Lent is Almost Here

Ash Wednesday is next week! I've been trying to get back into the swing of being Catholic. It may seem strange to say that, but I have struggled the last 8 1/2 years. Divorce and Catholic do not go together. I never thought that I would be a divorced Catholic, much less ever get married again.  My therapist reminds me that after the annulment, the Church sees me as never having been married. So, marrying Marty is technically my first marriage. (My therapist is also a Deacon in the Church)

This has been a hurdle for me to get over. I have prayed and prayed for God to help me get over this hurdle. I finally feel like I've put the last 8 1/2 years behind me. It was a nightmare that is now over. It takes a lot to get over a spouse who suddenly hates you and leaves-- especially when you believed in the vows you made before God. 

The holidays with my children and grandchildren were very hard. Every single time it was a reminder of our broken family. I'm okay now. God has shown me how he restores what is broken. 

"I will restore to you the years that the locust has eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmer work, my great army which I sent among you." ~Joel 2:25

Sean still lives with me after his graduation from College. He decided to stay when Marty moved in. Over the last 5 years, he and Marty have developed a really great relationship.  He and Marty have done car projects, projects around the house and enjoy going to the gun range together, as well. It has done my heart well to see this. In the first 3 years, I was happy that his best friend's dad helped with his resume and other things where a son might need the help of a dad. Sean and his best friend were here for me and praying when I started my dating journey 3 1/2 years after C left. 

All this to say that I have seen where God restores what is broken. I have developed a closer relationship with Sean through this trial. Every Sunday that we are home, we go to Mass together and on holy days, as well.  I also believe that I have gotten closer to my oldest son and his wife through this, as well. My youngest is a blog entry for another time.

While I never lost faith, I feel like I have been going through the motions for the last 8 1/2 years. I know compared to many crosses, mine are light.  I think it has been a dry period. I once told our current pastor that it has been hard to go to Mass seeing all the whole families - moms and dads with their kids. I felt like a failure and sometimes still do. It all stems from being a practicing Catholic and divorce being against my religion. I homeschooled my boys for 17 years using a devout Catholic curriculum and sometimes it feels like I have failed them. I never wanted my kids to have a broken family. Sighs.

What's this got to do with now? I want to do more than just go through the motions. I'm hoping that making a bigger effort to get out of the dry spell I've been in will help my faith life. I want to feel whole and normal again. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy and life is good. I've found a man who has taught me what it is to BE LOVED.  It is honestly my brain and I need to get back to what I learned in Divorce Care-- I need to go back and remember who it is that God says I am. 

For Lent, I am going to make sure to take time each day to remember who it is that God says I am. I want to reflect upon scripture and grow in His Word. Marty and I have also decided that we will also use Lent to do better with our diet.  With his type 2 diabetes we NEED to do better. It is hard to eat healthy every day, so we thought Lent would be a good time to get in the habit-- for Jesus. 

I know tat God can restore what is broken -- our spiritual life, relationships and even our health. I'm getting my house ready for the fasting and healthy eating and I'm going to find an app this weekend with daily Lenten reflections. 

Restore me, O Lord. 

Ash Wednesday

One of my goals for the Lenten season is to get as many people to the Stand Up For Religious Freedom Rally in Winston-Salem, NC. I believe that it is very important for all of us to stand up for religious freedom and the first amendment! The HHS mandate is unconstitutional and we must stand up against this attack on religious liberty. It may sound like a strange Lenten sacrifice-- to spend extra time getting people to protest the government.

The left is trying to say that this is about women's rights. No, it isn't. It is about forcing the Catholic Church to pay for birth control and abortion drugs. If the Obama administration can win this one, then our Constitution is gone and he will have successfully transformed America, just as he said he would do. We on the right called it. I was on Fox & Friends in August 2010 and I talked about government approved insurance meaning the government tells us what is and is not covered. See the interview here. I was also on Neil Cavuto and that interview can be seen here.

I've posted links to all of the free contraception and sterilization sites to prove a point: this is not about women's rights or access to birth control. WalMart and Target sell birth control for $9 a month. Clinics give it away for free and there is the county health department, too. Women have access to birth control. The Catholic Church isn't telling doctors to stop writing prescriptions for the pill. The Catholic Church isn't telling pharmacies they can't dispense the pill. Women have access to the free clinics. This is about religious freedom. This is about the government mandating things it has no right to mandate. The right saw it coming, heck, I'm even on record saying this was going to happen. We didn't know how the Obama administration would do it, or what would be the first instance, but we said that the government would begin mandating and that WE THE PEOPLE would have no recourse.  We can't fire Kathleen Sebelius, can we?  These are the unelected officials I speak of in my interviews and my confrontation with Kay Hagan. 

I've shared with you many times that we have high cost medications for my boys. Some not covered by insurance (portions of the mito cocktail). A life-saving medication that protects my son's kidneys from damage costs us $343 for a three month supply (we use mail order to save money). I want readers to ponder something: should I have to pay increased premiums and deductibles again because of Obamacare's mandate for free birth control to all women? The money had to come from somewhere-- Should the government force insurance companies to give medications for free? They will cost shift-- and life saving medications will cost us more to make up the difference. We've already had the largest jump in premiums, deductibles and out of pocket maximums in 6 years! Our deductibles and OOPs stayed the same for 4 years.  After Obamacare was passed, they went up the first year.  This second year, our premiums went up, our deductible went up from $250 to $650 and our OOPs are up dramatically.  It is directly correlated to Obamacare.

Obama's compromise was not a compromise. Practicing Catholics like me, should not have the money we put into the collection plate at Mass going to pay for things we believe are morally wrong. Not one penny of our money should go toward this! After all, the Church runs on the donations, right? Even if a number of the people use birth control and disagree with Church teachings, they give knowing what those teachings are. The Church doesn't do a birth control check before you enter and all the women are free to go out and use contraception. The Church won't pay for it. The Church teaches that it is wrong.

Whether the government tells the Church it has to buy insurance that covers birth control and abortion drugs or the government tells insurance companies they all have to cover these things and then tells the Church they must buy that insurance, the Catholic Church is paying for birth control coverage.  Obama can sugar coat it, change a few nouns and change a few vowels on his teleprompter, but it is the same mandate.  We are not stupid, Mr. Obama.

I'm making it my job this Lent to get people out to the rally. If our Church caves, who is going to be next? The Baptists? Methodists? It will be something. It will be someone. Funny thing is that Obama said if we liked the healthcare plan we had now, we could keep it..... they all lied when we pointed out this open ended piece of legislation would bring about these government mandates and WE THE PEOPLE would have no recourse to fire these unelected officials. Ultimately, Obamacare needs to be repealed. Remember when I told Kay Hagan that this would happen? That unelected officials would change our healthcare and we would have no recourse to fire them? http://youtu.be/j4hBXBHOjqA

I linked this post to Catholic Icing for the first time. Check the blog out!

Lent is Almost Over

We're heading into Holy Week and boy am I glad! A friend challenged me to diet with her over Lent.  A challenge it has been!  I had told her that the only time I could diet would be over Lent because I'd be doing it for Jesus. Giving up sugar has been the hardest part. I love sugar.  The natural substitutes just don't do it for me.

I found a tolerable way to enjoy my morning coffee.  Sugar alcohols.  I purchased natural Birchwood Xylitol and by itself it is pleasant, but found it is better if I mix in just a bit of Malitol syrup.  I'm hoping to do this long term and keep the weight off. I'm still baking cookies and muffins for my kids and have to be satisfied with just smelling them.  That part, I know won't be something I can do forever!

Did you see the cool stationery link I posted earlier? I've also been working on my New Year's resolution to write more real letters (i.e handwritten,  snail mail letters!).  You already know that I make cards, so I do send quite a few cards to friends and family....but I had slacked on letter writing. It really has been a great New Year's resolution, getting back into letter writing.  Don't get me wrong, I still have a few friends with whom I only correspond via letter with, we just don't email each other.  I've just made an effort of doing it with more friends, more often.  You really should give it a try.  Everyone loves getting letters in the mail.  Especially on really cute stationery!

In case you are wondering, I've lost 20.5  pounds on this Lenten diet.  I'm pretty sure if I was Jesus, I would have turned the stones into bread and eaten them, or I would have one upped satan and said, "Hey! Bread? That's the best you can do?  Watch this...." Then turned them into the most wonderful, sugar laden, high calorie dessert! 

Ash Wednesday - 40 Days for Life Begins

Today is Ash Wednesday and it is also the first day of 40 Days for Life.  Our family is making various sacrifices for Lent and trying to pray the rosary daily during the season of Lent.  One of the things we are also trying to do is to be involved in 40 Days for Life.  As we start our first day of this 2011 Lenten journey, I am going through sugar withdrawal and trying to offer it up for many pro-life intentions, including 40 Days for Life, as well as intentions for my own family. 

If you are interested in finding a 40 Days for Life campaign near you, click on the link above.  If you are unable to pray at the clinics, you can pray at home during this Lenten Season.  You can go further and fast while you pray.....  God uses these 40 day periods for His glory and for the good of all His people.

Here is a little bit about 40 Days for Life (taken from the website):

40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:

•Prayer and fasting

•Constant vigil

•Community outreach

40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion in America.

The 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities ... and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ's resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge.

Lenten Blog Giveawy

Lent starts tomorrow and I want to hear what Lenten traditions other families have!  Every person making a comment sharing a Lenten tradition in their family will be entered into the drawing.  The contest ends the first Sunday of Lent and the prize will be shipped shortly thereafter.  The prize can only be shipped in the United States or Canada (Military addresses included).  The winner will be notified via email.

I might incorporate a new tradition into Lent this year!  I can't wait!

This is a picture of the prize: