It's been a long time since I've lounged in this coffee shop with tea, my laptop, and my roommate. I love it. An earlier bike ride in the gorgeous fall weather and now some down time with a tasty mug of cranberry autumn tea.
A few more things are warming my heart and making me smile this season...
-my friend J. is entering the Catholic Church and I'm so excited to be his sponsor this fall and to walk with him on this journey. It's been beautiful to see the Lord work in his heart and life and to draw J. closer to His heart.-I traveled with my bestie K. to a bed-and-breakfast in Ohio Amish country several weeks ago. Gorgeous views of rolling farmland and charming local shops. It fed my soul as we walked along the country roads, discovering beauty in quiet simplicity. (And the food itself was rather tasty, too!)
-Our parish launched its new Wednesday night religious education program, for babies through adults! It's been inspiring to see the amount of people responding in a positive way. The Field of Dreams line echoes in my mind--with a twist, of course..."If you feed them (spiritually!), they will come."-We started a share/accountability group for women once a month at the coffee shop here...and wow, God's grace was poured out in abundance. Love these sisters and their sincere hearts!
-Got to hang out in the big city of Baltimore for P.'s brother's wedding in September. I'm definitely not trendy enough or earthy-crunchy enough to live there, but so fascinating to see! We took a day and traveled to nearby Washington D.C.--wow!!! What an emotional experience for this little patriot! I could have spent so much more time there...but I know I'll be back!
-While in D.C., I was able to meet my online friend Tess, a fellow blogger from the Catholic Young Woman! What a crazy-fun time going out to lunch together at Union Station (and many thanks to our sweet men who came along even though I'm not quite sure they get the whole blogging thing!)
-And then there are the quiet moments. How I love the quiet moments with friends and family. Tea with K. as we chatted and watched her little boy play outside...spending the night with my sister and my precious nephews while their daddy was out of town...garage saling with A. and K. on a Saturday morning...farmer's market conversations and new friends...long walks with the dog...bike riding on country roads with the man I love...
Now in the midst of all these happy moments, there are plenty of sins and struggles that make their appearance in my heart and life, let me tell ya...like the green monster of envy that reared its ugly head recently--yuck, how did that get in my heart?! Or the fact that PCOS is in the ring for another battle round just when I thought I had it under control. But God's grace is always abundant...and rather buoyant, too...so even with the not-so-fun stuff, life is beautiful. Thank you, Father.
Hurray!! You posted about our meet-up! It was so wonderful to meet you, Lauren. I felt like we were able to talk about so much and really connect in the short period of time that we had. Hope to see you again soon!! God bless you!
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