Practice and Advance, O Daughter of God!

 Hello, my lovely friends! 

How have you been?  It's been just about a month and a half since I've posted but it feels like such a long time.  The season has finally changed here in the desert and I'm happy about that although I'm not ready for the cold.  (I know, my northern friends will scoff at my idea of cold.  It's relative, believe me. 😝)  Even though the leaves don't turn color much here, the temperature has dropped.  The exit of Summer and the arrival of Fall brings a twinge of sadness with it.  

I should let you all know that I am no longer in a relationship.  It ended well, all things considered, and I've been taking the last few months to process everything before I share anything here.  You may or may not know this, but this was my first relationship so I've been learning a whole lot from this process.  I had no idea that certain feelings and emotions existed and I can say with confidence that I have a greater capacity for empathy now.  Thank God for His hidden blessings.  I've also been learning lessons about life and myself.  As I made my tea the other morning, I had a rush of blog inspiration and just had to write it down.  I'm so glad I have something to share with you here again.

Eventually, I'd like to be able to write a letter or make an Instagram Reel talking to my younger self but today's post just comes from asking myself what I've learned and what I need to learn going forward.

Don't just exist until you're married.  Live life to the fullest as who you are right now.  You are not a wife lacking a husband when you are single.  You are a daughter of God and you must live as such.  You'll never get this time back.  Use it well.  In simple ways, you can keep the house and your room clean.  A clean house provides so much more scope for the imagination.  Your mind can breathe more clearly.  Do your chores promptly so they're out of the way.  Spend time with friends and practice virtues in these relationships.  Practice skills and hobbies that make you happy.  For me, it's watercolor, knitting, photography, and baking.  I have many other happy pastimes as well, (such as blogging, obviously,) but these are the ones I'm doing right now.  I want to practice them and grow my skills.  

I've also realized I have so much growing to do as a person.  I have so many shortcomings.  I should work on myself so I can give the very best version of myself to the right person at the right time.  If I'm failing myself and my family now as a daughter, how am I going to make it as a wife?  Seek to get real housewife experience.  Don't just help with fixing a salad for dinner; plan the menu, take on the whole operation, do the shopping, prep, and cooking.  Watch a baby; not just for a couple hours, but the whole afternoon or day.  Realize you're going to need help and learn to ask for it kindly, humbly.  Listen to your parents' advice and put it into practice.  (Guys, I'm mostly telling myself this.  I struggle with this a lot.  I think I may have to do an entire blog post about this to convince myself.)  You'll always have someone higher up to submit to in life whether it be your boss, your husband, your landlord, etc., and ultimately, God.  Learn to take advice and obey wise counsel.  Increase your devotions.  You won't get more time for prayer later, but less.  Cover your future in prayer.  Just because you don't know what your future holds doesn't mean you can't pray about it.  

Most importantly, practice surrender to God's Will.  It is most important to do this in tiny things.  If we just wait for the big things to come along, no matter how resolved we think we are, we are more likely than not going to buckle under stress, pressure, or desire.

"Lord, help me desire to desire to do Your Will."

Going one step further, we should not only strive to stay in God's Will in a stagnant way, but we should strive to advance in His most holy Will.  I don't just want to stay barely on the edge of doing God's Will becoming a legalist, but I should be striving every day to do God's Will more and more with my whole heart.  Firstly, God wills that we remain in His grace through the Sacraments but He desires so much more too.  God wants us to draw closer to Him having charity for those around us and even closer by uniting our sufferings to those of Our Lord on the Cross.  This should be our ultimate desire; to be so advanced in God's Will that we can unite our sufferings to His.  This takes practice so like I said, we should practice our resolve in small ways no matter what season of life we're in.

 The problem is, I haven't been doing all these things.  Therefore, I am challenging myself to make changes and practice these things so that I can improve myself and advance in sanctity, God willing.  Enjoy your time in this season.  Seasons change so quickly and soon this season will be a memory of the past.  Make sure it's a fond one.  It may not be exactly happy, but if we strive to do our best and advance in God's Will, it will become a fond memory with lessons to look back on.  Thank God for your blessings and strive for Heaven in all you do!

Look Up, Look Out

While doing the dishes at my home away from home in Texas, I realized I've always wanted a window to look out over the kitchen sink. Well, there in Texas, there is one. You can see the green lawn, frolicking children, rain coming down on the driveway, and the large statue of the Holy Family in the garden. But you still have to look up to see the beautiful view. 

 Such is life; we have regular work to do that can be monotonous and trying but if we just look up and around us, we will see the view life has to offer. It is so pleasant to remember to look up and out that window while you're doing the dishes.  I think this can also apply to our phones and technology.  I oftentimes reach for my phone to scroll on social media or just kill time while waiting for something.   I've come to realize though that I could be enjoying the world around me at these times instead.  God's beauty seems to be going to waste sometimes because we're so absorbed in our tasks and especially our own virtual realities.  Don't forget to put the phone down, look up, and thank God for His amazing creation.

Here at home, I don't have a window to look out over the kitchen sink, but I do look up to see a statue of Our Blessed Mother on the countertop and further up to see Our Lord hanging on the cross. These are also views we must look up to in life.  We can become so obsessed with the latest news, headlines, and world problems that we forget to take care of our own little worlds around us.  Do you think society is falling into disrepair?  Take a look around your house, laundry room, kitchen, or bedroom.  I'll bet there is something that has been neglected there.  (There is for me anyway. 😅 )  We worry and stress about things that are almost completely out of our control but we don't take the time to care for and fix the things that need it right at our fingertips.

Saint Mother Teresa is famously quoted saying,

If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.

Sometimes, this is all we can do.  And it is the most important thing to do.  When we love our families; not just in our words, but in our actions as well, we will lay the foundations that can change the world.  How do we love our families at home?  We must see Christ in them and love Christ in them.  No matter how they have hurt you or neglected you, they are still created in the image and likeness of God.  At the end of our lives, God is not going to ask us who hurt us or who took care of us the best.  Instead, He is going to ask you how you loved Him in this life.  And He asked us to love Him by loving, serving, and caring for those around us.

So look up and start to change the world around you.  Do that pile of dishes or laundry.  Greet your family with a smile instead of a frown.  Go the extra mile.  But no matter what you do, thank God for His blessings and strive to love Him as much as you possibly can.

The Fandom Tag

I found this tag on Megan Chappie's blog!  I almost completely forgot about it until I was catching up with her old posts and found my own comment saying I was going to complete this tag! XD  Well, better late than never.  Now is the perfect time for me to complete it too because I caught a cold and am running low on post inspiration at the moment.  I do have a bit to write about but finding the words is a different story.  Enough of that though, let's get to...

Rules:

1. Include the graphic somewhere in your post!

2. Answer the questions!

3. Tag two fangirls!

What's the first fandom you remember becoming a part of?

Unfortunately, we can't scroll all the way back to my first Pinterest pins.  If we could, I might be able to get a sense of what my first real fandom was.  but I'm pretty sure I can say with confidence that it was Anne of Green Gables.  

I've explained my love for the books and movies over and over again in blog posts.  My dear childhood friend, Erin, first introduced me to the movies (a fact I think I've somehow forgotten to include in all my AoGG fangirling posts.  I owe her big time.)  She popped in the VHS and I was hooked.  We watched parts of them then and also again after we finished studying for the ACT one time. 🥰  We fangirled about those movies so hard and I called her right away when I found out Jonathan Crombie died. 😢

What's the newest fandom you've come to enjoy?

I believe it would be All Creatures Great and Small. 

I fell in love with the book by that same title years ago when I first read it, but I didn't enter the fandom until this summer when I watched the new PBS Masterpiece series. Ooooh, it's just soooo beautiful!!  I will most definitely have to do an appreciation post for Season 1 soon.  I just finished it and it was fantastic.

What's a fandom guaranteed to give you feels?

 When I think "feels", I think of Broadway.  There is nothing like the feels you get when you're sitting in your velvety seat in the dark theater listening to the overture and waiting for the curtain to rise.  There is just absolutely nothing like it.  I have so many favorite shows but the three that provide the most feels are my top three favorites.

Anastasia

Newsies

Daddy Long Legs

Look at how the colors from the three even go together so well.  Maybe we've found my aesthetic. 😊  Of course I'm here for the whole fandom surrounding these musicals as well, the movies, the books, the stickers, you name it! 

I will also have to do a post on this absolutely gorgeous musical.  It deserves so much recognition.  For now, I'll just leave you with one more GIF.

What's a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?

Oooh, a guilty pleasure, you ask?  I think I'd have to say Adventures in Odyssey.  

I grew up on it.  It may have even been an earlier one than AoGG, but at that time, I didn't even know fandom was a word.  I was just a dedicated fan; a devoted listener.  I still come back to Odyssey over and over again.  It never gets old.  I don't know too many people personally who love it but my best friend, Francesca, also grew up with it.  And then there was that one guy who worked at Chipoltle in California who told me he grew up listening to it when he saw my Adventures in Odyssey t-shirt. 😊

What's the weirdest fandom you've heard of/are a part of?

Heard of?  Oh, there are tons...

But been a part of??  Hm... of course, I don't find any of my fandoms weird; they're my fandoms!!  But there is one that would make most people's faces twist up with a funny look.  Odd Squad.  I know, cringe, right?!  But there was a period of 2 or so years when my sister and I would fangirl over this PBS Kids show with the younger kids in choir.  We enjoyed watching it just as much as they did!  We knew the references and we were really sad to see the main actors move on when they aged out of the roles. 😆

Favorite popular/widely-known fandom?

Megan said Marvel, and I think I'd have to agree.  I still haven't seen all the movies released up to this point.  I literally just watched Infinity War.  Don't judge.  I'm still processing that ending.  I don't know if I will ever watch End Game or Black Widow, but I'm a sucker for the original Captain America, Avengers, and Thor films.  They have good stories, virtues, and cinematic magic that allow me to enjoy them time after time.  Of course, I need a bit of time before rewatching the same film in this fandom, but there are enough that they don't get old too quickly. 😏  

I'm having a hard time finding a good Marvel GIF on my Pinterest (shame on you, Sarah.)  So this will have to do for now.

Favorite bookish fandom?

Ah!!  There are so many!!  There are classics such as Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott, then there are books that don't really have a fandom but when I finish them, I desperately wish they did.

My favorite book fandom that hasn't been made into movies (...yet... I say that in hopes they will someday be given their own beautiful movies,) is The Veritas Chronicles.  There is a faithful if small fandom connected with these.  And I'm a terrible fandom member as I haven't read the final book in the trilogy, but I will buy it soon!!  These books are so beautiful, simple yet complex.  They are mature yet with a beautiful innocent spirit woven through them.  I love the Catholic "soundtrack" that backs the whole fabric of these books.  You must read them if you love AoGG, Christian fiction, stories about college students, adventure, romanticism, and beauty.

And you know what makes this trilogy perfect for this question?  Not only is there a fandom for these books, but the characters in the book love books!  😊  It's definitely a bookish fandom. 

What do you consider your "home base," a fandom you can always come back to?

Again, I'd have to say Anne of Green Gables.  It is my old faithful.  If anyone asks what my favorite book or movie is, I lose no time in saying the same answer every time.

What's a fandom you know all about...but aren't actually into?

Probably the Middle Earth fandom.  I know, I should be cast out of blogger society forever!!  I know all about it because it is my sister's all-time favorite, home base, and first fandom.  The movies are beautiful and I'm sure the books are fantastic but I just never could get past the first few pages of The Hobbit.  I like the movies, but I'm just not into the fandom.  Sorry.  

Which fandom has the best characters?

At one point in time, I would have again answered Anne of Green Gables, but now, I would answer, Little Women. 

Yep, hands down.  The characters have so so much more depth.  They learn and teach such valuable and timeless lessons.  I've only read the book from beginning to end one time but I know there is still so much more I can learn from them.  I will definitely be revisiting the March family again.  It's not just the four sisters, but their parents, Laurie, Mr. Laurence, and Professor Bhaer.  Each film adaptation does very well in portraying these characters, but they usually fall short in one aspect or another.  Like I said, the characters are so complex; you can only fully get to know them in the book.  If you haven't read it, this is your call to do so.

Name your all-time favorite ship.

I've mentioned AoGG too much already.  (How am I even saying that's possible?! 😱)  But we who are so steeped in that fandom are able to rest assured that Anne and Gil will get together.  I no longer even feel the need to ship them.  But there is another fandom that will forever need the main characters to be shipped because they took so long to get together and it didn't last long enough.  Do you know which one I'm talking about??

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If you guessed When Calls the Heart, then you're correct.

I will forever ship Jack and Elizabeth no matter what.  They deserved so much better.  Now I'm only just starting in on Season 6 so I'm considerably behind and I know life goes on but there will never be anyone as good for Elizabeth as Jack.  "Good" is just the word for him.  And when I come upon brand new fangirls or I introduce my own children to WCTH, I will fangirl and ship Elizabeth and Jack over and over again so hard.

What's a fandom you're curious about joining?

North & South.  I have only watched the mini-series once but I would love to get my own copy of it and the original novel is on my TBR list.  I think there are so many layers to unfold in this story and someday, I hope to dive in.

So those are my answers!!  In preparing for this post I made a list of all the fandoms I consider myself a part of but not all of them made it into this list.  Some honorable mentions include:

Cinderella

 Jane Austen

Brooklyn

Narnia

Tangled

Yes, I know, I'm a complete sucker for romances.  🙃  And if you made it this far, thank you very much!!  Please drop a line in the comments below!  I want to know what your favorite fandoms are!!

As for tagging two fangirls, I tag,

1. All those who are here for the gifs 🙌 and 
2. Anyone who thinks they may have found a new fandom to explore from this tag.

Thank you so much for reading!!

In cordibus Jesu et Mariae,

Sarah

Pick up Your Cross: A Letter

Dear friend, 

Being a saint does not consist of great and marvelous deeds or being angelically perfect.  We are called, each and every one of us, to become saints by picking up our crosses daily and following the greatest teacher there ever was.  Even He stumbled and fell under the crushing weight of the cross.  We cannot do more than Him.   We will fall but we most certainly can get back up again.  Our Lord is always there to pick you back up as you know how impossible it is to get back up on your own.  And He gives you friends and family too to help you.  In marriage, that's the job of your spouse.  The couple denies themselves and helps the other carry their cross.  In religious life, these people are your sisters or brothers.

Your cross is not a physical piece of wood or even a martyrdom of blood.  Your cross is the everyday struggle you encounter.  Bear these struggles patiently, humbly, and resigned knowing that God will not let you suffer more than you and He can handle together.

The path to sainthood is the path to Heaven and this path is paved with roses.  But roses have thorns.  But imagine if we gave up altogether because of the thorns.  Then we wouldn't see the beautiful roses nor smell their lovely fragrance.  Greater still, we would not reach Heaven.  So we must continually embrace these roses and thorns looking to Our Lord and Our Lady for help.  They suffered so much at the hands of this world; how can we expect any less?

Moms are wonderful.  Just imagine how Our Lady is wanting to be your mother.  St. Thérèse said,

"She is more mother than queen."

Our mothers always want what's best for us and always want to help us.  Mary wants to do the same even more.  Imagine those hands which carried the child Jesus, mended His clothes, prepared His food, and held His lifeless body as it came off the cross.  Now, Mary extends her arms to you.  These hands are open to you with so many graces.  But most especially, they're just open; open to you so you may take her hands, no matter how low you feel.  Then when you do, she will draw you under her starry blue mantle.  There, she will teach you just how to follow her beloved Son.  She will give you the graces to carry your cross. 

All this is to say,  do not despair, do not lose heart, and do not sell yourself short.  My favorite heroine of literature says,

"Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it yet."

Let us begin each day anew to pick up our crosses no matter how tedious or troublesome they may be.  There are so many saints in Heaven who have not been canonized who did not do extraordinary deeds but just followed Our Lord simply and humbly, stumbling many times along the way.  But they fought their battles bravely and that is what we must do too.

So let us soldier on, bearing our crosses and enduring those thorns while helping each other with our prayers.  You may always be assured of my prayers.

In cordibus Jesu et Mariae,

Sarah