God's Little Wonders

I'm spending my semester in Harrow, England, and it's a once in a lifetime experience. I've only been here since Saturday and I've already seen some remarkable things. My intent when I logged in to write this post was to go on and on about the beauty in our lives and small gifts God gives us every day.

However, I think I've decided to simply share a few photos from my last 5 days and let you come to your own conclusions about God and his works.


"...God comes to thee, not as the dawning of the day, not as the bud of the spring, but as the sun at noon."



"enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize these were the big things"



"Everyday find something beautiful to notice these things are the 'stuff' of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at anytime it can all be taken away"



" God made the world with its towering trees, majestic mountains and restless seas, then paused and said, "It needs one more thing- someone to laugh and dance and sing, to walk in the woods and gather flowers, to commune with nature in quiet hours." So God made little girls with laughing eyes and bouncing curls, with joyful hearts and infectious smiles, enchanting ways and feminine wiles, and when He'd completed the task He'd begun, He was pleased and proud of the job He'd done. For the world when seen through a little girl's eyes, greatly resembles Paradise"



"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams."


"I didn't ask for it to be over, but then again, I never asked for it to begin. For that's the way it is with life, as some of the most beautiful days come completely by chance..."

Just be you.

there's a quote that says "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world".

I've always loved and treasured that quote.

However, not all of us are meant to be in the spotlight. Some of us prefer to be backstage - but that doesn't mean were not doing the best with the talents that God has given us. Anonyminity doesn't mean we aren't trying.

I recently re-found this poem by Emily Dickenson "I'm Nobody, Who are You?" that speaks to the joys of being a "nobody". I wanted to share it for those of us who fear that by not being a "somebody" we are failing. That's not true. It just might not be God's plan for you...



"I'm nobody! Who are you?" by Emily Dickinson

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!



And here's that site's interpretation


At school, being popular sometimes seems like the most important thing in the world. We often think that being the center of attention would be fantastic — like being a famous movie star or athlete.

That's what Jesse Aarons thinks in Bridge to Terabithia until he meets Leslie Burke. Yet the speaker in Emily Dickinson's poem, "I'm nobody! Who are you?" readily admits to being an outsider. What's more, she even seems to like it. She says it would be "dreary" to be "somebody."

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Is she crazy? Who would want to be an outsider?

Think about it for a moment. Who would really want to be an insider?

As an outsider, a "nobody," the speaker is not forced to be "public." She does not have to face the scrutiny or disapproval of people who are likely to be jealous of her popularity. She does not have to play games, put on an act, or keep trying in order to be a somebody. She can be herself and be comfortable.

What's more, she is not alone.
The poem's first stanza tells how the speaker meets a fellow "nobody" — a friend. Together, the two nobodies can enjoy each other's company and their shared anonymity


Are you nobody?: Everyone feels like a "nobody" at some point in life.

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As a pair, they aren't really nobodies anymore. That's why the speaker says, "Don't tell! / They 'd banish us, you know." She understands that once you have another "nobody" at your side, you aren't really a "nobody" anymore. And she doesn't want to be banished or kicked out from what she sees as a society of nobodies.

She's comfortable there.

In the second stanza, the tone of the poem changes. The speaker sounds confident. Perhaps it is her discovery that there are other people like her — other "nobodies"-- that makes her feels strongly that being a "somebody" isn't such a great idea.

She realizes that having a friend who understands you and accepts you as you are is more important than being admired by a lot of people or being in the "in" crowd.


Bogged Down
In the poem's second stanza, the speaker also makes a strange comparison. She says that being a somebody is like being a frog. What does this simile mean? Aside from Kermit, there aren't many celebrity frogs around.

A lot of people -- kids and adults -- feel lonely sometimes. Emily Dickinson's poem "I'm nobody! Who are you?" expresses how being a loner can sometimes be a positive thing.
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Why does the speaker choose that amphibian as her representative of a public creature?

It's because frogs make a lot of noise. The poem says that frogs, though they can croak and make themselves heard and be noticed, are noticed only by "an admiring bog." The bog is the frog's environment, not the frog's friend. So who cares what the bog thinks?

That's what the poem says about being a "somebody" who gets noticed by an admiring public. Frequently, the relationship is impersonal and distanced, not like a real friendship. Somebodies may have many admirers, but they might not be able to make those personal connections that real friendship offers.



yeah, i know, their interpretation gets way off the original point i was trying to make, but i think it's a good message nonetheless, and once i read it i had to share. hope you don't mind the extra long post...

How Much Time Does God Get?

God has blest each of us with 1,440 minutes in every day and 10,080 minutes in every week (and for those of us who've seen Rent, we know there's 525,600 minutes for us each year) for us to do whatever we please with. They're a free gift with no strings attached.

How many of those minutes do we give back to God each week?

Studies show that the majority of our time goes to shopping, working, and watching television. As a college student I'd say it goes to napping, procrastinating, and eating. In fact, as Americans, we fall into a category of people who spend an average of 10% of our alloted time watching television (or 1000 minutes per week).

In contrast, how many does God get?

Typically, the answer is less than 100. That's less than 1% of our time which we devote to spiritual activities such as prayer and worship. That's sad.

We all say we want God to be a big part of our lives - to help us and protect us and to make things better ... but how much are we really willing to give Him in return? Consider Mass attendance, prayer, Eucharistic adoration, spiritual reading, or volunteer work.

It's amazing how much personal happiness you can get out of improving your relationship with anyone - just imagine how much joy comes along when you invest a little time in one of the most powerful and beautiful friendships of all - the one between you and your God.

12 drummers drumming...

Today is the 12th day of Christmas. For Christians, our celebration of Christmas does not end on December 25th. In contrast, that is the day it all begins. My friend Megan did a little research on the 12 days of Christmas, which I will now share with you on this the final day...

For those of you, who like me, were a little confused about why it’s tradition to leave all the Christmas decorations up until January 5th, here’s why: Christmas only begins on the evening of the 25th! The twelve days following Christmas, referred to as The Feast of Three Kings, are just as important. And they give us a reason to continue celebrating.

The season of Advent begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, and for nearly a month Christians await the coming of Christ in a spirit of expectation, singing hymns of longing. Then, on December 25, Christmas Day commences twelve days of celebration, ending only on January 6 with the feast of the Epiphany.

The three traditional feasts (dating back to the late fifth century) that follow Chrstmas reflect different ways in which the mystery of the Incarnation works itself out in the body of Christ. December 26 is the feast of St. Stephen—a traditional day for giving leftovers to the poor (as described in the carol "Good King Wenceslas”) As one of the first deacons, Stephen was the forerunner of all those who show forth the love of Christ by their generosity to the needy. But more than this, he was the first martyr of the New Covenant, witnessing to Christ by the ultimate gift of his own life.

St. John the Evangelist, commemorated on December 27, is traditionally the only one of the twelve disciples who did not die a martyr. Rather, John witnessed to the Incarnation through his words, turning Greek philosophy on its head with his affirmation, "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14, KJV).

On December 28, we celebrate the feast of the Holy Innocents, the children murdered by Herod. These were not martyrs like Stephen, who died heroically in a vision of the glorified Christ. They died unjustly before they had a chance to know or to will—but they died for Christ nonetheless. In them we see the long agony of those who suffer and die through human injustice, never knowing that they have been redeemed. If Christ did not come for them too, then surely Christ came in vain.

In celebrating the Holy Innocents, we remember the victims of abortion, of war, and of abuse. We renew our faith knowing that the coming of Christ brings hope to the most hopeless. And, in the most radical way possible, we confess that like the murdered children we are saved by the sheer mercy of Christ, not by our own doing or knowing.

In the Middle Ages, these three feasts were each dedicated to a different part of the clergy. Stephen, fittingly, was the patron of deacons. The feast of John the Evangelist was dedicated to the priests, and the feast of the Holy Innocents was dedicated to young men training for the clergy and serving the altar.

The sub-deacons (one of the "minor orders" that developed in the early church) objected that they had no feast of their own. So it became their custom to celebrate the "Feast of Fools" around January 1, often in conjunction with the feast of Christ's circumcision on that day (which was also one of the earliest feasts of the Virgin Mary, and is today celebrated as such by Roman Catholics). The twelve days of Christmas saw similar celebrations of the topsy-turvy and the unruly.

Finally, on Epiphany (January 6), the celebration of Christmas comes to an end. "Twelfth Night" (as all lovers of Shakespeare know) is the ultimate celebration of Christmas madness (Shakespeare's play features one of his many "wise fools" who understand the real meaning of life better than those who think they are sane). Epiphany commemorates the beginning of the proclamation of the gospel—Christ's manifestation to the nations, as shown in three different events.

Epiphany is often a forgotten festival (although, by the accident of Edwin's mother's birthday falling on January 5, his very un-liturgical family preserved the ancient tradition of keeping the Christmas decorations up until Epiphany). As the true end-point of the Christmas season, however, Epiphany sends us into the world to live out the Incarnation, to witness to the light of Christ in the darkness.

So after all the gifts have been open, and the feasts have been finished, don't fret-- according to the bible, the celebration is just beginning!

...and a partridge in a pear tree

Christmas and New Years

Once again it's been much too long since my last post. I don't have one specific direction for this post, so please bear with me as a jump around a lot.

First and foremost, I hope everyone had a blessed, joyous Christmas spent with loved ones. it truly is a magical day, and I hope your hearts were filled with the joy of not only our Savior's birth, but also with the joy of being surrounded by family and friends, the beauty of a Christmas snow, and the satisfaction that we are all filled with after a successful day.

Secondly, there was New Year's Day. A holy day of obligation. Now, I'll admit that I must not have been paying very much attention for the last 19 years of my life, but I always thought the reason we went to mass on the first was because it was the first day of the new year. I assumed it was a day to say thankyou for the last 365 days and prepare ourselves spriritually for the next 525,600 minutes. It's not.

The first of January is a day to recognize the miracle of God coming to live amoung us as a HUMAN, and also a day to recognize Mary's role as both his mother and ours. It is a day where the definition as God as our father and brother is really defined as we are encouraged to look more closely at the holy family and the role they play in our individual lives.

Knowing that God walked among us and lived as one of us makes it easier for us to trust Him and go to Him with our issues - we can be made more confident that He understands what it is like to be human. The church asks us to set aside this day at the begining of every year to reflect on the humanity of God... and how we can use his example to become better persons.

So maybe it's not about New Years Day ... but it does give us a sense of what God would like to see us make our resolution for the new year be.