Skip to main content

pondering all this

"Indeed throughout her earthly life she found her joy in listening to the word of God and living it out in the sanctifying course of her humble daily routine" Lk 8:21. (from the Magnificat, p. 432, describing the front cover artwork for the month.)

As anyone who actually reads this little blog knows, I am not a great writer or thinker. I do, however, have a great desire to be closer to God. I have always felt a special closeness to Mary, our Heavenly Mother, though I do not think I have been able to explain why. The words above are a far better explanation than I could ever give. I wish to be able to live out my love for God in my daily routine. I often fall very short of this goal. I want to be that quiet example for my husband, my children, and those whom I encounter each day.

"Education is much, much more than the subjects you study in a formal way. It is the sum total of your family life. Everything you do as a family affects the children." - Rev. John Hardon

How true and how scary! Anna and I will start our school year today. Each year, I have all these lofty goals for us and our little homeschool. But really, all day, every day, they are learning from me in every response I give, either good or not so good. I am ashamed to think about how many times, in an effort to "get things done", I have spoken to my children in harsh, irritated tones.

Also, how my husband and I communicate between one another is often an example of what not to do. We need to be more mindful of how our actions affect how our children will relate to others. This parenting thing requires so much energy!

"Any system of education which fails to discipline the will also fails to train the character." - Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

As the new school year begins, I pray that I may keep my eyes on all these goals, not just completing the work. I want to put more emphasis on training the soul and the will. Not only theirs, but mine especially. Please God, be with us each and every day as we strive to do your will in all things.

Comments

  1. What a lovely post, Jenny. Thanks for being so honest and open about yourself and parenthood. I will aspire with you one day.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Being Thankful when Life throws you lemons

We are supposed to be camping right now. Two kids are camping, sort of. They are camped out on the couch with fevers. I am trying to stay positive (I am positive I am disappointed!) and count my blessings on this day before Thanksgiving. Thankful: - that my husband braved the grocery store so I could stay home and nurse sick little people. - for Advil, since fevers over 103 scare me. - for beautiful fall colors outside the window. - that we are not trying to care for sick kiddos in a camper far from the comforts of home. - that I got some pretty photos of the kids this weekend - for family and friends - for a roof over our heads, food for our bodies, and clothing for us all - for a God who loves me, even at my worst I pray for quick healing for my kids and all those who are sick on this day. I pray that all of you may have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day tomorrow.

The Door Table

Once there was a store in Georgia. It is no more, but how I wish it was. I likened going in there to treasure hunting. One never knew what was going to be in there, and you had to dig through and wade through all the "other people's treasures" to find your own. I once found a set of blue and white teacups and saucers from England. I found lace handkerchiefs, a rocking chair, and an end table. But by far the best find was my kitchen table. I had stopped by one day while the kids were taking horseback lessons and the then little ones were asleep. The store was not open, but I went up to the window to see if anything new was there. And it was there. The table. And six chairs too! We were in need of a bigger table with Jack on the way. My mom had offered to give us her old one, which I was going to accept if I didn't find something I liked better. I didn't want anyone else to even see the table because I knew it was supposed to be ours, but one can never tell abo...

Paris

With our backpacks repacked for the next leg of our adventure, I awoke in the wee hours of the morning to make sure we were ready. We walked from our house down to the train station, stopping at the bakery for breakfast. Tony was able to join us just for the day, but I am so glad he was with us for even a short time. Upon arriving, we navigated to our flat, waited for the owners and checked in. It was in a very old building, the wooden steps creaked and groaned under our feet as we climbed to the third floor. It was definitely a quaint flat, harkening back to a much earlier era. We then headed out to meet my sister and her family at the Louvre. We said goodbye to Tony and went to find dinner and strolled past the Eiffel Tower. Then back to the flat to get some sleep. Our second day started out a little rough. I could not get the wifi to work, nor would my phone work. I decided to shower and try to not stress. I went to plug in the hair dryer that was at the flat, only to discover...