Advent Listening to Bolster Hope

 

Hello whoever might read this . . . 

You know when you've enjoyed something and you just want to share it with someone? Or maybe you found something meaningful and had the urge to share. I've listened to a couple of talks recently and thought I'd reshare them out there in cyberspace. They've spoken to the place I often find myself in, perhaps you might find a gem too.

Although Father Mike Schmitz has been a popular public figure for some time, I've never really been into listening to his stuff. His fast-talking nature wasn't for me. Somehow, I gave him another chance somewhere along the line and he's been really growing on me. He's a good dude, methinks. 

Here's a little bit that he had to share about a well-known Christmas carol (link directly below).  After that link I'll share a link to the carol.  After that is a homily I heard from him this past Sunday. A very similar theme. Again, they meet me where I am at: a very hard, painful place, but not a place void of  hope. 

How to Celebrate Christmas When Life Is Hard

I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day | Christmas Lyric Video | Reawaken Hymns

"Waiting Well: Unconditional Hope" | The Fourth Sunday of Advent (Fr. Mike's Homily) #sundaymass

How to Celebrate Christmas When Life Is Hard

An Advent Gift for You

 

Here is a short video I wanted to share with you on this Gaudete Sunday. I wanted to bless as many people as possible with our special man. We cut some off to keep for ourselves, but here's a small gift for you. Oh, how we miss this dear soul. 

Funeral Pictures

Welcome.

Many thanks to Meredith Bergin for snapping photos for us! We didn't manage to get many of the vigil but captured a few of the set-up out front. It was a beautiful weekend! We are so grateful to everyone for pitching in to help us put together a prayerful, memorable, and celebratory couple of days.

 

Included in the program was a poem written by Doug after a beloved friend was killed in a car accident in 1999. 

We displayed a handful of Doug's poetry out front, along with a journal and recent page of notes.

Casket handmade by dear family friends. The first people who welcomed us to Montana. 

Our pastor and his wife have been such a support to both Doug and myself. 

A number of dear friends traveled from out of state. 

The ladies of the parish put together quite the luncheon. 

My talented sister arranged the luncheon flowers. 

Smorgasbord of Pictures

Hello, hello!!

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Yes, it has been quite the year (understatement, right?). Lots of hard, hard things going on. But ya know, there's been plenty of beautiful mixed in. So why not rejoice in that, I say?!  

I just dumped all the pictures from my phone onto the computer. When I go into blogger to paste pictures, the square with the pictures is super small. Normally, I would look through all the pictures on the computer first and write down numbers of the pictures that I want to use. Then I would put them in order sequentially. In the old days, I would write up a nice commentary.  Not much of that going on here today.  These are all out of order and I don't have time to look through and pick the best ones. I just clicked away and this is what we get. Better than nothing!!

Enjoy!!  Much love from me to you!!!  

Doug took this pic today. This is the book we got Rusty's name from. Read it to M scores of times. 

M's new neighborhood friend. Fast, great friends!  They are having a great summer with their gel blasters. They are planning a big war with other kids in the park down the streeet. 

July 4th rodeo. 

Horseback riding with the cousins in June. 

Such a great outing!! 

Hooray for a family reunion!!  It had been way too long!! 

The siblings. 

Doggy pile. 

We had a birthday party for my mom's 84th birthday. 

Doggy pile on grandma with some of the grandkids. 

Some of my family joking around. 

Eating out. 

M had a fabulous time with his cousins. Someday I hope to get a reunion with everyone!! 

Sorting pictures from my mom's house. 

Friends from when we lived in Washington. Now they live in Arizona and Idaho. 

Couple of gifts from caring friends. We are rich in friendships. 

A familiar scene. 

M's first week of camp ever!! 

Year #2 for Running Club. We have so much fun with it. 

We got out to the Marble Table for our anniversary! 

Bad picture of the crowd of at 4th of July fireworks. Safe to say we got more fireworks then we bargained for. Phew!  

Wild West style fireworks. Hours of fireworks all around town BEFORE the *real* show ever started. 

The rodeo in Red Lodge. 

Savoring delicious junk food together. 

Travel buddies. 

We needed to take a commuter down to the peninsula. 

This man has helped us in so many ways. He's the one who started 40 sunflowers for Doug and planted them with M in the backyard. 

J getting up on Gigantor. 

Hanging out with our super loyal, generous friends in June.