The Pat and Barb Verly family and their 5 children, in laws and grandkids along with many prayer warriors have been drawn together by John's cancer... sharing daily for 8 months started this blog- Family Soul Story - Our faith, family, farm and now our cancer journey called HEALING have colored and deepened our world. WE continue to share and depend on the support of our prayer warrior community, that has lowered us into the Lord's presence for His healing!
So amazing - so perfect for grandma with the land of Oz in my house!
Tomorrow the pumpkin will be here at noon!
Dorothy was a dream boat - red shoes and toto too!
Super tin man!
Scary flying monkey, David!
Wicked witch Mary!
The man in the yellow hat with Curious Georgette, Bernadette in the Cities tonight! Wish I could see them in person! So cute! Big day tomorrow for our family! Maybe I will have Nancy bring her monkey costumes home for grandma to see them in person. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
The Oz crew!
Someone asked who Gus was - Curious George!
Now the pictures are complete with the Narnian bunch from Texas - King Peter, Queen Lucy, and Trumpkin the dwarf for Patrick! I know that Aslan/Jesus is ruling our world today with his Saints around him!
When you think about the holiday we are celebrating today with so much time, energy and money... Halloween - are we aware of what we are truly celebrating? I don't think so. It truly makes it kind of crazy to realize that it is the vigil of All Saints Day that we are making into this big crazy holiday of witches, gouls and goblins! Look the work Ruth poured into her kids as those adorable creatures from the Wizard of Oz! Too amazing for words - only a picture can do them justice and I will be the first stop tonight on their journey down the yellow brick road! Although Mary chose the Wicked Witch - it is only a costume and these are truly being raised to be Saints and LIGHTS to the world! Tomorrow at noon another brother will join them at noon, and we will all rejoice that a little new LIGHT/LIFE/LOVE has entered the world on the feast day of all feast days - All Saints Day! It happens to be Hallel's feast day too, and we will be calling her with the arrival and that elusive name we are awaiting to hear!
On our journey to Jackson for John's new job yesterday. We talked about John and his sisters - being the youngest of 4 older sisters, and very close to especially the one just above him - Susan/Hallel - it only makes sense that we would talk about them. There is a huge family history with John and Sue.. he knows that she saved his young life when he was around 2 and walking into a shed as Pat was backing out a tractor. He also looked up to her in high school and watched her being loving towards all. Here they are in one of those crazy years without a theme, and the kids just chose their look. John wore that old grey/blond wig quite a few years as a old woman, and I think Sue was a tooth fairy this year. After John speaking so lovingly about Susan/Hallel yesterday and how much he would love to have her close by to share with - his deep fears and anxieties of taking this big lonesome step in his life away from all that he knows - this picture taken on Halloween probably almost 20 years ago is just special and comforting for me to see here!
It will be fun to see the kids tonight, but of course my mind is focused on 24 hours from now when Ruth will be admitted and soon to have her new son! I am also thinking a lot about John's first day alone. But I have been getting some wonderful reminders from my ever faithful prayer partners that they are with me in this! So powerful for me! Thank you all!
Pat and I have the house to ourselves until the family arrives on Saturday to see the newest member. This morning we shared morning prayer - amazing! It was about the living water that gives us LIFE, and I was not disappointed to find the reading Isaiah 55:1 - the verse of our conversion to the Catholic Church! Then the first reading from today was very amazing for Pat and I to share - not only is Romans amazing too, but this reading I had the honor of reading at the funeral of a wonderful TEC friend two years ago - making it very special to us!
"... in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:31-39 That pretty much covers anything, and we can take great HOPE in this promise and Truth!
A theme All Hallow's eve where Pat stepped in the house after milking the cows and took his rightful place as the Big Chief!
Jesus, we are filled with so much today as we look to your Church at your side. Your Bride there to give us all that we need and more with each new day! This is such a wonderful vigil as we look with great anticipation to your celebration of All the Saints tomorrow along with the arrival of a new little precious light to the world - baby boy Lanoue! We continue to Trust in YOU holding Ruth and her son in the palm of your hand and close to your heart burning with LOVE for them. Nothing can rob us of the HOPE we have in YOU. Be with John this day as he enters his path laid out before him and longs to share with the world your Truth of healing and walking among us as much today as 2000 years ago! Come Holy Spirit and dwell within us filling us with all we need to pick up our Most Cherished Cross and follow after YOU. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Halleluia
John in Kindergarten and mom being flashy mom to embarrass him. I always told the kids that it was my job to keep them humble and embarrass them on a regular basis. I did it very well... just ask any of them.
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
When Hallel left from France - the 5!
"All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money , come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!" Isaiah 55:1
Lord, I thirst for you all my LIFE and you give me more than I need - I am yours!
Danielle Rose - the Saint that is just me
Retweeted Pope Francis (@Pontifex):
"Christians know how to face difficulties, trials and defeat with serenity and hope in the Lord."
Thanks Pope Francis - you knew that John and I needed to hear this today!
John showed me around the Church as he is living in an old convent just a block away. Our Lady was beautiful and welcoming to us.... Off to babysit while Ruth and Paul teach faith formation - will write more later. This is the first time we have had an empty house for about 5 months now. Lord watch out for Johnny as he is alone in a new town, but close to your Church where he will be fed and cared for where it really matters. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
I am dog tired after the last few days - I just wanted to share a special moment on our trip down through the fog to Jackson this morning - John and I. We shared morning prayer and then visited for a while. Morning prayer was about humility quite a bit as was the Gospel today about entering through the narrow gate and the least shall be first. We decided to do a decade of the rosary just before John did a phone interview with a lady from the Jackson paper about the new extension 4H leader in town... "John you decide which decade of the rosary speaks to you." "I want to choose the 2nd luminous - the wedding at Cana." "Why that one?" "Because both Jesus and Mary are there to help this couple as they go out on their own for the first time. I am going out on my own for the first time and I am asking them to be with me and help me." Wow! That was some powerful amazing teary decade of the rosary with my son! Then he got on the phone and had a wonderful interview with this gal from the Jackson paper. He shared that he would try not to take sides but be a peacemaker and fair in dealing with issues that come up. He also used the word humble to describe how he would be open to people pointing out when he makes mistakes. "I am just learning and know that I will need help and I will welcome those that show me how to improve." Humility and Humor certainly have been very large for John in these last 4 years! I will miss our laughter around here...
John on a gloomy day outside his humble abode in the basement of an old convent...Jesus, hold John in the palm of your hand. Jesus, we trust in you. Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
Large feelings flowing all around me this day! How I longed to get some time in front of Jesus at Adoration, and arrived there to find a funeral today. John shared that he hardly slept all night due to the anxiety of realizing that he will out on his own starting tomorrow! It is a hard thought to get your mind around when you have been living in community all your life up until now. Sharing with Nancy his fears this morning - she reminded us of the night before Ruth headed off to Bismarck, ND for college - she crawled into her bed and cried and cried at the fear of going somewhere that she knew no one. Looking back at her life and how that formed her and Bismarck turned into the perfect place for her to become the beautiful Ruth Ida Lanoue she is today - to be a new mother for the 5th time in just 3 days! John has longed and prayed for the door to open - after 4 months it did to life of working with youth in 4H in Jackson MN! Now with it just a day away the realization of being alone is crowding out the anticipation and happiness at finally finding his path for now. As a mom we take on the stuff our kids are going through deep in our heart, mind and soul. I am very much feeling like I need to join Hallel here on my knees in front of Jesus this day of deep feelings. I am very aware each day of her prayers for us that are weaving through the lives of her family. As soon as anything happens - we call France to let her know to pray. As soon as we knew of Nancy's new pregnancy - we called France. Those prayers are so large and important to bring that peace and Trust that I am HIS and he is in control!
I know that she is daily in front of her spouse, Jesus Christ, in loving adoration and worship! She is lifting us up to HIM and He is listening to her pleas. I am finding great comfort in this realization this week of Ruth's final days until we finally get her precious new son here safe and sound. I am laying my fears at His feet and learning to fall on my knees in constant prayer and trust. I had a most amazing conversation with a father of a large family that I have met through TEC last evening. It was one of those amazing conversations that just jumps from one life-giving Jesus-touched-me event to another. In a matter of 10 minutes I had shared about John's miraculous trip to Lourdes after his second chemo and he barely could make it to the bathroom on his own, how Fr Craig had been there and they had asked them to pour the water over his head - "That is where I need my healing." Then sharing our entire family converting to the Catholic Church and now my dad is a deacon from being a Protestant minister as I was growing up. To Hallel being a nun, and Maria spending 5 months with the Poor Clares... Just about to launch into Patrick's healing as he asked about where Maria is now, but he had to leave - who knows how long this crazy snowballing conversation that made me just stand back in awe of all the Lord has done in my life! It came rushing out of me with great JOY and like the Life-giving stream that it truly is! Too much is filling me with such wonder and awe and humility that why would my Lord be so good to undeserving me? In return I want to share with all the world that He truly LIVES and among us touching us and caring for our every need!
My picture is complete... to have all my children together in April brings great peace to my soul. I know that they all love our Church and pray for the Lord to show them their path. That has certainly been true of John, his dad, and I since he returned home from the seminary to find work. Sharing morning prayer from the office, and always trusting that the path would be shown to John. There have been disappointments along the way, and the JOY of sharing his story numerous times! How he longs to do that most of all.... knowing that the Lord has answered his prayers for Faith, and as John prays each morning - "Continue to heal my heart, O Lord." I am finding such JOY and Peace, and the strength of HOPE in reminding myself that I am HIS this day of surging seas of emotions! As I was reminded in morning prayer this morning and as little Sister Hallel reminded us when we called her on Father's Day 2009 to tell her that John had a tumor in his brain (cancer)...."Mom, do you remember the Gospel for today?" "Yes, it was Mark 4 - Jesus calming the storm." "Well, this is the storm and Jesus is in control!" "Jesus rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Quiet! be still!' The wind ceased and there was great calm." Mark 4:39
Hallel was very impressed by the changes at our Church.
Jesus, today you reminded us that we need only have the faith of a mustard seed to face all that comes to us, and to come through trusting in YOU. May we find the ways you show us your LOVE and unconditional forgiveness of all our weaknesses and sins. You lift us in your arms and protect us from the howling wolves that surround us. When the waves of feelings and fears come crashing over us and around us - you lift your hand and your voice and they follow your command to "be still!" May we know that no matter what we face - from it we will grow and become more and more yours. The glorious first reading today was so powerful for me a year ago in El Paso just days after the death brought back to LIFE birth of my grandson, Patrick... Romans 8..."We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption..." Jesus, how we are filled with your Spirit showing us the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE! May we without hesitation or counting the cost pick up our Most Cherished Cross and follow after YOU. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Hallelujah
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches." Luke 13:18 May that tiny seed of Faith grow and grow to fill our lives with LIFE/LOVE/LIGHT!
My 5 with their precious grandma Ann - Ruth will have her 5 in the same number of years and only a month difference!! Talk about patterns!
I know that John is feeling alone today, and I am feeling that I want my family around me too. These pictures of them all together is a reality in our spiritual world - we are united through Faith and prayer without ceasing! Feel the LOVE/LIFE/LIGHT for it is real! John, you are never alone - you are surrounded by the LOVE and prayers of your family, so many prayer warriors, Our Lady, All the Angels and the Saints! Never alone!
Take a look at that set chin and look of determination ... that is the boy now a man - Patrick Verly. He speaks often of how he has always loved farming and known that he would be a farmer. How he pushes through at these difficult times of harvest, and calving, and planting, and all that comes with livestock and crops and the big business of farming and feeding the world. Those big hands are full with the responsibility of caring for livestock and a family being raised in the Faith - "the world needs LIGHTS." Open to family and determined to give them morals and values. Truly a man of determination! Jesus, we trust in YOU. Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
A year ago I had just come back from Texas at this point, and Maria pulled together a Robin Hood theme for her kids and sent me a picture... Maid Marion, robin Hood and Little John - too cute. I have always had themes for Halloween and it is fun to see my girls carrying that forward. I will keep Ruth's theme under my hat, but is so great that it is hard! I don't know what Nancy or Maria have come up with for this year either, so that isn't hard for me to keep secret. With the sewing and gathering of the items needed for costumes it truly becomes a week long project or more. I remember sewing and dying and sewing and on and on in an ever greater obsession as there were more and more kids to costume.
Here are a couple examples of our Halloweens over the years - the Indian squaw and papoose with little braves, and the grass/corn leaf skirts year... boy did we trash many homes that year and arrived home with just a wasteband left - good thing we were wearing shorts underneath. '
I had a scary thought about Ruth and her little boy first thing this morning and it brought me to my knees - asking the Lord to help me find a place of peace and Trust in HIM as He is truly in control! All I can focus on and pray about is Friday - All Saints Day at noon when he will come into the world and we will get to meet him in person!
I picked up a few things today to help me get super excited to meet him - these will soon have our little guy inside of them! They look huge but they are only 0-3months! In many ways we think of this week as Halloween week with all the hype about costumes and parties and candy etc. But for me it is All Saints week with Friday being the super amazing Feast day of All Saints Day - it is Hallel's feast day too! Since she did not choose a regular saints' name when she changed her name, and her name Little Sister Hallel means the highest praise - as in Hallelujah! It was decided that her feast day should be All Saints Day as that is the day that all the Saints in Heaven are having a big Praise Party for their wonderful God and Savior Jesus Christ! Hallel knows that she will have her new nephew here on Friday - her feast day, so she called Ruth over the weekend and asked her how she was doing and told her that she was praying for her. Then she told her this funny story about returning to France about a month ago. It took her about 24 hours of standby to get there and finally they found a plane for her to get to Paris on, but it would just be a bit different...First she sat in the stewardess jumpseat in the back of the plane for take off. Then the stewardess seat in the first class for a while. But for the landing she was in the cockpit with the pilots! She said that it was quite a view to see the lights of Paris in the early morning hours as they landed. I am sure that they pilots thought it was rather good luck to have a nun up sitting with them in the cockpit as they landed. They were French pilots she told Ruth. She sure has the adventures - some which would give me some pause, but she seems to roll with the waves that toss us in life.
On a final note today on this late entry... John came home from the Senior High Festival with this great T-shirt! How sick are we of all the tear jerking commercials about saving the animals when human LIFE is taken with no thought or consideration!?! This is really a profound statement of Truth!
Jesus, we thank you for This being All Saints Week and the little boy that will arrive safely on that day! Protect all LIFE this day and always. May human life we cherished and protected at all costs. As Horton the Elephant says so eloquently and Truthfully - "a person's a person no matter how small." Be with the farmers this week as the harvest is coming out. We are so grateful for the prayers that surround us, and depend on those to keep us hopeful and trusting in YOU. May we take the gauntlet of being your Apostles and sharing with the world the Truth that will set them free. St Simon and St Jude pray for us. Jesus, we trust in YOU. Amen and Hallelujah
Bless-bless, Barbara Luke
"Brothers and sisters: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." Ephesians 2: 19-22 The first reading at mass today all over the world!
The end is in sight for the corn coming out in the next few days! Praise HIM!
