Happy Easter!

"He is not here;

He has risen, just as He said.

Come and see the place where He lay." 

-- Matthew 28:6

Holy Saturday

 

In stillness, earth awaits the resurrection.

Good Friday

One of my favorite, favorite songs!  "Why" by Nichole Nordeman.

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday (specifically the evening mass) is the first day of the Easter Triduum, which includes the passion, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

Holy Thursday is marked by events such as...

the washing of the feet,

the last supper,

the consecration of the eucharist,

and Jesus' agony at Gethsemane before He was betrayed by one of His disciples.

[From the Eucharistic Prayer at every mass] 

For on the night He was betrayed He Himself took bread, and giving You thanks He said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples, saying:


TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT: FOR THIS IS MY BODY WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU.

In a similar way, when supper was ended, He took the chalice, and giving You thanks He said the blessing, and gave the chalice to His disciples, saying:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT: FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT; WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.

Home Sick Today

I didn't sleep well last night.  At first, I thought that was what was making me feel so unwell.  But as the day goes by, and I've added a two-hour nap to my day, I still feel tired and not up to par.

• My head hurts a little.  It's not a headache as much as it just feels full and heavy.
• My eyes feel VERY dry.  When rubbing my eyes this morning, one of my contacts just popped out.  I didn't put it back in and removed the other one.  But still, I find myself rubbing my eyes all the time.  My eyes really only feel relief when they're closed.
• My body feels battered and bruised all over.  Every time I stand up, I feel like I've fallen down the stairs.  And unfortunately, it's keeping me from getting comfortable...whether I'm awake OR asleep.
• And I'm tired.  I'm so very tired.  Within an hour of waking up after my nap, I was tired again.  It's only 4:30pm and I already can't wait to go to bed for the night.  I'm forcing myself to stay awake until at least 6pm so that I can hopefully sleep all night long.  But forcing myself to stay awake is annoyingly frustrating.  My body is begging for sleep.

I felt perfectly fine Saturday, outside of being a little sore after Friday's workout.  And I think I felt mostly okay yesterday.  I didn't do much...sang at mass, grabbed lunch from the deli, watched basketball and NCIS all day, while reading and writing.

It wasn't until I woke up three times between midnight and dawn this morning that my body was really complaining.  I'm not liking it.  And I don't think I can last another 75 minutes before going to bed.  I'm yawning so hard, my face hurts.

I'm thinking another warm shower and another dose of Advil.  I'm not cold, but the warm water pulsating from the shower head feels really good on my sore body.  THEN I'll decide if I can stay awake for another hour or so.

Seven Word Status

I saw the most beautiful baby bump!

It's all about the numbers.

I had a doctor's appointment this morning.  It was mostly to follow up with my low iron count.  For the last two years, I've had blood drawn to check the health of my red blood cells.  This number should be somewhere between 50 - 150.  For the last year, mine has hovered at 39.  Two years ago, I was at 21.

But today, 122!  Woohoo!  Triple digits!

Another number that went up... my blood pressure.  It was actually slightly elevated in December.  It was even higher today.  My doctor wants me to stop by his office 2-3 times a week for the next six weeks, to have my blood pressure checked.

Today's numbers 118 over 98.  The 118 is a really good top number.  The 98 is NOT a good bottom number.

I have to admit, I'm not all that familiar with the intricacies of blood pressure numbers.  So, I did some research.

According to the American Heart Association (AHA)...

Systolic The top number, which is also the higher of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats (when the heart muscle contracts).

Diastolic The bottom number, which is also the lower of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats (when the heart muscle is resting between beats and refilling with blood). A 118 Systolic reading is perfectly normal.  Above 120 starts the prehypertension category.  But a 98 Diastolic reading is considered Hypertension Level 1.  Above 100 is Hypertension Level 2.  The only level above that comes at 110, which is Hypertension Crisis. So, hopefully between lowering my salt intake, increasing my water intake, sleeping better, working out regularly, and losing some weight, I can get my blood pressure into a more acceptable range.  And I have six weeks to make a difference.  After that, my doctor wants more blood work to make a decision on how to treat my high blood pressure.

Nagging Need to Write

All day today, I've had this nagging need to write something.  The only problem was, I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be writing.

I regularly write a journal entry.  Pen or pencil and paper.  Not every day, but most.  So, I started there.  But I got busy and never even finished it!  Needless to say, it didn't scratch that itch.

I ran through several of the stories that I've started over the years, thinking maybe I needed to kick out a chapter or two.  Or maybe I needed to 'fix' a character or elaborate on a setting.  Something!  But none of my current works-in-progress was speaking to me.

I considered that perhaps I needed to start something new.  But NOTHING interesting was coming to me.  Not to mention, I couldn't even decide fiction, non-fiction, rant, interest article, etc.

So ultimately, I'm creating a blog entry...about needing to write.  Essentially this blog entry is about nothing.  And I still feel the need, the out-right desire to practice my craft.  I'm getting that burning in my core to WRITE!  I think I'll resume my Exercises in Writing until it comes to me.

Pope Francis I

Pope Francis Jorge Mario Bergoglio, SJ

Born: December 17, 1936
Ordained Priest: December 13, 1969
Ordained Bishop: June 27, 1992
Elected Pope: March 13, 2013

O God, shepherd and ruler of all the faithful,
look favorably on your servant Francis,
whom you have set at the head of your Church as her shepherd;
Grant, we pray, that by word and example
he may be of service to those over whom he presides
so that, together with the flock entrusted to his care,
he may come to everlasting life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Seven Word Status

 

Added California and Utah!  Make that 31!

Luke 15:11-32

[from the gospel at mass this weekend]

The Story of the Lost Son [The Message]

^11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’

^12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

^17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.

^20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

^22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.

^25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

^28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

^31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

Seven Word Status

Thus far, I have visited 29 states.

Part the Waters

When I think I'm going under, part the waters, Lord.
When I feel the waves around me, calm the sea.
When I cry for help, oh, hear me, Lord, and hold out Your hand.
Touch my life.
Still the raging storm in me.

Part the Waters / I Need Thee Every Hour / Through It All - Selah

1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

 

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
that our ancestors were all under the cloud
and all passed through the sea,
and all of them were baptized into Moses
in the cloud and in the sea.
All ate the same spiritual food,
and all drank the same spiritual drink,
for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them,
and the rock was the Christ.
Yet God was not pleased with most of them,
for they were struck down in the desert.

These things happened as [examples] for us,
so that we might not desire evil things, as they did.
Do not grumble as some of them did,
and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an [example],
and they have been written down as a warning to us,
upon whom the end of the ages has come.
Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure
should take care not to fall.

Seven Word Status

Sometimes I wish I was a fish.

The New Flag

Wonder what Congress has been doing in the last couple/few weeks?  My theory, coming up with a flag that more accurately represents Capitol Hill.

Democrats in one corner.  Republicans in another.  No one working together.  Few of them representing their constituents.  And none of them doing what's best for this country.