Misinformed...

http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900402.htm Sorry for any confusion.

Living

Peace. Joy. Rest. Happiness. Silence. By the grace of God, these will one day be words that describe the way I live. I want to spend time living the tradition of the Christian life. I want to move and rest to the rhythm of life in Christ - the rhythm of the liturgy. I hope to never again wish for life as it used be. I will always strive to allow life to change me, to embrace all there is to learn, to start anew in every phase - always learning the lessons life teaches, always learning to live a better life. I hope to embrace the silence. To meet God (peaceful, loving, and gentle) in the stillness. I am training myself to pause, not just externally, but internally as well. My heart and I will learn how to love God. My soul and I will learn how to rest.

Back to Formalized Education...

Classes start today. I am looking forward to getting an idea of what my life will look like this semester. I am ready for a routine. I am still determined to live better this semester. There is one error that I made in my thinking last semester that has to go. In my attempt to nurture my desires, I ended up blindly following my emotions. In that process, my true desires were forgotten. I never really found peace or happiness last semester. A distinction that will be important for me this time around is that it is the will that desires, not the emotions. Emotions that are well trained will follow the desires of the will. The will, with virtue, will follow the intellect. So, this semester, I will live so as to nurture my desires, as they are ordered to the intellect ... my emotions will catch on eventually!

Some Quick Thoughts

1.) I do not want to go back school. I love being home. I love youth group. I know that God is teaching me about the power and value of prayer while I have to be away, but it is a lesson that I am learning begrudgingly. It is this kind of stubbornness and selfishness that frequently gets in the way of God. 2.) This semester WILL be different than last. I WILL learn self-discipline. I will NOT neglect my personal development. This is known as determination - hopefully it is genuine. 3.) I see lots of tea (or coffee), prayer time, writing, and peace in my future. May God grant me the grace to really have this as my life.

Luckily, I did NOT make blogging consistently a New Year's resolution. In case you were curious as to what I chose to give up in January, the snooze button won the award this month. Should be fun...

Fireproof

I watched the movie Fireproof again tonight. It is a wonderful reminder to me that love at its most real state walks the road to Calvary and hangs naked and covered in blood on a cross. The reality of love something to fight for. This is the love I am called to live daily.