MISTY'S MORNINGS

It is so typical.  I ponder something in my heart all week only to find the answer waiting for me at some point during Mass on Sunday. This past week I was questioning my preparedness for hard times ahead.  I am not a worrier by nature.  There are worriers in my life and I spend much time encouraging them to take heart and fear not;  God is with us always. Yet there are times when I do wonder if I have allowed myself to be too peaceful in this life.  If I should be doing more to prepare for the unknowable future. Then I go to Mass.  With early morning sunlight streaming in through circular windows, falling softly on the faces of so many families who have also come for a word of grace, I inhale deeply the unique peacefulness that comes when so many faithful people are hushed together in reverence. The Gospel is proclaimed.  Matthew 6:24-34.  And as the words are read, a slow smile spreads across my face.   Here is the message God want...

I have linked with RAnn from  This That and the Other Thing  for her Sunday Snippets Catholic Carnival.  Catholic bloggers are invited to share their favorite posts from the week.  Please stop over to see what they are sharing.   My shared posts for the week are: White Cheddar Chili recipe for Sunday Soup Night Lost in the Moment Trees and Trains

I hope you have time this weekend to set foot into God's great creation.  There is peace to be found among the trees.  Blessings!

Magazines, books and blogs urge me to live with  mindfulness ~  to be "present" in the current moment.  Not to miss the beauty in the simple things of life.   What if the world in which I live is so disappointing I would rather live in a fog of my own  mindlessness ?  I vacillate between trying to stay on top of current events and turning it all off and tuning it all out.   I t seems impossible that such dramatic events can occur in the same world where people spend money on Silly Bands.   The news can be so frightening that I would rather watch Food TV and become lost in learning to make chicken empanadas.   Somehow it begins to seem foolish to spend so much time blogging, decorating and running errands.    Is being so narrowly focused causing me to miss the call to be more prepared for reality?  Am I getting so lost in savoring the small moments in life that I will be unprepared for the inevitable bigger moments to come?...

He just turned nine last week.  Yesterday my son said, "I can't wait 'til I turn 12."  Our precious neighbor hit a milestone today and awoke to find her lawn covered in skunks.  Apparently, she should wish to stay the age she used to be.   How often have I wished to be an age I am not, yet, and, nowadays, an age I once was?   Why not simply be content to be the age I am today?  Because it takes courage.  To live deeply within this minute, to inhale slowly, exhale extravagantly, to be alive and to really appreciate it, takes a deeper level of consciousness than many people want to be bothered with.  Life is rarely about what is happening right now.  For many of us, it is consumed by what happened to us yesterday and what we have to do tomorrow. " Much, much stress results from your wanting to make things happen before their times have come. ... Instead of dashing headlong toward your goal, let ME set the pace.  Slow d...

It was the first one that did it. My son was four and invited to his first-ever birthday party.  It was to be at the little girl's house one Saturday afternoon in October.  Since I had never met this family, I decided to stay for the party myself along with several other parents.  You see, the entire class was invited.  Nearly 30 four year olds had arrived at the front door of a lovely home and stepped into the "Birthday Zone". The first stop upon arriving was to stand still and have a photograph taken.  Then it was into the double garage where long banquet tables were laid out with tablecloths while toddler-music pumped from a nearby stereo. On one side were four card tables covered with crafts supplies and adult helpers stationed to assist.  At one station, kids made spiders for Halloween, at the next, they decorated picture frames. Then it was on to games.  The children were divided into groups and moved through several simple game stati...

A photo thought … Outside my window …pewter sky and the occasional dry leaf flip-flopping by in the wind. I am thinking …how nice it is to have a calendar with big blank boxes after the busy week we just had. I am wearing …pj's since the boys have no school today we are staying cozy all morning. I am hearing …flying, giggling, boys  leaping  off beds upstairs.  Anytime I hear crying now I expect to go to the ER until someone yells, "Don't worry, there's no blood!" I am thankful for …my husband being home later than usual this morning, the big bowl of budding tulips from a friend, this new day. I am going …to the park to meet friends and enjoy the warmer weather, to Target for a coffee to bring to the park!, and home for playtime in the backyard with the boys. I am hoping …to find the instruction paper for my son's book report due this week.  I think I may have tossed it in the recycling bin.  He read a biography of Albert Einstein and needs to share it wit...

Stop over at Bake Me Away for a quick and delicious dessert idea you can make tonight.  Have a sweet Saturday!

Warm breezes through open windows, budded branches and two birthday boys this week simply made my soul rejoice. On Wednesday morning I read the lyrics of a hymn in my Magnificat.  The words echoed my spirit's silent song and reverberated through the past two days. Even if the breezes blow cold and the branches remain barren, I hope these words can awaken your own spirit's song of peace and praise today. HYMN Thanks be to God, O give him Praise And publicize his great name. Shout out, proclaim aloud his deeds To ev'ry land and peoples, Sing songs of beauty to the Lord; Praise him with spirit jubilant. Tell over all his marvels! Glorious is his holy name; Let ev'ry heart be joyful. Cleansed they become through fear in faith Who struggle now with courage. Look to the Lord and to his strength; His acts recall, his judgments sound. Never forget his wonders! He surely is our God and Lord Who all the earth rules justly. His cov'nant he will not forge...

The Stylish Blogger Award: Alana at  All is Amazing  has honored me and my baby blog with this award. I hope my own readers will stop over to read her inspirational posts on homemaking, organizing, step-by-step tablescapes and more.  Thank you, Alana, for giving me this award! The rules for this award are: Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award. Share seven things about yourself. Award seven recently discovered great bloggers. Contact these bloggers and tell them about the award. Seven Things About Misty of mistysmornings.blogspot.com: ◙ I am a Targetaholic.  I try not to go there everyday but now that Starbucks is inside, it can be very hard to stay away.  Many people have toured my house and asked, "Where did you get that cute thing?" and the answer is always, "At Target."  They are amazed.  Soon they are telling me about all their great Target finds.  Spread the love! ♦ Soy prof...

How do you keep it all together? All the papers, magazines clippings, ideas for crafts, service contracts and more.  I have spent many hours trying to figure it out on my own and finally landed on a few helpful blogs that described how to set up a homekeeping notebook . Over the past summer I tried to put my own together.  Every few weeks I go through my "inbox" where I have tossed all those important loose papers.  I end up throwing many of them away and then hole-punch the rest to go into my Family binder. I cut scrapbooking papers to insert inside the plastic covering on a large three-ring binder.  Lately I have put a greater importance on making functional items more beautiful.  Stickers and scrap papers work wonders. These sticky divider tabs  were fabulous for creating the sections in my binder.  Some of the categories I have are: Books, Decorating, Directions,Dreams,Family Meetings, Gardening, Gift Ideas, Goals, House P...

A photo thought... Outside my window …blue sky, sunshine, gentle breeze bringing warmer weather today.   I am thinking …about Valentine's Day.  Loving so many people, my God, my life. I am wearing …a coral tunic top and black yoga pants. I am hearing …" Bless the Broken Road " by Selah on my computer and my two year old playing trains. I am thankful for …the changing of each season.  I always decide I like the next one even better than the last.  It feels like time to think about planting flowers and bringing out Easter baskets again. I am going … to stay home today.  Mondays are my work at home day - laundry, beds, general tidying from the weekend and making lists and plans for the week ahead.  Also need to wrap the little gifts I got for Valentine's Day! I am hoping …my cousin will still be able to visit us overnight tonight.  Feel better! I am praying for …my friend, Terri, whose benefit is this week at the Blarney Stone.  She needs mira...

My three soup-lovin' sons. This is the soup I am making for dinner tonight .  I will double it so there will be enough for lunches tomorrow as well. Have a delicious Sunday!

Yesterday we had the most lovely snow day. The woods were simply begging us to come and explore. We had new trails to find and secret passageways and hideouts. Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak with the voice of God. George Washington Carver There were tracks to follow. And tracks to make. Occasionally, the wind blew mini blizzards of snow around us. And then the sun returned and the sky gleamed blue. The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. Ralph Waldo Emerson There were hints of Spring. And reminders of winter. We made wonderful memories. And then, there were the snowy camellias. I got a little swept away by their color and beauty. I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. e.e. cummings ...