I Want To Sleep Through Life's Storms!

We all have to endure life's storms. No one, not even our Savior was immune. All we need is complete trust & confidence in our Heavenly Father. In Matt. Chap.8:23-27, we see that Jesus had complete trust and confidence in his Father above to calm the storm. In fact, he had so much trust that he even slept through the storm, until the disciples awakened him. If we could only have that much faith in God. If we could only trust him to take care of us through life's storms. May God's Peace surround you now and always!

Keep on Dancing!!

Things I Miss...

-my Granny & Poppie
-hugs from Grandma Alice
-being "9"
-my high school friends
-my old house (both of them)
-my pool
-being on stage performing
-jumping on the bed
-playing with barbies
-my Alpha Gam girls
-taking a nap on my Granny's couch with sports on the TV.
-cheering at football games
-pep-rallys at Minor
-the Carol Burnett Show
-camping on the Warrior River
-my Granny's biscuits and cornbread dressing
-my dogs, Pio & Muffin
-swimming at Green Acres
-being skinnier
-Mr. Saxon
-Taylor being "5"
-low gas prices
-summers at Aunt Edna's
-hiking to Big Rock
-the popsicle man
-playing outside til dark
-Miss Grayson & Miss Harris
-Christmas morning when I was "7"
-trick-or-treating in Westwood Gardens
-the Rucks
-Camping-On-The-Gulf

Keep on Dancing!!

Questions & Doubts

It never fails, and I don't mind, but I'm always confronted with people who have questions and doubts about the Catholic Faith...my Christian Faith. Sometimes those people are part of my own family, other times they are curious friends or even strangers. No problem. I had one such encounter yesterday. Someone in my family said, they just don't like to confess to a priest. They much prefer to just talk to God in their heart, in the privacy of their bedroom. No problem, that's a good way to do it too, but I found myself once again defending the need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which was given to us by Christ.

Who wants to admit their faults, failings, and sins to anyone?? Who wants to publicly confess they have done wrong?? Who wants to actually take responsibility for the hurts they have caused?? Well, that answer is no one. But I'd like to review several scriptures that might help with the questions and doubts we all have from time-to-time.

First, Jesus teaches through the parable, "The Healing of the Paralytic", found in Matt. Chap.9, about forgiveness. The parable appears to be about the healing of a crippled man, but the point of the healing is to show the power to forgive sins and to demonstrate Christ's power to do so by demonstrating a visible miracle. Forgiving sins is something invisible, the crowd couldn't visualize how this could be done. First, Jesus tells the crippled man that his sins are forgiven. The crowd claims Jesus is blaspheming. Jesus says, Which is easier, to forgive sins or to say, rise and walk to a crippled man? Of course, it's easier to forgive sins!!! I know I'm not real good at healing the lame! But, to prove his power and what he was saying, he did something thought impossible...something no one could do...something visible that the crowd could see, he healed the paralyzed man!!

See, the Children of God, us and his ministers on earth (the priests) have been given this awesome power. We have the power to forgive one another and the priest has been given the sacramental power to forgive sins through Christ. In John, Chap.20, we see the actual gift being given. Imagine, your leader and savior has just been brutally murdered, buried in a borrowed tomb, and now his body has gone missing. You are frightened and scared...terrified that you will be next. You are hiding in a room, trying to decide your next move. You have locked all the doors, and suddenly your leader appears. His first words after such a tragic experience are..."How are you doing, got any fish?"...NO, he says, "Peace be with You", ...and then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit, who's sins you forgive are forgiven, and who's sins you retain are retained." Now you can't get much clearer than that on taking the scriptures literally. And these were his first words to his disciples after his resurrection!! WOW!! I thought those Catholics didn't read the Bible!!

And because Catholics believe in Apostolic succession (also found in the Bible), we believe our Bishops and Priests literally have what Jesus said they have...the power to forgive sins!! Wow, what a concept, to believe something found in the Bible, and don't even get me started on John, Chap. 6!!! I'm going to stop with the cute sarcasm now, because this is meant to teach and inform.

Our personal sins, affect the Body of Christ, as a whole. The Sacrament of Reconciliation cleanses and perfects the Body of Christ, and holds us accountable for the sins we have commited against God and one another. On Good Friday, I left work and went to St. Paul's in downtown Birmingham, to go to confession. I thought, "this will be quick", cynically thinking, not many Catholics go to confession anymore...WRONG!!! The line snaked around the Cathedral, with only one priest on duty. Suddenly another priest arrived and then the Bishop. When they saw the line they immediately went into action, called by Christ to help his followers be reconciled to him. I loved seeing that long line, full of many ages, colors and nationalities...the Church of Christ. We were longing to be reconciled to him, to love him, to be one with him. It was moving and inspiring! The Holy Spirit was definitely in the room and I thank God for allowing me to witness it. And yes, there is some nervous tension while waiting to confess, it is called a "conscience" and it has been built lovingly into our being by God, our Father. We always want to love and please our Father.

To conclude, the Church has been given the ministry of reconciliation ( 2 Corinth.5;11-21 ). Paul says, We must be reconciled to God, and we must help others be reconciled to God. It is our ministry!!

Keep on Dancing!!

The Feet

They are ugly, gnarled, and hard to look at…




They are the feet of Mother Teresa, a Saint, who did the work of Christ on earth. She took care of the poor, sick, and dying on
the streets of Calcutta, India.

The people she served weren’t even Christians and probably had never heard of Christ. But in her eyes, they were Christ.

Once, she was asked, “How do you keep taking care of the same people, who show up everyday, wanting something from you?”
She said, “Yesterday, I have forgotten, tomorrow is not here, I only have today to love and serve Christ.”

Looking at her feet, you know she must have been in pain, yet she continued to travel and seek Christ throughout the world.
Let us not be hindered by our physical or spiritual limitations, but strive to find and serve Christ wherever he may be found.

Keep on Dancing!!

After "10"...

Ever notice after "10", nothing good happens & everything goes downhill...

After 10 years old, it's puberty & peer pressure!
After 10 shrimp (why do they give you 12?), you feel like you need to burp or worse!
After 10 pm, it's nothing but trouble!
After 10 songs, you just can't dance anymore!
After 10 hours in labor, you want to kill someone...you know who you are!
After 10 kids, you can't remember their names-or your's!
After 10 minutes on hold, you want to scream!
After 10 hours in the sun, well-you're pretty much fried!
After 10 beers, ( I wouldn't know, but I've seen it) nothing is quite clear & there is always a fight!

I guess from now on, I'll just stick with "9"!!!

Keep on Dancing!!

What Does God Want From Me???

If you haven't heard, my husband is laid off from his job, for the 2nd time in 6 mos. Not to mention the last 2 years, when his business went down the drain with the housing industry!! But, even as I say these things, I know there are bigger problems in the world, and I wouldn't trade my problems for someone else's problems. The burning question for me is...What does God want from me??? The past 2 years have seen very limited funds in our house and my kids have been so spoiled, and always had everything they have ever wanted. Now we see that we can live without certain things, and that has been a good lesson for all of us. During the "Boom Years", I was financially able to give more to my Church, and now there is hardly anything to give. Sometimes, I feel like a failure when I can't give financially to my Church or others. Which brings me back to the burning question...What does God want from me??? I guess, it's just another lesson, that God doesn't always want us to throw money at everything or everyone...he wants us to show up. He wants us to be available, to give ourselves, and our time to others. Money is great and has its purpose too, but being there for someone is sometimes worth gold. We need to actively participate in caring for the Body of Christ!! What can I give?? What can I do for others?? It doesn't always involve money. Right now, my biggest gift to others, is through my prayers for them. God wants me to be faithful, loving, generous, kind, pure, compassionate, and forgiving. And with his help, maybe I can learn this lesson and make him proud.

Keep on Dancing!!