#mondaymotivation

the sound of rushing water off in the distance

the view of newly naked trees and exposed nests built with mastery

the intense reds, yellows, orange - even brown

***

Monday mornings I have a gift of free mornings. It's quite a challenge to keep the mornings free. In my mind it's an extra 4 hours that are easily filled up with the "need to do" things. 

But the last few Mondays I have held firm. Free to be - alone in the woods with my dog. I take deep breaths of fresh air; I listen to the singing birds, the krinkle of fallen leaves beneath my feet, the rushing water.  I think, I pray, I ponder. I hug my dog. 

As I type this, there is a twinge of guilt. It feels so luxurious to take an hour or two once a week of freedom. Then there is the other side of the coin of guilt - there are so many things I should be doing. 

Stop.

What does God want for me?

God wants my time. God wants my heart. God wants my happiness.

Two hours a week of time devoted to just be with him in His creation - there should not be and will not be any guilt. 

This is not a commitment to myself. This is a commitment to Jesus. I will be with you for two hours on Mondays - free unstructured time.  

This is my #mondaymotivation. What is yours?

Mesmerized by Fireflies

The smell of fresh cut hay.

A doe sneaks out into the meadow.

The horizon is ablaze with a kaleidoscope of color.

My way is illumined by the flicker of fireflies.

***

A few weeks ago I was gifted with the time for 5 straight days to take a 30 minute walk each day. Talk about gift! These 30 minute days were times of pondering life and all its wonders; in particular I was pondering lifestyle choices.

I have been pondering why we have chosen this lifestyle and what goes into the decision making process of lifestyle choices. 

The choices that I have made make it such that a walk down my street at dusk means sights of a typical country lane. My choices have also made it such that 30 minutes of alone time in one lump sum is a rare gift,  nevermind 5 days in a row. 

***

For God formed man to be imperishable;the image of his own nature he made him.

Wisdom 1: 13-15

This was the first reading for Sunday's Mass back on July 1. It's never a coincidence that the daily readings coincide with what God has put on my heart. These words from the book of Wisdom read beautiful, harsh, whimsical, and challenging.

When reading and re-reading I wonder, why do more people not live as if these words are true?

I am a spitting image of God. So are you. So is your child, your neighbor, the person who honked at you on the commute, the coworker that drives you batty, etc. 

We are all bearers of God. 

Does my lifestyle truly exhibit this fact?

Nativity House: the outcome is always abundance...

Life at Nativity House has it's ups and downs. Community living and serving expectant mothers in need are two cornerstones framed within the context of deep faith. 

Framed within the context of deep faith... This is what makes community living and serving expectant mothers possible.

Quite frankly, living and working at Nativity House is hard work. Living with other people - not immediate family - is not for the faint of heart. Living with and serving those in need is messy.

So why do we do it. 

The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane but with no less intensity: life grows by being given away, and weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others (Pope Francis, The Joy of the Gospel #10)

When you commit to sharing life - to a life of Encounter - Every - Single - Time - God meets our weakness, our shortcomings, our doubt, our worry, - with abundance. 

***

One example of this abundance is this year's CSA members. Our membership was low pretty late in the game. We just kept praying that God would send us new members for the garden. And then we trusted (that's the hard part.) Then, as if coming out of the wood work, God provided some wonderful new families.  

And one of those new families? A bee keeper! Erik is a wealth of knowledge in the garden. And he joyfully shares his love of beekeeping with us! This weekend we had our first honey harvest. Abundance.

Opening the hive! The bees filled one whole super of 10 frames in one week!

Annemarie is suited up and ready for honey harvest action

20 frames of honeycomb ready for processing

Rolling the frames to release the honey

Leaving a Legacy: Part 1

A few weeks ago I traveled home to Houston, TX for a family wedding. It was a time that I will always treasure. 

I was given the gift of attending Mass with my Grandma. Two things happened at this Mass that had never happened before. 

• We got there early but because there were so many of the Hvizdos Clan attending this particular weekendwe would not fit in the usual pew. We ended up in a pew behind the priest and deacon's chairs. I was irritated. I did not want to stare at the back of their heads the whole Mass. But had we not sat there, I would have never saw what I saw. My Grandma has always served her parish as a Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist.  At the appointed time she stood at the bottom step of the altar and received Jesus in the Eucharist. I witnessed it. Her posture, her eyes, her mouth, - her entire body was in full honor, devotion, and awe at what she was participating in. 

• My grandmother just so happened to be the Extraordinary Minister for our section. She served her family Jesus that morning. My aunt proclaimed what I was thinking, "That was the first time in all these years that Mom gave me the Eucharist."

But it wasn't. She has been serving Jesus to her loved ones  through her service as mom, wife and grandmother for years. There is no doubt that she prayed all of us through things we are even unaware of. She has left a mark. 

It was no coincidence that at the wedding the night before, Jesus was there - in my aunts and uncles, in my cousins, in their spouses, in their children. I was overcome by His presence. 

***

I would be amiss, if I painted my family as emblems of Christian perfection.  We have all struggled over the years and will continue to do so - and at times those struggles have been with each other. EEK!

I hear the words of Pope Francis from Gaudete et Exsultate echoing in my heart, (actually the words of the New Zealand Bishops as quoted by Pope Francis)

 “His love set no limits and, once given, was never taken back. It was unconditional and remained faithful. To love like that is not easy because we are often so weak. But just to try to love as Christ loved us shows that Christ shares his own risen life with us. In this way, our lives demonstrate his power at work – even in the midst of human weakness” (18)

 ***

We just have to be willing to try to love as Christ loves! And he will use us even in spite of our weaknesses!

My grandparents over the years, in spite of their weaknesses, instilled a rich love of God and neighbor in their kids and grand kids. Over the years, they have nurtured a legacy of love and faith.

I will do my best to continue the legacy.

Granny Rita - 91 years young

Grandma Gerrie - taken graveside of Grandpa Frank to so honor him on Father's Day

The Spiritual Life of Parenting - Episode 35

Car talk. On becoming.

That's where Gracie has her deep thoughts.

It's where I get the privilege of hearing the inner musings of her heart and soul. And when I say privilege, I mean it. As she gets older, I don't always get the candidness that I did when she was younger. Being privy to her inmost thoughts is a window into her spiritual life. 

We were talking about adoration and imitation that happens in friendship.

V: This relationship is similar to you and your cousin. She wants to BE you! 

(I said this tongue and cheek, I generally speak in hyperbole)

G: Wait, isn't it a sin to want to be someone else. You need to be who God wants you to be not someone else.

Mic drop.

***

So much of life is spent searching for meaning. So much of parenting is helping our children become who they are called to be. 

Who are they called to be?

This is an easy question to get all uptight about.  I can feel the anxiety mounting. She needs to be successful, she needs to be able to afford to live, she needs to get a good job, she needs to be happy with her choices.

My child has a calling.  I have no idea what that calling is.  My vocation is to ensure that she knows she has been dedicated as a Child of God. That means that sometimes my love for her needs to be ferocious - my child is precious child of God and no one will compromise that. Sometimes it means I need to be ferocious with her, you are a precious child of God and that behavior does not mirror your giftedness. 

Sometimes, most of the time, it's patience and gentleness that are needed as I watch the Child of God that is Gracie unfold. 

***

As parents our job is create fertile soil in our children so that they can grow into who God is calling them to be - so that they can, as Catherine of Siena put it, be who God called them to be to be so they can set the world on fire!

Spiritual Life of Parenting - Episode 1

Liturgy = Work

I hear it all the time. "I don't know how you do what you do."  "You have so much going on, I don't know how you have time for sleep."  "If I did all of what you do, I would be overwhelmed all the time."

I have heard these comments a little more frequently lately and they have led to me reflect on the notion of work. 

For many of us work is drudgery. Work is the menial, or gargantuan tasks that weigh us down: folding the laundry, doing the dishes, getting that project done before the deadline, presenting before the big boss. And let's not forget the workplace drama that comes with work: smelly diapers, sibling rivalry, filling in for the person who doesn't pull their own weight, etc.

As I reflect on the work of our nubian goats - Ivy, Rua, and Kirk - I notice how they go about their work of clearing brush.  With vigor and joy.  It is no doubt that they are doing what they were created to do.

Work

I think of the work of the Apostles after the Ascension. They went about their work of building up the church, the kingdom of God on Earth, with joy and vigor and confidence!

Is it a coincidence that the word liturgy means work?Liturgy is the very work of building God's kingdom right here on earth. 

I am calling for a paradigm shift.

It's true. I am a busy person. I work much and hard. But I take great joy in knowing that my work is indeed building up God's kingdom. All the way down to folding and sorting socks, cleaning out the chicken coop, planting tomatoes, cooking dinner, reading a bedtime story - whatever the work, I do it with vigor and joy.

Paradigm shift

Liturgy = work

What is your work?

***

Kirk, Our Nubian Buckling

Kirk chows down on his afternoon snack, donning a Bears tee

Ivy and Rua share a twig from a wild rose bush

Ivy, Queen of the Mountain!

Sacred Space

I am almost always busy. Run run run. At bedtime, my head hits the pillow and I am fast asleep. Life is full to the brim. Sound familiar? I know I am not alone. 

There are many times at the end of the day that I remark to myself, "I never once stopped to notice God's presence with me today." So I try to take 5 minutes of uninterrupted thinking time to review the day. Uninterrupted is the keyword. I frequently interrupt my own thoughts with the long list of to dos, or as I stated above, I am asleep before the end of 5 minutes.

So lately, I have been pondering Sacred Space. My mom and I have been busy bees in our Mary Garden, working at least 1 full day a week. I cherish the time in the garden that we have built for Mary our Mother. 

This led me to wonder about other times that I cherish, walks in the woods with Gracie, crafting with good friends, the 30 mins of silence while watering my gardens, listening to Gracie and her good buddy building their secret hideout in the woods, Nativity House chatter during meals or after prayer or in the garden, times when it's just Justin, Gracie and I.

These are Sacred Spaces that God has carved out for me. In these times I am aware of His workings in my life and the lives of those around me.

What are your Sacred Spaces?

***

A few images of some my Sacred Spaces

A day at the Milwaukee Lakefront with these two 💕s

Our first Nativity House Garden Work day

Nativity House Community Road Trip!

Creek walking with Gracie

Me and my Mom after a long day of working in the Mary Garden

Good Friends on Good Friday, bead and rosary making

Mother Daughter Retreat - Year 5

Our tradition of a fall Mother Daughter Retreat was missed due to my grandfather's passing this October. Gracie had reminded me quite a few times that we missed our retreat this year. I kept trying to find time on the calendar. Finally, it was to be Spring Break. The only day that our Spring Breaks collided this year was Good Friday and Easter Monday. That meant that Easter Sunday night we drove to Eco-Justice and snuggled up for the night as we listened to our latest audio book love: The Land of Stories.

The next day was spent climbing trees, painting, coloring, hiking, collecting guinea feathers, exploring the educational center, and reading.

These 24 hours together came at just the perfect time. We talked about our Triduum Experience. Leading up to Holy Week she was adamant that Easter is her favorite holiday. "Why?" "It just is. Jesus rises from the dead, you know!?"  When we were getting ready for the Easter Vigil she confided, "This is really my favorite. We start with the church dark, out at the fire and we get to spread his light."  

Past years

Year 4

Year 3

Year 2

Year 1

*****

Found ice!

This kitty followed us all over!

Love out Loud

I am 40. Today. 

These last few days I have been reflecting on these last 40 years trying to put words on it. I am by no means stressed, afraid, or freaked out about turning the big 4-0. On the contrary, I am quite intent on celebrating this life I have been given. 

I have decided that if there would be a one word theme for this life it would be love. I know, it sounds trite. But hear me out.

This life has had it's share of turmoil and struggles. No lie, there were times I was sure it was all over. But truth always prevailed: love always wins. 

Lately, I have been overwhelmed with an intense sense of the vastness of Jesus' love for all of Creation. He is just waiting for us to reach out and accept it. It is only then that we are able to love deeply, truly, madly: Love out Loud!

***

a few pictures from a lovely birthday celebration (Thanks Mom & Justin for organizing!)

Slow Advent: Day 11 - Consecrated Life

This Advent, quite intentionally, our community has been preparing for Marian Consecration. Yesterday, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Nativity House community and 7 other friends from our parish entrusted ourselves to Jesus through Mary. The journey was remarkable. I learned so much about our Mama Mary and her desire to bring all of her children to her Son. 

I learned about many not-coincidences of sweet, sweet Mama Mary popping up at various moments through out my life. It all started when my parents made the choice to have me baptized not at our home parish, but at Our Lady of Guadalupe downtown Houston for no other reason than they could fit us in sooner. She has always been right here next to me! What a tremendous comfort and blessing. Some day I will write a book. 

***

from the collect  for the liturgy of Our Lady of Guadalupe

O God, Father of mercies, who placed your people under the singular protection of your Son's most holy Mother, grant that all who invoke the Blessed Virgin of Guadalupe, may seek with ever more lively faith the progress of peoples in the ways of justice and of peace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

 ***

Slow Advent: Day 4 - Feast of St. Nikolas

The Feast of St Nikolas

The day we found out that we were pregnant was December 6, 2006 - eleven whole years ago. It was after more than a year of hoping for an addition to our family. I was convinced that the date of this discovery being the feast o St. Nikolas was not a coincidence. He is after all the patron of children. Why wouldn't he bring the good news of pregnancy to a hopeful couple?

***

Nikolas, Bishop of Myra, was a man of the people. In order to care for his people in many ways - protecting the dignity of young women, vying for the innocent, feeding the hungry - he had to know them well enough to know their needs. He life with his flock as the Good Shepherd does. he knew them by name, he knew their ares and worries. Nikolas relied on the Holy Spirit to work in him so as to be the person he was meant to be.

O God, hep us follow the example of Nikolas, 

who loved the poor, weak, and the young, 

giving what he had to those who had little.

May we too walk in the way that leads to life: 

loving you with all our heart, 

and our neighbors as ourselves, 

through Jesus Christ, our Lord,

Amen

 This full article can be found @The Visitation

Slow Advent: Day 3

During Advent I always check the day's first reading from daily mass. Today's first reading is one of my all time favorite prophecies!

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb,and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;The calf and the young lion shall browse together,with a little child to guide them.The cow and the bear shall be neighbors,together their young shall rest;the lion shall eat hay like the ox.The baby shall play by the cobra's den,and the child lay his hand on the adder's lair.There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain;for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD,as water covers the sea.

~Isaiah 11  

It just so happened that today was a very challenging day of unrest and escalation. What a gift of hope knowing the the vision and plan of our God is one of seemlingly impossible peace: between a wolf and a lamb, a child and a serpent, a cow and a bear.

Also today in accompanying the children in the atrium of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd we heard from the angel Gabriel. He said to the pondering Mary, "for nothing is impossible for God."

Praise God for tremendous messages of hope!

The work of a child in the atrium, 

as she ponders God's promise of light