Posted on in Spiritual

Spending A Day With My Other Mother

Have you ever imagined spending a day with someone from the past?  Who would that person be? In Chris Padgett’s book, “Wholly Mary, Mother of God,” Chris invites the reader to imagine spending a day with Mary.  Jesus’ mom.  I’ve been wanting to learn more about Mary and why she may be important in my life so I picked up this book.  I am glad I did.  This invitation caught my eye.  It was just a sentence on a page filled with the Good News of the Gospel, but it struck me and now you get to read about my imaginary day with Mary. ( I hope you don’t think I am nuts).

Goodness, if I really had this opportunity to take a time machine and spend a day with Mary, I think I would be a nervous wreck.  What would I wear? Would she care? Would she know I don’t say the rosary very often and when I do, I usually fall asleep doing so?  I’m probably overthinking things and I think she would be happy just to see me.  At least that is what I am going to imagine, happy Mary.  Motherly Mary, loving Mary.

Here we are on the big day.  I arrive at Mary’s house. I don’t know why, but I am picturing an adobe type house (is that realistic? I’m not doing period research so bear with me).  I’m dressed nicely, but not in formal wear or anything. No heels, I just can’t walk in them, I have weak ankles.  I quickly forget about all that. Mary is beautiful, the kind of beauty that radiates from the inside out. She welcomes me and offers an embrace that feels so good, warm, loving. The kind you get from your grandma or your own mom when you haven’t seen them in a while.  You know you are loved in that embrace.

She is happy to see me. She’s been waiting for me to visit for a long time.  She knows I have lots of questions for her, but she offers me a cup of tea first.  As we sit, I almost don’t know where to start. So I guess I’ll start at the beginning.

“What was it like being told by the angel that God had chosen you to be the mother of Jesus?”  (Luke 1:26-38). That has to be my first question. I would be scared to death at age 14 and such a big mission!  I imaging she laughs a little and then gets a nostalgic look on her face and begins telling me about that day.  She goes on to tell me about how Joseph reacted as well. What a good man he was to believe and accept the news when he easily could have left her.  I am sure the story is a beautiful one and a hard one as well, we all know from the bible the essential parts of that story.

Mother Mary, Jesus, Joseph
Manger scene

My next question would be, “how was Jesus as a baby and a boy?”  I am still raising kids and grandkids so the insight could be valuable.  The Bible says very little about His childhood. What mom wouldn’t want to know if she had to get after Him to clean up his toys or help out at dinner?  The Bible does tell us that He was obedient to his parents (Luke 2:51).  She laughs, I imagine, and assures me that He was a little boy after all…

“How did you know Jesus could and would change water into wine at that wedding party (John 2:1-12)?”  The boldness of Mary amazes me. His response is classic kid to mom response – you know the story – but Jesus is obedient to her even then and performs his first miracle. She just knew, she had faith in HIM.  It was also the best “party trick” ever, she laughs.

I have to ask her to tell me about Joseph. The Bible says so little about him.  He was a faithful Jew and a carpenter.  She tells me about his firm, calloused but loving hands, I imagine, and how he helped her to teach Jesus.

We finish our tea and head outside to continue as we walk. I imagine she loves God’s creation (nature) as I do. His paintbrush always amazes me.

We walk and talk about getting to know the disciples and how Jesus ministry grew. We talk about how her role in His life changed as time went on, but she was always there praying for Him. When Jesus was gone in the dessert for 40 days (Luke 4:1-13), I imagine she tells me that she prayed so hard for him, “like you must do for your children. For they will be tempted too, but Jesus will win them over.”

The next question is so hard. When I was a child I would cry hearing the Passion story acted out at Mass.  I could never shout “crucify him,” I wanted to stop the dramatic reading and say, “don’t you know who HE is?”  I ask, “How did you handle that awful time?” I can’t stand my own child’s pain, must less the passion and death of Jesus.  We both shed a tear, and it pierced her heart like a sword. But she also knew it was God’s will and that His death would save us all. “He gave me to you (and John and everyone) as your mother (John 19:26-27).” “Come to me any time you need me to pray for you, my son listens to his mama,” I imagine her saying.

It’s time for me to go home, but I get another warm embrace and I know I will spend more time with Mother Mary.

If you had the chance to go back in time and talk to someone, who would it be and how would it go?  Let me know in the comments or on my facebook page.

P.S. To find Chris Padgett’s book “Wholly Mary, Mother of God” go here: http://www.chris-padgett.com/books

 

Posted on in Books, Life Goals

2016 Booklist

I’ve challenged myself to read more in 2016 and I am off to a pretty good start.  I really enjoy reading all kinds of books and my list will show some of that diversity.  My list will certainly grow as I borrow and buy new books pretty regularly (time to start reading them all).  Here is my initial booklist that I’ve already read this year, am currently reading, or books that are waiting to be read.

  •  Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs (the 3rd book in the Peculiar Children Series). I have to admit I didn’t like this book as much as the first two.  The story line was only held together by the pictures especially in the beginning.  It finished better than it started and I did like the ending.  I won’t ruin it for you if you decide to read it.
  • Wholly Mary, Mother of God by Chris Padgett.  I’m almost done reading this one and it’s has sparked an idea for a blog post which I am working on.  It’s also sparked a closer relationship with Mary.  Love it, love Chris’s writing.
  • Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. I assigned this as reading to my daughter and I happen to have two copies of the book, so I thought I’d read it too.  I haven’t read it since I was a kid.
  • The Sassy Way to Starting a Successful Blog When You Have No Clue by G. Gabrielle. This is a kindle book and it’s how I am building this blog. Good book. Recommend it. I also contacted the author via email (which she provides in the book) and she got back to me with the answer to my question!
  • The Art of Spiritual Writing by Vinita Hampton Wright.  I’ve read only one chapter of this book. I hope it is as good as the reviews!
  • The First Phone Call From Heaven by Mitch Albom. Looks like a great book!
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.  This one comes highly recommended by several people.
  • WordPress Bootcamp by David Maxwell. Another Kindle book I just downloaded.  I have lots to learn on WordPress.

What are you reading? Do you have a favorite booklist? Let me know in the comments or on my Facebook page!

Posted on in Life Goals

My 2016 Life Goals

Theresa’s 2016 Life Goals

  • Make prayer a priority, not an after thought. Make it to confession (I’m Catholic) monthly – make an appointment if necessary! I also need to be more of a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.
  • Make family a priority. Not that they never were, but I spend too much time on Facebook, need to tame that beast.
  • Be creative everyday.  Do a coloring page, crochet, paint, or do any of the crafts I like – just do something. It’s my outlet.
  • Blog at least once a month, but work towards once a week).  I have things I want to say, so I am going to say them.
  • Get organized. The house needs it, my life needs it.  I already have two new binders to help organize my life.  Getting more…
  • Work toward becoming debt free (using the “Soon to be debt free 2016” workbook available free online at http://www.onebeautifulhomeblog.com/2014/12/2015-soon-debt-free-workbook/ ).
  •  Read more! Doing the 2016 Book Challenge. I love reading but often read FB instead…going to quit that habit and read a book before bed instead.
  • Exercise everyday and eat healthy (plan meals)! Health is a gift – I need to quit wasting it away.

Mid- January Update:

It’s half way into this month.  I’m doing well with almost all of my goals, except the exercise.  I’m about to get serious about that however, with an upcoming challenge at work.  I will not let my team down.  Let’s pray my hip holds up! My blog is changing…if you have been following me on my free WordPress Blog, you can switch to follow me here. I’m not savvy enough to figure out how to move all that old stuff over, so I am starting fresh! TheBattyOwl.com is so much fun. I am so glad the domain name was available.  It just fits me.  I will be working on making this website amazing over the next few weeks/months and I hope you enjoy it.

Please let me know what you think about the site so far! boots-181744_640

February 2, 2016 Update:

Prayer has definitely made it’s way back to the top of my priority list. I’ll be scheduling reconciliation soon!  Family is a priority of course but goodness, sometimes time gets away from me and I can’t do all I’d like too.  Organization wise, some things have improved, others – not so much. It’s a work in progress.  Becoming debt free – seems like a joke.  Our clothes dryer is going to need to be replaced very soon.  It’s taking several cycles to dry a load and that’s not energy efficient at all. If you know of a quick, cheap fix for an LG dryer give me a call (or email or text).  I am reading a lot more. See my post on that (I need to learn how to link to that here!). I admit I am not exercising everyday but I am eating much healthier.  We got a Ninja blender and it makes lots of green smoothies and other yummy healthy stuff!

How are you doing with your life goals?  It’s not easy to stay on track but I am not giving up and I hope you aren’t either.