7 Quick Takes!

I guess this isn't an "official" Quick Takes post, because I'm not linking to Conversion Diary, but I'll call it one anyway. :)

1) On Sunday night, I resolved to get to daily Mass this week.  It didn't work.  I didn't go to ONE daily Mass.  :(  I tell myself, "Oh, I'm really exhausted, Jesus understands.  I don't have any energy at all, if I go, I'll just be miserable."  Then I feel guilty all day, because I think of all the saints that dragged themselves to Mass, no matter how sick and tired they were, to be able to be one with the Lord.  UGH.  I'm going to try harder next week!

2) I just heard on E.W.T.N that half of the abortions in the country occur in only five states: New York, California, Illinois, Florida, and Texas.  That just blows my mind.  Texas particularly shocked me, because they're always portrayed as conservative!  I guess conservative doesn't necessarily mean pro-life, though.

3) This is going to sound odd, but I'm getting pretty nervous about Thanksgiving. lol  My extended family all gets together for Thanksgiving, and nobody really understands my husband and I.  They all think we're judgmental, and take religion too seriously.  I'm particularly worried about my cousin M, though.  Since she's gone to college, she's become crazy liberal.  She's now an agnostic, aggressively pro-abortion and gay marriage, and is known as the "condo.m lady" among her peers because she hands so many out.  She's very vocal about what she thinks, so I'm afraid it's going to lead to a confrontation, or at least some uncomfortable situations. lol  It makes me sad because: 1) Her soul is at stake.  I know that sounds dramatic, but it's true.  She's never been baptized, and I'm afraid she won't be open to it for a long time, 2) She's not thinking for herself, she's just following the trend on campus, and 3) She and I used to be very close, and now I don't even know what to talk to her about. :(

4) I've been having some really great dreams lately! :)  They're actually pretty sane, compared to my usual ones! lol  Anyway, a couple of nights ago, I had a dream that Boomz and I adopted a little girl with blonde curls and blue eyes (she looked a lot like our niece, actually).  In my dream, we were snuggled all up together taking a nap, when I heard somebody trying to get in the apartment.  I picked her up (she was suddenly all dirty lol), held her really close, and opened the door to confront whoever was trying to break in.  It was two guys wh!o were in my class in high school!  I said something like, "What do you think you're doing?!", and they had some kind of excuse and walked sheepishly away.  When I woke up, I was missing the baby girl. :( Last night, I had a dream that Boomz and I were best friends with a Hasi.dic Jewi.sh couple.  I'm pretty sure I had this one because I watched a documentary on their life a few days ago.  It was fascinating!

5)  I'm getting pretty excited about starting to teach my little brother about Confirmation!  :)  It's going to be so much fun!  I hope he gets excited about it...he used to love listening to me talk about the Faith, but now girls and skateboarding seem to have taken over. lol  He used to have a rosary hanging up by his bed, along with a crucifix and a picture of Our Lady, but last time I went home, I found them in a closet.  Sigh.  When he was 11, he told me he wanted to be a priest.  Maybe, through the grace of God, some of his interest will return through all of this! :)  A month or so ago, he was learning about St. Michael the Archangel and the guardian angels in CCD, and he texted me and said that he thought that was really cool, so I guess there's hope!

6) I have worry lines.  I'm not even 25, and I have WORRY LINES!  What's up with that?

7) This morning while I was reading the Catechism (I'm a nerd!), I found a little card tucked inside I used as a bookmark while I was in the convent.  It says, "Oh Mary, I put my trust in you; in this hope I live and in this hope I long to die, saying over and over: My only hope is Jesus, and after Jesus, Mary."  It's a quote from St. Alphonsus Liguori, and I just love it so much!  I'm renewing my Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary (I don't necessarily agree with everything on that site, just fyi) right now, so that quote is so appropriate.  :)   Do you have any favorite titles of Our Lady?  I have practically a million: Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Lourdes, Cause of Our Joy, Ark of the Covenant...I could go on and on. lol