ThirstyFountains

     Servant. What does it mean to be a servant? According to Merriam Webster, a servant is someone who performs duties to help another. So how does this relate to the family? It relates to the family because, when in a family, sacrifices are performed (well, should be). Recently, I attended Faithful Servant Leadership Retreat. People there taught me how to be sacrificial with time, wants, desires, preferences, and their will over another's.      How have you been a servant to those around you? How can you be a better one? In your family, who do you admire the most for their selflessness? Do you want to be like them?      A family is a group of people that help you, challenge you, heal you, cry with you, suffer with you, laugh with you, and take care of you. Before Faithful Servant, I thought it almost impossible that  I would find someone who I could be real with, but I prayed anyway that I would find that one person. I wa...

     Imagine: A small child, bouncing on their toes. Their hands are weaved together, clasped with fervency. They are asking, begging, for something. They move onto the puss eyes. Ah! There it is. The biting of the lip. Why would the child be biting his lip? Maybe because they can sense an answer coming. An answer... they don't want to receive.  "Please?" They drag the word out, "I'll do anything if I can!" Ah, yes. That old line :) "No, not today." The parent sees the child's eyes filling with- dare I say it? Disappointment.  "Honey, please. Don't give me that look." It's the parent's turn to beg. When the child runs away screaming (at the top of his lungs, I might add), it causes eh! Disappointment- for the parent too.  "Why can't he understand? I'm doing it for the best! Now, with all the stress from _____, I have this to deal with. I just wanted a perfect day, for once..." .  ...

Today starts the  Novena to The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus  !!!      I have been reading Confessions of St. Augustine. In chapter 10, book 12, there is a prayer that I love to pray. You may want to read this slowly...   Let Truth, the light of my heart, and not my own darkness, speak to me. I turned aside to these material things and became darkened,  but from there, even there, I loved You. I have gone astray (Psalm 119:176) , and I remembered You (John 2:8). I heard Your voice behind me (Ez 3:12), calling me to return,  though I could scarcely hear it amid the noise of sinners. And now, behold, I return, panting and gasping to Your fountain.  Let no one forbid me. I shall drink of this fountain and so I shall live. Let me not continue to live as I have lived, for I acknowledge that I have lived badly. To myself I was death, and in You do I live again. Speak to me, discourse with me. I have believed Y...

The  St. Anthony Novena  begins today! Be sure to check it out!      Ears. Right now, think about all the things you can hear. I hear my parents laughing, my little sisters talking, the sound of my breathing, and the computer keys being tapped. (not to mention the soundtrack of A Walk to Remember playing...) Without my ears, without the ability to hear, I would be missing so many things that are going on around me.      I love hearing. One of my favorite things is hearing certain people call my name. I like hearing kids giggling, horses chewing, scissors snipping, water dancing over the rocks, the wind blowing through tree leaves, and much more. I love listening to stories, my friends' laughter, and what is not said.      You see- I believe there is a B-I-G difference between hearing and listening. Hearing requires a small amount of care and ears. Listening requires heart, intuition, and sometimes ears. With that ...