Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Lent 2009

I just had a brief visit from a good friend who stopped by to drop off the Girl Scout cookies she so kindly picked up for me this past Sunday. It's Ash Wednesday. Need I say more? It's my fault for not getting them from her sooner. On the other hand, had I done that I'm sure they would be gone by now. As it is, they are nestled safely in my freezer where they will remain until Sunday...or Saturday evening. :)

During her visit, we chatted about how we're "no good at Lent". Is anyone? Isn't that the point? Something tells me that no one jumps for joy at the thought of 40 days of concentrating on the death of their selfish will. It's like cancer treatment for the soul. (How's that for a bad analogy, Maureen?) ;)

The Lord kindly prompted me to pull The Dialogue by St Catherine of Siena off the bookshelf about a week or so ago. This was just in time to dive into it and discover (I've never really read it, though I've owned it for years) a wealth of Lent-appropriate guidance on growing in virtue, love of neighbor and knowledge of self, all leading to knowledge and love of God. For anyone unfamiliar with this book, I HIGHLY recommend it; it's quite beautifully written and a great Lenten kick in the pants!

On to the practicals, if you're up for sharing, I'm curious to hear how the Lord has asked you to practice growth in virtue and death of self during this Lenten season. Here at the Archibald home, we're focusing on temperance (sorry, GS cookies), evangelism, and prayer. I am also striving to recognize, correct and quiet the voice of my will, whether it be whispering or screaming in my ear, as I go about my day. It's amazing how refreshing it is to do the opposite of whatever that little voice is telling you. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery." (Galations 5:1 NAB)

Friday, February 6, 2009

Personalities, I suppose

You know you need more affirmation in your life when...
- You get excited about comments posted on your blog.

Ok, I guess that's all I have to say to get that off my chest. Whew. I never would've pegged myself for a "words of affirmation" kinda gal. Who knew.
(See http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/ for reference)

Mark is gone for the evening, Iain is asleep and the apartment is a wreck, ahhh a sweet blissful evening of nothing to do! Sometimes being a Type B personality really pays off. On the other hand, being married to a Type A also rubs off and I'm less able to ignore the disaster of used kleenexes (we have colds), dirty dishes, baby toys, clothes, books and misc. other that surrounds me. Argggh! Mark, why must you be so, so, so....wonderfully tidy???

This evening I was discussing personality types with 2 friends of mine. All three of us happened to be Type B's. One friend was wondering a) why Type A personalities have to be A, why can't B be A, huh??? I responded that Type A's have to be A because it's in their very nature. They wouldn't approve of not being first. ;) b) she wondered if there are Type C personalities, or if there are just 2, A and B, because A's made some sort decision that the "have it all togethers" were A and everyone else, aka, "the losers" were B. I see where she was going and I think I agree with her. It's all a conspiracy to keep the B man down. (And I, as a B say, "as if we need any help!").

To anyone from whom we have bought furniture off craigslist in the last 2 weeks who has since googled me and stumbled upon my blog, I mean no offense in what I am about to write. Rather, I am extremely grateful for the way you have blessed us with your no-longer-needed furniture. That said, Mark and I quickly made an amusing discovery while using craigslist to acquire whole room-fulls of terrific furniture for the house that we had better darn well close on or else we'll have to rent storage!: Craigslist is a wonderful tool, but you have to know how to play the game. Folks selling on craigslist appear to fall into 2 categories. 1) the wealthy who are doing the "out with the old, in with the new" bit and don't really need the cash, but aren't just going to donate their gently used mint condition furniture, so they sell it for a very reasonable price. 2) the not-so-wealthy who are looking to make a buck off of a cat-scratched, stained, moldy recliner (or similar) that should be burned, but they're asking $200 for it anyway.

If you need some cheap, comic relief in your life, I highly recommend a browse through craigslist.

Well, I'd write more, but I'm afraid I have a whole lot of sweet nothing to do for another hour before Mark gets home. G'night.