Shrove Tuesday

My 2 younger grandchildren are being brought up as Christians but not Catholic. I respect my daughter's wishes although the situation saddens me more than I can say.
But yesterday we brought a little Catholicism into their lives: we had pancakes for Shrove Tuesday. They remembered it from last year and were madly excited, devising as many toppings as they could think of;maple syrup, apple syrup, orange and brown sugar, chocolate chips, and sliced banana and peaches. They also persuaded Alex to make the drink he'd made for them last year which they called Spider but which was really icecream soda.

Alex explained why we have pancakes on Shrove Tuesday as a way of eating up all the goodies before Lent. They were a bit baffled by Lent but looked forward eagerly to the end of it when we have Easter Eggs. We don't usually give them lollies except when they go home and then they allowed 2 each. We explained that to give them an idea of Lent they would only get ONE lolly each during Lent. They were not keen on that but accepted it. It made me realise that modern children (not Catholic ones we hope) get all the rewards (Christmas and Easter) but not the challenges of Advent or Lent. They miss so much.

For Me alone.

I wonder why I write this blog that no one reads? Why should they? I never link to any other blog or advertise it in any way. I'm not even sure I WANT anyone to read these very personal thoughts.

In short I think I write it because I love writing - the sheer pleasure of getting random thoughts down in print. So sorry to Ms Nobody who reads this. I'm not writing for you but for myself! Praise God!

God's Good Ideas.

When I was younger I had wonderful ideas on how to help my local church which was struggling a little. I put some of these ideas in action and they were quite fruitful and I was pleased. Then one day I felt God was asking me to die to my good ideas and only use HIS! It was very hard because I am not really a creative person, I can't paint or sew or knit but I knew I my ideas were creative and well received by the parishioners. So reluctantly, one morning I said to Our Lord: from this day on I will die to MY good ideas, and only use yours." Sounds a bit dramatic but I was dramatic in those day.

A short while afterwards my dearest friend told me privately, that to her fear and amazement God had spoken to her that morning and she didn't know what the words meant and what she was supposed to do about them. She is a very down to earth woman, not given to fantasising so I believed her. Then she told me the words...and immediately I knew totally they were for me! Not only that, I knew precisely what I was supposed to do. It was one of God's Good Ideas that he had promised me. Incredibly awed by the idea that Our Almighty God could have plans for our little, struggling Parish, I swung into action. I knew exactly who to ask to help (18 people and they were not people I would have chosen myself and when I did, not one turned me down). Then followed some very active and Grace filled years. The Parish was changed and flourished so well it built a new church. I have now moved away from the area but it is still flourishing and I see God's Ideas being copied and used in other parishes, if in a less all enconpassing way. I am still amazed and awed by what happened. Praise Him.

Family Day

A wonderful family day yesterday. Lovely but poignant. We all met on my eldest daughter, Lee's, family farm. We went there for family photos - our grandson Ed's girl friend is a wonderful photographer - and in a few days time she has to return home to Sweden. So all four of Lee's children were there and my youngest daughter, Marie and her 'partner", and Alex and myself.

It was a lovely sunny day, when we all assembled in the picturesque paddock full of trees and long grass and Anne snapped away as we wandered around, knee deep in the meadow grass, under the many trees, or sitting at the BBQ table. Anne got us doing crazy things like leaping into the air together (my feet actually never left the floor!) or running toward her through the grass.

Our 2 older grandchildren are leaving just after Anne, to go travelling (AND they hope) working in Europe. So before we left we toasted the three of them with champagne "Enjoy, learn, but please, one day, COME BACK!"

Joys

What is this life
If full of care
We have no time
To stand and stare?

One of the joys of getting older is that one really has 'time to satnd and stare'. Alex is marvelous at this. He has always stood and stared. Just yesterday he called me out to the garden (I was in the middle of a riveting book) to look at a rainbow. We watched it for quite a while as it changed slowly into double rainbows and them gradually faded.

I wonder why God created rainbows? I don't suppose he had to. Maybe they were created just to delight young children and older-stand-and-starers.

Making choices with the Holy Spirit.

We have decided to recarpet our house. This has been our long term dream as our present carpet is rather badly worn. We've put off getting a new one as my dear husband and myself both have strong opinions but also very differing tastes. He likes old and cluttered and I like modern and simple - with plenty of books! He likes to collect old things: china, books, rugs and clocks (we have 2 grandfather clocks in our small house). So choosing things together can lead to strong disagreements but we laid down some guide rules before we left. I like to make quick decisions - he likes to look at everything available before he slowly makes a decision. My way frustrates him (what have we missed?) and his way exhausts and confuses me.

So we decided to only go to a couple of shops. To choose a FEW that we both like, bring them home (my way)and make a decision over a couple of days (his way). That is what we did and we are trying the samples in different lights. It is all so easy! Thank you Holy Spirit for guding us!