Divine Intervention

It truly amazes me when I see how God puts people in our lives for exactly the reasons He wills it to be. Not to mention the incredibly precise timing as well. The people you meet in this life time are I believe, crucial to where you are and want to go in your spiritual life. This whole thought comes from a very deep and intellectual discussion I had today with a person I know. It was not a long conversation but rather short. But the content of our discussion was rooted in our faith, in God, and in in our sincere wanting to give of ourselves to others. I felt a connection so hard to describe. One thing was certain, and that is that we both recognized a divine intervention our meeting each other. Moments like these really bring such a smile to my face and make me realize once again how great our Lord is. :)

I have been truly blessed that God, in his infinite love and mercy has given me opportunities to meet some very spiritual and positive people. I feel as if God speaks to me through others and I am given much hope in the good that He works through others. It can be lonely at times when people don't get me or what I am referring to when I speak of God and his amazing work in my life.





I thank God for His love and for giving me a sense of peace in understanding that no matter what happens in my life, it all happens through His will. He will bring me only what is good in both situations and in people even if I perceive things as nonsensical or confusing. I am truly blessed. Even in the times i feel completely alone or desolate, I know in my heart and soul that God is there. That through His divine interventions He will get me through everything. I trust in Him completely.

Maria :)

It's Saturn Time!!

Ok, so this Saturday, God willing AND weather cooperating, I will be once again seeing Saturn through the telescope! I am but a very very (and I am serious here) amateur astronomer. ;) I have an 8" Dob that was given to me on my birthday a year ago. It was a generous and incredible gift from my brother who saw my love of the universe and it's treasures. At first, and unbeknown to me, you cannot really see anything as you see on the web through a telescope. So I was a little disheartened. BUT, with time and gaining more knowledge through my brother mainly, I came to realize what I was seeing and how amazing it was to have it right there in front of me.

When you look through the telescope, Saturn does not look as it does in the picture above, it's just a very small white ball w/a visibly small ring around it when seen through the scope. It's still amazing though. When your mind gets the whole "I'm seeing something in the universe that is light years away" then you just sit there in amazement at what your eyes are soaking in. I like looking through the binocs too because I like to trace out the constellations. I really LOVE being out there under the night sky. It's just breath taking to see so many stars out there and to think how little we are in comparison to the vast and enormous universe that we are floating in.

ths is what mine looks like....



I'm such a geek sometimes, but I don't care. I love the stars, the earth and just all of these gifts that we have been given by God to explore and to be in amazement in. It's even better when you have someone to share it with as far as the exploration of it all. I've been blessed to have friends (although very few) that share this love of nature and stars with me. I really can't complain. Life is good and that is because God is in it. ;)

Maria :)

It's All About Love!!

Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Now, reading that, how can ANYONE not believe in Love? How can that NOT make sense? I absolutely love this bible verse(s). Every time I read it, I think to myself now that is truly what God wants us to do with those we encounter. Love is a most beautiful thing. It is a treasure that we have within us and so many of us don't share it. We don't nurture it and we don't see it. Kindness begins with being kind to ourselves so that we can share that with others. Happiness is not a reality until it is shared. :)

Maria ;)

These Are Some Of My Favorite Things.....

And just as you hear the song in The Sound Of Music I too am in a mood to just start rambling off some of my favorite things. Just things that when I think of them then I too don't seem to feel so sad ;) So, with that said here we go!

• Sunrises and sunsets
• The music that birds make early in the morning and throughout the day
• sunny and breezy days
• hot chocolate w/whip cream when it's really cold outside
• the silence in a church as you pray to God
• good conversations about things that really matter
• listening to a train pass by in the middle of the night
• winter's very first snow fall
• a rainbow
• butterflies
• big puffy white clouds in a most perfect bluest of blue skies
• the beach and the sound of the waves early in the morning or right before sunset
• reading by a window when it's sunny outside
• listening to music that matches how i feel at that exact moment
• freshly baked bread and cookies
• my family
• my friends
• hiking
  
• giving to those who are in need
• listening to those who feel alone
• shooting stars
• flowers, daisies to be exact followed by roses of course
• receese peanut butter cups
• willow tree figurines
• angels
• lady bugs
• cats and kittens
• ice cream
• mountains, the sky, trees, nature!!!!
• drawing and writing

Wow, I had to stop myself there. Too many things..I could easily get carried away...but I won't ;) It's just a glimpse really...and I think in a way I wrote this to remind me of what does matter and what does make me happy. I don't spend too much time being sad or upset. I think of everything as something that is to be learned or embraced. I love life, and life is good. ;)

Ahhhh daisies....such happy flowers :)

The Beauty Of It All

Sometimes I am just mesmerized by the amazing beauty around me. In nature especially. I deliberately take time each day to just look and watch what surrounds me. As soon as I leave a building or enter the outdoors my head is literally in the clouds. I love the sky in all of it's splendor. It's as if God just took a huge canvass and just paints it every single day with colors so majestic. How can someone not look at nature and NOT believe in God? Or even better, how can anyone look at nature and not THANK God for the gifts He has given us. For US!!



The rainbows, the clouds, the trees, birds, the breezes, the rain, the snow, all of it, just absolutely takes my breath away. An Earth created for us, measly little creatures that we are that with our capacity to reason and understand things we destroy it slowly but surely. It's just sad at times to see the hustle and bustle, the noice and clutter that inhabits this planet. Life surrounds us, engulfs us and is waiting to be discovered yet we enclose ourselves in a small box that we consider to be life.

This is by no means to be a downer, I'm just thinking here. I just sometimes wish people could just stop for a moment and realize the beauty of it all. The gift we have been given to enjoy and to nurture and watch. I thank God for His love and for his gifts. Only a loving God could give us such an amazing planet to live on. And let's not even get into the stars and the universe.....those are truly the most incredible treasures yet!! I just can't wrap my brain around how huge our universe is and how small we really are.....mind blowing.

Maria :)

To Have And To Hold

I recently overheard a conversation while paying for my meal at a very cozy restaurant. A very elderly couple came in to sit down. You could tell from the way the hostess received them that hey frequently ate at this restaurant. As they were sitting down, I took notice at how politely the elderly man pulled out the chair for his wife as she calmly and slowly sat down. Once they sat down, the waitress came over and the as she began to ask for what beverages they would like to order, the elderly man asked her "Are you married?"

Now this sudden question really caught my attention. I had noticed she was an attractive young lady and to have him ask her such a direct question just took me by surprise. The first thing I thought was wow that is so disrespectful for him to ask her that with his own wife right there beside him. Was he flirting? And as the waitress began to open up and tell him that she had been married three times and had three boys of her own. The man replied "well I have been married sixty four years, and today is our anniversary!" (You could easily pick up from his voice how very proud of this he was)

As I stood there, first feeling like an idiot for thinking such things as I did once he asked that question. I suddenly began to ponder on what a rare and amazing achievement it was for people to be married for so long! But in the same sense, I felt very comforted to know that marriage, although tarnished by the statistics we face today is still something that is sacred to some.

I believe in marriage, the sacrament, the vow, the promise, the commitment, the love, the fact that God is part of this wonderful union and that it's meant to last forever. And I am not talking about this fantasy like mental picture that girls carry in their minds of the perfect dress, reception, guy, maid of honor, bridesmaid and all that would entail the details of such a celebration. I am, rather, speaking of the love that is brought to the altar, before God our Father and of the loyal promise one exchanges with the other standing in front of them. Knowing that a covenant is being exchanged between two souls that will never find a reason to part, never find a way to doubt or distrust, but always keep the hope alive that every day that passes and every day the share together is just another way of giving glory to God. I am not a romantic by nature, not at all but I am a believer. I believe in what marriage stands for and that there are NO exit strategies when it comes to marriage. It's work it out and let God be the center of everything you do.



I may or may not get married in this life time, this is up to God and his will for me. But I am not going to not keep that option open because I see how others may treat marriage. I rather be the exception to that rule. And I would like to be able to celebrate my sixty fourth wedding anniversary just as I saw the married couple do that day. Love is, and always be, for me a most beautiful thing. God is Love....and LOVE never fails.

Maria ;)