Random Church Wandering

“Please be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you. Those are the keys to understanding this amazing world we live in.” ~Andrew Zimmern

I've got a bit of a habit of wandering into random churches when I travel.  I love churches--especially old ones--so it's always fun to see a new church in a new city.

Doing this has led me into a bunch of really cool situations.  I was able to be there for the Feast Day of the Infant of Prague and to pray right before the very statue.  It's taken me to a rosary kneeling before the bones of St. Faustina in Poland.  To a quiet vigil in San Francisco.  Quiet moments at St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe.  And last month, I stumbled upon an evening prayer meeting  at a beautiful Episcopal church in Indianapolis, where they invited me right up to the alter, handed me a book, and off we went.

I think that these experiences have served two purposes for me.  The first is that I've been able to see God everywhere--different buildings, different denominations, different countries, different types of services.  I find it uplifting and inspiring that He truly is everywhere!  The other, and this one is really important for a planner like me, is that I've learned that some of the best things you'll see in life are those you just stumble upon.  It's okay to throw away the itinerary, turn off the cell phone, put down the map, and just see what you see.

Give it a try the next time you're on the road...

Saint John Paul II

“I plead with you--never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid.” ~ Saint John Paul II

I'm a confessed Pope John Paul II junkie.  It all started when I was tutoring some Catholic kiddos while I was in high school and one of them had to write a report on the then-Pope.  Without question, this is one of those small moments that had an enormous impact on the person who I am today.  A simple book report started what has now been over a decade and a half devotion to this Polish Pope.

This has continued for years and I always loved to hear reports of his speeches, I read his books, I watched documentaries about his papacy, I just loved it all.

I will never forget the days during which so many held vigil as he neared death.  I remember watching the coverage in my little apartment on Duck Street in Stillwater  in tears and, after it was done, going to a special service held at St. John's down the road to remember Pope John Paul II.  There, the priest gave each of us a medal that had been blessed by the Pope himself.  I still have that medal and it is one of my most prized possessions.

Fast forward to 2009 when I went to Rome and knelt before his grave.  I can't even explain that experience.  And then again last spring when I made a pilgrimage of sorts to his homeland of Poland.  While there, I saw his birthplace, the church where he was baptized, his apartment when he lived in Krakow, the pew where he most liked to pray, his clothing and books and kneeler at a museum.  Being there...walking where he walked, touching the kneeler where he prayed, sitting in the pew where he had done the same so many times....was amazing.  Then I flew to Warsaw for the specific purpose of setting foot in Victory Square because of the amazing speech that he gave there in the late 1979's, credited for being a huge part in the end of communism.  I've read books and prayed Novenas and taken pictures of anything containing his face in multiple countries.

Yesterday, Pope John Paul II was canonized--he became a saint.  ND Friend and I---although about 8 states apart---both awoke at 3:00 am to watch the ceremony live.  We stayed on the phone for 45 minutes until it was official.   I have to admit that I watched the entire thing with tears in my eyes.  It was perfect.  The Polish flags proudly being waived by the crowds, the beautiful ceremony, the Costa Rican woman who received one of the miracles presenting the relic. The pure joy as the crowds cheered the announcement that Joannes Paulus II was officially a saint.  It was something I will never forget.

Today, I loved that several of my friends commented that as they watched the coverage of the ceremony or read about the events, they thought of me and my love for him. What an honor that I would be remembered in the same thought as a saint.

I don't know why I feel the connection to him that I have for over a decade.  I don't know anything about being a saint.  I'm not even Catholic, just a little Methodist girl with a strong devotion to this new saint.

What I do know is that this man lived his life in a way that let others--like me--see God within him.

Maybe it is really just that simple.

St. John Paul II, pray for us!

PS--To read about other people's Saint John Paul II stories, check out this link up.

It's the Freakin' Weekend!

Today I'll be giving a presentation on grazing leases and oil and gas lease negotiations to a big ol' sale barn full of ranchers.  I mean, seriously, do I have the best job in the whole world or what?

Then I'll be making a beeline to Ft. Worth to spend the weekend with these two knuckleheads.  Word on the street is that the weekend will include good food and golf.  I pretty much can't wait!

And y'all, I need a break.  It's been one of those kind of weeks.  One more home ownership issue and I swear, I'm packing up my crap and living in a cardboard box with no plumbing or sprinkler system to have problems.  This girl has had about all she can handle.

Happy Friday to all!

His Heart...

Photo via Pinterest

Ten.

Earlier this week, College Roomie did a post of ten fun facts about herself, so I figured I'd join in the fun here.  This is what I've got.

1.  I'm part Mexican.  Don't let my white skin fool you, hombre.  My great grandma was a 100% Mexican lady who married a gringo.  Actually, she had three sisters and my great grandpa had three brothers and the three sisters each married a brother.  Crazy, right?  Anyway, I blame my love for all things tortilla, green chile, and salsa related on this heritage of mine.

2.  I always try to sit either in an aisle or in the exit row on an airplane.  I'm a bit claustrophobic, but the main reason is that if that plane goes down, I want a direct path out of there.  I don't want to be stuck trying to climb over people because I was napping by the dang window.

3.  I've got quite the history of motion sickness.  Off the top of my head, I can think of hurling in 6 states and 3 countries.  Yep.  I'm the girl you want to travel with for sure.

4.  There are few smells in the world that I like more than a mixture of sawdust and revive (a hair and skin conditioner that we use on livestock before a show).  It automatically takes me back to my showing days and makes me simultaneously nervous and excited like I'm about to enter the show ring.  My brother and his friend were talking about this same thing once and he said, "You know, if a girl showed up for a date and wore revive instead of perfume, I'd marry her on the spot."  Apparently it's an ag kid thing.

5.  I was the fourth best chicken judger in America in high school.  Mind you, my family didn't raise chickens, rarely ate chicken, and I touched one until we went to judge them at the National FFA Convention.

6.  In Poland, I stood line to kneel before the remains of St. Faustina and even kissed a glass case that holds one of her bones.  Everyone before me and everyone behind me kissed it too.  It was really gross from a hygienic perspective, but I figured that she's a saint and wouldn't let me die of some loathsome disease contracted there.  Plus, when in Poland....

7.  I faint when medical procedures are done to me.  I know this happens to other people like when blood is taken, but for me it's much worse.  Blood being taken, eye doctor puts drops in my eye, cast being cut off my foot, one time just my blood pressure being taken.  It's not pretty.

8.  I went to more proms in high school than I went on other dates.  Not sure what to think about that really.

9.  I almost drowned white water rafting in Costa Rica.  You can read the whole story here.  When another boat pulled me out of the water, there was a lady who was crying and just kept saying, "I thought you were dead, I thought you were dead" and her husband, a doctor, said, "What was it like?  Did you see a bright light?"  Only me.

10.  I've got a serious obsession with eating raw cookie dough. I know it's bad for me. I could die of food poisoning or get really, really fat, but I just don't care.  I really don't.

Just Rock and Roll

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”  ~Bl. Pope John Paul II

The priest at church told a pretty great story this Easter Sunday.  It was about an Anglican Bishop who had flown to London and hopped in a cab.  The cabbie asked him what he was doing in town and he said he was a Bishop there for an Anglican conference.  The cabbie asked him a few questions about the church and his faith and then said, "You guys are the ones having all the drama over women being in the clergy, right?"  "Yes," the Bishop replied.

The cabbie just shook his head and said, "If it's true as you believe, that Jesus rose from the dead, isn't the rest really just rock and roll?"

San Francisco - Fourth of July - 2008

That's pretty much it, isn't it?  The petty disagreements between denominations, the drama between church members, who sits by whom in a Bible study, how big and fancy our church building is, what color of strobe light should be used during worship.....none of it matters.  Jesus rose from the dead.  JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD.  That's what matters.  That's what's important.  That's what we should be living our lives in light of.

The rest?  Doesn't matter.  Not important.  That's all just rock and roll.

You Never Know

“If there's one thing I learned, it's that nobody is here forever. You have to live for the moment, each and every day . . . the here, the now.” ~Simone Elkeles, Perfect Chemistry

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of a friend suddenly died.  It was her bachelorette party weekend.  The girls had decided to participate in a run.  The bridesmaids ran a 5K.  The bride ran the half marathon.  As she crossed the finish line in her white shirt that sported the word "Bride" across the front and a pretty pink boa, she collapsed.  And she was gone.

Her wedding day, set for two weeks from that date, was never to be.  The OME concluded a congenital heart defect that generally kills a person suddenly and without warning during childhood. The fact that this girl lived to be 27 was a miracle in itself.

I suppose this hit me for a lot of reasons.  The first was the fact that I know one of the bridesmaids who was there and had to live through this absolute nightmare. Also, the reminder that no matter how old we are or how good of shape we are in, we really just never know when our time will come. And then there is the fact that one summer in San Francisco I ran a half marathon and my best girlfriends ran a 5K and cheered me on at the finish line.  Similar story....very different ending.

SF Marathon - 2011

We never know how much time we have left.  So today, try to take that to heart.  Say what you need to say.  Offer forgiveness or tell someone you love them or speak a kind word to a stranger.  Do what you've always wanted to do.  Sign up for the class, take the risk, book the trip.  Make the change that you know is necessary.  Step out of your comfort zone, follow your heart, make a leap.

Tomorrow is not promised to any of us.  Don't wait.  Stop over-analyzing.  Quit thinking of why it might not work.  Forget waiting for the right time.  Just go.

And please say a prayer for Kaytie's family, her friends, and her fiance as they try to find their way through this terrible time.

Happy Easter!

Over the last 47 days of Lent, I've been reading a reflection from Fr. Robert Barron each day.  Here is part of the final reflection that he sent out today.


"Easter is significant because it reveals that love is more powerful than death. Death is what frightens us most. It hems us in and it sets the ultimate limit to everything. If death has the final word, then all the evil in the world wins and there's no hope because there's nothing after death. That's the end. 
But Easter is the declaration that God's love, the love that made the world and sustains it, is more powerful than death. That's a moment of liberation. It means death no longer enslaves us. The first Christians saw that the bursting forth of Christ from the tomb is the shattering of death's bonds." 

Amen, and Happy Easter to all!

Friday Book Club: It Is Well

"Faith in God means we live with hope.  It means often times hoping even when it seems futile.  It means believing that God can deliver us, and often times, He will.  But it also means that at times, He may not, and if He does not deliver us in the way we desire, it means we still have faith and trust that his plan is perfect and He will make good of it all."  ~Chris Faddis, It Is Well

Today I'm joining in with Friday Book Club.  I just finished reading what might be the most heartbreaking and inspiring book that I've read in my life.  (If you want to order a copy, click here.)

It Is Well  was written by a man who lost his wife to cancer at age 32.  He was left behind heartbroken with two little ones to raise.  Hearing of him losing her---his love for her, the pain, trying to explain it to the children, seriously had me in tears multiple times.  And I'm not at all a crier. 

But for all the heartbreak, the book really is about inspiration.  Devout Catholics, both he and his wife faced this tragedy with courage and trust and amazing faith.  I usually share a list of quotes from a book.  I have dog-eared a ton of pages and could do that.  But today, I'm going to just share one.  It struck a chord with me the moment that I read it.  Being that we will all celebrate Jesus' rising on Sunday, it seems particularly appropriate.

What do you say when your lover lies in a bed, hearing the same words as you, knowing what it means, what it all likely means?  Death.  End.  Loss.  Words, they come easy for me.  But not now.  Not in this moment.  I try.  I attempt to muster some sort of comfort, but the words, they don't come.  She, the one who has a hard time with words, the one who needs comfort in this moment, she says the words, the only words that matter:  "Jesus still rose, so we will trust."

Ode to HEB (and a recipe)

There are a few things I don't really like about living here.  Mostly the whole 9 hours from The Boy from Texas thing.  And lack of green chile.  And humidity.  There are a few things I really like.  My job.  My house.  My roommate.  The plants in my hard that are not trying to freaking die on me.

But I've got to admit that my favorite thing about this place.....a grocery store.  Enter HEB.

Y'all.  I'm serious here.  It's the mecca of all good things about a grocery store.  Wide aisles.  Clean.  Fresh produce.  Good deli.  Free samples.  A homemade tortilla station (which also always has free samples).  Lots of checkers.  I've never liked grocery shopping, but HEB has changed all of that.  I'm not sure what I'll do if I ever leave and have to go back to regular grocery stores!

So there I was last night munching on my tortilla sample while perusing around the store, when the sample guy had a jalapeno popper dip to try.  I like jalapeno poppers, so of course I said yes.  Y'all.  Holy moly.  I bought the ingredients right away and whipped up half a batch last night.  Here's the recipe.

Jalapeno Popper Dip
Prep Time:  5 minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes
Serves:  A crowd

2 pkg softened cream cheese
3 oz. real bacon bits
1/2 C Roberts Reserve Jalapeno Pepper Dip (not really sure what to do if your store doesn't have this...)
1/4 C mayo
3 C shredded cheddar cheese
1 C French fried onions

1.  Preheat oven to 375.
2.  Mix cream cheese, bacon, jalapeno dip, mayo, and cheese together.
3.  Spread the mixture into a casserole dish.
4.  Top with the French fried onions, cover with foil, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
5.  Serve with chips and crackers.