So, Maybe it Doesn't Really Matter at All What I Choose to Do...

Does this mean that it doesn't really matter what I choose to do, since God will straighten it out afterward, when I finally stop going my own way and finally beg that His Will be done?





No, it doesn't mean that at all! When we choose to do something that seems good to us at the time, but ends up being bad for us or harmful to someone else, then an injustice has been done and we need to make amends to God and to those whom we have harmed.

If Evie decides to go out in the backyard after it rains and returns to the front door to be let back inside, it may be that she finds she is not as welcome as she had hoped...




And so she may have to stay outside a little longer until her coat dries off and she can be brushed off and let inside.

While she is cooling her heels, she might decide to return to her mud puddle, dig around in it some more, and then come racing up the front walk to try to be let in once again....



(Yes, this is all actually happening as I type this...!)

And so stronger measures will have to be used, until she gets it right. Because God in His mercy loves her, and me, and you, and wants us to be INSIDE with Him in heaven forever, if we'll only agree.

Now, excuse me while I take Evie out to be hosed off and dried!

Love,
Ronda

Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States

Is This Thing My Will or God's?

Let me stop myself right there and ask....

"So, if I search my heart to find what it is I'm dreaming of, then pursue it with all of my heart, and then actually achieve that yearned for thing....

....and find that I am a happy, more loving, kind, patient, thoughtful, and faithful person because of it,

...then I know that I am doing not just my will, but God's.

God's Will

On the other hand, if I achieve my desired goal, land that new job, or embark on that new relationship

...and find that I am becoming a more arrogant, impatient, unkind, self centered, destructive, and stressed out person as a result,

...then I know that I am doing my will perhaps, but not God's.

My Will

....and then, if by the grace of God more calamities start to follow:  Someone sprays Bitter Apple on that thing I wanted to chew, I get fired, I get rejected or made fun of, I become anxious, more stressed, distanced from God, and doubtful about my salvation...

...then I should reassess my situation, stop pursuing the thing that I desired...humbly repent and pray that God's will be done...and then with that door suddenly closed, look around for an opened window.

Loving God, This Time Let Thy Will Be Done

Sometimes the best things happen to us when they are not chased after, not longed for, not brooded about, but rather come to us seemingly of their own accord, and in a completely unexpected way.

Canine Good Citizen Graduate/Puppy Class 101 

We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. 

(Romans 8:28) 

Where is God When Things Don't Quite Go Your Way?

Far be it from me to want to jinx the luck of my Carolina Blue Tar Heels in the National Championship game this weekend, and certainly a life of faith in God is completely incompatible with belief in superstition, so I am going to risk it all by sharing with you what I am thinking about today:

What happens when you are in the heat of pursuing your dreams, excited, and almost certain that what you are reaching for is also what God wants for you...  

....and then somehow, someway, the unthinkable happens and you suddenly fall short of your goal, you get passed over for that school you hoped to be accepted by, you broke up with your boyfriend, you didn't get that job you applied for and thought would be a perfect fit for you....

... or like happened with our pup Evie on her first Christmas a few months ago:   you saw the big, beautiful evergreen tree going up in your home, you felt excited to see and smell its fresh outdoorsy scent, you felt certain that it was God's will that you investigate and see if you could help in setting it up...

And then what happens?  You end up with the humiliation of having the lights wrapped around you instead of around that great big glorious tree. 

What are you to think when, eager as you were, things didn't quite go your way?  Where is God in that and what is He calling you to do?

Well, according to Jesus when his disciples asked him how we are to pray (and verified too by the teachings of his Saints), the greatest gift we can give to God, is to conform ourselves to His holy will:

"Our Father, Who Art in Heaven, Hallowed by Thy Name.  Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done, On Earth as it is in Heaven..." (Matt 6:9-10)

And that means accepting all things, both joys and losses, celebrations and humiliations, justices and injustices as coming directly from God's Hands.

"Prosperity does not lift me up, nor adversity cast me down," reported a holy monk to his abbot when questioned about what was different about him that so many miracles were happening in his wake.  "I direct all my prayers to the end that God's will may be done fully in me and by me."

"That raid that our enemies made against the monastery the other day, in which our stores were plundered, our granaries put to the torch and our cattle driven off--did not this misfortune cause you any resentment?" queried the abbot.

"No, Father," came the reply.  "On the contrary, I returned thanks to God--as is my custom in such circumstances--fully persuaded that God does all things, or permits all that happens, for his glory and for our greater good; thus I am always at peace, no matter what happens."  (Story recounted in St. Alphonsus Liguori's Uniformity With God's Will".)

And so for us, we should desire neither to win the big game nor to lose it, to be accepted at the best school or rejected, to get the coveted promotion or be denied it, to dive into the Christmas tree decorating party or be tied up on the sidelines...

Everything that happens to you, seemingly favorable or seemingly bad, is God's will for you and your life...and because God is all Good, His will is always the best thing for you.

And what is God's perfect will?  Your salvation...an eternal home for you in heaven with him forever.

Please Lord, have mercy on us and in all things grant us Your peace!

Love,
Ronda

A God Who Fulfills our Dreams

It is Spring here in North Carolina: the time when days are lengthening, bulbs are pushing up through the soil, trees are breaking into flowers, and yellow pollen is coating absolutely everything.

It is also the time when college basketball is on everyone's mind. Our family's team, the UNC Tar Heels has made it to the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament which will be decided in games this Saturday and Monday night.




(We are grooming our ten month old golden retriever Evie to be a fan, but sometimes she is more interested in Dad and the popcorn he makes for the big games!)




Because our daughter has spent the past year taking GRE Exams, researching English PhD programs, and applying to graduate schools, we are acutely aware that this is also the time of university acceptances, which hopeful students everywhere await with deep anguish until they hear from all the places they have applied.

During her years at school, we have heard stories of so many of our daughter's friends who have found just the right mentor, or the perfect program of study, or a timely internship, and later, great jobs in big cities offered to them after graduating from school.

How about you..have you ever had big dreams, or deep desires that you nurtured and worked toward, that somehow came true?

I was reflecting on this when I went to Mass this morning...where our new church is finally rising from the ground after eighteen years of building with other families on a shared dream of raising our children in a loving community of faith.

Of faith in what or in Who?

St. Paul addressed this very question when he stood on the great rock at the Acropolis in Athens. He addressed the people of that time and place (and through the scripture and tradition of the Church, each one of us today:)




"You Athenians, I see that in every respect you are very religious. For as I walked around looking carefully at your shrines, I even discovered an altar inscribed, 'To an Unknown God.'

What therefore you unknowingly worship, I proclaim to you.

The God who made the world and all that is in it, the Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in sanctuaries made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands because he needs anything.

Rather it is he who gives to everyone life and breath and everything.

He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions,

so that people might seek God, even perhaps grope for him and find him, though indeed he is not far from any one of us." (Acts 17: 22-27)

Truly our little Evie is my family's latest dream come true, and I thank God for her perfection each and every day.







Love,
Ronda

Location:Lylebourne Ct,Apex,United States

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Home!

Here they come to save the day!












Seven hours after Jim and Courtney arrived to pack us up, we are home at last...and boy, does it feel spacious!

❤ Ronda

Location:Apex NC

A Month at the Beach in Winter: Closing Prayer

Dear Lord and Father of mankind,
Forgive our foolish ways!
Reclothe us in our rightful minds,
In purer lives thy service find,
In deeper reverence praise.
In deeper reverence praise.

In simple trust like theirs who heard,
Beside the Syrian sea,
The gracious calling of our Lord,
Let us, like them, without a word,
Rise up and follow thee
Rise up and follow thee.

O Sabbath rest by Galilee!
O calm of hills above,
Where Jesus knelt to share with thee
The silence of eternity,
Interpreted by love.
Interpreted by love.

With that deep hush subduing all
Our words and works, that drown
The tender whisper of thy call,
As noiseless let thy blessing fall
As fell thy manna down.
As fell thy manna down.

Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.
The beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm!
O still small voice of calm.

(Hymn by John Greenleaf Whittier, 1807-1892; published in the Magnificat for today's Morning Prayer, February 17, 2017.)

Location:Ocean Hwy,Murrells Inlet,United States

Twenty Six Days at the Beach in Winter: I Surrender!

I never should have written my blog entry this morning, because when I opened up to my feelings of frustration and defeat, I have been crying ever since.

I had put out a note to one of my neighbors to ask for help in walking Evie two days ago, but it didn't pan out. And then I phoned my husband this morning before he left for work to talk about my options, but he didn't answer.

And so, I sat outside with Evie, staking her wire lead into the ground and tried to relax.

Then Evie began eating my rug.

Then she tried to dig up the stake.

Then a neighbor walked by and I asked her to sit down with me, but Evie began jumping on her and driving her back in her chair.

Then, I started to cry as I told my friend that I didn't think I could manage my dog with my hurting back.

"Let me take her for a walk!" She said as she put Evie on a leash and headed down the street. Evie jumped up and tangled and dangled at her side.

"I'm taking this dog down to my strong husband who will get her in line!" And off they went as I received a text from my husband, "Do you need me to come down and get you?

So, while they were away, I called Jim and discussed our options. We finally settled on his driving here with our daughter tomorrow (Saturday) while I slowly packed up my campsite today.

He called our daughter at home and she quickly texted, "I think we should pick you up now!" And they both cancelled their plans for today and are driving the 3-4 hours to bring me and Evie home.

Not long after this, I looked up and saw my friend Bob riding by on his bicycle, his dog Lily...and Evie, who was wearing a pink harness, trotting at his side.

And then my neighbor with the Great Pyrenees walked up ...she had moved to a different campsite further away and was actually here an extra day due to a repair they needed for their RV... Anyway, she was carrying a "Thunder Harness" that someone had given to her in her own time of distress that will prevent pulling by getting tighter around the ribcage when the dog pulls...she gave it to me and said we could keep it to try on our walks at home.

And so, with help coming for me from seemingly every direction, I will finish this last entry, take another Vicodin, and lie down and wait for my husband and daughter to arrive.

With love and in tears of relief and gratitude,

Ronda

Location:Ocean Hwy,Murrells Inlet,United States