God says hello to the world...

God says hello to the world each day with His beautiful sunrise. We may not always see this
amazing event because we are sleeping or
the clouds prevent us from seeing but it is always there. This morning I arose early 6:20 am to go out in 30 degree weather so that I too could enjoy the awesome power of God at work. I watched the sunrise over Gilgo beach just off of Long Island New York.
The Lay Assistants are on our winter retreat, the content may have not started as of yet but God starts a retreat whenever He feels is just perfect. The sunrise is the same way, the sun may appear to be out but it does not appear until just the right time. Therefore it does not spoil the majesty of the moon and the starts but holds its own glory.
It is great to watch a sunrise but it is even more exciting when you can climb on top of the roof and just sit there and watch as God’s amazing beauty unfolds before your eyes. Maureen came out and joined me but decided to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground.
What better way to remember a beautiful sunrise than by taking a few pictures. I started taking pictures as 6:21 am and ended at 6:56 am in the morning. The sky changes so much during a period of 20 minutes but we do not always recognize this because there is not always one central point, such as the sun to focus on. The same is true in our lives we do not always recognize how we may change in such a short period of time, but there is one fixed point to always ask where we are going, God. If we ask where we are going then God will give us the directions and let us know. It may take longer than we expect, like I always want the sun to rise faster than it does, but the sun just like God works in His time not ours.

May we patiently wait for all that is unsolved in us and allow You Lord to be our one steady point of reference. Help us to slow down and appreciate the moment at hand, knowing that you are guiding us toward the path you have in store for us. Amen
Sunrise was at 6:35 am.

One Gigantice Pancake

One of the great things about having a TAC meeting is that we get to see some of the regulars from CYFM. These are the kids who are involved at CYFM and we get a chance to see them grow over the course of the year. There are a couple of key components to any TAC meeting, a meeting of course, prayer and dinner.

This time we decided to have a little variety and do breakfast for dinner. Each lay assistant was working on different parts of the meal. Mo was doing the bacon, Claire was doing sausage, Ann helped out doing the hash browns, I was making pancakes and Pokey was getting ready for the meeting. Since there was going to between 20-30 people there, we were making lots of food. This included lots of pancakes, which I was happy to make on the flattop. Although near the end I was tired of making so many little pancakes and stared making bigger ones. First it was making Mickey Mouse pancakes and then just larger pancakes. Finally I had nearly come to the end of the bowl of pancake batter but it would still have made 3 large pancakes so I decided to make one large pancake. It was probably fourteen inches in diameter and a ¼” – ½” thick. The pancake making was finally complete but the fun had only just begun. If you make a pancake that large of course the creator wants to eat it. So I entered the dinning room with my large concoction. One of the teens named Mike looked at me and my enormous pancake and chuckled. He said, “I bet that you couldn’t even eat half of that pancake let alone the whole thing.” “Alright,” I said, “What do you want to bet?” “If you eat less than half of that pancake then you have to wear a DUKE shirt for the next TAC.” “When I do eat half of the pancake then you have to you wear a dress that I pick out at the next TAC meeting.”

The challenge had begun and I started eating away. Because if you eat too much of one thing you become tired of it so I also ate some sausage, and applesauce as sides. As I was nearly three quarters of the way through my half of pancake Mike could tell that I was going to be able to finish the pancake. The other teens were cheering me on because they all wanted to see Mike in a dress.
I finished the half of pancake plus some. What started out as just making dinner for the TAC teens became of bonding experience over food. In the Church we experience bonding all the time when we participate in Eucharist. It is a coming together of a group of people to share a meal. The fact that I was wagering on the food consumption has nothing to do with the Eucharist but sharing a common meal with other does. We learn from others how to connect with God and encourage one another along our journey.