Hear My Voice Review; Vocation Signs?

Sorry it's taken a while to write another blog. So much classwork, so little time. :D I have a bit of time now, though, so I will get down to business. :)

I recently received a generous pre-release copy of the book Hear My Voice by Jonathan Stampf from the author himself. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I had seen the preview and liked what I saw. I was excited when I got the book and it did not disappoint one bit. The book's official title is Hear My Voice: A Children's Translation of Gospel Readings of the Catholic Mass for 2009... and that's exactly what it is! Mr. Stampf does an excellent job breaking down the Mass readings, from the First Sunday of Advent this year through The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (the entire Liturgical Year). I know when I was growing up, they tried to explain things to me, such as how exactly the three wise men/three kings gave Jesus at His birth, but I just got more confused. "Frankincense and Myrrh"? At 5 - 7, I didn't know what that was. "Perfume" I got. The way things are translated in the book is fantastic. It doesn't take away from the readings, at all. The illustrations in the book help a child's imagination grasp the readings even more vividly so that they'll learn and remember them more easily. One thing: I feel like he didn't "dumb down" the readings or talk down to the intended readers. Sometimes authors try to write books for children and it feels like they have a "I'm a grown up so I'm more knowledgeable than you... so listen to me because you don't know anything" sort of vibe. Not at all with this book. It has a very friendly way of explaining things. Overall, I was very impressed with the book! If they gave me to me as a child, I would've probably paid closer attention and not let my mind wander off so easily. lol. Seriously, though, this is such a great book and I highly recommend it for all. And, hey, both the beginning of the new Liturgical Year AND Christmas are coming up. This would be a great opportunity to get it! Just click here to check it out for yourself (and hopefully get a copy of it). I'll also keep it under "Highly Recommended" in case anyone wants to find it at a later date. :D

I would like to thank Mr. Stampf for being kind enough to send me a copy of the book. Best of luck to you! :D

Now, I have a question for everyone... if you know what your vocation is, how did you figure out what it was? Lately, I feel like I've been getting signs as to what my vocation should be... or at least I think they're signs.

On Saturday, at church during confessions, I felt like I got three signs. First, when I got out of the car and started heading towards church, this gust of wind got me from the back and it made my oversized shirt puff up so that I looked pregnant. I even thought to myself, "I wonder if this is what I'll look like if I ever get married and have a baby." Second, the priest gave me a "prayer for vocations" prayer (written by Cardinal Roger Mahoney; who's the Archbishop of Los Angeles) and asked me to pray it at least once a day or two-three times a week. The prayer is mainly for more religious vocations, though. I've already ruled out the vocation of a nun/religious sister. I didn't know Fr. Juan would give me the prayer but he did. And third, when I came out of the church I saw this young couple who had just gotten married, getting their pictures taken, in the parking lot. The young lady looked a lot like a high school friend of mine, who has the same name I do. I even had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't her. It wasn't.

I also had a dream yesterday, in which I was a mother. I had a sleeping newborn baby boy in my arms. I felt so much love towards that baby. We were in a car so I thought, "I hope he doesn't wake up because I don't have a bottle to give him." I could tell he was hungry so I decided to sing him to him so he's stay asleep until we got home. I started singing a Spanish lullaby (which is specifically a traditional Spanish Christmas carol). The baby cracked open one eye and looked up at the ceiling. He then opened the other eye, turned his attention towards me and smiled. It was the sweetest thing in the world and I thought "He knows I'm his mom, and he's happy to see me." So then I continued singing, and he understood what I was trying to do so he covered himself back up with a makeshift blanket he was wrapped up in. Then I woke up.

I don't know if those were signs or not but it's interesting. There's a vocations thing, for young people, at the parish tonight but with the amount of homework I have, I won't be able to make it.

Alright, well, I actually still A LOT to do before tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to write the next blog because my week is insane. My Oceanography final is this coming weekend, I have a math assessment test on Thursday (trying to test into a specific class), my English Lit midterm is coming up and have loads of papers to re-write for it, my History of World Religions class has its midterm (a paper) due soon... AHHH! lol. I need to remember to breathe sometimes. :D

I've taken enough of your time. :D I hope everyone had a great weekend! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Checkin' In; My Poor Hair; Check this Out!

Just checkin' in here. Sorry it's taken me a while. School's been crazy these last couple of days -- Philosophy of Logic midterm exam (passed!), Shakespeare skit for English Lit class (done!), assignments for History of World Religions, and two papers, one assignment, and one test for Oceanography for this weekend. Lots of reading and memorizing. I did get extensions on some classes because of the fires (schools were closed for two days) but I want to do everything on the original due date because I want to have a social life sooner than later. lol. :D No time for much fun at the moment.

One thing I did get a chance to do yesterday was get my hair cut. Boy, do I regret letting the new lady cut my hair. I said "No Bangs" maybe 4 times while I was there. What happened? She gave me bangs... and cut like an inch higher on one side than the other. She did not listen to anything I asked her to do. My hair looks atrocious. I'm so bummed that it looks that bad. I just have to keep reminding myself that it's just hair and that it'll grow out. For now, bobby pins and ponytails will be my best friends. *sigh* Oh well, that's what happens.

One more thing before I go (so much due this weekend!). I recently got contacted by an author about a book that's being released in the near future. I got to see previews of it and it looks really good! The book is called "Hear My Voice" (A Children's Translation of the Gospel Readings of the Catholic Mass for 2009) and you can check it out here. I will be reviewing it as soon as I get my copy of the book (which will hopefully mean around tomorrow/beginning of next week); as soon as I have free time to do so. :D

Alright, I need to go eat a little more (still hungry -- it's 9 a.m.!) and then study for all that's due tonight and Sunday. Fingers crossed I can handle all of that without anxiety. *crosses fingers*

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!

L.A. is Burning; Confession Confessions

Ladies and gentlemen, the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles is burning! There was a fire to the northeast and not there's one to the north/northwest part. I was wondering what smelled funky (like burnt toast with something else) when I woke up at 5 in the morning and on the way to English Lit I saw that it was because of the fire. When I got out of class, I noticed ANOTHER fire had started north of us. I took this picture closer to my house. It's the eeriest thing to see the closer you get. Please pray that those who have their homes near the mountains are able to get out safely! And please pray for those who can't breathe due to the smoke in the air (I had issues on the way to school). Here is news on the first fire, you can see more pictures here and on the second fire which is closer to my house.

EDIT: If you live near the fires (either Lakeview Terrance or in Porter Ranch) and need to evacuated with your large animals like horses, you can take them to Pierce College in Woodland Hills. Cal State Northridge University and L.A. Mission College are closed.

Moving on...

I had a VERY interesting experience at confessions on Saturday. I was waiting for an HOUR to get confessed because there was an unusually high number of people there. I think the Lord wanted me to wait it out (I usually don't if the lines are that long) because this older woman started talking to me about her experiences. I asked her if she was in line to confess and she said she wasn't. She then told me that she'd gone in hopes to confess but since it had been several years since she last confessed. I sat in one pew and she sat behind me and we started talking about that. I tried my hardest to convince her to confess and brought up the point of how important it is because, what if you die with a mortal or venial sin? We spent maybe 20 minutes talking. She told me her story and all. Finally, when I went to the second line (the bilingual priest is faster), she got the courage to get in line with me and she confessed!! She went before me because, as she said, she didn't want to back out again. She later came by and said her goodbyes, giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek "for everything". That made me feel happy! I'm so glad she went through it! :D Then an older man stood behind me and talked about how he hadn't been to that parish in 40 years (!!!) and we talked a bit about that and about confession. I've NEVER had that happen to me. Has any one? It was a very interesting, but very wonderful experience. :D

Alright, that's it for now. I know, so short! Go on and do a little happy dance! Haha. :D Hope everyone has a good week this week. As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.

Just For Fun.

I thought I'd share this for fun... and because I have no time to write a long blog. lol. Hey, count your blessings! I've been writing a lot lately. :D

The Road Trip of Your Life

You see companionship and loyalty as what's most important in life. You live life at a fairly leisurely pace. You take time to enjoy the sweeter parts of life, even when you're busy. You don't like a lot of risk or randomness in your life. You prefer to stick with what's known, even if it's a bit boring. You are able to find a fairly healthy balance between work and play. You work when you need to, but you never let yourself burn out. In another life, you could have been a great artist. You trust your creative instincts enough to let them lead you.

The Road Trip Test

What the House Test Says About You

You are happy with who you are, and you don't have an inflated sense of self importance. You do your own thing quietly. You don't take up a lot of space. You aren't against being community oriented, but it's not really your thing. You tend to prefer to focus on your family and not the neighborhood around you. You are creative, expressive, and bright. You are always in the middle of some amazing project. You take good care of your physical appearance. You dress well, stay in shape, and do your best to look great. You are moved by romance and love. You are optimistic about people, and you love hearing about happy endings.

The House Test

I'm Brave... or Insane; Darn Economy: State School vs. (Private) Catholic School

I'm either very, very brave... or I've finally lost my mind. Either way I'm good. lol. I'm (hopefully) going to audition for this huge international folk dance concert my school is holding for the holidays. Auditions are a week and a half from today. I don't know why but I just said "Oh, I want to do it!" when I heard about it a couple of days ago. They will be doing dances from: Africa, America (Hip-Hop), Arabia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel, Mexico, Persia, Philippines, Romania, Serbia and Sicily. Take a wild guess which one I'm doing. Seriously... guess. lol. I could've done the hip-hop but really, I'm not too comfortable with it. I decided to do the Mexican folk dance because, hello, I'm of Mexican heritage. lol. That and I learned how to do some of the dances when I was younger. I haven't done it in a long time but I remember how they go. In case you don't know what a Mexican folk dance is (also called folklorico) here's a video of what I think we'll do... since the Jarabe Tapatio is the most recognized.

It requires A LOT of rapid footwork, think like tap dancing... but not tap dancing. The dance is a cardio work out in itself so I'm going to have to start running, or at least jogging, these next couple of days to be physically ready for it. It's only a couple of minutes worth of dancing but it's exhausting if you're not used to it. But, I'm excited. Even if I don't get to be a part of it, it'll be a great experience... and another thing I've conquered. :D

Moving on...

I have a bit of a dilemma. The economy is getting worse and worse and I'm at a crossroads of what to do when it comes to my education. I'm fine at the moment because community colleges are not expensive. Next year, though, I will be done with my lower division requirements so I won't be able to attend a CC. I could get an A.A. degree but I want my B.A. degree. I COULD go to a state school (like UCLA), save money (because the state owes me -- big) and basically not pay much for tuition. Problem is, they don't have Catholic courses I'd want to take. I would have to learn about different religions. With a scholarship, I wouldn't have to pay anything. Or I could continue at the private, Catholic college where I am a student, though I'm not currently attending. Problem there is that it's $32,000+ a YEAR. I have 2 years left so that would mean that, not counting the scholarship I have there, I would have to get a loan for about $20,000 per year until I'm done. I've taken care of tuition and expenses since I started college. My mom will help me out with textbooks when my financial aid arrives late but I always pay her back. I don't know what to do for the next 2 years. I really need Fr. Leo and Fr. Stan to give me some advice. I have no idea how the economy will be in 2 years when I graduate.

It's funny. If I would've started college right after I graduated high school, and if my father would've never gotten cancer both my senior year of high school and early last year, I would've been done with my degree last year when the economy started to tumble a bit. I firmly believe that there's a reason why it's taken me this long to finish my degree. Maybe, though it's taking me (what feels like) forever, it's actually better for me in the long run. I'm not stressing over it. I know God has something in store for me, I just have to be patient and stick it out until things get resolved. Hopefully I'll figure out what to do before I have to make a firm decision as to where I'll be attending next Fall.

Alright, well, I've written a lot today so I think I should stop. I also have a History of World Religions assignment due tonight so I should probably go finish that. I did half of the work last night so now I just to have read about China and Japan's religions... do some compare and contrast and I'll be done.

Didn't I say I was going to stop? lol. Okay. I will. Thanks for reading and God Bless. :D