Surprises in the mailbox

Don't you just love when you get unexpected letters and surprises in the mail?? 

I forgot to check the mail yesterday so when I returned from my hot air balloon ride in Asheville this morning, I decided to go to the mailbox.  Inside, I found 4 unexpected items!

First, I received a letter from the Hershey Bears thanking me for coordinating a group outing last year.  You can read about that fun event here! The Hershey Bears invited us back for next season and even want to enter my name into a drawing to possibly win a team signed replica practice jersey.  How cool!

The second item in the mailbox is something that I have mixed emotions on since it deals with my hearing loss.  Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely use my hearing loss to get out of or get something in life.  However, when a colleague told me about possible scholarship opportunities from
The Office of Disability Services, I figured what did I have to lose and applied for a scholarship in the spring.  I had all but forgotten about the application until this morning when I opened a letter from UNCG.  Inside, was a letter informing me that I had been selected as a recipient of The Preyer Scholarship for this academic year.  What welcome news as I plan out my budget for conference travel this year!!!  I had been up late last night worrying about money to pay for school supplies, travel, and bills.  At one point, I had thrown down my checkbook in frustration, and walked away from the table of neverending numbers.  How funny it is to think that just down the driveway and across the street, lying in a business envelope, was a welcome gift that will assist me.

Third, was a large white envelope with my best friend's familiar handwriting on it.  I knew that my Sizzlin' Summer Scavenger Hunt from thirty-one package had arrived!  I can't wait to go through the paperwork and see what adventures and surprises lie ahead as I tackle this scavenger hunt!

Finally, the most beloved parcel in the mailbox was an unexpected picture card from my mom. 

 Every daughter should be so lucky to have such loving parents.  My Mom is such a sweet and thoughtful one.  No matter where I have lived (and I've been at many different addresses over the last decade), she has made it a point to send me notes and cards to let me know I'm being thought of...with the craziness of life and business of it all, I've not done a good job of staying in touch but love receiving random notes/cards from Mom regardless of how poor of a job I've done at reciprocating that.

The picture card has already found a new home on the window sill above my new picture I painted at the Paint Party the other night!  What can I say...sometimes it's the little things that make me most happy! 

Motto of the Starfish!

Last night, during mass, Father shared a story about a girl walking along the shore who saw a boy picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean.  When she asked what he was doing, he said that he was trying to save the starfish and keep them from dying on the shore by tossing them back into the ocean.  She said, "But how can you possibly make a difference?  There are just too many starfish!"  He bent over, retrieved another starfish, then tossed it back in the ocean and said, "Well, it mattered to that one". 

Father used that story to try to illustrate how no matter how small we think we have to give, we can still make a difference just like the boy with the small number of loaves and fish we heard about in last night's Gospel.  Shouldn't we all try to embrace the idea that no matter how small our offering is, offer it up anyway!  Who knows what good is able to come out of a kind deed or action that we think is only impacting one or two people.  We might not know how far reaching our impact is but should still do it. 

I also enjoyed hearing the starfish analogy and was reminded yet again of our retreat since the starfish was the logo on our tshirts and a small charm on our new necklaces us girls bought as a way to remember our weekend!  I also had posted this picture on the first day of summer saying that I was going to fully enjoy living each day one day at a time this summer.  While I didn't meet all my goals I had set for this summer, I still feel that I made progress on projects for school and work while still being able to get in some quality time with family and friends.  Sure, there is always room for improvement, but overall, if we put forth the effort each day to make a difference in some way, no matter how small it may seem, we can help to make the world a better place!

TAKE THIS OFFERING Performed by Kim Kalman in the video here (start at 6 minutes for just the song)

I HEAR YOU CALLING FROM ANOTHER WORLD
DRAWING ME NEARER TO YOUR BLEEDING SIDE
WORDS YOU HAVE SPOKEN ARE COMPELLING ME
LEADING ME ON TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU DIED

DOWN ON MY KNEES I AM PRAYING
DEEP IN MY HEART I AM SAYING

(chorus)
TAKE THIS OFFERING MAY IT BE PLEASING TO YOU MY FATHER
TAKE THIS LIFE I LEAD A LIVING SACRIFICE
TAKE THIS OFFERING

LONGING TO FINALLY SEE YOU FACE TO FACE
GIVES ME THE STRENGTH TO CARRY ON
THOUGH I AM FRAIL AND BROKEN I AM WHOLE
NO LONGER UNCERTAIN OF WHERE I BELONG

JESUS YOU GAVE YOUR ALL
AND NOW I MUST ANSWER THIS CALLING

(bridge)
ALL THAT I AM ALL I WILL BE
ALL THAT I HEAR AND I TOUCH AND I SEE
ALL THAT I LOVE ALL THAT I DREAM
ALL THAT I HAVE THIS IS MY OFFERING...

Be Not Afraid

This song has always been one of my favorites but even more so since coming down here to NC.  It's become my "NC Anthem" of sorts.  Ever since deciding to come down here to go back to school, literally, from the weekend that I first made the decision to accept UNCG's offer and to make the big move south, to days when I feel like I just won't get it all done and am stressing over the latest deadline, I hear this song when I most need it! 

Recently, I heard this song while on retreat at the beach.  Kim Kalman, the awesome Catholic singer/songwriter I've mentioned in other blog posts and shared videos of on Facebook, sang it during Communion at mass.  It took about all I had to keep the tears from flowing as Kim's beautiful guitar playing and voice filled Holy Redeember by the Sea Church.  Once again, another signal grace was oh so generously being poured down on us girls on retreat.

Just now, I searched on youtube for a video of this song to post here for your enjoyment but couldn't find a version I liked so will post the words for you below...this is one of those songs that really hits home for me and one in which I've experienced (almost) every single line.  I know that I won't soon forget experiencing this song on retreat...what a great way to end the four day experience!! 

1.
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words in foreign lands and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.

R.
Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow me, and
I will give you rest.

2.
If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amid the burning flames, you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side, know that
I am with you through it all.

3.
Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn, for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked men insult and hate you all because of me, blessed, blessed are you!

Come away and rest a while...

Tonight, at mass, the gospel was about Jesus urging us to go on retreat and to come away and rest a while.  Father shared, during the homily, how important it is to take vacations and rejuvenate.  I found this laughable since earlier in the week, I had debated taking a day trip to Wrightsville Beach today but chose instead to remain in High Point so that I could work on some schoolwork. 


As much as I would have loved to be on a beach today, I'm glad that I remained at home since in the last 24 hours, I was able to complete a 4 hour teaching assistant training video, write a summary on the trainings, do the initial listen and transcription of an interview for a research project, and finalize the rough draft of my portfolio while trying to fix my printer (no luck there)!  After posting this blog, I'll get back to work and begin coding 65 pieces of data for a research project I'm working on with a professor in California.  My goal is to have at least 10 pieces of data analyzed before bedtime tonight.  Anyhow, I had to chuckle to myself as I sat in church tonight and listened to the gospel...specifically the part about Jesus retreating to a place for himself since these were the words on the Retreat Prayer Cards I had given the girls last weekend in Outer Banks!  (By the way, when leaving church, a car with a Wrightsville Beach tag was parked in front of us...hah!)

Speaking of the retreat last weekend, I had some other reflections on how much of a blessing that was meant to be the experience was for us.  The retreat originally had been scheduled for a different date but when one of the original girls who was planning it with me was unable to go, we switched it to the July 12th date to accommodate her schedule.  Unfortunately, for her, she was unable to go during this date, due to unforeseen circumstances, but I still went ahead with planning the retreat for that weekend.  I can't help but wonder if everything else would have lined up as well as it had if we had done the vacation on a different weekend...?  They do say that blessings come in disguises!! 

If you'll recall from the previous blog entry, we enjoyed the musical talents of Kim Kalman, the Catholic singer/songwriter who is based out of OBX after our dinner at Tale of the Whale in the gazebo behind the restaurant nestled in the bay.  When planning into the weekend, I had hoped that we would be able to enjoy Kim's music at church or one of her events.  I had also hoped we would be able to go to dinner at Tale of the Whale since it is one of my favorite restaurants in Outer Banks.  As luck/fate/Godincidence would have it, Kim happened to be performing at Tale of the Whale the Friday night we planned to dine there!

I just tried posting a video I took last week of Kim singing, "I'm Not Alone", but am having issues...maybe I can post the video on Facebook.  In the meantime, check out her website! 

Upon returning to High Point, I met with my priest.  While sharing with him the experiences we had on retreat, we learned that he knew the priest who presided over the Friday morning mass and who graciously performed Confession for us.  What a small world!!

Finally, this last signal grace is especially poignant for me.  When my twin and his wife miscarried for the second time, I began praying to St. Anthony of Padua for them.  Here is the prayer that is on the prayer card that I prayed for them and their desire to have a child:

After a few months of praying this special intention for them, Mark and Liz conceived and had a

beautiful healthy baby boy 11 unexpected days early....on the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua on

June 13th!! 

Thomas Mark weighed in at 6 lbs. 13 oz.  Love the play on numbers here!!!  About halfway through Mark and Liz's pregnancy, I spontaneously gave the St. Anthony prayer card to a friend who had recently miscarried.  I don't know why since my friends are not Catholic and probably don't believe in saints but I just felt compelled to share the prayer and prayer card with her.  Fast forward 4 months to when I was preparing for this retreat last weekend....I had asked each retreatant to share with me their favorite saints so that I could provide prayer cards on these special people in the individualized gift bags I presented to each retreatant on the last night of the retreat when we took in a sunset on the Dunes.  Try as I might, I was unable to locate a prayer card for St. Catherine Laboure in the stores in Delaware and North Carolina that I had shopped at so at the last minute, I opted to put my newly purchased (for myself) St. Anthony of Padua prayer card in my friend's gift bag.  When doing so, I had no idea that this particular friend is currently trying to conceive a baby....coincidence...??  I think not! 

Finally...this may be a stretch, but in thinking about my twin just now as I wrote of this past signal grace, a pair of boy/girl twins were baptized tonight!  :-)

Women's Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks!!

You know how sometimes you just know that you're where you are supposed to be???  Well, that's what this past retreat weekend experience was like for me.  From seeing numerous Pennsylvania references (through license plates, store names, even to having people from near my hometown/Knoebel's sitting behind us in mass the other night) to the signal graces that popped up here and there over the course of the 4 days, I felt like everything had fallen into place and I was doing what I was supposed to be doing this past weekend.  

It all started with the shirts I had designed as a surprise for the girls.  Originally, I had hoped to get a shirt made with a beach ball, seashell, or a pair of flip flops embroidered in the top left hand corner of the shirts.  I spent many hours trying to find just the right pattern online and asked my best friend, little brother, and Mom for their opinions.  However, upon going into the store with a printout of what I hoped to have for the logo in custom making the shirts, I was told that the designs I had in mind were not available so I opted to go with the starfish pattern the store offered. 

Here we are with our matching tshirts!  The girls seemed to like them!

Then, on Friday night, when at dinner, we all bought matching starfish necklaces to commemorate the trip.  One of the girls mentioned that our starfish necklaces looked like stars rather than starfishes to which I jokingly said, "Well, then they can remind us of Jesus Christ Superstar!" (thinking about the musical).  It wasn't until the next night that I remembered that I had put Bryan Adams' song, "Star", on the mix CD I made for each retreatant of a medley of songs to enjoy on the ride home. 

I thought that was the end of the star references but alas, I was wrong, for at the end of the weekend my Mom sent me a text that said, "You are a STAR.   You really make a difference!" when I told her about the retreat.  I wonder why she chose that word...?!

Another cool signal grace deals with my dear friend, Lisa Gorman Goddard.  I had recorded her talk on "99 Ways to Authentically Attract Your Future Spouse by Growing in Virtue" back in March at her Theology on Tap talk in Harrisburg with the intention of showing the video during the retreat.  Debate and discussion over the content of the talk and the handouts that went with it occurred over the next few days about singlehood versus married life and other topics dealing with dating.  On Saturday afternoon, I impulsively picked up my "The Saints Day By Day" book to share information on that day's saint since we were waiting out a brief rain shower that prevented us from going to the beach when planned.  I was shocked to read these words about and from July 14th's Saint, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, in light of what we had been discussing off and on throughout the weekend...

Finally, once home, upon going through the many pictures that had been taken over the weekend, I stumbled across this one. 

Do you see who's name appears at the bottom right hand corner??!  Goddard is my friends, Lisa and Michael's last name!!  (Lisa gave the talk on growing in virtue before meeting Michael that I showed the retreatants on Thursday night..)  Carmen had taken this photo of my GPS as I was driving because we liked how you could see the ocean in the top right hand corner of the GPS.  I find it interesting that of all the streets we were on, this was when we chose to snap the photo and in it appears a reference to something we had done while on retreat....!

Below is a write-up of our experiences that I wrote for my church newsletter followed by some photos of our incredible and inspiring weekend for you to view.  Enjoy!

Women’s Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks, NC

            In mid July 2012, four women from the Immaculate Heart of Mary Young Adults (IHMYA) group went on a weekend retreat at Outer Banks, NC.  The theme of the retreat was on, “Faith”, and how we could grow in that area through completion of service, spiritual, and social projects during our stay at the beach.  On the first day, we volunteered at a local nursing home for three hours by playing Bingo with the residents, providing Bingo prizes, visiting with the residents in their rooms, helping with word find puzzles, listening to their stories, singing and dancing with them, and just being with them.  Smiles and laughter were present everywhere we went while working at Colony Ridge Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Thursday afternoon.

            That night, we watched a video of a popular speaker from Theology on Tap sessions (in Harrisburg, West Chester, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania) talk on the topic of, “99 Ways to Authentically Attract Your Future Spouse by Growing in Virtue”.  Please see this link for more details on the speaker and the talk:  http://lisageek.blogspot.com/2012/03/theology-on-tap-99-ways-to.html .  A lively discussion over the handouts and the content of the talk ensued over the next few days. 

            We began our second day, Friday, by attending daily mass at the beautiful Catholic church, Holy Redeemer by the Sea, in Kitty Hawk.  Afterward, we received Confession and an impromptu tour of the church.  One of the many interesting details of this church included lovingly handcrafted Stations of the Cross that were made by one of the parishioners, a local artist.  Next, we went to the Outer Banks Beach Food Pantry, a non-profit organization, to donate 16 pounds of non perishable food.  Our new friends gave us a quick tour of the pantry and expressed thanks for donating much needed supplies. 

After getting in some relaxation and fun on the sandy shores of the Atlantic, we headed to dinner at the Tale of the Whale restaurant in Nags Head.  The food was delicious, the service was superb, and the atmosphere was pleasing!  Upon finishing our scrumptious meals, we headed out onto the dock behind the restaurant to enjoy the talents of Kim Kalman, a Catholic singer/songwriter one of the women had met at the Ignited by Truth Catholic Conference in Raleigh a couple years ago.  As the sun set over the bay, we enjoyed hearing both contemporary and Christian music as well as the stories behind the songs.  Kim even took requests and performed several favorites a second time.

Our third day of the retreat began with a beautiful sunrise over the beach, praying the Liturgy of the Hours, creating book marks and the sharing of inspirational quotes, a relaxing day at the beach, mass at which Kim performed the music, donating baby supplies to the Pregnancy Center, and ended with an hour of reflection at Jockey’s Ridge State Park where we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over both the ocean and the bay from the large sand dunes.  Finally, we grabbed a bite at the Outer Banks Brewing Station, the first windpowered brewery in America where we all agreed that the retreat had been a worthwhile & inspiring experience.  Many expressed an interest in returning next year and we would love to have you join us!  Please email Meg at uncgmeg@gmail.com for more details or any questions you may have.  God bless!

 

I saw this picture last night and it seemed a fitting conclusion when wrapping up my reflections to the Women's Retreat Weekend at Outer Banks!!  Can't wait to do it again in 2013!  ;)