Blessings and Coffee

Happy National Coffee Day! And happy Feast of the Archangels!

This past month has flown by and I cannot believe that October will be here on Saturday! I've got a few speculations as to why this month seemed to disappear, and it wasn't because I've been terribly busy with meetings galore during the week. We moved all high school formation sessions to Sunday night, which has freed up Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights for me. That has been a major blessing!

At work, I've also been blessed with an amazing supervisor. I know that I have his full support and it's also nice to have some actual guidance in my job. He's kick-started the process of putting together a three-year plan for youth ministry. So blessed to be able to work with him.

On the mornings I stop at Starbucks I'm blessed with a sweet smile from the baristas, as well as delicious coffee. It's a nice way to start the work day.

This past month I have celebrated many things with many friends, such as birthdays, baby showers, our parish young adult ministry, running a 5K, our youth softball team winning 2nd place. Those days and moments were filled with much joy and laughter, as we blessed each other with fellowship and smiles, and as we were all blessed in the gift of friendship.

As we approach the month of October, I get more excited to celebrate all the beautiful feast days our Catholic Church gives us! We are so blessed to be a part of a church that is steeped in traditions and the holy examples of the saints who went before us. Two of my favorites: Therese of Lisieux (Oct 1) and Teresa of Avila (Oct 15). Their stories of love and faith are so inspiring, what blessings!

And perhaps the biggest blessing this month has been the start of a new relationship. Last month I was not expecting to meet anyone; funny how God works sometimes. :) Just being with him melts my stress away. And somehow this relationship is helping me in my relationship with God. Blessing after blessing after blessing. :)

First Sunday of Lent - Gospel Reflection

This morning I was running just a tad late. I thought I was doing great on time with getting ready for the day, until I had to get my lunch together and only 15 minutes before I was supposed to be at a Department Heads meeting. As I was scurrying out the door with ten minutes to make it to work (the usual amount of travel time it takes to get there) I said a quick prayer, "God, please don't let there be any stupid drivers on the road today."

By the time I parked, dropped my stuff of in my office, and headed over to the meeting I was a few minutes late. Thankfully everyone was still chatting. It is a custom to begin all of our meetings by reading the upcoming Sunday Gospel and reflecting on it using a lectio devina style (what word or phrase stick outs to you, what does that word or phrase mean to you, and what comforts or challenges you about the word or phrase).

This upcoming Gospel passage is the temptation of Jesus found in Matthew. The phrase that stuck out to me was: You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test. It was then that I realized that with my little prayer this morning I was testing God; instead of making sure I woke up early enough to get ready and make my lunch, I threw my lack of preparation onto God, expecting Him to magically remove the bad drivers from the road. How often do we test God in our daily lives without even realizing it?