Well, I haven't posted in awhile. Since before school started, I believe. I suppose there's probably a lot of changes since then. But I just wanted to share a story.

Last night, we had our weekly Life Teen Core Group meeting. My dad kind of started talking about how he and June, another core member, have issues with pride. They had us all sit in a line of chairs. They brought out a basin sort of thing, a pitcher of warm water, and a towel. One by one, they washed our feet. It was very humbling for not only the washers, but for the washees as well. It was such a touching moment..

I just wanted to share that with you all. Perhaps I will post a scripture in relation to the story later. Peace be with you all! :)

Prayer Request Corner

-Protection of unborn children

-Teens, especially those facing the temptation of sexual sin

-For our leaders, religious, political, and educational

-For our families

-For my best friend

-For my boyfriend

-For Shannon and her family

Lord Jesus, please be with all those who need you. Be with us and help us to be your humble servants. We are nothing without you Lord. Convert are hearts to seek only you. What can we do to serve you Lord? How can we shine the light of Christ? Reveal Your will to us and help us submit ourselves to all that you desire of us. Send your Holy Spirit to work through us. We LOVE You Lord! Thank you for this beautiful autumn day and for all the blessings that came with it! In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

  Yesterday wasn't too eventful. I went to lunch with a young man I graduated with. We went to Gyros, a greek restaurant that has really tasty food! After that we went to the Student Employment office so he could drop off some paperwork. The campus had way more students than it did during the summer. It was scary! :( I'm kind of dreading starting school. It starts Monday already! Ah! =/ Lord Jesus please help me to be brave, independent and open to meeting the new people you plan for me to meet. I'm nervous Lord, please be with me.

After he dropped me off I worked on my shoes. You see, I bought these white slip ons for about ten dollars at Wal-Mart. I used my sisters' fine point sharpies to color them. They came out pretty cool! The fronts are blue, yellow, orange, red, green and purple. So are the backs. The sides are black. Here's a front view:

I was thinking about writing, "I can do all things through God who strengthens me," on the back, in addition to the citation. What do you think?

My mom and I went for a run/walk as well. We really should do that every day. It's so good for us!

Later, I read from the Bible. I read about half a chapter from Matthew 5, I believe. It included the Beatitudes. It also had the verses about how we should not hide our light, but let it shine for all to see. In my sisters' preschool, they used to sing a song that went something like, "Hide it under a bushel. No!!! I'm gonna let it shine." And the next verse was, "I'm not gonna *child blows* it out! I'm gonna let it shine." It's a really cute song, but a what a beautiful meaning.

There's one girl in our Life Teen choir who has an absolutely beautiful voice. But she will rarely, if ever do a solo because she doesn't like the attention. When we started hearing her sing more my mom said something like, "Hide it under a bushel, no!" Haha! She still sings loudly though and just as beautifully as ever! (I do not mean to be critical of her. It's a hard thing to sing on your own, and it's completely understandable.)

Today my best friend is coming over. I have a little present for her, I believe I mentioned it before. Either way, it's a sweet book about celebrating girlfriends. It was so weird! Last night I had a dream about the price tag still being on the book. I unwrapped it somewhat, and sure enough, there was the price! Pretty weird huh?

Prayer Request Corner

-For the Unborn Children, protect them against the worst of all atrocities

-For mothers, Virgin Mary, Mother of God, pray for them

-For those experiencing war, be with them Lord Jesus and bring them peace

-For lost souls, lead them to Your Love, Jesus

-For our leaders, especially President Obama

-For souls in Purgatory, may they see Heaven soon

-For Shannon and her family, unite them with Your Love, Heavenly Father

-For the Second Coming of Christ

-For those in discernment, may you reveal what Your will is for them Lord

-For all families, bond them by Your pure Love

-For Christians everywhere, may we truly seek You

-For the Church and all her members

Hear our prayer, God of Love, hear our prayer. Lord, our world is full of evil. Help us to know the good things You have done and to fulfill all the good things You have planned. Let us not be led astray by Satan's deceit. Lead us down the narrow path, my God. Let us reject our world and embrace You and all that is Holy. May your Holy Spirit work through us in our words, our actions, and our thoughts. Be our sword and shield against all that is evil. Lead us not into temptation, Lord, but if we must face it help us to say, "No! Get out of here Satan! I am a Child of God!" We are Yours, Lord. Help us to behave that way. Be with all those who need You and fill us with Your Love. Set our hearts on fire! Your will be done Lord Jesus. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Good morning!

Plan for the day: Random things, choir practice, church, and then the first Life Teen at our church. :)

Life Teen should be fun. You see, my dad became the youth coordinator at our church about a year ago. He went to a Life Teen training/retreat and decided he wanted to have it at our church. I think it will be fun! I hope lots of teens come. It seems like a great way to develop a close relationship with Christ. I'll tell you how it turns out. ;)

Yesterday I organized files in my room. I've been trying to organize my room for school because I think it will make it just that much easier to stay on task and to stay motivated. After that I showered and went to confession with my dad. It's amazing how liberating it is. My old sins are as far as the east is from the west. How amazing! Like the Casting Crowns song "Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west? One scarred hand to the other." I think I'm starting to realize just how beautiful and powerful the sacrements are. Particularly receiving the sacrements of the Eucharist and Reconciliation. In each, I come into contact with Jesus and receive forgivness for my sins. And, if I wanted to I could receive them daily! It's such a beautiful gift...

After confession my dad and I went to the ATM and to pick up my sister. Then we came home and I worked on some things to get ready for college. I made a calendar just to organize myself more effectively and organized my planner somewhat.

My boyfriend came over and we went to his church together. He's not Catholic, but I still enjoyed the service. It's a good learning experience to me. The service's theme was "Job Meets Jesus." It was quite a good lesson. The pastor talked a lot about the warfare between God and Satan. And how Satan is the accuser. But that his accusations of us sinners are absolutely true. We can't argue with him about that, it's not about what we did or did not do. It's about the fact that Jesus saved us by the price of His life. He was crucified so that our sins could be forgiven. One thing I guess I didn't fully realize was that Satan is not in Hell. He's a fallen angel, but he's in the world. Tempting us, accusing us, deceiving us. He's never been in Hell, according to the pastor. He will be, however, according to the Book of Revelation. This passage is cited: "10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, 'It has come at last--/ salvation and power/ and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ./ For the accuser of our brothers and sisters/ has been thrown down to earth--/ the one who accuses them/ before our God day and night./ 11 And they have defeated him by the blood of/ the Lamb/ and by their testimony./ And they did not love their lives so much/ that they were afraid to die.'" (Revelation 12: 10-11) The pastor identified Christ as our defense attorney and Satan as our prosocuting attorney. To recap: Satan's accusations of our sins are true. But "they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb." What a beautiful statement!

Prayer: Thank you Lord Jesus, for giving everything to save our eternal lives. You faced the most challenging feats of all, and You still prevailed. You are Holy and Pure Lord. Teach us to be like You and live out Your will. Let us not set our hearts on earthly possessions, but on Heavenly ones Lord. Let us only be concerned about how we look in Your eyes, not the eyes of humans. For whose judgement matters but our Creator's? Help us prevail Lord Jesus. We cannot thank You enough Christ Jesus, our Redeemer, Savior, Friend. I love you, Jesus. Be with me in all I do and help me to always choose You. Your will be done. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

After the service, we went out to eat at Chili's and to Kohl's. I got three books. Two for me and one for my best girlfriend. It's called Joys of Friendship: A Celebration of Girlfriends. It reminds me a lot of her. :) The other two are 101 Amazing Things about Love and God's Promises for You. When I checked out and the cashier looked at the latter, she said, "Yes he does." She also told me to have a great night. It certainly made me feel really good. I wish I would have said something back in reply. But I just laughed after she said, "yes he does." Not like a rude laugh, more like in response, if that makes sense. But I hope she had a great night as well and may God bless her. :)

Then we went back to his house and watched Malcolm in the Middle. It was kind of an up and down night. I pray that our relationship is pleasing to Christ and that if we're not supposed to be together we will know and have the courage to tell the other. I hope when I see him it will go better than last night.

When I got home I read from the Bible. Day 4: Matthew 4 and Genesis 7, 8, 9. I prayed and went to sleep.

Overall, I feel like it was a spiritual fulfilling day. I feel like I did a pretty good job rejecting sin. But I'm struggling with controlling my thoughts. Please pray for me.

One thing I would like feedback on: I feel like I should join some sort of volunteer group to give back to God in some way. I was thinking Project Defending Life (PDL). They mostly work against abortion and any matter threatening human life, I believe. Or perhaps this one program my dad wanted to start at our church to outreach to women considering an abortion. I can't remember what it's called at the moment. My other option could be to look into programs through the Newman Center at UNM. Tell me what you think. :)

Prayer Request Corner

-For the unborn children

-Those suffering from war

-Those struggling with their relationship with Christ

-Teens

-Life Teen, especially in our parish

-All Christians, may they go deeper in their faith

-The Catholic Church and it's members. May we take advantage of the blessings the Church offers, especially the sacraments.

-For God's will, may we follow it strictly

-For my family, friends and boyfriend

-For Shannon and her family, may they seek Christ together

Lord Jesus, please bless all of these situations with Your love. May Your will be done in each of them, and may we do Your will always. Please help us to prevail against Satan as you did. Help us to remember Your promise and to live for You alone. May we have a wonderful, spiritual and relaxing Sunday. May it be pleasing to You Father. Be with the core members of our Life Teen group. Holy Spirit speak through them so that your Word may ring in listeners ears. Let us rejoice to you through song and through the mass Lord. May we give our all when we sing and play instruments, for You deserve it. I love you, Lord. Be with all those who need you. Your will be done, Always. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.