Waiting for Patience

I saw this article on Verily last week and thought it was really good. Then I read the comment below and was a little disappointed. It's not terrible - but is from a the perspective of a married girl. As I read it (probably not her intention) it implies that she is upset with the writer because the writer indicates somethings she wants her married friends to do to keep their relationship going after the wedding. Now that would be a fine article to write - and I might even end up doing that here this evening - however, it is a two-way street. This is the nature of relationships. They are two-way streets. All relationships are about give and take - if they aren't, then they are usually contracts and one party is being paid. I don't know about you, but I don't pay anyone to be friends with me ... although sometimes that doesn't sound like a bad idea. The author's ideas to share with her married friends are super simple and not invasive or even too taxing on he...

Tonight I had to run to Harris Teeter for some snacks to serve my very good friend Father Emmanuel from the Congo and the family who's hosting him tomorrow evening when the come over. I've been in my PJs (ie: shorts & a t-shirt I typically wear only to bed) since I got home from the 5pm Mass. When I pulled into the parking lot I noticed Sister E's car there and texted to see if she too was at HT. She was and we got to see each other for the first time in what felt like months. It was so great to catch up. Our really great conversation ended with me crying in the middle of the HT parking lot. Although it ended in tears, it was a really great conversation. I've been having some trouble lately with the cross I've been given to carry. The single life with a deep desire to be married with children. It seems like everyone else has all of these things that I want. I see how I am incredibly blessed by God. I know this. He takes such good care of me. Like just the we...

What does it mean to be a friend based in Christ? Do Christian friends hold each other higher? Do we hold each other accountable? How do these friendships differ from non-Christian based friendships? Do they differ? Is one better than the other? Oh, Christian Friendship! How difficult to attain sometimes, but how necessary for life to go smoothly! In my opinion, anyway. I've been blessed to have many friends in my life, many fantastic friends in fact. I wouldn't have made it through High School with my faith intact without Stephanie, Erin, and Ashlei. We had an amazing opportunity to meet many friends from around the Diocese at a retreat called "TEC" - to encounter Christ and "JTE" Journey to Emmaus. I was blessed with some amazing experiences with these ladies and couldn't have made it without them. They were better than any other acquaintances I had during the same time in my life. Moving on to college, I had friends who were just as great...

Have you ever had people in your life who have expectations of what your life is like, as a single person? Do friends or family ever make assumptions about your life simply because you're unmarried? Did you ever have expectations about being single which turned out to be different than the reality? How do you manage the expectations of others with the reality of your day-to-day? Boy I have a LOT of thoughts on this ... hopefully they will be written coherently and not all over the place! There are two questions here: Do I have expectations of what the single life is? AND Do others place expectations on me because I'm single? Although I think the prompt is really getting at the latter, the former is more of a big deal for me right now and has been on the last fifteen years of my life. So I will get the easy one out of the way and then deal with the more difficult. Do other people have expectations of me? Yes, of course - I have them of others. Do they interfere ...

Do you have children in your life? What is your relationship with them like? Do you have godchildren, and how do you form a relationship with them? Does having children in (or not in) your day-to-day life make you feel happy, wistful, or wary (of having your own someday)?  Thanks to Lindsay ! love this pic from Jen, so borrowing for the day! I've been looking forward to this topic since coming back from the break - and then I just chilled on the couch last night (and Monday) instead of writing because I'm tired of computers most of the time!  But anyway - the children are my favorite topic! When I was a little girl all I wanted to be when I grew up was a mom or a teacher.  I was always playing house with my baby dolls (most of them are still in my parent's attic) and pretending to be a mommy.  I still look forward to the day when I can be a mom and have lots of little ones running around my house! Lucy B, one of the many kiddos on my favorites lis...

How are we going to make 2015 different than last year? What goals are you planning/making to be more YOU this year? These can be goals can be personal growth, spiritual life, physical/health, or even your love life! Maybe you don't have concrete ones yet, but it helps to talk them out and get motivated! Well I don't have a ton of concrete 2015 goals and also feel like I've already discussed them on this little blog a few times ( here and here ), but not explicitly so I will outline a few things. 1. I want to make a greater effort in deepening my friendships.  Sometimes I can get kind of lazy in friendships and don't make a good effort in keeping in touch, getting together often, or sharing important things - keeping good friendships closer to the surface rather than revealing myself.  To help achieve this goal we are beginning First Saturday Dinners - a time for us all (ladies, spouses, and kiddos) to get together, catch up on the past month, enjoy some go...

So MG and I cooked Thanksgiving for us and some friends of ours - the family who took me in when my house was rejecting me.  It was nice to have them and their 17 month old twins!  Great times were had by all.  Since we cooked all 'new to us' recipes, I'd thought I'd share them along to you, if you need some Christmas ideas! Breakfast: Fresh Cranberry & Orange Scones from Two Peas in their Pod  ... and there's enough for breakfast all weekend!  Score! Our Thanksgiving table was quite beautiful! Appetizers were some crackers and Cranberry Cinnamon Goat Cheese (log from Aldi). Crackers with Brie, Sugared Cranberries, Jam, and Mint adapted from Yummly Mummy Kitchen  ... no maple syrup around here so we warmed white wine and honey for the berries to soak in overnight. They were so beautiful!  And delicious! For Dinner we had Buttermilk Brined Cornish Hens from Kitchen Confidante  ... doubled the recipe to get 4. ...

In what ways are we thankful?! Write about anything you want under this theme! Do you have any family traditions that help you to be mindful of the blessings in your life? I am a girl who loves stability and traditions.  I decided to go to a Benedictine College because of the vow of stability that the monks make, and I'm always looking for how my life will be the same in a few years.  Not that everything has to be the same, but it's hard for me to make decisions when everything is on shaky ground.  When something (like a house for my living situation) is on solid ground, all of the other decisions are somehow easier to make and the change is easier to adapt to. I've been in Charlotte for 7 Thanksgivings now - well, 6 and Thursday makes 7.  The first year I was here my parents and baby brother came for Turkey Day.  The following year I went home to PA (and it was WAY too much traveling for the November/December time frame, so I decided never to go ho...

What ways do you run to implore the Lord's help when you are struggling? Do you always spend time in Adoration? Do you dive into the bible? Automatically go to Confession? Could you be better? And what about those times when things are good and you are joyous? Do you still give the Lord your time? I was contemplating whether I was going to write this week or not since I'm out of town for work.  I'm visiting at Our Sunday Visitor  until Thursday, so today has been filled with lots of traveling, meeting new people, and even an on camera interview!  A pretty exciting day! Then when we got back from dinner earlier than expected, I figured I would share what I do when I'm struggling...  Great Question! Ever since I became more involved in my faith the Hail Mary  has been my go to prayer in times of need.  So I usually go back there any time I'm struggling with the single life, scared in the middle of the night when I wake up to a startling sound...

This is kind of exciting ... about two months ago Beth Anne posted about Brenda over at Triple Braided Life looking for Single Women who are making a difference to interview.  I reached out to her and now this is happening today!!! Read the entire interview over at Brenda's place and then come back her for some NAS talk about Discernment, which I might look like I know something about but really - that's all smoke and mirrors, I am clueless! Now that you're back - unless you never left - some stuff about discernment from the Not Alone Series gals (and me)... We all agree that discernment is challenging. Figuring out what the Lord is calling you to do with your life can be frustrating and exhausting. But, then add on lack of family support, cultural pressures, and your personal expectations... ugh. And, this isn't just in relation to vocational discernment, but general life discernment, too! How do you keep going? What helps you to push thr...

Back with the Not Alone Series  gals this week! Oh, so chivalrous! Chivalry should not become a lost art and we, as women, ought to step up to the plate a bit more and encourage men to treat us as women, thereby respecting them as men. Do you have tips, ideas, or stories to encourage men to be... men?! Open doors for us, initiate dates, honor us as women, etc? Let's chat! (Thanks to Sarah Thérèse !) My thoughts on this topic are varied and a little confusing even for me, but I will try to articulate it without sounding like I am complaining, which I am not. I think chivalry is a lot about how it makes men and women feel, perception, and realizing we are all connected in this crazy world instead of living for ourselves.  I also think chivalry is not just about men doing things for women, but human beings taking care of human beings.  All that being said, here's a story to bed illustrate my thoughts. About a month ago my friend who was recently ordained a prie...