I need more good news in my life

Sometimes it feels there is no good news these days. On Friday, I was in a conversation with someone who believes that the current economic situation (oil prices, food shortages, etc) is a pre-war economy and it is just evitable that the world will go to war.

In protest and to support my eternal hopefulness (and to reduce my cynical side to a mere whisper), I sent them a good news link and it made them smile. Maybe that is enough to give them hope for peace for at least today.

Speaking of peace, I need to get my DVD "Peace One Day" back from my manager. On September 21, people all over the world will celebrate peace. This year, I think I am going to host a potluck and we will watch the DVD and discuss whether peace is actually possible. I need to hope for peace.

Peace has definitely been my theme this year. That St. Francis prayer has infiltrated my life is so many ways. It is becoming harder to justify and whitewash selfishness when your prayer is to love and bring peace. I am learning more and more what it means to be an instrument of peace. Speaking of this year, I can't believe it is almost over...it is June 29th. But it is proving to be a Good year. And when I use the word "good", I use it to mean God's definition of it - this year has been used for his purposes and not mine so much. Despite everything going on around the world, I rest in the fact that God is good and so are his mysterious purposes.

love

The past week and a half have been difficult. Not only the news of an old friend taken at such a young age but then more tragic news in the life of another friend. While out for dinner last week, my friend received a call with news that her brother-in-law passed away. The next day when they told her mother about the tragedy, her mom suffered a stroke and died. The heartache I have for my friends is only an iota of their grief and I am often overwhelmed with tears. I didn't know how to write of this sadness.
A couple days ago, I thought I would just do happy blogs for the summer entitled "I love..."; for example, "I love BBQ's" and then list the reasons why I love those things. However, today I watched the video of my friend's memorial as I was unable to attend. In the service, over and over again, people spoke of Julian's love for them and that this love came from his great understanding of how much he was loved by God. He had a simple mandate in life "Love God, love kids". I often say "Love God & love others" are the two things that define my faith but I don't think I do either of them with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.
In the Gospel of John chapters 13 to 17, Jesus speaks to his disciples repeatedly about loving one another. In fact, he starts by serving them and demonstrating that love in a tangible way. If we say we love Christ, then we must love others and with a true caring spirit. We are called to a "love without agenda". This is love for all...even those who are hard to love. I don't know always how to love and showing my love for others makes me feel vulnerable. But that shouldn't matter. It didn't matter to Christ, and it didn't matter to Julian. Ju's love made an impact as clearly demonstrated on the facebook page established in his memory...nearly 1,500 people belong to it.
At the end of the memorial, his mentor gave this benediction:
Go in Peace
Serve the Lord
Love God
Love one another
Do it with all your heart

So this is my love blog.

grieving

My day started with an early phone call from a friend.
The news she told me was sad.
A friend of ours from years past had been killed in a car accident.
His pregnant wife and 2 children survived.

The grief for his immediate family and wife overwhelmed me.
As well, there were tears for the hundreds of high school students he mentored during his 10 years of youth ministry.
The questions the students may ask...the lack of answers they may face.

Julian lit up a room with his joy for life and his love of others.
When you spoke with him, you felt filled with life.
He was one of the most genuine people I have ever met.

There are never the right words in these situation but in the words of Voltaire,"tears are the silent langauge of grief" and that is all i can offer.
My tears and prayers are pouring out due to the great sorrow his family now carry in their hearts.

questioning

Does our society feel more comfortable creating polar opposites or categories in order to make sense of our world? Do these definitions create boxes to put people into more easily? This post may not make sense because I mostly have questions right now.

• Can someone be pro-life and pro-choice at the same time?
• Can a woman be empowered and still look for a man?
• Is there evolution within creation? Could God have used evolution to create?
• Is it possible to be a feminist if you are a stay at home mom?
• Is being dependent on someone the opposite of being an independent person?
• Do we have to have our identity defined by our career, our marital status or our children rather than our character and person?

Just some thoughts bouncing around in my grey matter these days.

Girlfriends

Yesterday, I went to see the movie "Sex & The City" with friends. The producers got the film right - in my humble opinion. It was a whole season of the show in one fabulous movie. Regardless of your views of the show and/or movie (which I loved), the underlining theme is the friendship between the four characters. Life isn't always the fairytale we think or life doesn't follow the schedule we plan but knowing you have people next to you as you figure it all out is a gift. Walking out of the theatre, I realized my women friends are amazing. It is easy to take them for granted as life gets busy but I have been blessed with supportive friends.

Thank you to each of my friends - my life would be only a fraction of what it is without you in it.