Freaky Fridays- Like lambs to the slaughter

It's no secret around here that I'm highly interested in conspiracy theories.


And although I very rarely cast final judgement, ("this is a conspiracy!") I do spend an inordinate amount of time using my journalistic research skills leftover from college to investigate things which, to my mind, seem connected. This penchant I have to distrust what seems "obvious" and "simple explanations" can be mentally unnerving to everyone around me, and most of all to myself.
No, I don't have trust issues. I wasn't abandoned as a child, nor was my husband an adulterer. Most of the time, I regard everything with a cynical, sort of "what now?"ish detachment.... neither enthusiastic nor disgusted, simply trying to do as Mary did: "taking all these things and meditate on them in my heart." But my inner disposition is to get over-engaged, emotionally, and run with it. I fight that desire, and win some, lose some. When I am too transparent in it, it can bother people. At the end of the day, I can only report what I have seen and heard... some of which is, quite honestly, shocking. I sometimes wish I was innocent and and naive and able to sleep peacefully at night. I sometimes wonder if it's wise to share what I've found and seen with others. But always, I think... if the people don't KNOW, they cannot act. And if they cannot act, they are just going like lambs to the slaughter.  This is what I see when I see America these days.


I note also that our family is close to persons who are in various positions of authority within our government. Good people who mean well and do good things, and who in no way would feel comfortable working for a corrupt institution. Rather, they believe in what they do! And I cannot explain that, so it gives me hope.
I have however, in my personal experience, been burned by my government, I fear the increasingly controlling and overpowering news, and increasingly, I see, others do so as well.


 I live and work in a military town, and most of my friends work for the government in some capacity. In my time in the army, I saw with my own eyes a deep corruption in many places that couldn't possibly have gone unchecked "by accident." My husband and I lost our jobs and our livelihood and our reputations at the hands of the US Army and precisely because of this corruption in many ways. It's hard for me to say things like that, knowing full well that many of my loved ones, employed by the Army themselves, will read this and may become indignant. Most will say to themselves that we just couldn't cut it as soldiers and we fabricated this corruption in our minds in order to justify what we did. (What did we do? We got married during Basic Combat Training. For this- a marriage which produced three wonderful children and an incredible amount of love built by "overcoming" the tough stuff-- we have been paying our whole lives, literally and figuratively.)


Upon leaving the Army, we experienced periods of relief from the visible corruption of our government while my husband was a Freemason. During that time, possibilities seemed to open up for us and we had hope for our future once more.
Once he left the Masons, we again began to see and experience corruption at the hands of the government... be it through social services or through our local police department. As a low income family, who are frequently looking for work, we have much contact with our government. This contact has been truly mind boggling.
Forgive us, friends who work for and love our government, we are not calling your integrity into question!


 I am simply voicing the fact that between myself and my government, there have only been problems and distrust, much to my chagrin. I find that in this life and with this government, we are often punished for telling the truth, for doing the morally correct thing, and again, that is only my experience.


I can only say that you who are thinking that the problem is my own may well be right. It would only be natural! And if that is the case, I pray that God would open my eyes to my rebellion and my sin, before it's too late, because it is exhausting being so un-nerved by all the happenings around us and feeling so isolated and alone in our world view. As it is, I completely recognize the part I had to play in our demise and certainly lament my poor decision-making, all the while wondering... what WOULD have been the right thing to do?


However, in my mind, I cannot explain some of the horrific abuses I saw and experienced in my time in the Army. Even more strange... I cannot explain why I can't shake my great emotional love of the Army and my desire to be a part of it, despite all that I saw and experienced. 
I hear often that soldiers' families have it tough. Our family would LOVE that life. We have lived it-- to some degree. Dangerous deployments and all-- without all the benefits soldiers enjoy, for we have no financial benefit for our own sacrifices, no glory, no honor, no guidance, no boot up our butts to make sure we dot all our i's and cross all our t's. No medical help. No counseling and assistance. Some part of us is so sad we have not been given such a life. Lord knows we have prayed for it. And yet.... I am amazed that I seem to see something in our society because of my detachment from it that many others might not catch. Maybe it is for a reason. Again, this is not intended as a slap in the face to my numerous friends and family members who endure the day to day drudgery of military life. I know it's hard. Rather, it is a simple explanation of my personal experiences looking from the outside in and the brief glimpses I had looking from the inside out.


Also, as I've said before, it seems strange to me that while Americans have no jobs anymore, there are an increasing amount of openings and slots for people within the realm of government in virtually every city I check. I know this because I spend all my days looking for jobs for my husband.... there are very few jobs to be found that are not affiliated with the government, jobs which we are not eligible for because of our past.
It also seems suspect to me that we now need (and didn't ten years ago) all of these government approved certifications and classes and cards which A) cost lots of time and money and B) require a ridiculous amount of personal information to obtain to do jobs that any schmuck off the street could do, like connect a pipe or cut some wire.


At the same time, we hear constantly about the eventual demise of our financial situation in this country... and the threat of no government jobs is a reality in many places as well. It seems that chaos reigns.


 It is my personal "feeling" that as time progresses our entire world is moving towards globalism at the speed of lightening, and also towards heavy handed governance.... a governance that is definitely not by the people for the people. Instead, everywhere I look I see rights and freedoms being taken away under the guise and pretense of creating new rights. It's all a very manipulative, very frightening thing to watch from a distance, especially because in my ministry I am often face to face with aspects of the spiritual "plan" for the world that echo this apparent trend.


 Usually, I mark new "levels" and "achievements" of what I can only describe as The Dark Side or The Impending Doom through watching responses to news on Facebook and Twitter. Because in our house we don't have TV and don't watch the news, we are not assaulted all day long with images and ideas that are being planted into the brains of the average American household. This gives us a strange feeling of detachment-- when something big happens, we hear about it second or thirdhand and experience it only through the emotions of those of you out there who are experiencing it through the television media and internet.


Such was the case with the Tucson shootings. The day of the shootings, my FaceBook news feed was assaulted with loud, mournful posts about terror and sadness. EVERYONE felt personally affected, which I admit, not having seen any of the footage, I thought... well.... that everyone was being a bit dramatic. The level of "affected-ness" people seemed to be experiencing, although they didn't know these victims and didn't even live in the same state, for the most part, was just a little strange. And then there was the drama. Was it the left's fault? The right's? The media and the internet furiously hypothesized away taking jabs at each other as onlookers cheered and "shared" until suddenly it seemeed that the center of our universe (as even the Europeans and Asians were blogging rabidly about it) was Tucson, Arizona and that what had happened was simply.... earth shattering.
It wasn't. It was a shooting. We have them all the time.

Not exactly the face of sanity. What's behind those eyes?

So let's see what freaky "coincidences" we can pull from a detached examination of the details of this incident.
A young man, obviously troubled and having shown warning signs for years, attacks. We dont' know how, we don't know why, we don't understand. Based on physical evidence, this young man is a practitioner of occult religious rituals. Further, he has been "disturbed" for some time, causing fear of aggression and violence in all who come into contact with him. During his trial, and in other collected evidence, we learn that he occasionally hears voices and constantly refers to being the subject of government "Mind Control." Having myself witnesses an alarming number of people who, on their knees and faces, begged army recruiters in the Santa Barbara Recruiting Center's offices to remove chips from their brains or bodies and stop the mind control they were victims of, I would say this is not a "new" complaint. In fact, when you hear the words "mind control," you are probably rolling your eyes. But what does that mean? Why do we automatically assume a person claiming their mind is being controlled is a complete nut? I've seen with my own eyes that a person's body can be controlled by something other than himself. Why not a person's mind? Or is a cry for help a sign that the mind is not actually being controlled, if it is true, that only the person's mouth and body are under attack? I suspect the latter.
Watch Britney Spears here in this interview. This video makes my heart break... but it demonstrates that something is indeed profoundly "WRONG" with her. Is it psychological? Is it drug induced or abuse induced? Is it demonic? This stuff is all too common amongst our celebrities and politicians. if you look carefully you will see it all around. What is going on? (play close attention to 5:05)



Going back to the Tucson case....This young man's lawyers (advocates? handlers?) are a team all too familiar with this type of incident. PoliticsDaily had this to say about the 22 year old's defense attorney: "Judy Clarke is the Forrest Gump of criminal defense attorneys. Otherwise unassuming, even shy, she seems to turn up, front and center, for many of the cases we'll never forget." (oh really? Coincidence again?)
"She counseled Ted Kaczynski 13 years ago this month when theUnabomber was toying with the government in advance of his guilty plea. She helped an unrepentant Eric Robert Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber, avoid a death sentence. She was present and accountable during the chaotic trial of Susan Smith, the South Carolina mother who drowned her two small children in a car in a lake. She even represented Zacarias Moussaoui, the mercurial al-Qaeda conspirator. All of those defendants faced capital charges. None are currently on death row. And now, Clarke is Jared Lee Loughner's attorney in a dramatic case that surely will be in the headlines for years to come."

Interesting. Lots of high profile cases, including the high probability that the alternative media reports which say she was also working on the Timothy McVeigh/OK City Bombing case are true. (funnily enough ,the mainstream media seem to have recanted that and are trying to "put a stop to the rumor."Rumor?  Maybe. Maybe not.)

Interesting also that many of those people reported hearing voices/ concerns about mind control. But that's probably unrelated, right?

Then, I was surprised to discover, the beloved congresswoman, whose shooting we were all lamenting, was actually ALIVE. I don't know why I assumed she was dead in the beginning as I was reading everyone's statuses. All I know is that almost everyone did too... and nearly everyone experienced an emotional "rise" when it was said that she was still alive, although in serious condition.


We come to last night, when President Obama made a speech to the nation about the events. Now, I have to ask... and maybe I'm alone in this, but WHY did our president need to address a "mourning nation" about this? We had a shooting recently on a military installation, done by a MUSLIM SOLDIER (kind of sensitive topic, I know) and I don't recall any mushy, gooey "let's all pull together" speeches from our president. Maybe I'm wrong, because as I said, I don't have TV. However, there I sat all last night watching the statuses about the speech roll by. To my absolute astonishment, I discovered that all of my friends who are counting down the days before he leaves office were singing his praises for the speech he was delivering. I was so shocked I had to read the speech for myself. Which I did, only to discover that I absolutely loved it.


Hold the phone.. I loved a speech Obama made? What was going on? I examined the speech carefully and saw that he had said all the right things and even quoted scripture in several places. I also saw that his speech was completely out of character. It was so peaceful and soothing and so delightfully moderate....and it was having all the effects he, I'm sure, had hoped it would on the American public. Even his most vehement opposers could only sing his praise when he was done talking. It was a total and utter success. Which is what really bothered me, because I had not forgotten that while he was saying these things with his mouth, he had said much and done much to contradict his own speech his entire life and career. While a very clever speech writer had clearly written a glorious litany of good sense and "American values" that resonated with ALL the people....Obama was getting all the credit, and it was certainly his time to shine.


So much so, in fact, that just moments ago I saw a red and yellow flashing sign splashed across the CNN homepage which declared that "shortly after a visit from President Obama (imagine that!) the victim congresswoman began to move about, demonstrating "miraculous" and unexpected improvement. How very conventient... or is THAT just a coincidence also? Perfect speeches that inspire ALL of the American People? Miracles? Whatever next, Mr. Obama? I've never been the sort of person to claim that Obama was the AntiChrist, as many of those reading this who are nodding their heads in approval might have done, but this moment gave me pause. Without a doubt, the media has been plastering this idea all over the collective American brain: MIRACLE. This is not a word they use. This is not their language. And yet, here it is, a miracle which came directly after an encouraging visit from our president. 


It bothered me also that his speech was literally bombarded with applause. This was intended to be a memorial, and yet it looked like a political rally. The people were given TShirts with the logo: "Together we thrive: Tucson & America" as they came in to hear the speech.  Blue and white, tee shirts, I noticed... not a trace of red. Subtle. This event was branded. It was given a logo. It was drilled into people's heads as they watched that "This.Means.SOMETHING." Again, America, I ask you..... what?


I can only say that watching you watch these events has been truly astonishing. I am more convinced than ever that the American people, and indeed, the world,  are being primed (either via all-too-human evil schemes or via demonic and mysteriously spiritual methods-- after all, I have firsthand seen and experienced the enormity of the underground Satanic network which daily plots against the Church, a visible reminder of the legions of fallen angels assigned to the task) to accept and approve of great evils such as those which President Obama has, in his entire career, promoted and passed on as "gifts" to the American people and thereby the world.


Are we in the Last Days? The Catholic Position is that the Last Days began when Christ ascended into heaven, and will end at His Return at the blast of the Shofars when all mankind will see Him visibly. Is Obama the antiChrist? I personally don't think so, but today I was just a little uncomfortable to see the EASE with which the media and our government managed to manipulate even the most scrupulous and discerning of American people into suddenly "believing in" the cause of America as dictated by President Obama. Surely the people of this world are being primed to accept certain inevitabilities , eventualities which chill me to my core. And end to borders and nations coming together, a reigning "peace" but at what cost? For a moment last night there was peace in America-- - peace about America, peace about Obama, peace about who we are and what we are doing. And meanwhile the blood of the millions of aborted children which die in our country cries out to us from the ground and to our God for vengeance. Blood which is on the hands of this American president, who last night charmed the whole world.


In a world where political persons glow green while addressing the United Nations and where the pope has warned over and over against Moral Relativism as a plague of our time.... may we all find PEACE in Christ Jesus and be delivered from every evil spirit. Amen.

Theology Thursday: The Biblical Sabbath and God's Covenant People

In one final attempt to cover the very important question of how to "Remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy," I thought I would go over some basic line of questioning: according to Scripture, what IS the Sabbath, and thus, how can we "keep it holy?"

Next week I will talk about what this all means in a practical sense, giving tips and tricks for making your Sabbath go smoothly, but today I will strive to simply answer that question: What is it, how can we keep it?

I first heard this teaching back in the late 90s from a protestant pastor named Bruce Ray, who wrote the book: "Celebrating the Sabbath, finding rest in a restless world." It 's interesting to note that, as I've said before, we Christians make a distinction between "The Sabbath" and "The Lord's Day." Both serve the same function, but one is CLEARLY biblically mandated to be on Saturday, and the other is CLEARLY mandated (both biblically and historically, by the authority of the Church) to be on Sunday.
Thus, the Church and the Church alone, in her authority, has transferred the "binding" elements of Sabbath Day Observance to Sunday, the Lord's Day, from Saturday, the Hebrew Sabbath.

In other words, if protestants are observing a "Sunday" Sabbath and not a "Saturday" Sabbath, it is ONLY because they received it from the authority of the Catholic Church, and says that in some way they DO accept the authority of the Church. Otherwise, they should, indeed, become Seventh Day Adventists or Messianics, and observe a Saturday Sabbath. There is no good reason to observe a Sunday Sabbath unless you, in some way, accept the authority of the Catholic Church to CHANGE the Sabbath to the Lord's Day, the day of the Resurrection, the "NEW" Sabbath for the "NEW" Covenant, as I will explain later. This is a very important, key point, that I think needs to be addressed in context with the teaching I'm about to share.

I would also like to point out that yes, the NT shows the apostles "keeping" the Saturday Sabbath. It ALSO shows them keeping the Lord's Day. Ancient Christian history, as evidenced by the writings of the Church Fathers, shows them observing the Lord's Day. 

The reason Christians today observe a Sunday Sabbath is because it was determined (wether by Christ Himself in an undisclosed / lost revelation to the apostles or simply by the Holy Spirit present in the discernment of the apostles, that we needed a Christ-centered Sabbath to go with all the other Christ-centered replacements for OT ordinances we now enjoy in the Church. (More on that later.) 
The point, I think, is that we understand that from scripture alone we can only conclude that they did, indeed, appear to be present at Sabbatine events, and we can only theorize the whys and wherefores.... it could very well be that they were in the synagogue together on Saturday because that was the best place to evangelize from! Scripture is absolutely NOT conclusive on the matter of what a believer in Jesus is supposed to do if he wants to obey the commandment to "honor the Sabbath and keep it Holy." We ALL need tradition to understand what that entails.

There are Four Separate Sabbath themes in Scripture. I will cover each one, and then we will see if they do not all fit together into some kind of full picture of what the Sabbath means for the follower of Jesus (who most Messianics will call by His Hebrew name: Yeshua. Because I am writing these Sabbath blogs primarily for a Messianic audience as well as my usual Catholic and Protestant readership, I will address him as "Yeshua" in this blog- I'm sure He won't mind, since that was how He was called when He walked among us. :P)

THE CREATION SABBATH.

Exodus 20:8 exhorts us to "Remember" the Sabbath and keep it holy. This implies that we know what the Sabbath IS. So what is the Sabbath referred to in Ex 20?

Exodus 20:11 (King James Version)

 ¹¹For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

From this we can see that the Sabbath was present AT Creation: that the Lord blessed the Seventh day and hallowed it. Now let's look a little further into that.


 Genesis 2:1-3 (King James Version)

 ¹Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.

 ²And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

 ³And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

The Lord God blessed the day, and made it holy, "sanctified it," Not for himself but for man and woman. (See Mark 2:27) Therefore, THIS Sabbath, the Creation Sabbath, is binding upon ALL men and women, not just israelites. This is the Creation Sabbath, which was instituted at Creation by God for all people. 


THE EXODUS SABBATH (or Redemption Sabbath)


In the book of Deuteronomy, otherwise known as the "Second Law," we are given the commandments again. This time, the wording is very different for the Sabbath Keeping commandment. We are told, not to "remember," but to "observe" the Sabbbath and keep it holy. Does this mean that the Sabbath is different from the original Sabbath we are commanded to "remember?" Deuteronomy 5:15, the very next section, answers this question for us:

Deuteronomy 5:15 (King James Version)

 ¹⁵And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the LORD thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

We are to remember the Sabbath from Creation AND now, in addition, to remember our redemption and deliverance. Suddenly the Sabbath becomes a very personal thing for a specific group of people: the israelites.  Thus it is true that in Exodus 31:12-17, the Sabbath becomes, as it says: a "Sign of the Covenant."

Exodus 31:12-17 (King James Version)

 ¹²And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

 ¹³Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

 ¹⁴Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

 ¹⁵Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

 ¹⁶Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

 ¹⁷It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

It is a sign of salvation and dependance on God. ALL people are required to acknowledge God as the creator, and thus keep the Creation Sabbath. But only Israel could claim the special meaning of the Sabbath as a reminder of their redemption and deliverance. 

Like the Creation Sabbath, this was to be a day of REST and CELEBRATION. It was a holy day: the number of sacrifices in the tabernacle (later temple) were doubled, (morning and evening) and so was the amount of prayer/worship, which went throughout the day. (see Num 28:1-10 and 1 Chron 16:39-40.) This was NOT the grumpy, severe, and overintense Sabbath that modern day Christians imagine when reading about the restrictions created by Rabbis and teachers. No. This was pure joy: 

Psalm 92:1-5

a song, a psalm for Sabbath day.

 ¹IT IS A GOOD THING TO GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD, AND TO SING PRAISES UNTO THY NAME, O MOST HIGH:
 ²To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,
 ³Upon an instrument of ten strings, and upon the psaltery; upon the harp with a solemn sound.
 ⁴For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands.
 ⁵O LORD, how great are thy works! and thy thoughts are very deep.

Creation and Redemption, then are the Hebrew Roots of the Sabbath Day, roots which will, through the New Covenant, be watered, see flower and fruit.


THE RESURRECTION SABBATH (or the Christian Sabbath)


Hebrews 4:9 says that in the new covenant, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God. This resurrection Sabbath I'm about to explain, then, is a sign of the new creation and new covenant. There is a unity and continuity between the old and new covenants....  and yet, there is definitely something NEW, because all of the old covenant, we can agree, is created as a guidepost to point us towards their fulfillment, which we find in the Messiah, Yeshua.

Some of the old Covenant signs which were transformed in the new (I will cover some of these in future Theology Thursdays) : 
-circumcision became baptism.
-the passover became the Lord's Supper, the Eucharist.
-the old covenant temple became the new covenant temple, the body.


thus, we can see clearly that it would not be a stretch for the old covenant sabbath to become the new covenant Sabbath: the Lord's Day.


We know that "Jesus Christ is the same today, yesterday and forever."
(Hebrews 13:8) so we can assert that while this is a change in the application or practice, it is not necessarily a change in the "heart" of the law... the Sabbath was, is and will be "The Lord's Day." He instituted the Sabbath at Creation, appointed it as a sign of the Covenant in the commandments, and again gave it to us as a sign of His redemptive grace. Since Jesus IS One with God, the Father, He IS the "I AM" (Ex 3:14, John 8:56, 58) and therefore Lord of the Sabbath.  

The meaning of the appointed day, then, was and is the same: In Christ alone can Rest be found.

THE FINAL SABBATH.

The Resurrection Sabbath is not the final sabbath for the Lord's people. There is still one more sabbath, which as the Lord's Supper, which combines elements of "memorial" and elements of "expectation," the Final Sabbath will take the previous elements and add to their significance for us.
Hebrews 4 is the place we turn to read of the Final Sabbath. As Bruce Ray puts it: 
"Many people who had the good news preached to them while wandering in the desert (exodus) failed to enter into the rest promised by God because of their disobedience. (verse 6) They had sinful, unbelieving hearts that turned away from the living God.(3:12)and the word they heard was of no value to them because it was not united or combined with faith. (4:2) Their example of failing to enter Canaan shows us that we can come CLOSE to the rest promised by God without actually entering into it. There is a road to Hell, even from the gates of heaven.The PROFESSION of faith is not the same as the POSESSION of faith."


Over and over, we hear God tell us that He is describing HIS Rest, not our own. This rest is not the fruit of our own accomplishments or the rest of our own making. It can be found only in HIM, through Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 4:8 clearly tells us  that there REMAINS a Sabbath rest for God's people... a definitive rest from OUR Works and IN His Works. This future rest is the eternal Sabbath Rest. BOTH the first Sabbath AND the "Lord's Day" are pointing to this truth. Hebrews 4 tells us that there remains a Sabbath-Rest. Not a Sabbath, a Sabbath-Rest. It is very specific, and a coined term. it is this REST which remains for us... through the Sabbath, the Lord's Day, and eventually the FINAL day. Sabbath-keeping, then, is the action of purposely seeking God's rest.


 This day is a witness. The observation of the Saturday Sabbath was and is a witness to the world of the Covenant of God with the Israelites. The observation of the Lord's Day was and is a witness to the world of one's Christianity... of the Resurrection of Our Lord. We can expect a final Day. This is why we read in Acts 17:31 that God "has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising Him from the dead."


So to wrap it up: There are four "biblical" sabbaths mentioned in scripture.... the Creation Sabbath, the Exodus Sabbath, the Resurrection Sabbath, and the Final Sabbath.


Now, here's where it gets REALLY interesting. As I have said before, the Catholic Church declared that the Christian Sabbath is on the day of Our Lord (the Lord who is Lord of the Sabbath)'s ressurection. Thus, we keep our Sabbath on Sundays. As Catholics, we must dedicate the day to worship, good deeds, and study. We may not work, we must rest. We must attend mass. The entire day is hallowed. 
However, Catholics in traditional families know a little secret that lots of people may have missed. :)


Fridays, we prepare for the Sabbath. We stop eating meat. It seems to be a small gesture, but for many of us, it's a powerful fast that serves to remind us that all of our activities of the day are geared towards preparing for the day of Rest and remembering God in our sins. But it doesn't stop there! Saturdays, we know, are dedicated to Our Lady. Thus we attend mass if we can, and we pray a family rosary, read some scripture together and go to confession together, right? This also, again, serves as a preparation for our Sabbath celebration.


In fact, those of us who come from the family of Carmel, who wear the brown scapular, know of something more: the Sabbatine privilege. What's interesting to ME about the Sabbatine privilege is it's name. "the Privelege of the Sabbath." It originated from a vision received by a pope circa 1322, in which the Blessed Virgin appeared to Him to tell him that she recommended the Carmelite order to him. She said that to those who wore the brown scapular, and lived what amounts to a carmelite life, she would liberate from purgatory on the Saturday following their death. The exact wording, taken from the Catholic Encyclopedia, is as follows: 


"It is permitted to the Carmelite Fathers to preach that the Christian people may piously believe in the help which the souls of brothers and members, who have departed this life in charity, have worn in life the scapular, have ever observed chastity, have recited the Little Hours [of the Blessed Virgin], or, if they cannot read, have observed the fast days of the Church, and have abstained from flesh meat on Wednesdays and Saturdays (except when Christmas falls on such days), may derive after death — especially on Saturdays, the day consecrated by the Church to the Blessed Virgin — through the unceasing intercession of Mary, her pious petitions, her merits, and her special protection."

So what does this mean? Incredibly, it means that heaven has decreed that in addition to our "normal" Christian life (Mass on Sundays and Holy days, etc)  if we pray, are chaste, fast and do good deeds, and honor the Blessed Virgin and Our Lord Yeshua every day but especially on Saturdays, we are eligible for this wonderful privilege from heaven. Amazing. Therefore traditional Christians and in particular Carmelite Catholics DO observe a "Sabbath" of sorts on Saturday as well as the Lord's Day... the Sabbatine Privilege, a day of mental and spiritual preparation for the enormity of what we celebrate on Sundays. Along with every practicing Jew who walks the earth, we spend the day remembering God's creation, observing certain spiritual practices to commemorate His redemption and calling on our lives, and preparing for the blessed day that the Messiah is revealed to us as who He really is. HOW we do that may look different, but the core purpose is the same.


Further study is actually quite astonishing. Plain as day we learn that most Christians in the beginning observed the Saturday Sabbath-- to some degree--and then ALSO the Lord's Day, abstaining from work both days and being found teaching in the synagogue and gathering together for prayer. 
Over time, as the Church grew from its purely Hebrew nucleus to the gentile giant that it has become, the Saturday Sabbath practice was lost. The New advent Encyclopedia entry on the Sabbath says that the practice of observing both to some degree... making Sunday the "ultimate" day of worship but not neglecting to acknowledge and reflect/rest/keep holy the Saturday Sabbath, was removed from Church practice with the decline of Jewish Christians who kept their own (biblical, hebrew) culture. In other words, had more and more HEBREW converts come,and maintained their identity as Hebrew Catholics rather than assimilate into other cultures present within the Church, we would be still practicing some type of Saturday acknowledgement/rest. Instead, the Hebrew Catholics lost this cultural, jewish "presence" within the Church, and a hardening of the non-Christian Jewish heart towards Yeshua occurred... and the remaining faction, who were in no way obligated to keep the Saturday Sabbath as a sign of the covenant for they were a people of the New Covenant, continued to fulfill the Sabbath-keeping commandment on the appointed Lord's Day. For He died on the Friday and lay in the tomb on the Saturday Sabbath, representing the death of the Law, but was raised again on the Sunday, when we recieve new life. (This is traditional Church teaching... I'm still reading about this subject-- the Friday/3 days in the tomb thing. Nevertheless, I see this as a sign to us as well.)

This is why a good traditional Catholic examination of conscience asks...."Did you remember to keep Sunday Holy? Did you attend mass and pray fervently? Did you refrain from all unnecessary work and refrain from buying and selling on Sunday?" We are a New Covenant people, with a New Sign: the Resurrection.


Again, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia: 
"Sunday (Day of the Sun), as the name of the first day of the week, is derived from Egyptian astrology. The seven planets, known to us as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon, each had an hour of the day assigned to them, and the planet which was regent during the first hour of any day of the week gave its name to that day (see CALENDAR). During the first and second century the week of seven days was introduced into Rome from Egypt, and the Roman names of the planets were given to each successive day. The Teutonic nations seem to have adopted the week as a division of time from the Romans, but they changed the Roman names into those of corresponding Teutonic deities. Hence the dies Solis became Sunday (German, Sonntag). Sunday was the first day of the week according to the Jewish method of reckoning, but for Christians it began to take the place of the Jewish Sabbath in Apostolic times as the day set apart for the public and solemn worship of God. The practice of meeting together on the first day of the week for the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice is indicated in Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; in Apocalypse 1:10, it is called the Lord's day. In the Didache (14) the injunction is given: "On the Lord's Day come together and break bread. And give thanks (offer the Eucharist), after confessing your sins that your sacrifice may be pure". St. Ignatius (Ep. ad Magnes. ix) speaks of Christians as "no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also Our Life rose again". In the Epistle of Barnabas (xv) we read: "Wherefore, also, we keep the eight day (i.e. the first of the week) with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead".
St. Justin is the first Christian writer to call the day Sunday (I Apol., lxvii) in the celebrated passage in which he describes the worship offered by the early Christians on that day to God. The fact that they met together and offered public worship on Sunday necessitated a certain rest from work on that day. However, Tertullian (202) is the first writer who expressly mentions the Sunday rest: "We, however (just as tradition has taught us), on the day of the Lord's Resurrection ought to guard not only against kneeling, but every posture and office of solicitude, deferring even our businesses lest we give any place to the devil" ("De orat.", xxiii; cf. "Ad nation.", I, xiii; "Apolog.", xvi).
These and similar indications show that during the first three centuries practice and tradition had consecrated the Sunday to the public worship of God by the hearing of the Mass and the resting from work. With the opening of the fourth century positive legislation, both ecclesiastical and civil, began to make these duties more definite. The Council of Elvira (300) decreed: "If anyone in the city neglects to come to church for three Sundays, let him be excommunicated for a short time so that he may be corrected" (xxi). In the Apostolic Constitutions, which belong to the end of the fourth century, both the hearing of the Mass and the rest from work are prescribed, and the precept is attributed to the Apostles. The express teaching of Christ and St. Paul prevented the early Christians from falling into the excesses of Jewish Sabbatarianism in the observance of the Sunday, and yet we find St. Cæsarius of Arles in the sixth century teaching that the holy Doctors of the Church had decreed that the whole glory of the Jewish Sabbath had been transferred to the Sunday, and that Christians must keep the Sunday holy in the same way as the Jews had been commanded to keep holy the Sabbath Day. He especially insisted on the people hearing the whole of the Mass and not leaving the church after the Epistle and the Gospel had been read. He taught them that they should come to Vespers and spend the rest of the day in pious reading and prayer. As with the Jewish Sabbath, the observance of the Christian Sunday began with sundown on Saturday and lasted till the same time on Sunday. Until quite recent times some theologians taught that there was an obligation under pain of venial sin of assisting at vespers as well as of hearing Mass, but the opinion rests on no certain foundation and is now commonly abandoned. The common opinion maintains that, while it is highly becoming to be present at Vespers on Sunday, there is no strict obligation to be present. The method of reckoning the Sunday from sunset to sunset continued in some places down to the seventeenth century, but in general since the Middle Ages the reckoning from midnight to midnight has been followed. When the parochial system was introduced, the laity were taught that they must hear Mass and the preaching of the Word of God on Sundays in their parish church. However, toward the end of the thirteenth century, the friars began to teach that the precept of hearing Mass might be fulfilled by hearing it in their churches, and after long and severe struggles this was expressly allowed by the Holy See. Nowadays, the precept may be fulfilled by hearing Mass in any place except a strictly private oratory, and provided Mass is not celebrated on a portable altar by a privilege which is merely personal.
The obligation of rest from work on Sunday remained somewhat indefinite for several centuries. A Council of Laodicea, held toward the end of the fourth century, was content to prescribe that on the Lord's Day the faithful were to abstain from work as far as possible. At the beginning of the sixth century St. Caesarius, as we have seen, and others showed an inclination to apply the law of the Jewish Sabbath to the observance of the Christian Sunday. The Council held at Orléans in 538 reprobated this tendency as Jewish and non-Christian. From the eight century the law began to be formulated as it exists at the present day, and the local councils forbade servile work, public buying and selling, pleading in the law courts, and the public and solemn taking of oaths. There is a large body of civil legislation on the Sunday rest side by side with the ecclesiastical. It begins with an Edict of Constantine, the first Christian emperor, who forbade judges to sit and townspeople to work on Sunday. He made an exception in favour of agriculture. The breaking of the law of Sunday rest was punished by the Anglo-Saxon legislation in England like other crimes and misdemeanours. After the Reformation, under Puritan influence, many laws were passed in England whose effect is still visible in the stringency of the English Sabbath. Still more is this the case in Scotland. There is no federal legislation in the United States on the observance of the Sunday, but nearly all the states of the Union have statutes tending to repress unnecessary labour and to restrain the liquor traffic. In other respects the legislation of the different states on this matter exhibits considerable variety. On the continent of Europe in recent years there have been several laws passed in direction of enforcing the observance of Sunday rest for the benefit of workmen."

Did you catch that? Friday Sundown to Saturday Sundown is the Jewish Sabbath. Saturday Sundown to Sunday Sundown WAS the Christian Sabbath. Since then, it has been officially changed to "Saturday at midnight to Sunday at midnight." at some point in the middle ages. The magisterium has decreed that we shall transfer the legal commandment to observe the Sabbath and Keep it Holy to Sunday, the day of Our Lord's Resurrection, and has given us very few "guidelines" with regards to what that means (because unlike the teachers in the time of Christ who had made the Sabbath a burden, we remember that the Sabbath is a time of joy and sacred celebration.) For us today, this Sunday Sabbath begins at Midnight on Saturday and Ends at Midnight on Sunday.

There are some who say that the Saturday Sabbath has never been revoked. And they are, to some degree, correct. The Saturday Sabbath was a sign of God's covenant with Israel, before all nations were grafted in. Should you, as a Christian, have an innate strong desire to unite your prayers with those of the Jewish faithful around the world today, I can not argue that it would not be a pious practice than to do so on the day they set aside to worship Him, and Holy Mother Church agrees. Our American Bishops have given us very clear guidelines (I posted them last week) for appropraite interaction with the Jewish World of today, and one of them includes participation in feast days and liturgies--Sabbaths and Feasts-- on JEWISH terms and in JEWISH ways, not substituting with made up, partially Christian themes or innovations. In their wisdom, they tell us to do this because they know it will become evident to us who do these things that the fundamental lack which can be seen in Judaism, the longing for Christ, is replaced with Christian peace for the Christian faithful, who is, indeed, a completed Jew.

When I, as an evangelical protestant years ago, realized that wisdom, I began to attend Shabbat services and spend Shabbats with other Jews at the local Hillel, attending my own Church services on Sundays and observing my own Sabbath rest on Sundays. I will never forget the moment I heard the Rabbi say that they must pray against a wall, waiting for God to break through and come down to bring us peace. It was one of the most powerful moments for me, to realize that Yeshua HAD Come, HAD broken through, HAD saved me and had come for all of us. Never had I yearned for another's salvation and peace the way I did that night.
It also helps to heal the rift and valley of pain and misunderstanding that exists between Jews and Christians. Just as when I recently told you that I spent Ramadan praying and fasting with Muslims on THEIR terms (at their appointed times and in their appointed ways) and God used that to heal, build relationships, and reveal Himself in many ways with muslims I know and love, Non-intrusive recognition of those things Christians DO share in common with Jews is far more effective evangelism than a bullhorn and a Bible. It is healing. It speaks to who we are in Christ without burdening a person by attempting to overpower their understanding, intellect or free will. It is humble, trusting God that He deeply knows and loves each person and that we do not have all the answers.

What does this mean in a practical sense? That if you choose to observe some sort of Saturday Sabbath you will have ample time to "re-prepare" for another rest in the time from Sundown Saturday to midnight (as if there is that much to do?) if you were to take the Torah commandments not to cook, work, light fires, etc seriously, (read: as a virtuous practice and not as a legally binding observance.) This is at no cost to you, for you are under no curse if you "must" work on Saturday... as I demonstrated earlier when I said that our Sabbath REST is in Christ.  Mothers will know exactly what I mean: Try as I might to cook, clean, and prepare everything in advance for my Sabbaths, there is always a diaper to change, a stain to wipe up, or a crying baby to soothe. Fortunately, my obligation is to find my rest in Christ, to allow HIM to shoulder those burdens for me, more so on the Sabbath than on any other day.

 Nevertheless, it is in no way binding upon you to observe a feast on Saturdays. (unless a Holy Day of obligation should fall on that day)
Catholicism, Christianity, is superior to Judaism. It is Complete. This is not something many people want to acknowledge because it is almost a declaration of war, but it need not be. We can consider that biblical, well ordered Judaism is "Very Good in the eyes of God," but that ignorance of His Son is a fundamental lack that brings about a sadness, a yearning, that need not be. We should not regard the Jews as "wrong," but rather  as "blinded," as the traditional prayer for the conversion of the Jews says... blinded to the fulfillment of their own faith available in Yeshua. Veiled. Nevertheless, in our daily interactions with Jews, we are to focus on what we have in common, both for our OWN spiritual good and for theirs. "Seek," says God, "and ye shall find. Ask, and it shall be given to you." A Jew who earnestly seeks the messiah will inevitably encounter Yeshua. And not because someone sat him down and exhorted him to turn his life over to Christ while bashing his head in with a bible. A Jew knows that the Lord is to be found in the still, small voice.

Catholics enjoy a maturity of the faith, an evolution that maintains absolutely every element of Judaism with it's sole focus on Christ. We do not look back, except in sorrow and gratitude. We look forward. But it is precisely because we look forward that we should acknowledge the unique calling of the Hebrew people to witness to the world. As a nation, spread out among all the nations, they are a witness of hope. The very existence of the nation of Israel is a miracle,  a witness of hope. Out of the ashes of the Shoah, we are confronted with the unfathomable strength of a people, given by God, to overcome in search of hope.

If you are a Hebrew Catholic today who feels increasingly convicted to preserve a Jewish Identity by keeping your Sabbath to some degree on both days, do note that according to the Old Covenant, the SIGN of the Covenant was the Sabbath itself. This old covenant, having never been revoked but having only built upon itself, serves a very special purpose in the world today that you may have never considered. Witness. "Salvation is from the Jews," the Word tells us, and we must see and understand.

You see, the Jews are a living testimony to the Word of God. By the sole existence of a Hebrew people, let alone a nation, ESPECIALLY in the face of such an obviously Satanic perpetual attempt to eradicate said nation from the face of the earth, a sign to the world of the reality of God is visible. The perpetual presence of the Jewish people on this earth is a balm to the soul of any believer in God. 

Further, the seemingly never-ending difficulties between arabs and jews, and yet their absolutely amazing cultural, religious, and linguistic similarities,  are also a sign of God's presence among us, for we see in that struggle the very difficulty foretold to Hagar as she pleaded with God for Ishmael's life. Because, then, of this "special" (chosen?) nature of the Jewish people (and to some degree, the arab people as well) to testify to God's covenant keeping ability, it is my personal opinion that a Christian of Hebrew descent has then twice the responsibility of "demonstrating" to the world that his Jewish Identity within the Catholic Church is intact--That he, in all of his biblical, Hebrew annointing, has accepted Yeshua as Messiah and the Catholic Church as His Church on earth. What does that have to do with the Sabbath? Everything.

Because God commanded Israel to keep the feasts and sabbath, those Hebrew Catholics who do so in ADDITION to keeping the precepts of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church are a living sign to the world that the people of Israel are here, obey God's commandments to them, and have seen the Messiah and obey him. Further, they are a living sign to the people of the Church-- witnesses to God's faithfulness, as well as to the people outside the Church, in particular to their own people and to the muslims.

St Paul CLEARLY pointed out, as I said earlier, that the OT law is not binding to Christians. And yet the reality of it is that some us, some of you reading right now, (and I suspect you may in some way be connected to judaism yourself)  have felt in your heart of hearts that you WERE called to somehow witness to the world and to your own soul by keeping Torah as the visible foundation on which your faith in Christ was built, by keeping Shabbat, for example, or maintaining a Kosher home, or any number of visible signs that you participate in Hebraic Culture. At least to acknowledge them as being culturally, and biblically, sound, present, and pointing towards Yeshua and His Church.
Or perhaps, to the contrary, you are appalled by this "trend" to persist in "judaizing" the Christian faith and looking for what you consider to be "additions" and "novelties" that are not binding upon Christians. You want to ensure that the Catholic Faith remains intact and free from falsehood, which means persisting in maintaining a specifically CHRISTIAN identity, free from any visible sign of Jewishness, and all this talk of maintaining the integrity of the Jewish Identity within Catholic culture bothers you.

Let us turn to St Paul, then, who will give you the perfect, moderate, and sensible Catholic answer, an answer not to the right, nor to the left. For in his wisdom, given by the Holy Spirit, he knows that both a perfect "Christianity" and a remembrance and celebration of from whence we came are necessary elements of the One, True Church. Not ALL are called to witness to the biblical, hebrew roots of the Catholic faith in visible signs and actions. But are some?

Romans 14:6 

He that regards the day regards it unto the Lord. And he that eats eats to the Lord: for he gives thanks to God. And he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not and gives thanks to God.

By virtue of your belonging to the Church, Catholics, you are bound to attend mass and to rest on Sunday, your Sabbath---the Lord's Day--- and on all Holy Days of Obligation. That is all. That is what you are held to in the eyes of God.


But don't let that stop you from seeking closer intimacy with God, in particular if you might be discerning that, in a special way, He has called to be a sign to the world. In these last days, God is gathering the Jewish people, as He has said He would.

Still have doubts about what I'm saying? Consider this:







and visit The Association of Hebrew Catholics for more information on how to answer that call in your heart and be a sign of God's Covenant, and thus a healing balm, to a world at war.
If you are local, please see the "pray with me" section of this blog to get involved.


The peace of Carmel to you in Yeshua HaMashiach and His mother and ours, Miryam Hakdosha.
St Edith Stein, Hebrew Catholic Carmelite, pray for us.
Blessed Mariam, the" little arab" of Palestine, pray for us.

Willow House Wednesdays: Some exciting updates!

Hello friends! Lots of exciting updates from Willow House to share today that I hope will benefit you.

Right now is a GREAT time to start your own Willow House business. Not only do we have a mini starter kit available for $99 (what business can you get started for only $99???) but our Company will be offering consultants who qualify in their first month's sales the opportunity to get a $250 shopping spree, selecting from 25-30 of our products to complete your starter kit. What an incredible opportunity to get started right away. Don't wait! 
For those of you unfamiliar with the multi-million dollar, fast growing direct selling industry, Our Starter Kit contains a selection of Willow House items you can use to present your own Willow House parties as a Design Consultant. Having a good kit is important... most people are interested in purchasing items they can see and touch, and having a selection of versatile items makes showcasing our products much easier.

I will be hosting a conference call to field questions about starting your own Willow House business on January 17 at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time. During the call I will be sharing more about the Willow House opportunity and answering any questions you might have. Feel free to call and chat or just listen in to see if it sounds right for you.
Dial (605) 477-3000 at 8 pm EST  January 17 and enter your code to join in: 405607#
For more information about how to call in, please send me an email using the "Contact Me" tab on my website.
If you can't make the conference call, let's chat on Skype sometime or over a cup of coffee if you're local! I'd love to have a  one-on-one conversation with you about how Willow House can help you meet your financial goals.

As if the kit wasn't enough incentive, Willow House has changed the way we do our Success Start program, offering great CASH BONUSES for consultants who qualify in their first three months. Consultants who plan to have just six parties a month will almost certainly meet these goals! With a great compilation of training materials and helpful information on our site to get our Consultants trained and motivated, earning these bonuses should be no problem. I did all my training in my PJs with a baby in my lap from my home computer. ...and it was so good I frequently return to it in my own business to help me succeed.And since your Willow House Business is now transferable, it's a good thing your baby is learning all that, because when she's older you can hand the family business right on over to her capable hands. :)

January is also an AMAZING time to host a Willow House party because you will be earning DOUBLE host dollars! If you have a big wishlist, now is the time to earn those items. If you haven't yet considered hosting a Willow House party, I would encourage you to seriously begin. Whether you are looking for a good reason to get your girls together (or host a family get-together!) or simply wanting to earn some free and discounted products, Willow House parties are fun and informative. So whether we get together for wine and appetizers and redecorate your living room, or simply gab over some coffee and donuts and shop the catalog together, booking your party today will ensure that you get what you want out of the experience. Think you don't have time to throw anything together for January? Send your invitations online to save time, let me make any last minute calls and preparations for you, and earn those double host dollars! Your customers will, of course, enjoy our regular special: Buy one item for $39.96 or above and get another item $40 or below half price.

 Still want to wait til February? Any February parties which reach $500 in sales (and remember, that's our party average) will receive one of three new bundles, designed to organize your office/playroom, create a welcome space in your entryway, or makeover your mantle. February customers will also receive an additional savings on our monthly special: Buy one item for $39.96 or above and get another item $50 or below half price.

Love our products and want to begin collecting? Sign up for my Buyer's Club!  Receive hostess benefits on a rotating schedule with other Buyer's Club members when you agree to purchase one item $36.96 or above each month (and remember, any purchase of $39.96 or above gets you any item price $40 or below half off as well!)
The bigger the Buyer's Club, the greater the hostess  benefits to all of you, so tell your friends, too. Several times a year you will have all the benefits of great customer sales at your own party without having to lift a finger. How great is THAT?

Consultants will also begin our design workshops this month so we will be equipped to help redecorate any room in your home!! Also in January, our  e-community (think of it as a social networking site for interior designers and homemakers) will launch, as well as our e-boutiques (think of these as amazon.com of interior design, as we will sell great items that complement Willow House products together in them.)

These are exciting times at Willow House, and I would LOVE for you to be a part of it. So whether you are looking for a great home business of your own or a way to get free items and big discounts, I encourage you to contact me today. I'd love to help you turn your heart towards home in 2011.

The yearly roundup 2010

The Annual Blog Roundup for 2010 The new year is here! So, as my annual blog tradition goes here is the best and worst of 2010 Best Memory This year, I enjoyed singing "O Come Emmanuel" around the Advent wreath with my kids more than anything else all year. The expectant joy in their faces, their loud, joyful singing, and the magic of the candlelight and our love made present around the table as we shared a meal amongst ourselves or with friends was just amazing. Often, it prompted theological questions that were deep and soul-stirring from them. I loved those moments. I know that doesn't sound like much, but to know that we are sucessfully passing on the faith to my kids was just amazing. I also really enjoyed our family trips (we never do anything, really, but we drive to a couple towns within a few hours and visit stuff. I liked our Ocean Isle trip this year.) I have REALLY loved having my parents here to visit, for the first time in years Thanksgiving was perfect for EVERYONE! Also, my brother and his wife and their daughter bought a new house, and it's close, and it's nice to be with them. We have shared some very special holiday joy over the year with them! And it definitely felt GREAT to see my husband's entire family, who have such a crazy history and such a hard time with each other, sitting around the Christmas Dinner having what appeared to be a perfect Christmas meal! That was very special to me. Worst Memory This has been such a painful year. My worst memories by far are of the days on end in the hospital with my youngest, fresh in my mind since today, on New Year's Eve, she developped another MRSA infection. Please keep her in your prayers. I'm also overwhelmed with the frustrations of our job search and the difficulties we have endured not having our own place to live. I think I've done a lot of spiritual growing (learning to give more and expect less, etc) and it's painful shedding layers of my own self-importance etc, not only when it happens but also the shame we can experience when looking back at what a selfish piece of crap we were later. Those have been tough. I realized in many ways the dangerous impact of my protestant mindset on my intellect and the intellect of others, on God's creation, and on my own pride. (unchecked "God's child" syndrome.) Although it's tough, I'm glad I learned the lesson that Obedience is how to find God's will. I hope it sticks. Funniest Moment Just all the daily ins and outs of kid's asking questions and saying/doing hilarious stuff. My kids make me laugh nearly once an hour. Biggest Surprise Biggest surprise this year was this afternoon, when my youngest developped ANOTHER MRSA infection after having been declared (finally) perfectly healthy only three months ago. Song of the Year O Come O Come Emmanuel, only because we sang it around the advent wreath each night of Advent and my oldest thought it went : "O COme, O Come O Maaaaaanuel." Which made it a very mexican Christmas, especially when she sang it ceaselessly morning, noon, and night. Movie of the Year The only movies I saw this year were Paranormal Activity 2 and the Last Exorcism. So, by default, PA2, even though I didn't love it. Website of the Year Hmmm. Still love Our Garden Of Carmel, and I think my second award winner goes to Catholics for Israel, which is linked at the bottom of my page. I'm so thankful for having found them. Most awesome FOs I'm sorry to say I can't remember a single one. That's what happens when you have three kids three and under. (same answer as last year.) I still owe three people knitting gifts. Le BIG Sigh. Most ridiculous WIPs Dominic's Kilt Hose. I've been working on them for months and then they keep getting wrecked by the kids. OH MY GOSH. This was my same answer last year. How pathetic is that?? Best Forum Debate I have thoroughly enjoyed my new debates in "Union in Christ" group on Facebook, but I think the best forum debate by FAR goes to the whole Islamo-phobe you-can't-take-communion-if-you're-a-heretic fight I had with my dad on Facebook...and any number of arguments I had with my husband on FB which ended in him defriending me. AGAIN. :) Most incredible Kingdom Advances IS NOW: "Advances in Spirituality" This year, I think, was a deepening understanding of Carmelite spirituality taken outside the context of "mystical wowiness" and into the practical realm. Biggest disappointment Having to leave Carmelite formation for a while was the hardest thing I think I can remember ever having to do. It was definitely the right choice, but I am YEARNING for the day I can finally go back. I've also been very disappointed with church-related stuff. I long for the Bishops to do something about all the garbage being passed off as "Catholic" these days. Best Adventure Another year with no vacations, but we did enjoy going to Ocean Isle on a family trip to the beach this year for a day and that was amazing. It was fun seeing my husband SO happy! Looking forward This is the last two years worth of "Looking Forwards" from my 2010 entry Last year I prophesied that 2008 would be a year of renewal... "We will have our vision restored, our hearts turned towards God afresh, and a new annointing to complete the tasks He puts before us." (you can read last year's roundup here: http://stitchlove.blogspot.com/2007/12/annual-roundup.html) When I reread that this year, I kinda wanted to jump up and say "BINGO!" That's exactly what 2008 was for us. We renewed our vows to make this family work, we renewed our commitment to Christ and gained fresh vision for our family that helped us to accomplish a lot of our goals as a family. As I pursue the Lord for a vision for next year, the word He keeps giving me is "wait and see." I think 2009 is going to be a year of building on that vision and especially of experiencing the "goodness of the Lord in the land of the living" (Psalm 122) I don't make new year's resolutions anymore because the secular new year doesn't speak to me as much as the liturgical seasons, but if I were going to make one, it would be this: In 2009, I want to be Holy--- Contemplative, and conquered by Christ, just like Mary. Amazing to me that I could have been so right on!!It feels amazing to me that it would be exactly that... I experienced the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I couldn't believe what pure joy I have experienced in the last year, when the trials got so bad I thought I was going to lose it-- there was always some perfect- and I mean PERFECT -- moment right behind it to show me that the suffering produces fruit. These moments built faith, hope, and love in me and I can't express my amazement at God's presence. Thank you, God, for clear vision! Next year, 2010, I feel like God is telling me that it will be a year of promise- one in which I will begin to see the fruit of the pursuit of His sacred heart, and one in which, although marked by periods of driness, we will drink of the stream of living water. Happy 2010, y'all. Blessings on your house!  Once again,  WOW! Last year's entry couldn't have been more accurate. In so many ways I have seen fruit, but surprisingly none of it has been physical. Physically, we are worse off than we ever have been.... job wise, living situation wise, health wise, etc. We are certainly suffering! However instead of all of those, I see TREMENDOUS improvement-- I almost don't dare say it for fear of sounding pretentious-- in our spiritual lives. Areas of sin we weren't even aware of are melting away and we are totally amazed by how near we have drawn to God, both as a family and individually. Instead of turning in circles, we actually see progress.... not "maturity" in knowledge of God but "maturity" in our ability to love better and suffer better.I was NOT expecting that last year, but that's what we got! Talk about periods of driness, and living streams of water in the midst of those!!! That's the year in a nutshell. SOooooo, for next year, I believe we will continue to find ourselves sheltered in His wings.... drawing nearer to His heart and nurturing our love for Him & each other. The picture I keep getting is the word "formation," like a flock of birds making a V, heading in one direction, instinctively knowing where to go. I guess that means for our family, that we will begin to "go in the same direction" and hopefully leave the exile we have been in for some time now. My hope and prayer is for next year to be better. And even though my New Year is not starting off very well, I believe with God all things are possible. Amen! May God bless and keep you this New Year 2011! Enjoy the slideshow. NEW YEARS GOALS AND RESOLUTIONS: 1. I've been doing really good about sticking to my workouts and ashtanga practice, as well as counting calories. I think once I stop nursing I will see some results (my body keeps nursing weight) so I plan on sticking to this good diet and exercise scheme I have going on. 2. I will read the Ascent of Mt Carmel (John of the Cross) and The Way of Perfection (Teresa of Avila) through this year as a part of my preparation for a return to my formation, and commit to LIVING what I read. I wll do a better job of keeping a reading journal. 3. I will use my organizer ALL the time, not just when it's convenient, and in doing so keep up so I don't have to get CAUGHT up. I will work on procrastination (haha) 4.I will increase my efforts to teach my Children the Faith through observing the liturgical year in the home and at Church. This year was AMAZING! May next year be twice as good because I will be twice as prepared and we will have twice as much to do since I will be observing the Latin Rite Calendar and the Biblical Hebrew feasts with them. 5. I will double my efforts to love my husband and not give him the kids' sloppy seconds. 6. I will get my driver's liscense. 7.Now that I can pray the LOTH again, I will go back to my spiritual disciplines that created so much fruit in my life: 30 mins of daily mental prayer, Lauds, Vespers, Compline, Spiritual Reading daily, and when I can drive, daily mass with the kids. These are foundational. 8. I will pray more regularly with my husband and not just my kids. I will ask him for more bible studies and read philosophy with him as he asks, instead of whining because I don't like the way he does it. :) 9. I will stop and hug my kids more. 10. I will go back to baking bread every other day. I miss doing that. :)