Gratitude in Difficult Times

I'm grateful for a mother who never quits. We have our difficulties (as do all mother-daughter relationships), our different temperaments, and way different communication styles but Mom is like a Goonie... she never says die!

I'm grateful for my brothers who, as we get older, are more and more involved in my life. I didn't have that closeness with them growing up since I grew up as a virtual only child (they're all older half-siblings).

I'm grateful for friends who give me advice, support me, and help me in any way they can. Whether it be anxiety or school-related stress... whether it's a guy problem... whether I'm just having an awful day, someone is always there to help pick me up again.

I'm grateful for the miracle of passing some of my exams and coursework, especially when I think I've tanked them. It's really weird but I've found that the more I study, the worse I do on exams. It's just something I recently realized.

I'm grateful for the insight about the less study time = better grade. Holy Spirit double whammy FTW!

I'm grateful for professors who understand stressful problems and even send me encouraging words when I feel like giving up. I've never had such a supportive professor (who sends me motivating compliments) than the one I have this semester... for the second hardest course in the program.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to study, period. Sure, I'm up to my eyeballs in student loans but at least I have the chance to study. The same can't be said for others in different parts of the world.

I'm grateful for answers. Even if it's not what I want to hear, getting answers is always a good thing because then you can try to figure out what to do next.

I'm grateful for you lovely readers who have kept reading this blog, even if I shut down my nearly 3,000+ follower Twitter account and only have 18 people following on the new Twitter account... even if I keep losing readers on the blog's FB page every week (and I have been)... even if you all decide to never read this blog again, your kind words and prayers have helped keep me going all these years.

I'm grateful to all the saints in Heaven who've interceded for me, especially this year.

Lastly (but most importantly), I'm grateful to God for literally everything, even the bad. I may feel like I'm drowning... broken... unloved/unlovable... weak... but it's during these times that I can feel closer to God than when I'm well. I may not always "feel" like I'm in a good place with Him but we all know the devil loves to try to trip you up when you're at your lowest and can do so by playing with your emotions. I know that, deep down, my love for Him will never fade... no matter how low I may feel. I know that He will make sure someone will always help me get back if I ever fall (as I did in my teens).

What are you all grateful for?

I hope all you lovely fellow Americans have a lovely Thanksgiving Day weekend!

Thanks for reading and God bless! :D

7 Quick Takes Vol. 11: Conquering NaNo, Thanksgiving, and Novena Edition

-- 1 --

Who finished her required 50,000 words for this year's NaNoWriMo? THIS GIRL! I'm never doing it again. lol. As I said earlier this month, I got my priorities wrong during it so I'm just not going to do it again. Anyway, I already proved to myself that I could do it in less than a month so I'm good. lol. Here's the proof (feel free to click for a bigger version):

-- 2 --

As you can see, I finished NaNo yesterday. Ever since my big brother moved to Texas, it's just mom and I so we didn't really do anything for Thanksgiving. A cooked for us (and then washed the insane amount of dishes by hand) and then we just took the day easy. Our downstairs neighbors kept us up the night before so we slept a good portion of the day. Please, don't feel sorry for us; we're so blessed to have each other that we don't worry about it being just us two for the holidays. :)

-- 3 --

As many of you have seen via Twitter, I really don't like Black Friday and refused to buy anything today. My dad used to get me up early for them when I was younger and I just didn't get the whole point. Okay, you get things on sale... but sometimes you get things cheaper on sale throughout the year. i.e. Octobers are traditionally the time in which electronics are cheaper, etc. It just seems off that the day after we give thanks (or the day on which we should give thanks), we focus on increasing our material wealth. I'm so glad mom and I are on the same page because, if she had wanted in on the sales, I would have to drive her (I am the sole driver in the house). So, I'm thankful for that. lol.

-- 4 --

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. While I am boycotting today and, really, am trying not to buy things through Cyber Monday, there are a couple of things that we do need so I'm going to participate in Small Business Saturday. And, for the record, the only places we're buying (non-food) items from are Aquinas and More and The Catholic Company for last-minute Advent/Christmas items and cards for mom that have Mass responses that she can't memorize. See? Keeping our priorities straight. 

-- 5 --

If you're wondering why I was one of the few bloggers who didn't write a Thanksgiving blog post, it's partially because I was trying to finish NaNo and partially because I reflected on what I was Thankful for on my own. Though I missed Mass (slept through alarm because of the little sleep I got; thanks, neighbors), I'm thankful for everything God's given me and I said my prayer of Thanksgiving to Him when I was home alone. If you're in my life, I'm thankful for you and I know you know. See? No need. :)

-- 6 --

Is anyone else up for doing the St. Andrew Christmas novena? It begins tomorrow and it's not exactly a tradition novena but it's definitely one of my favorites. It's prayed 15 times a day, which usually turns people off until I explain that they can say all 15 at one time, in a couple of minutes. If you want more info, please feel free to read about it here. If you want to do it, but think you may forget, let me know and I'll add you to the list of people I'll remind on a daily basis. :)

-- 7 --

Tomorrow is the last day of the liturgical year and I'm so stoked because Advent and Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love focusing on the meaning of Christmas (which is what Advent in) and then celebrating His birth. I'm going to try to do things a little "old school" this year (I'll write about this soon) which I'm very excited about. Are y'all ready for the start of Advent on Sunday (or Saturday evening if you attend Saturday Vigil Mass)?

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

That's it for now. :D I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and start of Advent. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D

Giving Thanks Before Things Happen

As my fellow 54 day Rosary novena prayer warriors and I embarked on the second half of the novena yesterday, I had a moment when I realized something that gave me a new appreciate for the novena. No, this is not the first time I've prayed the novena. In fact, this is my third time. However, there is something about this particular time that has made me more aware of what I am praying. Let me explain.

Last night (as I seem to have preferred to do the novena at night when I pray the rest of my nighttime prayers), I started on the first day of the Thanksgiving portion of the novena. If you've never done this particular novena, it's 27 days of Petition and then 27 days of Thanksgiving. While I have already begun to see that a couple of my petitions are slowly being answered, nothing has been concrete. What the second part of the novena does is have you give thanks for the things you have asked for; you're thanking Our Blessed Mother for things which may or may not have been answered yet. This seems like a beautiful thing to do. It is putting trust in Our Blessed Mother (as our intercessor) and God and thanking them for your answered petitions. What you get may not be what you want but you'll get what you need from them.

All of this got me thinking: how many times have I personally given thanks to God for things before they happen? When I ask a friend for a favor, I always thank them ahead of time... so why not do the same thing when I pray about a particular petition? Furthermore, why not give thinks for the things I have been given (whether I deserved them or not) just to show my appreciation. God gives us so much yet we fail to thank Him. Raise your hand if you're guilty of this as well. Go ahead... I can't see through the computer so I won't know if you're admitting it or not. lol. Thankfully, we can change this.

As many of you long time readers may remember, I started a tradition of adding things instead of giving things up for Lent. I don't have any really bad habits to give up other than maybe tweeting way too much when I'm bored. lol. Last year it was doing an act of charity every day (harder than it sounds when you stay at home most days). This year I'm adding to the daily act of charity by giving thanks for one thing I usually take for granted... and I'm going to try to make sure that I don't repeat any of them throughout Lent. I like to challenge myself like this at times. :) Bring on it, bro.

Anyway, just random thoughts I wanted to share before I logged offline for the day. Yes, I have been limiting my time online after the headaches from last week. According to Goodreads widget, I'm a book (soon to be two) behind on my 48 books in a year goal so I'm trying to catch up on that. I've been able to catch up to my Catechism in a Year emails by limited my time online (or at least limiting my time on social networks) which is always a good thing. Productivity FTW! :D

I hope y'all have a great start of week. If you have any prayer requests, don't forget to let me know. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D

Taking Things For Granted

A couple of nights ago, upon realizing that I was procrastinating on a hard writing assignment, I posted this tweet. While I was talking mostly about myself, it seems to have made an impact on a couple of people who got to read it.

Having deadlines for my freelance writing assignments has helped me rethink my priorities... and made me realize that we (or at least I) occasionally forget to thank God for what He has given us.

I think we often forget that we don't have an infinite time on this earth. Our time is precious yet we choose to waste it (fellow procrastinators, I'm talking to you) instead of doing something productive. I'm not saying that we should be filling every second of every day with something to do... though maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. I personally need breaks now and then to keep myself sane. In fact, writing this is a break I'm having before I try to finish my last writing assignment for the week. There's nothing wrong with having time off... but who says we can't use that free time to simultaneously do something good?

I know my generation (Gen Y) is overwhelmingly apathetic and, well, lazy. I've done the research; it was part of my Thesis. Let's be real -- for the most part, we've had everything handed to us. Most of us haven't known what it is to truly have to work for something. I am including myself in that because, though I haven't had the easiest life, I've been incredibly blessed. Anxiety disorder and financial stress aside, I've been very fortunate and lucky. Yes, I've been struggling with anxiety for 12 years, but I'm healthy otherwise. Yes, I stress over money issues, but God has always found a way to provide for us. Yes, I lost my father three years ago, but I still have my mother and my siblings looking after me and vice versa. And, yes, I've gone through some pretty traumatic things (which have led to the development of my anxiety), but I am now in a good, safe place thanks to God. I am bringing all of this up for a good reason, I promise.

How many of you have noticed that most people only pray when they are in need of something? Before my reversion, I only prayed when I needed something. It's embarrassing to admit, and I am ashamed to have had that mentality, but it's true. When we are sick and then start to recover, we have this "grace" period where we are grateful for what we have... and the second that we're completely well, we forget. Again, I say "we" because I've been guilty of this as well. Since this tweet, I've made it my own personal goal to be more aware of the things that God has given me... and to thank Him when I realize the little things I took for granted before.

From what I've seen, I'm the first person in my graduating class to have a job. Granted, I'm self-employed (I pick and choose what assignments I want to take/write about... and those are hit and miss) and I only get paid 1.4 cents per word, but it's better than nothing. Also, a good friend is giving me a chance to do some freelance writing for a company he works for. Thanks be to God for these opportunities and for good friends!

I've had three near accidents the past 24 hours... none of which would've been my fault. I am crediting my guardian angel for protecting me. Seriously, L.A. drivers, get your stuff together. Anyway, in all three, I thanked God and my guardian angel for helping me avoid the accidents. And, okay, it took me a bit longer the first of those three times because I was so peeved that the woman saw me coming out of the parking lot and she still decided to go through on the street (and about 40-45 in a 25 mph school zone)... but I still did.

Also, bonus, my anxiety has been in check the last couple of days. Yes, I do have moments when I feel like it's coming on, but I fight through them. I've been "getting angry" at my anxiety and have been stubborn enough to say "forget you, I'm going to do this whether you want to let me or not." This has helped me keep it bay... and I've been able to do more because of this "fight" I've declared on it. :) Again, thank God that I'm learning to use my stubbornness for something good. :)

In a nutshell (for you tl;dr crowd): we often take for granted things God has given us. This includes (and is not limited to): health, making it to and from your destinations in one piece without accidents, wealth (and I'm not taking about financial wealth), having a roof over your head, having people who love you in your life, etc etc. I still say that we should have a priority reality check (really look at where you place importance) in order to really realize the amazing things God has blessed us with.

Anyway, I have to go work on my assignment... and then wash dishes. Fun! lol.

I hope you all had a great week and have a blessed weekend. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D

I'm Thankful For...

I'm a day late on this but it's better late than never. :) So, lack of posts is (once again) due to homework and then I lost my wifi and internet connection for a day but I'm back on and here to update y'all. By the way, I am doing this instead of my first final (haha, oops) so I'm going to try to finish it rather quickly. :)

I decided to write one thing I'm thankful for according to how old I am. So, since I am 26 years old, I am posting 26 things I'm grateful for. It wasn't easy but it was a good challenge. Got it? Okay; let's begin. :)

I'm thankful for:
1) God's love, mercy, and grace. Without it where would I (or, really, anyone) be?
2) The Eucharist. Do I really need to explain this one? :D
3) The Church. The longer I'm at my CINO college, the more I fall in love with the Church, her people and our Faith.
4) My Family. It's a given. ;)
5) My Friends. The majority of my friends are like adoptive brothers and sisters and I'm grateful for every one of them.
6) My Health. While I did spend 2.5 months with a horrible throat infection this summer and I've had three bad anxiety attacks this year, I've been so much healthier than I have in the last 5 years.
7) That I'm almost done at the CINO college. I'm a little over 5 months away from the graduation date. While I'm still trying to get my thesis proposal approved (more on that soon), I am that much closer to getting out.
8) Our New Archbishop. Not to be rude or rag on Cardinal Mahony but the L.A. Archdiocese desperately needed someone like Abp. Gomez to come in. I'm excited to see what the future will bring.
9) For music. Music's always been a big part of my life but this year it's been one of the things that's helped me get through some of the more stressful moments of my life.
10) To be living in the country I'm in. Yes, I have some issues with a few things here and I often say I want to move to Canada or Ireland but, let's be honest, we are better off than those living in countries such as Africa where there is a lot of starvation and other war-torn countries.
11) This kind of goes back to family but, the sacrifice my parents have made for me. My mom is my rock and she gave up a lot of luxuries so that I could grow up as well as I have. Dad also sacrificed a lot for me when he was alive.
12) This one also goes back to friends but my girl friends who keep me strong. Some of my best friends (Angelica, Delaney, and Danica are amongst them) recently helped me get through something difficult in which I needed a lot of support from friends and I am so incredibly grateful that they were there for me.
13) The Wonderful #CathSorority gals that I've come to know in the last couple of months. Coming from a place in which faithful Catholic women are almost nonexistent or too far to see on a regular basis, it's nice that we have this support system online.
14) Twitter and Facebook Friends. Yes, I really did go there. When any of us need prayers, these are the people who (whether we know each other in person or not) will always have your back with prayers. When my father passed away two years ago, I had so many strangers tweeting me with condolences and prayers. It was an amazing feeling.
15) People like Patrick Madrid and another (currently unable to talk about) person/publication who've given this girl a chance to write and get published. Sometimes you need a person to believe in your dream (mine is to be a writer) to give you the confidence to go ahead and pursue it.
16) Patron Saints. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati keeps popping up every where I go. St. Therese of Lisieux kept me focused this Lent. St. Jude's coming through for many friends. Hooray for patron saints who don't let you down!
17) Catholic New Media. Hello Thesis paper topic that has been approved but yet not entirely approved. In all seriousness, if it wasn't for it, I would've felt alone during my reversion to the Faith five years ago. I wouldn't have met the people I have nor would I have learned as much as I have.
18) Friends at CINO college. We are the minority but there are two or three fellow classmates/friends who are in the same "Get me out of this CINO college!" boat. It's nice to have that kind of support in that kind of environment.
19) Lent and Advent. Okay, I'm running out of things (that are said in all seriousness) so this is kind of cheating but these are some of my favorite times of year. I am forced to look at myself and make some necessary changes. Both have helped me get more serious about my Faith.
20) Spiritual Advisers. I spent 2 years without one because my last one, Fr. Leo, passed away two years ago this month but I have a new one and he is seriously the best. I've gotten back on track thanks to him.
21) The Rosary and the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy. It reminds me of a shirt I once said that I had a picture of a Rosary and said "Have you called your Mother lately?" I can't think of two better devotions to help you remember what really matters in life when things are so crazy you feel overwhelmed.
22) My New Parish. Mom and I found a new place to attend Mass which is more to our liking. I'm sorry if this sounds snobby but I don't like the clapping and the dancing during Mass. It's simply not my cup of tea. Our new parish has an organist, women wear mantillas, and we have altar boys (well, young men). I'm not a "trad" but I do like the Latin Mass and this is the closest thing we get every Sunday.
23) Having a paycheck coming into the house. Although my mom is currently the only one working since I haven't gotten any job I've applied for (and thus we've had to cut a lot of things out we'd become accustomed to), I am grateful that there is at least some income coming in. Yes, our belts are tight, I can no longer travel as often as I wish, and we are living paycheck to paycheck but it could be worse. I know God will always provide for us.
24) Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati's Financial Intercession. When I first started at the CINO college, I asked Bl. Pier Giorgio for his intercession since tuition is over $31K a year and I didn't want to go into debt with student loans. I'm going to graduate with only $2K in loans thanks to my generous Cal Grant (which I had to fight for earlier this year) and a massive grant given to me by the CINO college.
25) Vegan foods. Go ahead and laugh but with my dairy and egg allergies, I was losing a lot of important nutrients. With my discover of more ingredients I can use to substitute dairy and eggs and still get the calcium and protein I need, I've been able to stay healthier longer.
26) Basically, everything... good and bad. I wouldn't have grown or come to appreciate all of these things if I hadn't gone through the good AND the bad. It makes my life experience that much richer.

Okay, that took longer than I anticipated but I don't often publicly express what I'm thankful for so it's okay. And now I've realized that I'm running late to pick up my mom from work so I gotta run.

I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving Day. Remember that it's more about what the day symbolizes than how many amazing savings you can get.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!

Thanksgiving Thoughts; Remix Fun.

I hope all my fellow Americans (wow, sounds like the beginning of a speech) had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! I wanted to make a post but I was stuck in bed with a cold. I can't complain too much though. Yes, I did feel gross, I was all achy, and all I spent nearly 2 days in bed... but I got caught up on my prayers and I got a head start on my History of World Religions paper. That one is due tonight (eesh!).

I am skipping on today's big sales because I'm not fully recovered from my cold and it's (finally!) cold outside and I have to write that 10 page research paper on the sacred art of 3 different religions. I have 4 BIG art history books to go through. I'm just thankful that my Philosophy of Logic professor spared us work yesterday.

You know what else I'm thankful for (in the past year)? My amazing parents. My overprotective older brothers and sister -- and their families. Both of my younger adoptive sisters (one of whom gave me a blog award that I will post next time :D. Thanks D!). My friends who are like family (which consists of virtually all my friends; many of whom have asked my mom to adopt them, lol.) That my father was able to beat his cancer for the second time. That one of my best friend was able to beat her ovarian cancer. That everyone is happy and healthy. That I've been healthier than I have been in years. Most importantly, I am thankful for everything God has done for us. I am grateful that I've been able to get closer to God and have been able to do the same to my parents. You guys have NO idea how happy I am that my parents have started praying and going to Mass more often! I could continue the list but it would get much longer and I still have to work on my paper. lol.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for iTunes, and cell phones, and books, and digital cable, and TCM (Turner Classic Movies), and french fries, and Mexican food, and airplanes which take me to different countries, and laughing babies, and babies named Charlie who bite their brothers' fingers... HAHA. I'm not (entirely) serious here. :D

Alright, I should go work on my paper, but before I do, I will leave you with a video I thought was so awesome. During YouTube Live (yeah, I missed it) they had a lot of big youtube names performing. One of them was DJ Mike Relm and he remixed two videos that were HUGE on youtube. The second remixed video is probably my favorite.



Okay, back to work. :D Oh yeah, and if you haven't vote on the poll, please do so. It ends tomorrow night. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
.