~*My*ChRiStMaS*PoSt*~

Everything Will Be All Right

~**~

Christmas is the promise

that the God who came in history

and comes daily in mystery

will one day come in glory!

~*~

God is saying in Jesus

that in the end

everything will be all right.

~*~

Nothing can harm you permanently

no suffering is irrevocable,

no loss is lasting,

no defeat is more than transitory

no disappointment is conclusive.

~*~

Jesus did not deny the reality of suffering,

discouragement, disappointment, frustration,

and death, he simply stated that

The Kingdom of God would Conquer All These horrors,

That the Father's LOVE is so prodigal

that No evil can resist it.

~*~

Dec 21 reading from Reflections for Ragamuffins

By Brennan Manning

* prodigal ~ reckless extravagant

Merry Christmas Time

Dear Friends

~**"The AccidEnt of BEing AliVe...

Dear Friends,

The following is a quote

from someone who I regard highly.

They are not my words

but they are words that I am

letting them sink deep into me

as I reflect on this Season of Advent.

"A spiritual thing is folding your clothes

at the end of the day.

A spiritual thing is making your bed.

A spiritual thing is taking cookies to your neighbor

who is shut in or raking their front lawn because

they are too old to do it.

That's spirituality.

... there's nothing more practical than real spiritually."

"... your ministry is how much of a tip

you leave at a resturant; when you leave a hotel room

messed up or not; whether you flush your toilet or not.

Your ministry is the way you love people.

... loving people being respectful toward them ~ is

much more important then writing or doing music.

If you are a Christian ~ ministry is the

accident of being alive."

Just some Random thoughts about
becoming a woman of more substance

I am choosing this year to not become caught up
in the season's frenzy. Instead I am letting God pull
and refine me into a woman who sees beyond the surface.
I am slowing down and trying to only do the neccessary.
The necessary to move me closer to Christ.
I have been moved to reach out to my neighbors
around me (and not just the street kind although
they are a good place for me to begin).
And I have decided to treat family and friends
to gifts made by artist friends and myself
and not resort to superficial or convenience.
It will not be an easy thing for me to do
because I like easy, but I am tired of simplifing
on the most important things so that I can "fluff "
and "foo foo" the season.


The quotes are from a Rich Mullen's biographical book,

An Arrow Pointing to Heaven

(by James B. Smith, Amazon sells it used

and it would make a lovely Gift)

It inspires me to become a more authentic

person of faith,

as I hope these words will do for you.

Love and Peace to you,
Katie

~*HoSpiTaLity*FrOm*ThE*HenRi*NoWeN*siTe~*

Dear Friends,

This is too good to not share with you today!

On the Journey Toward Radical Hospitality

written by VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT

My friend Isaiah, is a missionary who works in Medellin, Columbia with homeless youth. Many are addicted to glue which slowly causes irreversible brain damage. Their addiction to glue allows them to cope with their emotional pain and the violence of living on the streets of Medellin. The children survive by eating scraps from the garbage.

Often Isaiah would visit with a young man named Louis who lived on the streets in a makeshift shelter of boxes and rusted scraps of corrugated metal. When Isaiah visited, Louis always took off his tattered shirt to spread on the ground so Isaiah would not have to sit in the dirt. Sadly, Louis was killed on the same street where he had shown love and hospitality to his friend.

I recall that story often as an example of radical hospitality. How often I have missed an opportunity to welcome someone into my home or to offer them a seat, or even a warm smile. It would not be a sacrifice for me like it was for Louis and yet I still protect my personal space.

Fr. Richard Rohr once told a story about seeing a message written on a sidewalk by a homeless person that read, "See how they protect their nothing." And it challenges me to reflect on what God given gifts I am afraid to share with my brothers and sisters.

On my journey toward radical hospitality, I want to be like Louis who had nothing but the shirt on his back and a small homemade shelter to share with his friend Isaiah. Louis had nothing but gave everything, even his life.

- VICTORIA S. SCHMIDT lives in Springfield, Illinois (USA). She has a missionary heart that has been formed by thirty years of missionary work around the world. She currently serves as Director of Theresian World Ministry, an international Catholic women's organization.

Our small group is beginning a study entitled

Walk Across The Room

(I cannot wait until Tuesday night!)

Blessings, Katie

God's Joy and Delight

From Reflections For Ragamuffins July 23 His Joy In Me By Brennan Manning

(Read the words for you, YOU are His JOY!

It is important to recapture the element of delight in creation. Imagine the ecstacy, the veritable orgy of joy, wonder, and delight when God makes a person in his own image! When God made you! The Father gave you as a gift to himself. You are a response to the vast delight of God. Out of an infinite number of possibilities, God invested you with existence. Regardless of the mess you have mad out of the original clay, wouldn't you agree with Aquinas that "it is better to be than not to be"?

Have I really appreciated the wonderful gift that I am?

Could the Father's gift to himself be anything but beautiful?

Soul Graffiti

Estes Park, Trail Ridge Road, Grand Lake,

Rabbit Ears Pass, and Steamboat Springs

Graffiti in Steamboat Springs

In his book, Soul Graffiti, author Mark Scandrette pens these words: "In a world overwhelmed with words, sometimes the most powerful communication is action that is fueled and inspired by love. We are more likely to trust messages that are inhabited, like living, breathing three-dimensional graffiti."