“No, God doesn’t ever make mistakes…”/When I say, "My foot is slipping," your mercy, O LORD, sustains me. - +JMJ+

LOVE of new LIFE 10 years ago - Ruth and Paul with #5 Luke Paul born on All Saints Day 10 years ago!  They have welcomed #6 Joy and #7 Thomas Robert since.  Open to LIFE and raising LIGHTS is the motto Our Domestic Church/family lives by!  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Our marriage stories - "The world needs LIGHTS!"  

10 years ago as Ruth was coming home with new baby boy, Luke Paul!  Little Rose is 18 months older than Luke, and so sweetly touches her new baby brother.  Having siblings is the greatest gift and so much more wonderful than giving your cihldren things!  

Bobbi makes us a calendar every year and when we turned over to November - this greeted me!  LOVE so much!  Already outdated as John and Bobbi welcomed Lucy Marie on Jan 11!  

From John yesterday - 9 month old Lucy with her first bow in her hair!  

Sweet girl with her first Belgian cookie!  

Washing widows on this wonderful day - I noticed this Easter Cross from last year.  LOVE to see all the special occasions we had in The Catholic Church over the last couple years!  Simon, Mary and Therese are Confirmed into The Church.  Simon and Mary are Godparents to baby brother, Thomas, as he is Baptized into The Church!  Hallel visits with 3 Little Sisters and 3 Little Brothers a week before Thanksgiving last year after they had a retreat in a church in the Cities!  All 33 at CCC last year!  

Ruth and kids spoiled old grandma taking out my garden night before last!  Thank you!  

Those tomato plants were bright green and putting on new tomatoes until the hard frost last week.  My porch furniture going into the barn.  

My two chairs...

My couch put away by David and Luke.  My neighbor cat will miss the couch to sleep on day or night.  

Squash and beets harvested are so sweet and yummy.  Yes, my beets were pink and white this year, but so sweet!  

Plants in, squash, tomatoes red and green - tomato soup  and plants in for the winter.  This one is a cutting from a plant I had in my apartment 46 years ago. A hoya plant that took over my mother-in -law's sunroom, and Paul's mother also has a huge one from my original plant!  

Tom snuggly after his nap at grandma's yesterday while mom is flipping the Parsonage.  That place stays busy! 

Tom and grandma sure are close after lots of time together.  I am forever grateful that he has recovered to totally from his accident on Labor Day!  Ruth reports that he is right in there with his big brothers - wrestling and shooting with nerf bullets - screaming and running - ALL boy!

This is such powerful testimony that we need to leave God's creation alone trusting that God never makes mistakes!

Marjorie Estella

October 6 at 3:33 PM  · 

My feelings of being in the wrong body started when I was a toddler. I hated girl toys and I only wanted to play with boys, I had short hair and dressed myself like a boy. I didn't understand other girls my age so I felt out of place. When someone would mistake me for a boy I would feel so good, much to the chagrin of my older sister who would quickly correct them and exclaim, "that's my SISTER." At 4 I worked up the courage to ask my mom, "Does God make mistakes, because I think I was supposed to be born a boy?" My mother replied, "No God doesn't ever make mistakes, he made you exactly the way you're supposed to be, a beautiful little girl."

And that was that. I didn't have any more delusions because my mom cleared it up for me right then and there. Don't get me wrong I still didn't like my body and dreaded growing breasts one day, but I didn't have to question if there was something wrong with me. I was allowed time to grow up, and once I hit puberty I not only felt like I was in the right body, but I became a girly girl!

If I was born in our society today I know I would have been "affirmed" by my teachers and started on a cascade of interventions that would have left me infertile, mutilated and without the husband and two beautiful children that I have today.

Our kids don't need to be socially or medically transitioned. They need to be left alone, and they need time to grow up.

How can we so quickly take young children to make drastic changes to their bodies? God has a plan for them and that isn't to take measures into our own hands! Jesus, we trust in you.

All reactio

Pat let the chickens out on a beautiful day and they came and ate our catfood.  

Clean window 

Celebrating with John and Lucy - He just had a couple days in Rochester and was affirmed that the prayers that surrounded him when he was battling his brain cancer protected him and sustained him!  "The week of prayer before I started my whole brain radiation and all the prayers to Our Lady from you and so many... Doctor said that I amaze him at how well I am doing!"  

Today in the Psalm at mass - Psalm 94

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Were not the LORD my help,
my soul would soon dwell in the silent grave.
When I say, "My foot is slipping,"
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

When we were told that all that was left was whole Brain Radiation - I said "no!", but John said - "I want to live mom, so I must do it!"  Yes, his foot was slipping, but we could only pray and trust!  "your Mercy, O Lord, sustains me."  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: John's cancer stories  

His Spirit Juice Video now continues with wife and 3 children!  Also a newfound Faith and LOVE for Jesus, Mary and The Catholic Church!  A half hearted prayer for Faith was answered!

All Souls Day on the 2nd

St Therese 

A little humor!  

Dad in Morning Prayer - Psalm 92

Pope Benedict XVI from my mom to me!  

Dad's man, Brother Victor with dad's underlining to help me!  

Prairie Catholic!

Excited to see our Tim VanMoer from Marshall!  Praying for his vocation!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barb

 

  Your beauty ... should be that of your inner self,

the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, 
which is of great worth in God's sight. - I Peter 3: 3,4

“Would you like me to teach you how to grow from virtue to virtue and how, if you are already recollected at prayer, you can be even more attentive next time, and so give God more pleasing worship?

 

Listen, and I will tell you.

 

If a tiny spark of God’s love already burns within you, do not expose it to the wind, for it may get blown out. Keep the stove tightly shut so that it will not lose its heat and grow cold. In other words, avoid distractions as well as you can.

Stay quiet with God.

Do not spend your time in useless chatter.”

St. Charles Borromeo
Italy ~ 1538 -1584

Archbishop of Milan, Cardinal

Towering figure of the Catholic Reformation
Key player - Council of Trent
Lived life of great humility and austerity,
always striving for holiness 
Patron saint of catechists and seminarians

Feast Day - November 4

Painting above: Grenville Manton (1855-1932): "Jesus, mi Senor, mi Dios"

 

 

"Be sure that you first preach by the way you live." 

St Charles Borromeo
_______________________

 

St Charles Borromeo offers some wise and beautiful words

to Seminarians and Priests

(and others can 'listen in' and merit too):

 

"My brothers, you must realize that for us churchmen nothing is more necessary than meditation. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: I will pray, and then I will understand. When you administer the sacraments, meditate on what you are doing. When you celebrate Mass, reflect on the sacrifice you are offering. When you pray the Office, think about the words you are saying and the Lord to whom you are speaking. When you take care of your people, meditate on the Lord's blood that has washed them clean. In this way, all you do becomes a work of love. This is the way we can easily overcome the countless difficulties we have to face day after day, which, after all, are part of our work: in meditation we find the strength to bring Christ to birth in ourselves and in other men." (Office of Readings, November 4)

 

Life and Ministry of St Charles Borromeo - YouTube

St. Charles Borromeo, pray for us!

Danielle Rose

Tauren Wells

 

"The feast day for our dearly departed"/All Saints day filled with Celebrations -"my cup overflows" - +JMJ+

Josephine yesterday on the Feast of All Saints at her Catholic School - St Maximilian Kolbe in Delano.  She is a wonderful St Clare with the monstrance that she chased away those that were coming to kill them in her monastery!  St Clare held up the Monstrance with Jesus in it and they ran away rather than harm them!  

We have 2 birthdays on All Saints Day - our Evangeline Mary was 7 yesterday and her big sister, Therese made her this beautiful cake!  

The Birthday girl in their library - imagine moving all these books from one home to another.  They were in Charlottsville for one year and then moved now to Fort Leavenworth, KS!  

And on the farm - our farmboy, Luke Paul, was 10 yesterday!  Happy Birthday sweet Luke!  Mom made trifles for him - Wow!  

Gus with his class at St Max for All Saints Day!  Gus is St Lawrence, who was put upon a grill for his martyrdom.  He has grill marks on his shirt!  

Dominic went with his namesake - the ever amazing St Dominic!  Who received the Rosary from Our Lady!  The lifeline that I cling onto each day!  John just back from Rochester is rejoicing with the healing that he knows he received from Our Lady and the prayers of so many!  

Evie is a bright LIGHT!  

She was a minion for Halloween, and is known to be a nun from time to time! " I want to be a Little Sister!"

With her Aunt Little Sister Hallel and LS Dorothea - little Sister Evangline in the habit that Maria sewed for Therese almost 10 years ago!  

All Saints day is also the Feast Day of our nun!  Her name comes from Hallelujah and means total praise of God in heaven.  What better Feast day than when all the Saints are celebrated as being with Jesus, Mary and all the Saints in heaven giving ALL PRAISE to our heavenly Father!!!  

In our Little Sister Blue!  Happy Feast Day, Hallel!  On a day filled with so much JOY and celebrations - it certainly makes the words from the 23rd Psalm come to life these days - "my cup overflows!"  

The 4 military boys look right out of Lord of the Rings to me or maybe Star Wars - regardless they are the good force against evil!  

Tom was super excited about his 2nd Halloween!  He was the little bad wolf!  

Getting his bushy tail adjusted by mom.

Dave - a tiger, and Luke an army guy...

Joy was Little Red Riding hood.

Ruth has made some amazing costumes over the years - in themes of The Wizard of Oz, Red Riding Hood, The Old woman that swallowed a fly.... now the little ones are taking advantage of all her hard work for the older ones!  LOVE!  

8 years ago - Rose was Little Red Riding Hood!  Luke is dressed as the little Bad Wolf - the teeth have gone missing in the last 8 years!  

10 years ago - Luke in the pumpkin of the Scarecrow - he was born the next day!  

The Wizard of Oz 10 years ago!  Amazing!  

The next day they added Luke #5 and now we have #6 Joy and #7 Tom!  LOVE our family motto of being open to LIFE and raising LIGHTS!

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: Our marriage stories - "The world needs LIGHTS!"  

Happy Feast Day - Hallel!  And Happy Birthdays Evie and Luke!  

I am a huge Saint nerd!  I love love love them!  My Nancy Anna is even more so!  She has written a book about the Saints!  They allow us to persevere no matter what we face!  

All that help from heaven!  

The adorable little wolf off for his second Halloween!

Care Bear Maggie on her 3rd Halloween!  

On base in Fort Leavenworth with big sister, Therese!

Over at John's this morning with #23 the youngest granddaughter, Lucy Marie!  We shared doughnuts to celebrate the good checkup John had a Mayo 2 days ago!  His doctor is amazed at how well John is doing after 14 years!  "It shows the prayers for healing worked and Our Lady helped me!"  He shared about the week of prayer from Dec 1- Dec 7,2009.  All 168 hours with at least one person praying - maybe more!  That is a lot of prayer, and it was just as John was beginning his whole brain radiation!  

John also looks at the gift he has been given with 3 beautiful children when he was supposed to be unable to have children!  

Stay at home dad - caring for his 3 littles and working an after school job at the Catholic School a block away.  

Family Soul Story - Choose Life!: John's cancer stories  

His Spirit Juice Video now continues with wife and 3 precious children! 

Bobbi was also able to share her story of waiting 10 years for John with his doctor!  I think he was blown away by it all!

Here it is - After being classmates for all 13 years for them to come together 10 years after graduating is kind of special.  She shared to the 300 family and friends gathered at the reception in her sweet humble way about how John Verly popped into her head and heart when they were seniors in HS as her future husband.  Time and time again the same answer came to her through prayer and roses from St Therese and opening her eyes to see him right in front of her at WYD in Australia... When we consider what John experienced over those 10 years... brain cancer, seminary, girl friends, ups and downs and how disheartening it probably was and how powerful her prayers were for him!!!!  Amazing!!!   And how patient and trusting and prayerful and waiting and praying for John, this sweet girl was!

Today is All Souls Day!  Father said that it is a Feast Day for all our Faithfully Departed loved ones!  Mass today was filled with prayers for many from my parents and sister to Pat's parents and brother!  I love to think that they are there and that my prayers are helping them on their journey!  

Baby chick Regina having her 2nd Halloween with her 5 siblings in Delano- I guess big sister, Bernadette, was sick with a fever.  

First Halloween for baby Lucy who was a soft pink kitty cat!  She is 9 months and so sweet like the candy!  

"How do you open this?"  Maybe next Halloween, Lucy.  

With big brother and big sister.

Ruth's bunch visiting great grandpa George - the 2 older no longer join them.  Simon away at VoTech and Mary a senior.  

8 years ago - John with Pat's mother, Anna, and great-grandson, David.  Prayers for mom today - All Souls Day!

Powerful time we are experiencing these first days of November!  

Mass this morning in the dark - very powerful sharing in the Meditation of the Day by Dorothy Day!  

By her Mother's Death Bed - St Therese showered them with roses!  

Life changed not taken away!  

Dorothy Day on the path to Sainthood! 

I am yours O Lord! 

Eucharistic Revival is underweigh!  

I pray for my dead daily!  Including my 7 losses - Christopher, Thomas Joseph, Paul, William, Robert and Mary!  

It is a life from conception to natural death!  

Pat's cousin, Cathy, needs our prayers!  Jesus, we trust in you.  Bless-bless, Barbara and the 33 plus many little brothers and little Sisters.

I will have an overflowing cup!  The Psalm means more than all my blessings - it also means all my copious tears! 

Danielle Rose 

Zach Williams