— 1 —

Consumers Energy handles my gas utility. I had to have someone come out to turn the gas back on to the house. Okay. So I call and they can only give me a 24 hour window. Really? I work, so this isn’t really feasible. And I don’t have someone who can stay at my house. The best they could do was say that they’d give me a 20 minute heads-up phone call. So, at 3:30 pm the girl said she’d enter the ticket. I was hoping they’d come sometime before I had to leave to go to work the next morning at 6 am.

I was more than surprised when the guy called at 3:50 pm to say that he was on his way to my house! That never happens! Unfortunately, I was still at work in Ann Arbor, and there was no way that I’d make it home in time to meet him. I called customer service (as I had just missed his call) to see if there’s a way to reach him to see if he could stop by a little later in the evening.

They were *so* unhelpful. They just said that they would have to wait until he closed the ticket — marking me as a no-show, and then reschedule for a different day. Frustrating, because I had told the initial girl that I wouldn’t be able to be home until after 6 pm.

Luckily, the guy called back while I was on the way home. He said he’d try to make it at 5:30 pm. Well, by 7 pm, he wasn’t there, so I went to Bible study. He called a little after 8 pm, so I left Bible study and met him at my home. At last, I got gas restored to the house, although he said sad things about the age of my water heater and furnace, and suggested that I get a carbon monoxide detector since my stuff was so old. 😦

Donations to the Jenn-needs-appliances fund gratefully accepted! 🙂

— 2 —

Speaking of the water heater… It’s older than I am.

— 3 —

I may never go to the grocery store again! Okay, that’s probably not true. But I did find a place where I can have fruits and veggies delivered to my door! 🙂 I found Door to Door Organics, and on Wednesday I will be getting corn, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, mangos, apples, lemons and avocados! Yum! I can’t wait!

— 4 —

I lost my phone charging cord. I can’t imagine where it could have gone, since I use this thing *every day*. St. Anthony, please help my find it! In the meantime, I’m using the cord for my Kindle.

— 5 —

For Greater Glory is a new movie coming out which is being strongly recommended by friends in my Catholic circle. I got tickets to an advance screening and am excited to be able to go and check it out! 🙂

— 6 —

I have a lot of blogs. At least, it seems like a lot to me. I’m never sure if it is the best idea to parse them out according to style and content, but that seems to be what I’m doing. Unfortunately, I always seem to get distracted and never manage to update them as I would like to. I know a lot of you out there are busy also, do you have any recommendations on how to keep up with your blog posting?

— 7 —

Homosexual “marriage” is an issue that has come up for me lately. Someone I love a lot is vehemently in favor of this and says that they should have the “right” to marry. There are many different issues here, but the thing that I want to clear up at the outset is: what exactly are the rights that homosexual couples are looking to secure? Is it the label of being “married”? And what does that mean, exactly? Is it some sort of supposed tax/financial benefit? Something to do with death benefits? What exactly is at stake? I’m sure this is a very complex issue, and I’d like to hear coherent arguments on both sides about why this is so hotly contested. I understand the religious reasons against this, and this argument makes rational sense. I would like to hear the rational arguments from the other side. Thanks for taking the time to help me understand the issue better.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Just Breathe

We breathe the same air.
The same breath.
Breath which sustains life.
God is this breath and this life.
The more of Him we take in,
the more of Him which lives within us.
You can hold your breath and try to keep Him out,
but your very self will cry out for Him
and fight
against your wrong will
until you relent.
And gulp Him in again.
What precious breath.
Which we take for granted
and barely recognize –
until there is too little of it.
Taking God within us
is as natural as taking your next breath.
And as necessary.
Breathe in.

We do not just breathe in,
but we necessarily must also breathe out.
We cannot hold our breath forever.
Even if we try,
we leak
and eventually it all comes out.
God’s life and grace comes into us
and it is natural for it to flow back out of us
and onto others.
To act differently
is to act contrary to how we are made.

Physiologically, even if we try
to empty ourselves
completely,
there remains breath within us.
There is no such thing as giving too much –
some grace always remains with us.
He resides within us forever –
from the first breath of Him we take.
So do not worry,
but breathe in
and breathe out.

— 2 —

I have been thinking a lot lately about my brothers in the military. We see things most people only have nightmares about. We undergo intense physical strain and discomfort. Emotional burdens far greater than we anticipated. Demands are made of us. Consequences are severe. Life is stark, raw, intense. Bonds are made between those who have been thrown into the common forge. These people are my family. I love them. I would give my life for them. They understand me and I them. Others don’t get it. We don’t try to explain. When we meet another current or former military member… Ah… Yes… I see me in you. And we know each other, even if we have just met.

— 3 —

Is there such a thing as too much empathy? Where you care too much, feel too much? Love too much? Want the good for the other so much that it pains you that you cannot give of yourself more?

— 4 —

Which brings me to one of my favorite quotes from the Didache,
“You shall not hate any man, but some you shall reprove, some you shall pray for, and some you shall love more than the breath of life that is in you.”

— 5 —

I finally put up my 2012 calendar. Yes, I know that 1/3 of the year is already gone. So, sorry to those of you who have birthdays or anniversaries in that first part of the year. I didn’t mean to pass you over. And I did still write you in. 🙂

— 6 —

I love plants. Yet, as my priest has confessed, I also have a black thumb. My home is like plant hospice. Where plants go to die. I wonder… is that an act of mercy?

— 7 —

I think there really is something to the theory that cell phones are designed to die about two years or so after you buy them. Just when you are eligible to upgrade to the next generation of must-have phone. But before you actually save the money that you rationalized you would from the last upgrade you purchased. I bought my Droid about 2 years ago. I rationalized that I would make up the difference in the cost of the new phone because I wouldn’t have to pay the additional fees that I was paying to have a Blackberry. Now, my phone is acting all glitchy. Frequently, when I go to use the camera, it will flash as if it were taking a photo, yet not actually *take* a photo, and lock me out from being able to use it. Or when I go to enter some text, the keyboard will be replaced by a field of white. If I try to use it, words will appear, I just have no idea if I’m actually hitting the right keys or not until the word appears. And then I can’t see the backspace…. And this evening, I saw a boot screen or something that I’ve never seen before. I’m pretty sure that’s not good.
So, now there’s the eternal question: Do I buy a new phone or not? Another Droid, or do I cross over to the dark side of iPhone ownership?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Exhaustion. As I write this, this is foremost on my mind.  I am exhausted.  I got more than enough sleep; that’s not the issue.  But I could totally sleep through the whole day.  Unfortunately, it’s only lunch time, and I  have lots of things to do, even after work.

— 2 —

This probably should have been #1, but tonight I get to go to the Called and Gifted Workshop! I’m so excited to discern what my gifts and charisms may be.  My friend, John, lent me a binder outlining some of the things that we will be going over tonight and tomorrow.  Tempted as I was, I did not take the assessment in the binder, and decided to wait for the workshop.  It was tough, though!  🙂  I am really excited for this weekend!

— 3 —

Wii at Work! One of my coworkers brought in his Wii today. This is awesome! 🙂 I love my team!  We have been playing Tecmo Bowl and F-Zero.  Boy, it has been a long time since I’ve played F-Zero.  I now suck at it!  LOL!  More practice is necessary.  I suppose that means that I should look into getting a retro controller for my Wii and downloading the game.

— 4 —

Holy Week is coming up! I love this week!  I’m so happy that I get to take Holy Thursday and Good Friday off!  Palm Sunday is fun, too.  I would have to say that I look forward to the Chrism Mass on Thursday morning, perhaps even more than Easter Mass.  Why is this?  For me, it seems to be more … personal … in a way.  There is something about seeing hundreds of priests renewing their promises to the Archbishop, the diocese and to their particular parishes that catches my breath.  It is truly beautiful.  I hope to be able to escape the Washing of the Feet at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Thursday evening.  The last event of Thursday is what I affectionately refer to as the Pub Crawl of the Altars of Repose.  Every year, some friends and I have piled into a car (usually with snacks for the journey) and made our pilgrimage to 7 different churches to pray with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.  I can’t wait!

— 5 —

Exhaustion … and nausea. I hate the nausea.  But that means that I have redemptive suffering to offer!  Today’s suffering will be for Wanda.  Please join me in praying for healing for her and peace and comfort for her family.

— 6 —

This week, I have been spending a lot of time on Ancestry working on my family tree. It’s rather fun to do, and since both my mom and my dad’s ancestors were in colonists, there is a lot of documentation on the families.  While this is fun, it certainly is also a LOT of work, not only in the massive amounts of data entry, but in sifting through some of the information available online to determine if the suggestions are plausible.  Do any of you have any experience with geneology?  Any suggestions?  I have gotten to the point where some of the ancestors from my mom’s line are marrying into ancestors from my dad’s line (Incest?!?  😉 ) and on the online version of the software, there’s not a good way to reconcile people, so I think that I will have to buy the actual software program — just for that feature.  1,600 people and counting!  🙂

— 7 —

Irony of the Day. Yesterday, my co-worker had gotten 3 voicemails and an e-mail from the Red Cross, letting him know there was a crisis shortage of blood and that they needed to come in.  So, of course this was on my mind when I arrived at church for  Bible study and saw the Red Cross set up in the Davidson Center for donations.  Even though I was already late, I figured that perhaps God wanted me to give blood today.  After all, what are the chances that I’d have had this be a topic of conversation earlier in the day AND have had dinner just prior (so that *maybe* I wouldn’t pass out this time)?!  I walk in and ask the girl where I start.  She lets me know that they’ve stopped taking people for the day (even though there were still people filling out the initial questionnaire).  They stopped taking people at 7 pm.  It was seriously 7:02 pm.  Guess it wasn’t *that* much of a crisis.  🙂  LOL!  Either that or God thought that my time was better spent at the Bible study.  And I can’t argue with that.  🙂

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

CDM.  This stands for Celebrity Deathmatch, that claymation show from MTV where different celebrities are pitted against each other in a boxing ring, usually to the death.  Even though I didn’t really watch the show, I like to use the concept when talking about things I want to pit against each other.  Like my various medical issues.

Currently, one aspect of my mitochondrial myopathy, while making me very sick, is helping out with some of my PCOS issues.  So, I’m definitely all for Medical Condition CDM in this case, and I’m rooting for the myopathy.  At least for a while.  🙂

— 2 —

This probably should have been #1, but today is the Stop HHS Rally!  It’s taking place, to my knowledge, throughout the country at 12 pm today.  I will be attending in Ann Arbor, and will hopefully have some pictures to post later in the day.  First amendment rights, Freedom OF Religion (**Not freedom FROM religion**), and the ability to follow your conscience are definitely things that I think are important to stand up for.  If you would like more information or would like to sign the petition, please visit the Stop HHS website.

— 3 —

Rollerblading at work!  One of my coworkers brought in rollerblades today.  This is awesome!  🙂  I love my team!

— 4 —

Is anyone else in shock and disbelief that Holy Week is coming up so soon?  This happens *every* Lent.  Do not get me wrong, I love Easter, but I think I need a little bit more Lent before I am really “ready.”  That said, I am so excited! for the activities of Holy Week.  Chrism Mass in particular.  This is one of my favorite liturgies of the entire year!

— 5 —

With Easter just around the corner, I’m hoping that I will be able to spend a little bit more time in prayer and planning prior to the big event(s).  Usually, I’m so busy trying to wrap up Lent that Easter hits me over the head by surprise.  So, I *might* not be online quite as much as I am used to being online.  If you do not see me, it is likely that I’m still on the planet,  just not readily accessible….   🙂

— 6 —

Does anyone else have a problem with returning library books on time?  I seem to have some sort of pathological condition which precludes me from being able to make a library book deadline.  No matter what, I’ve very rarely been able to check out a book without incurring a fine.  Which I rationalize as my way of supporting the library financially.  However, with the parish library, this can get out of hand.  For example, I have one book that I checked out of the parish library about 3-4 years ago….  They only let you check it out for 3 weeks at a time.  I’m only halfway through reading it.  They did send me a note once, asking for it back.  This was about a year and a half ago.  Well, now I have checked out two books from my other parish library.  And they are due on Monday.  What do you suppose the likelihood is of my returning them on time?

— 7 —

Related to this Late Library Book Syndrome, I can’t seem to leave a library without checking out a book… or four!  Doesn’t matter how many books I am currently reading.  I blame the consumeristic society.  🙂  And the flimsy nature of my will.  I have a whole bookshelf in my home dedicated to Books That Belong to Someone Else.  I just love books — I can’t help it!  I have over 1,000 books on my Amazon Wishlist and over 1,500 on my To-Read list on Goodreads.  I wonder if I will get through them in my lifetime.  And, if not, if God will give me access to a library in Heaven and not charge me fines….  🙂

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!