby are throwing in wood....guess we're trying to get ahead of the ballgame!

Finally, making some good progress on the house-cleaning. The basement is now totally done - I think that this fall we will be getting rid of some winter coats though - we seem to have accumulated enough to clothe an entire football team!! ;)

Lots of help from the good Lord lately - nothing bad happening, just the "normal" - hubby seems to work as much as he's laid off lately. Makes for some smaller paychecks, but some fun family time!

We had to empty and refill the pool. It got attacked by algae! This happened a few years ago also, and it just seems better to empty and start all over. "Baby" is loving the pool - it's pretty amazing, but she takes to it like a fish to water!

Other than that (and the normal goings-on in a 7 person household) nothing much else to report. Is it bad that I am in such a cleaning mode that I'd like to package everything up and just burn it and start over?? Ok, extreme, yes, but  we ARE getting rid of LOTS of stuff!

A Week Later: The Fourth of July

Yep, been another busy week - but that'll be another post! ;)

Today: the Fourth of July.

Our priest (from India, mind you!) had the wonderful idea to have only one Mass on Sunday, the fourth of July. He had much help from the Men's Society and other helpers in pulling it off - but it was the most AWESOME recognition of Independence Day that I have ever seen.

The local American Legion came, presented colors at the beginning.  During the Mass, all vets were honored - they were called up by "units" - the Army, the Navy, etc. - and as they came forward, the pianist played their "theme song." (alright, there HAS to be an official name for it, but that's all I can I think of right now!) They were then presented with a mug, candle and poem (which Father had read during his sermon and I will type at the bottom of this post). After all living vets were honored, our two families who have lost their husband/dad/brother (both lost in Iraq) were also called forward to receive a special gift. I guarantee you, there was NOT a dry eye in the entire church. After this, "roll" was taken - all deceased vets' names in our parish were read. This was then followed by the American Legion again presenting colors and the entire congregation singing our national anthem. Then we followed the colors out and they had a gun salute outside.

After the Mass and ceremony were over, there was a luncheon following (presented by the Men's Society) and games for the kiddos....what a fun and unique way to celebrate!

One kink in the whole day though: Son and oldest daughter were both servers. Daughter did an awesome job with some extra blessing with the incense and on her reading. Son, however, got overheated. During the consecration of the host, he fell. Over. Hit his head. Yep, just passed right out, on the altar. Poor kiddo. Since we always sit within the first 5 pews, hubby saw Son starting to sway and we thing he made it up there before Son's head hit the floor! They took him into the back and then hubby brought him home to rest. Much later that afternoon, he finally felt well. We have since decided that the children will wear t-shirts and shorts when they serve, as their robes cover them anyways. Another server was also feeling faint, so she went outside to get some air as well.

The Soldier

(author unknown)

It's the soldier, not the lawyer

Who has given us the right to fair trial.

It's the soldier, not the reporter

Who has given us the freedom of press.

It's the soldier, not the poet 

Who has given us the freedom of speech.

It's the soldier, not the campus organizer

Who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

It's the soldier, who serves beneath the flag,

Who solutes the flag,

Whose coffin is draped by the flag,

Who allows the protester to burn the flag.

It's the soldier, not the politician,

Who has given his blood, his body, his life,

Who has given us these freedoms!

It's the soldier who gives up their freedom

For our freedom.

It's the soldier who we must pray for.