Sunday, February 28, 2010

An Olympic Goodbye


As the 2010 Winter Olympics comes to a close, it is time to look back to remember some of our favorite moments. What will you remember the most?

Here are a few of my favorite moments:

  • Opening Ceremony
  • Lindsey Vonn winning gold
  • Watching Apollo do just about anything
  • Shaun White making history in his final run
  • Watching aerials...holy cow that was cool
  • Team USA beating Team Canada in their first match up
  • Team USA winning gold in 4 man bobsledding
  • Team USA sending the gold medal game into overtime




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Monday, February 22, 2010

There is a God

Good Monday morning y'all!!!  I had a super fun weekend.  One of my bucket list items was checked off Saturday night when I got to see Reba in concert.  Oh my goodness...it was AWESOME!!!  Is it sad that I was crying when she got on stage?  Ugh...I just love her.  Would you believe me if I told you her blonde comedic sidekick from the Reba show came on stage and did a little comedy bit with her?  Well, that so happened too.  So, so, so, cool!  And hilarious I might add.  To top that off, the King of country, Mr. George "I make Wranglers look good at any age" Strait...and "by the way, I can really sing too", came on after Reba.  Amazing concert.  One of the other highlights, was Lee Ann Womack opening the show.  She's also uber talented.  One of her new songs, "There is a God", which I had never heard before Saturday night, totally moved me and I wanted to share it with you.  Very powerful point in the show.  I loved how all three singers talked about God in their music.  Praise!!  Anyway, this isn't her official video because I can't seem to find one, but it gives you the song.  Love to all and happy Monday.  Concert photos to come soon.





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Sunday, February 21, 2010

No Meat Friday's...What's That About?!?!?!?!


"I am hoping you will share why people don't eat meat on Friday's during lent. I've always wondered the reasoning behind it. I am sure it has something to do with Christ being the sacrificial lamb. Thanks again for sharing!!!" - Jen @ Following the Footsteps


Dear Jen,
  Thank you for your question.  I love your blog by the way!
  Hmmm...why no meat on Friday's during Lent?  Very good question.  Having never observed this ritual, I must say that I don't have a first hand knowledge of it.  However, I went out and did a little research and this is what I have come up with.
  • Fasting and Abstinence from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all Friday's through Lent is a spiritual practice and ritual observed by the Catholic Church.
  • According to www.americancatholic.org, "Catholics between the ages of 18 and 59 are obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. In addition, all Catholics 14 years old and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and all the Fridays of Lent."  The website goes on to say that "abstinence forbids the use of meat, but not of eggs, milk products or condiments made of animal fat."  (Just as a side note, "condiments made of animal fat" sounds disgusting and should be abstained from based on the pure ick factor alone).  Unfortunately, I couldn't really find a place where the website explained WHY one should abstain from meat or what the particular reasoning is behind it.
  • In my quest for more answers, I drove myself (electronically that is) to www.catholic.org.  There, I found an article by a journalist who works for www.pittsburghcatholic.org.  According to that article, written by C.T. Maier of the Pittsburgh Catholic (Click HERE for full article), the observance of no meat on Friday's is an American tradition.  "The basics of the precept are simple: Catholics are obliged to fast — to limit themselves to one full meal or two lighter meals — and abstain — refrain from eating meat — on certain days. Only Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fast and abstinence, and in the United States only the Fridays during Lent are days of abstinence."  Though this article proved to be very informative (for example, it used to be required that every Friday of the year be a day of fasting from meat for Catholics...I didn't know that), it still failed to address the main question, "Why Meat?"
  • www.associatedcontent.com states that fasting on Friday's is in observance and remembrance that Christ was crucified on a Friday. (Click HERE for that article).  Okay...that makes sense.  But why NO MEAT?
  • Then...just when I was beginning to fear I might never find the answer...I stumble across www.thecatholicspirit.com.  According to Father Michael Van Sloun, a contributing writer to The Catholic Spirit, the overall premice is an abstinence from "flesh meat".  In the article published on Friday, February 19 2010, Father Michael Van Sloun made these statements:
"From the first century, the day of the crucifixion has been traditionally observed as a day of abstaining from flesh meat ('black fast') to honor Christ who sacrificed his flesh on a Friday," according to "The Catholic Source Book."
"Since Jesus sacrificed his flesh for us on Good Friday, we refrain from eating flesh meat in his honor on Fridays. Flesh meat included the meat of mammals and poultry, and the main foods that come under this heading are beef and pork, chicken and turkey. While flesh is prohibited, the non-flesh products of these animals are not (like milk, cheese, butter and eggs)."
 "Furthermore, in former times, flesh meat was more expensive, eaten only occasionally and associated with feasting and rejoicing; whereas fish was cheap, eaten more often and not associated with celebrations."
To read the full article, click HERE.

Well my friends, it appears we have stumbled across our answer to this profound and compelling question.  How very interesting it is to learn about the history of traditions in various religions and denominations.  I think learning about things we are unfamiliar with enriches who we are in our own personal faith walks and life journey's.  I want to reiterate that I am not Catholic and that the information above came directly from the sources referenced and not from personal experience.  Though I do not observe this ritual, I have found it quite interesting to learn about it and it has given me something to reflect on.

I want to thank Jen again for her question and hope that all of you feel comfortable posting your questions here.  I may not know the answers, but I'm excited about the ability to seek them out.  Also, if you are Catholic and have knowledge and/or experience of observing this tradition, we'd love to hear from you.  Your input is valuable and can help us to better understand that which we are not aware of.

Wishing you all many blessings this Lenten season and beyond,


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Stations of the Cross

Art by: Abbey Youth

Have you ever heard of the stations of the cross?  This was something else about the Lenten season that was very new to me.  So new in fact, that I had never heard of it before.  With curiosity in tow, I set out to learn about this ancient tradition of walking the stations of the cross.

The first thing I discovered is that though this spiritual practice is not limited to Catholics alone, it is primarily a ritual tradition observed within the Catholic Church.  Let me be clear however, that this is not an exclusive spiritual practice and anyone can participate through their own churches (there are some Protestant churches who practice the stations of the cross), or, you can do as I am doing, and observe it in your own personal Lenten devotional time.

The Lenten Reader I spoke of the other day, Following Christ by Carmen Acevedo Butcher, is the one that I'm using during this season of Lent.  One of the things I love about it so far, is that it not only discusses the stations of the cross, but it focuses the devotional to lead me through said stations during my prayer time.  I purchased this reader at Cokesbury, but it is also available at Amazon.com, Christianbook.com and I saw one on the shelf at Barnes and Noble.

So what are the stations?  There are 14 "stations of the cross".  Each station symbolizes or is a marker of certain events that happened during the betrayal, trial and crucifixion of Jesus.  According to Butcher, there are 15 stations, as she includes the resurrection as the final station.  That being said, the following are the stations of the cross as seen by Butcher:
  • (1) Jesus prays in the Garden of Gethsemane
  • (2) Jesus is betrayed by Judas
  • (3) Jesus is condemned to death by the Sanhedrin
  • (4) Jesus is denied by Peter
  • (5) Jesus is judged by Pilate
  • (6) Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
  • (7) Jesus carries his cross
  • (8) Jesus is helped by Simon of Cyrene
  • (9) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
  • (10) Jesus is crucified
  • (11) Jesus promises to share his reign with the good thief
  • (12) Jesus is on the cross, with his mother and disciple below
  • (13) Jesus dies on the cross
  • (14) Jesus is placed in the tomb
  • (15) Jesus rises from the dead
The concept behind the stations of the cross is really quite simple, or was to me, when I thought of it like taking a train.  Let's say we are going on a trip to see the countryside of Europe.  During our train ride, we must stop at various train stations, get out and wait for the next train which will be headed to the next station on our course.  While 'WAITING' at the station, we look around, sit in silence, take in the environment that surrounds us...we embrace where we are at, where we are present at that very time.  It is the same concept with the stations of the cross.  We are on a train ride, a journey with a final destination of Easter, of resurrection.  Along this journey, we take time to stop and remember what happened on that walk for Jesus.  Much happened between the Garden of Gethsemane and the empty tomb...but how often do we walk that walk WITH Jesus?  How powerful this must be!
I want to encourage you to walk with me and most importantly, walk with Jesus during Lent.  Stop at each of these stations and silently observe what happened there.  Reflect on how your senses, heightened by the intense emotion of the walk, are speaking with your soul.  Listen for the voice of Jesus calling to you from the cross.

I have already walked through stations 1 and almost all of 2.  I'm going to try and recap that for you and then moving forward through Lent, I'll journal about my devotion time at the stations and how I'm experiencing Jesus through Lent this year.  I hope you'll choose to take this walk.  I cannot even express to you how profoundly spiritual it has already been in my life in the 4 1/2 days I've been doing it.

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Friday, February 19, 2010

Zealous Love


I just started reading the above book called Zealous Love.  The book is about social injustice, helping us to better understand the injustice that exists in our world and how we can get involved to work against it.  Here is a list of the sections in the book:
  • Human Trafficking
  • Unclean Water
  • Refugees
  • Hunger
  • Lack of Education
  • Creation Degradation
  • HIV and AIDS
  • Economic Inequality
If you liked to get more information or purchase the book, click on the image above which will take you to its page on Amazon.  So, why am I tell you about this book?  Primarily, my main objective is to tell you about this great find that I discovered and I hope in doing so, you will be able to read it and learn more about how you CAN positively impact our planet and the people who exist on it, not just for this generation, but for generations to come.  The secondary reason is a prayer.  When you open the book and flip just past the table of contents, you'll find this prayer.  I thought it was so beautiful and powerful, that I would share it with you.  It is also quite appropriate for us to reflect on these words in such a season as this, the season of Lent.  I hope you find God speaking to you through these words.

A Prayer for Zealous Love
(Read the words in Bold)
"Lord, thank you for being a God of love, who selflessly surrendered to death by crucifixion for the sake of sinful men and women like us.  Thank you, Maker of Life, that you were not bound by death but that you rose again on the third day.  Thank you that you have made us your children, heirs to the promise of new life, and that our lives here on this earth can bring you glory.  Please use the following pages in a transforming, worldview-shifting way.  As we explore eight areas of need affecting billions in our world, move in our hearts and minds, planting seeds of love that will grow into a strong harvest.  Direct us away from selfish indifference and toward selfless action.  Only you can change hearts; only you can draw us closer to your heart.  Do that, we ask, through these stories.  Cause us to move and live and give and act as you direct your Body.  May thousands, millions, tens of millions - dare we pray - billions of lives be impacted as your people discover more of the role we have to play in our world.  Come quickly, Lord.  But until you do, teach us to live lives worthy of the calling you have given us.


Amen.


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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Following Christ

Happy Lenten Season everyone!  This is a happy time.  A time where we can be filled with the joy of drawing closer to God by joining with Christ in his journey to the cross.

For the longest time, I believed that Ash Wednesday and Lent were things that only the Catholics observed.  I have come to learn however, that I wasn't entirely correct.  Many protestant churches, including the one to which I am a part, the United Methodist Church, do in fact observe and practice these events.  When I first learned of this, I was more overwhelmed than relieved.  This knowledge then made it clear to me that there was something else I had no clue about.  Since then, I have challenged myself to learn more about Ash Wednesday and Lent and what they mean in general and specifically, what they mean to me.  This is more information than one brief post can hold, so we will explore Lent together over the next 7 weeks until Easter.  Along this process, please feel free to comment with questions as I would be happy to address them.

So what is Ash Wednesday all about?  Good question.  Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent, the 40 days (not including Sundays) that lead up to Easter.  On Ash Wednesday, you might observe many people with black ashy crosses marked on their heads.  What is that all about?  Well...they've been to an Ash Wednesday service where someone, most likely a clergy person, has placed their thumb in the bowl of ash and marked a cross on their head.  Some churches save the palm branches from the previous years Palm Sunday and burn them and crush them into ash for the following year's Ash Wednesday.  The ash itself represents the scripture in Genesis 3:19 that says, "You are dust, and to dust you shall return."  This is really to signify our mortality.  Though our souls may live forever in eternity with God, our bodies are here but for a time.  God made man/woman from the dirt and dust of the ground, and to that dirt we will return.  The mark of the cross is to indicate that we are one with Christ.  It is not a branding, but a symbol that we have chosen to follow Christ, that we belong to Christ.  When we observe Ash Wednesday, we do so with the greater Christian community of brothers and sisters, the Catholics and Protestants, our ancestors in the community of saints and with our own families here and now around the world.

One thing I wanted to point out today is that often times you hear about people giving up something for Lent.  Some people choose to do this as a way of drawing nearer to God.  Lent is about walking with Jesus through the final days of his life, his suffering and his death.  In the giving up of something, we often find that we are challenged, sometimes suffering.  In those moments we turn to God in prayer to help us get through those moments.  It's a way of fasting.  For example, I'm giving up coffee for Lent.  Aaaahhhhhh!  Oh, I know...I can't believe I'm doing this either.  My boys are preparing a storm shelter.  This morning, I got up and slowly walked towards my coffee pot wanting a cup of coffee soooo badly.  As I stood there staring at my coffee pot, listening to the tempting voices in my head, I heard the words, "pray."  So I did.  I closed my eyes right there and began to pray to God.  I lifted up thanksgiving for all that I have, for the ability to CHOOSE not to have coffee and for my savior who faced much worse in the way of suffering than I was staring at that coffee pot.  It's not about having super hero will power, but about acknowledging the choice we're making to give up whatever it is that might be taking away from our time with God.  How many hours do we spend on the computer or with the TV?  Could would not afford some of that time to God?  What about turning off the radio when in the car and using that as a great opportunity to lift up prayers?  We neglect God and Lent is a time to engage God.

Lent is also a time to acknowledge our sins and ask forgiveness.  We draw nearer to God, confessing our sins and repenting.  This is also a part of the giving up of something.  It is our penance.  Let me say here, that it is my belief that our salvation comes to us through God's grace which is received through faith.  Good works is something we do as a result of having received this powerful grace, but is not something we do TO receive it.  For example, we love our kids/pets/etc., right?  If they do something wrong, do we stop loving them?  No.  However, do we realize that there are usually consequences to poor choices and actions?  Yes.  Just because we sin does not mean that we have lost our salvation, but it does mean we have to say we're sorry (and mean it) and penance is our way of proving and/or showing we're sorry.  Some call this a form of self-punishment.  I think of it more as a spiritual discipline.  To be able to say, "okay God, I really messed up here and I am really, really sorry" and then retreat to prayer where you can contemplate and reflect on the situations and then seek God's wisdom.  We are a culture that seeks daily after answers and yet the one place we can get them, God, is the last place we're willing to go.  How much sense does that make?

Following Christ by Carmen Acevedo Butcher
In addition to giving up something for Lent, many people choose to add something for Lent.  For example, this year, to deepen my spiritual experience of Lent and to help me focus (inside the chaos that is often my life) I have chosen a Lenten Reader to guide me through the season.  The photo above is of the front cover of the reader I have chosen.  Click on it to find out more.  This reader goes through the 15 stations of the cross (come back tomorrow to learn about the stations) and has a reading for every morning and evening of Lent, as well as a devotion for Sunday's (even though they are not included in the 40 days).  You can think of Sunday's as "Little Easters".  These are special sabbath days in Lent where I get to acknowledge the spiritual work being done in me by God and...have a cup of coffee.  ;-p

Have you thought about what you might be able to add for Lent?  More prayer time?  Scripture reading?



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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Ash Wednesday



Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season.  Lent lasts for 40 days (Monday through Saturday).  Most people are familiar with the idea of giving something up for Lent.  Are you giving something up for Lent?  If so, what?

  • Chocolate?
  • Coffee?
  • Sugar?
  • Facebook?

Come back tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, for fun facts about Lent...if you've ever had questions about Lent, you won't want to miss this.

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Monday, February 15, 2010

Dream Room Giveaway from Pottery Barn

 

Pottery Barn is giving away a Dream Room worth $5,000.
Click HERE to enter to win.
Today, February 15th, is the LAST day to enter.

Share this with your bloggie community and link back to CGM as the one who told you first!






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It's Over...



It's over.  Valentine's Day 2010 has come and gone.  For some it was extra painful this year with one full day at work/school to celebrate the Hallmark holiday and a whole weekend of chocolate covered mushiness.  But alas, it has come to an end.  Breathe deeply my friends.  We made it.

I have to confess a little something here.  I LOVE Valentine's Day.  Now, that is.  For years, it didn't matter what I did or how the rest of the year looked, I could never manage to have a Valentine on V-day.  Being a single woman on V-day is rotten.  I wanted that ooey gooey mushy madness too and I swear...if one more friend at school or co-worker got flowers, I was going to grab some scissors and go Edward Scissorhands on them.  I know those feelings because I've been there.  But in 2001, all of that changed.  That was my first V-day with hubs and I've had special Valentine's every year since.  So of course, now I love it...sorta.

It's over commercialized.  Yup...totally.  It's expensive and everyone feels stressed and over pressured to find gifts.  Check.  If you're like me and have a tricky guy to buy for, it's hard to sift through the vast array of corny and cheese ball gift ideas in hopes of finding one that says "I love you more than life itself...we just don't have the money to spend a fortune to prove it."  I mean really, how many golf certificates can one guy get?  (Little bit of a personal joke there.)  And mostly, shouldn't we be celebrating the ones we love every day?  Maybe not in over zealous spending on things that die and make us fat, but in going the extra mile in our marriage or relationship.  And shouldn't "I love you" day be for everyone and not just couples?  Shouldn't we send our girlfriends cards telling them how much we love them?  What about our parents or grandparents?  And shouldn't we do that, literally, from the heart, not just because Hallmark (who I love by the way) tells us this is the day to do it?

1 Corinthians 13 is one of my all time favorite scriptures because it so clearly defines love for me.  And...it's beautifully written which speaks to my poetess heart.  But what about John 3:16, where we learn that God loved us so much that Jesus was given to us and chose to die for us so that we might live?  I was in Cokesbury the other day looking at Lenten resources when my friend pointed out this trinket, a nail, on a little card.  The card said something to the affect that it wasn't the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was his love for us.  I'd never really thought quite that poignantly about it and it struck a cord in me.  I knew Jesus' love for us is why he endured what he did, but I guess that this day, I needed to hear it differently.  We think the nails held him up there, but that was love.

Love takes a multitude of shapes.  It can be romantic love, brotherly/sisterly love, love of a parent or a child, love of a friend, love of neighbor, love of God and love of a Savior.  No matter what Valentine's Day means to you, challenge yourself to think of the bigger implications of what LOVE means for all of us in our everyday lives.  And don't forget to love yourself..."love your neighbor as yourself" isn't a part of one of the greatest directives for no reason...but in order to truly love the others in our lives, we must know what it means to love ourselves.  But in this beautiful and mysterious power that is God, if we focus on loving others, we find that we discover what there is to love about ourselves.  Either way you go, as long as your loving, your living.  So love someone.


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Team USA Soundtrack

Do you love music?  Are you all about Team USA?  Would you like your music purchase to go to support the Olympics?

AT&T has released the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack which can be purchased on iTunes.  What will you find on this sountrack?


The artists and tracks for the 2010 AT&T Team USA Soundtrack include:

  • 3 Doors Down — "Shine"
  • The All-American Rejects — "Move Along (remix by Chad Hugo of the Neptunes)"
  • David Banner — "In the Zone (feat. BJ the Chicago Kid)"
  • Gloriana — "The World Is Ours Tonight"
  • Green River Ordinance — "Rise Up"
  • Honor Society — "Can't Box Me In"
  • Hoobastank — "Never Be Here Again"
  • Mariah Carey — "100%"
  • Puddle Of Mudd — "Shook Up the World"
  • Rascal Flatts — "Unstoppable (Olympics Mix)"
  • Sugarland — "Wide Open"
  • Train — "The Finish Line"

Go to http://soundtrack.att.net to watch the music videos and much, much more!!!  This is a groovy way to get in step with the Team.



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Medals / Schedule Update - Olympics



Medal Totals thus far:
(far right column is the total number for that country)

  
 
 
 
 
      
France2013
      
Germany1304
      
United States of America1236
      
Canada1113
      
Republic of Korea1102
      
Czech Republic1001
      
Netherlands1001
      
Slovakia1001
      
Switzerland1001
      
Australia0101
      
Norway0101
      
Poland0101
      
Italy0022
      
Austria0011
      
Croatia0011
      
Russian Federation0011
* Taken from iGoogle*


                                 Events Schedule for Today

February 15, 2010

















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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Olympic Opening Ceremonies

(Snowboarder flies through rings to kick off the opening ceremonies)
Photo by: The Associate Press


Wow!  What a night!  CGM was buzzing about on Twitter during the ceremonies and enjoyed a great tweet party with others Olympic fans who were chirping away via #openingceremonies. 

Here are a few of my favorite things about the opening ceremonies:
1.  The presentation of the countries.  It's fun to see all of the different countries represented and to learn about population of countries and how many athletes are representing each country.  I have to admit I did cry when the athletes of Georgia came out on the BC Center floor.
2.  The presentation of the whales was amazing.  I totally had the "wow" factor going on.
3.  Music by artists like Sarah McLachlan, Joni Mitchell, k.d. Lang, Brian Adams and Nelly Furtado.
4.  Ninja skiers and snowboarders.  They weren't really ninja's but could totally pull it off.
5.  The slam poet who looked like the member of Blue's Traveler and hailed from You Tube.  He was an amazing poet...loved it...and love how he was found on You Tube.
6.  The Gretzky lighting the Olympic Torch
7.  The moment of silence held in recognition of the Olympic athlete we lost yesterday.  I thought it was an appropriate and compassionate touch.
Did I happen to mention "We Are the World" Take-Two???  Uh...major tears y'all.  Major!



Cried...didn't you?  POWERFUL!  I can't wait to live in a world where we realize we are suppose to love each other.  Come one world...let's get it together!

Did you watch the ceremonies?  What did you think?  What were your favorite moments? 

Fun fact:  China spent appx. $300 million on their opening ceremonies.  Canada spent $40 million. 


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