Marana tha/Come Lord Jesus!/Day trip to Nancy's for the day... thanksgiving continues/Advent tomorrow!!

A watercolor Joy and grandma did for Ruth and Paul's 17th anniversary last weekend.  On thanksgiving Joy had to bring it over to show me our work of art for her loving parents.  

How I love to share my watercoloring time with the grandkids... there are fake plans to get together for our first ever big family Christmas in January and watercolor time with grandma is on the list.  So happy and excited to make fake plans for family gatherings in the midst of this uncertain world!

Love my prayer time on Fridays for Father Denny with 7 sisters!  The Church with Jesus in the tabernacle and the late afternoon light cast upon him on the Cross is so intimate and powerful at the same time.

Between Ruth and Paul I placed Jesus on the Cross as we are called to die to self in our married lives and our spouse is our Most Cherished Cross that accomplishes this as we are called to place our spouse above our own needs and in that way die to self so that Christ in His Holy Spirit may dwell in our inner temples and we can be his hands and feet.  As Ruth and Paul have taught me - we are then able to be "LIFE-giving" one to the other!  In not only what we do for each other, but what we say to them.

The holy cards Ruth and Paul gave out at their wedding 17 years ago - blessed by St JPII in Rome!

On the other side a prayer that Pat and I are saying for our marriage and those of our 5 children and beyond!  Even Hallel is a bride of Christ and that is so powerful and at times very difficult also.  Join us in this prayer as we know marriage is a very hard daily Sacrament we are called upon to embrace our Most Cherished Cross and find LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!  

Jesus aglow with unconditional LOVE and forgiveness for us... which we are asked to give to all those around us in return.  So very hard to do- most especially to those the closest to us that we knee jerk and treat the worst.  

"My man Brother Victor-Antione" as dad used to call him had some wonderful things to say today in his sharing and dad underlined the words just to make them come from him too!  Yes, we need to be first of all united with God and from there we are given the ability as the Spirit works within us to do our "work" in this world, in our domestic Church/family!  This calls me to prayer without ceasing!  

Today we have plans to do a quick up and back in the same day trip to see our Nancy and her family.  We are taking along some "day-trippers"/cousins from the farm to share in the crazy times!  Although the van will be filled with family... my rosary will be in my fingers and the prayers in my chapel on wheels will fill me with Joy and Peace!

Morning prayer this morning was a powerful one for my father and therefore with me and then I share it with my brother, Dan and his wonderful wife!  

The name of the Lord and Jesus meant so much to my wonderful Deacon Robert Cross father!  He shared this with us in his own words, and we see it pointed out to us in his well worn prayer book!

Words – certain words – have gained great significance for me. Reading the scriptures, these words have leapt from the page; I have even taken to underlining every time I find them. They center my life. The first is NAME.

How many times the scriptures tell us to honor the Name. In the Old Testament when God reveals His Name to Moses, the very ground where it occurs is declared holy, and God’s holy name is so sacred that the Old Testament substitutes “Lord” for every occurrence of the NAME – YAHWEH. He is Our Father, ABBA.

In the New Covenant, the Name is JESUS. “There of Jesus taken in vain.

I desire GLORY be given to the NAME. Glory is the way we praise GOD in the Highest. This is to enter the radiance, the magnificence, the awesome presence of the NAME. GLORY BE TO YOU, O LORD!

We are not to be shy or timid about our praise of the GLORY, we are to SHOUT WITH JOY TO THE LORD! If within our spirits we feel this exuberant shout when we contemplate the Holy Name, our spirits are lifted up and we are filled with joy, and the temptations that beset us fall apart like the walls of Jericho which came down at the SHOUT of the people of God. These words – when placed in the context of the Catholic Church of Jesus – become radiant with life and, in this context, I bequeath them to the next generation of this family and to those many others that I have loved in this life. is no other Name under heaven by which we are to be saved.” JESUS! When God’s name is treated lightly, when used coarsely as in the exclamation, “O God!” it’s painful, as it is when I hear the Name

Yes, Lord, "our very existence is a gift from you; to you we offer all that we have and are!!"  We rejoice and give you Thanksgiving with this new day and an opportunity to spend time with our family in Delano.  R. (1 Cor 16: 22b, see Rev. 22: 20c) Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great king above all gods;
In his hands are the depths of the earth,
and the tops of the mountains are his.
His is the sea, for he has made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.
R. Marana tha! Come, Lord Jesus!  Psalm 95 from mass today is wonderful and lead us into Advent which begins tomorrow!  Very excited to be entering this most special holy season of The Church!  Come, Lord Jesus, we need you and long to be totally yours in all that we say and do - bringing LIFE into our homes and families and our domestic Church!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah

Time with the ducks... Pat and I are now duck farmers.  "I never thought I would be a duck farmer."  From my hubby!  Of course, he is also a beef farmer, corn farmer, bean farmer, strong farmer, feeder of the world farmer, plus he loves to can our produce with us to feed our 7 families - well, maybe 6 now that my parents are gone... 

Today we bring a car load up for Nancy and Bill and their 5 kids!  There is a a long list of soup, sauce, apple and spaghetti, and pie filling and hamburger... Our farm feeds many families and we love to do the work and see how it is appreciated!  In a few weeks Pat and I will be taking a loaded truck to our Community of the Lamb in KC!  We receive back from them 100 fold with the prayers and sacraments we share in their glorious holy chapel!  Bless-bless, Barbara

John's story...

Little Brother David in France tells us the story of his name!

Danielle Rose