No Good Excuses

Happy Easter everyone! It's a beautiful day outside and I am enjoying this weekend with family and friends who are celebrating with us. As I reflect on the Easter holiday, I'm reminded of what I should have been doing for the last 40 days and beyond, but haven't been. And for no apparent good reason. I have lots of excuses, but since none of them are any good, I won't make you listen to the bad ones.

As a Catholic, Easter holds a lot of meaning. I admit I haven't put in the time and effort required to properly honor the significance of Jesus' resurrection. I know what Easter means, but in watching the kids search for their baskets and beg us to hide Easter eggs, I am struck by what I should be doing but am not. For example, I did not make any sacrifice for Lent. Normally, this would be me forgoing chocolate or fast food or buying things I don't need. I haven't done it in a while. But I also haven't been going to church, saying the rosary (I'm not sure I even remember how), teaching my kids to say the "Hail Mary" or "Act of Contrition". Even just writing about it makes it seem like a huge undertaking. My kids haven't had any regular exposure to church or prayer or sacrifice. I don't even know where to start.

I wasn't ever a person who could quote the scriptures and I'm not sure that's who I want to be. But I guess before I can even decide that, I need to start by finding a parish that is right for me and my family. So goal one: find a church. I might try a few different ones to see how it feels and then start taking the kids. Eventually, I want them all to attend Catholic schools. So starting off by attending Catholic church would be a good idea. First up on my list is St. Bridget's in Mesa. Each week, as I attend a service, I'll post a link to the church and write about my experience there. I probably won't be courted like President Obama is, but I'll approach my search with the same care and consideration.

More on this topic next Sunday!

Fear or Loathing?

I have just returned from a whirlwind tour of St. George Utah. It's a beautiful little town, practically encircled with gorgeous red mountains, kind of like what you would see near Hawaiian volcanoes. But it's also a small town. You can drive from one end to the other in about 10 minutes. It branches off into some other, even smaller towns. But it has sort of a homey feel two it. Only two hours from Las Vegas and four hours from SLC. Kind of tucked in the middle and largely forgotten. If you know me well, then you know what I was doing there. And now I can't decide if I really want to do it. So my question is: Am I feeling this way because I'm afraid of this great unknown or do I really not want to do it? How do I tell the difference?

There are clear pros and cons. But is it really as simple and making a list? Does the longer list "win"? I have to figure it out pretty quick, too. No time to hem and haw. Couple of days, tops. I heard someone say something the other day that I probably have heard before, but it clicked with me when he said it. He said, "Make a decision, then make the decision work for you". Something like that. Basically, once I have decided one way way or the other, then I have to do everything I can to make it a success. So, here's another question. Am I doing everything I can to make things work right now?

AAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!! I hate feeling this way! Any insight is appreciated.