I can't think of anything better (or more needed)

I was scheduled to be at school till 6pm today for aftercare duty, but, as luck would have it, I got out over an hour early. Yes!!! That meant I had time to do a few things I hadn't banked on being able to do tonight: go to the grocery store, eat dinner, and bake a cake. Pretty soon I found the time nearing 7pm, which meant I needed to get going if I was hoping to get to Adoration on time.

Admittedly, I don't go to Adoration nearly as often as I should, but I am convinced that if more people spent time in Adoration our world would be a better place. With such hectic and crazy (and LOUD!) lives, our world (myself included) needs to SLOW DOWN. And Adoration provides just that - an opportunity to be still...to listen...to wonder...to love...

Tonight was a much needed date with Jesus. In His presence I felt such peace and such joy. I can't really even put it into words...but maybe these lyrics are close:

My little heart is swelling with a song from somewhere else,

It's filling up with glory and I'm ringing like a bell,

My little heart, my little heart is racing,

It's racing just to keep up with your love and live to tell, and live to tell,

and it's all I know...

- "No Turning Back," Audrey Assad

I feel like I needed tonight even more so than usual, as I now feel grounded for everything about to happen this weekend and upcoming week (which is the last one before Christmas break). And there are a lot of people in my life who need some extra prayers lifted up to God right now. Tonight, I turned it all over to God, and, therefore, my prayers are in the best hands.

But Really, It's the Holy Spirit...

God works in mysterious ways. And, after reflecting about the Holy Spirit for pretty much the entirety of today, I came to realize that oftentimes, when we don't have a name for a coincidence or meaningful circumstance/connection/etc., we should probably attribute such to the third person of the Trinity.

One thing that particularly resonated with me today is that we have the power to command the Holy Spirit, and, as the priest this morning said, He can't decide to just not show up. "Come Holy Spirit." There's so much power in the phrase if we remember to call upon Him.

And now that I've taken time to think about it, the Holy Spirit pops up a lot more than one might originally think. Even this past week with my 8th graders - we've been watching the Biblical epic, "The Robe" (starring Richard Burton), and, having now seen it three times in its entirety, I realize that while it tells the fictional tale of the Roman tribune who put Jesus to death, it more importantly (and perhaps more poignantly) tells the story of how the Holy Spirit worked through the early Christians to stand strong in their faith and spread the Good News to others. As a touching line of one of the final scenes says (or, at least it's along these lines), "What would have happened if they (early Christians) would have denied knowing Jesus?" The beautiful, courageous truth is that they didn't. And because of this, the Truth lived on. Jesus, indeed, rose from the dead, and His followers risked their very lives to carry on His work and teachings to this very day. If that's not the Holy Spirit at work, I don't know what is!

I am so grateful for this day of reflection and retreat. Now, it's a matter of remembering to call on the Holy Spirit to be at work in my life and the lives of those around me. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, so that we would not be afraid. He definitely left His followers in good hands...

my "notes" page from adoration/praise & worship

Meaningful Weeknight Activities

Though it's been a long week, it's hard to believe it's already Friday. Maybe it's because I have been able to fill my evenings with meaningful activities that have helped to move the week right along...

On Monday I sat down with the young adult planning team, and we started finalizing some logistics, jobs, etc. for our upcoming retreat. We made some solid progress, and everyone brought both joy and determination to our conversation.

On Tuesday I went to young adult volleyball - it was the first time in what felt like forever...and it was a ton of fun. I would definitely consider myself in just about the middle range of skill levels, so, while I definitely made some errors (and missed some serves), I made some good plays as well. Everyone was uplifting on the court and fun to talk to off the court. I hope I can now make this a regular thing...

Wednesday was a Strengths for the Journey reunion dinner and prayer reflection. Each time I turned around I was running into someone else I knew - it gave me a true sense that my Church community is my home here now. I even met a few new people, including one ACE grad who worked in Plaquemine, LA. A delicious dinner was followed by an introduction to various prayer forms and a discussion with our tables about how we might strive to use our strengths to influence and understand our respective prayer lives.

Tonight was Adoration followed by some grocery-buying and dinner-getting with my sister. How wonderful to sit in silence in the presence of the Most Blessed Sacrament and offer praise/thanksgiving. After such noisy days at school, nothing strengthens and renews my heart/zeal like the quietness.

Only one more day until the long weekend. I'm looking forward to some rest, relaxation, and limited internet access! Happy Valentine's Day & Presidents' Day to all!