When We Practice

Six to seven miles at a moderately slow pace is supposed to be easy. After all, that's about one quarter of a marathon distance, right? I'm not saying my run this morning was hard, but it did leave me feeling a little frustrated.

Was I more frustrated at the fact that it was harder than it should be or that I haven't been getting in my shorter runs during the week to help me maintain my stamina?

Like all things, we get better results when we practice regularly. Running once a week will never be easy because I'm not putting in the time elsewhere during the week to make it so.

Is this not true of our personal relationships? Without consistent communication with our friends and family, the times we do get together set up conversations to be a lot more on the surface level. Instead of focusing on the things that matter most, we spend our time talking about everything we've done in the past x number of months into about a five to ten minute conversation. (And we call this "catching up.")

And what about our prayer lives? Well, let's think about it: When our prayer lives are regular, we are more aware of God's goodness all around us. (And then we are more ready to thank God for those things at the very moment.)

It's not automatic, by any means. But, like all good things (as noted above), we get better results when we practice.

(I guess that means Notre Dame's football team got in a bit of extra practice this week, eh? GO IRISH! What a game and what a day! - See a couple of pictures below.)

Fall at Notre Dame

Marching Band spells out "IRISH"

Loving more each day

Nineteen heads bobbed up and down as the students warmed up for gym class.

And I just stood there and watched them. They are truly nineteen personalities. They have their days, so to speak, it's true.

But we're slowly learning what makes them tick.
And the puzzle pieces are falling into place.
And I'm loving them more each day...because I'm getting to know them better. (And, man, are they coming out of their shells!)

And then, as I stood there, I thought about how much more God knows each of us and loves each of us. Pretty unbelievable when you think about it, right?


"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

(1 John 4:9-10)

So, I close tonight with a short and simple prayer of gratitude. I think you will find it fitting as well, and I encourage you to pray it with me:

Thank you, Lord, for loving me and for showing me how to bring your love to those with whom I work and spend time. Help me to be a sign of your love in the world. Amen.

Questions

So many activities -

From volleyball to Boy Scouts,

From swimming to piano

So much pressure - 

From report cards to band solos,

From school plays to science tests

When is there time for a child...

to just be a kid?

to learn that mistakes are ok?

to be silly?

to do something simply because he loves it?

What's the hurry?

What's the rush?

As adults, don't we wish

we had those "good old days" back?

The moments go too fast -

We have to urge children to slow down.

And maybe we could slow down too.

It's okay to say no.

Maybe there should be family dinner time.

Sleep is definitely a good thing.

And time to ponder and pray,

now, wouldn't that be nice?

Color Me Fall

I'm not going to even pretend I took that picture - I didn't.

But today's weather was so darn gorgeous that it couldn't really even be captured by a camera.

And it had to be spent outside, where I found any and every excuse to be - a walk to morning Mass, a walk to meet my sister for lunch (and then a walk back home via gelato and the grocery store), an architecture boat ride tour on the Chicago River, a walk to dinner with my roommate's parents...

Today looked like Fall. It felt like Fall. It tasted like Fall.

How can you not fall in love with such a beautiful day?

 

(I did take these last two pictures, in case you were wondering. Perfect day for a boat ride...)

Marked by His hand

Do you remember the movie "Toy Story (the first one)?" Do you remember the part when Woody looks at his foot and really realizes that he belongs to Andy - that Andy has put his mark on him?

During morning prayer today, we were reminded of this, but it was in light of how it is like this with us and God. God has put his mark on us. We are His - He loves us (and gives us plenty of reminders to help us realize this).

After a long day like this one, I sure find comfort in remembering these things. I hope you do too.

Remember, God has marked each of us with a sign of his love. So, now it's our turn to be that reminder of God's love to others.

Trying to find the words

I got plenty of nothin'

Nothing's plenty for me...

Over and over I've started and erased tonight's blog post for no reason other than I just can't find the right words today.

But maybe silence is exactly what I need tonight in order to refresh for tomorrow.

Have you enjoyed a moment of silence today?

How Can I Do Better?

"Best is good. Better is best."

- Lisa Grunwald

I love this kind of phrase because it manipulates familiar words and our understanding/thinking about them:

It feels great to be the best at something, doesn't it? Maybe it's a specific sport, musical talent, or knowledge of a specific subject/area of expertise. Isn't it nice to be the "go-to person?" (Think of that Discover commercial with Lou Holtz: "Peggy, you could be my go-to guy...gal.")

So, I'm sure you'll agree with me that there is no denying best is good.

But we can't settle for best. Take a lesson from Jo March: In the musical "Little Women," she sings, "How can I do better than what's already here?" and it takes her the rest of the musical to truly find her voice to make her writing better than before. She didn't give up - she kept trying to be better.

Honestly, when you have finished or are in the process of completing something, are you truly ever done? Isn't there something else - something better - you could do, even though sometimes you don't want to or don't have the energy to do?

If that's true, then when can we say, "enough is enough" or "I've done the best I can?" Well, I don't believe there is a be-all, end-all answer to that question. But if you have worked to become or make things better than they were before, you have already succeeded. By making it (or yourself) better, you have made it (or yourself) best.

After all, we can't always be best, but we sure can always do better. (And, technically speaking, isn't "better" considered "best" in the grand scheme of things?)