Good Friday – What Love Really Means

April 6th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith - (Comments Off on Good Friday – What Love Really Means)

Today is Good Friday, the day all Christians commemorate the passion and death of our Lord, Jesus Christ. What He did on the cross was THE ultimate act of love, so let us remember today and always that we are NOTHING without Him. He was perfect in every way, never having sinned even once, and He willingly allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross for your sins, for my sins, for the sins of the entire world, past, present, and future. That’s what Love really means.

Lord, You are all that is good, our Creator, and our Redeemer. We are sorry for the sins we have committed that nailed You to the cross. Words cannot express the gratitude we have for Your sacrifice. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Please help us to always appreciate the gift of Your grace, and keep us close to You always. Amen.

Here’s a free printable to help us remember what Love really is.

Click on the image to enlarge. This is for personal use only. Please don’t crop out the website at the bottom.

Thank you, and have a blessed Good Friday.

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The Saturday Spruce-Up – Trading "Luck of the Irish" for Faith

March 17th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | The Saturday Spruce-Up - (Comments Off on The Saturday Spruce-Up – Trading "Luck of the Irish" for Faith)

Today’s Saturday Spruce-Up is a quick fix in attitude and outlook on the wonderful holiday of St. Patrick’s Day. Jeff Cavins, a reputable Catholic author and speaker, posted this on Facebook today (with my highlights in bold).

Today we are giving up the “Luck of the Irish” for the “Faith of the Irish”.Photo courtesy of Jeff Cavins' facebook page

How many times have you discussed with your spouse or colleague what you would do if you won the Powerball? You can get lost in that dream world of “what if.”

Projecting out into the future what life would be like if you had the winning numbers, creates an illusion that more than likely will never come true. Instead of putting your hope in the lottery, put your hope in the same God that St. Patrick put his hope in.
Today for Lent, let’s emphasize that we are not dependent upon luck, such as Powerball and pulltabs but the providence of God and His faithfulness. 

Jeremiah the prophet said, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11).
There are things in life that are more important than material things. Jeremiah goes on to say, “There is hope for your future, says the LORD, and your children shall come back to their own country (Jeremiah 31:17).

Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

Just to show you how serious I am about this, I’m not even eating Lucky Charms for breakfast today.

PS: The Irish have a longstanding history of spreading the Catholic faith around the world. We need to pray for our Catholic brothers and sisters in Ireland today.

My own plans fall through all the time, but I trust in God that He knows what He’s doing, and He’ll take care of me. Why Catholic? this year is focused on prayer. Last week and the next few weeks, we are focusing on the “Our Father”. Although many of us can recite it without even thinking about it, the challenge is to really think about each line and what it means. Pray with me (and think about each line!)

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. 
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

“Thy will be done” is the phrase I’m focusing on this week. Which parts of the “Our Father” are the most challenging to you? Which parts comfort you?

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Keep Praying – All 3,500 of You

February 24th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith - (Comments Off on Keep Praying – All 3,500 of You)

Wow! I am in awe of our community, its faith, and the outpouring of love showed to Brett by praying for him while reading my post yesterday. I usually get between 50-100 hits on my blog per day, and my daily record was 206 hits in one day. Yesterday, the post requesting prayers for Brett Miller received over 3,500 hits. Thank you for all your prayers.

Here is what Brett posted on his CaringBridge webpagethis morning:

Brett, Lydia, and Malena. Photo from Brett's CaringBridge website

It is 5:53 A.M. and I thought being the day of my surgery and a long prayer chain about to begin that I would kick it off by saying a prayer for all of you involved in making this a reality. Also I hope God is giving special power and strength on this day to the surgeon team that they have the strength and wisdom to perform at their best!

God has truly blessed me thru 29 years of my life and I am thankful to all my family, friends, co-workers, students, aquaintances and anyone else who has had me in their thoughts and prayers thru this past week! I wasn’t aware how many people whose lives I have touched in so many ways that they have gone above and beyond asking for God to watch over me, simply stunning guys, simply stunning! Please God give me the strength and courage to display my gratitude at some point towards all of you who have helped lift me up to levels of strength I never imagined I had. It is simply proof that God does amazing things and thru the past week he has kept my spirits as high as ever, and often times I had forgotten that anything was wrong with me to begin with. Having Lydia, Malena, both sets of parents, Lindsay, and all the calls, texts, and messages from everyone rolling in has just had me as happy as ever, on cloud nine, experiencing a small taste of what I imagine heaven would be like. I may not be the luckiest man in the world, but surely I am pretty close, maybe even in the top 5% or so. 

Reality is beginning to set in some as I know I am T-minus 3 hours from check in at the hospital and not sure if I fully understand the whole process yet. How much will this hurt, how long will I be out of it, will the pain go away shortly after? I know I am a strong person both physically and mentally but even I am scared with what I am facing. It is hard to believe the restrictions I will be facing such as not lifting more than 10 pounds for six weeks! I can’t even hold my precious baby Malena and walk her around, maybe I can push her in the laundry basket still when we get back home. It sounds like I will have someone set up to monitor me 24/7 for a few days b/c those of you who know me can only imagine I’ll have a hard time being able to sit still and not do the things I know I can. I will get to walk for my exercise within a couple days so at least I won’t be completely inactive, but no running or weight training will be hard on me. By the time I get back to weight training class most of my students will have passed me up by then. So those of you who enjoy working out, get an extra lap or set in on occasion for me if possible. 

I am thankful for Laura (my sister-in-law) for keeping updates for everyone on this site. My sister Lindsay who is here with me does a great job relaying the news for her to post. I sit and take it all in but could never explain the whole thing the way they do. Thought I would make one thing clear about all the talk about how awesome these 2 different surgeons we have met with, it is very true. Both Dr. Ball and Vangumpel are awesome, very gifted surgeons from hearing them speak.The whole part about being so good-looking (Mcdreamy) or whatever those thoughts never once entered my mind. Don’t get me wrong they are no bus station skanks, but they are no Adam Wainwright either, LOL! So good news about the surgery procedure that I was able to gather is they should be able to remove 90% of this tumor, and it is a big tumor (grapefruit size). I am glad I have a big head and hopefully there will still be plenty of brain left for me to utilize afterwards. Percentages of affecting memory and speech post surgery are real low, so that is encouraging for me. It is scary the thought of radiation and chemo that will likely have to follow up, but I am willing to do anything and everything it takes to fully recover and dominate this tumor! 

Well it is closing in on hour 1 of my prayer chain and the energy and power is flowing thru me like never before! Keep up the great work everyone it is truly amazing! Keep in mind I would do this for any and all of you if the roles were reversed. As I wind down a few thoughts for the day. Sleep has been hard to come by this past week, but never has it weakened my spirits or had me in soaking in pain. I should be in for a long afternoon/evening nap throughout this long procedure so that might get me caught up some. My mind will be wandering thinking of all my friends and family who mean so much to me and I have had opportunities to speak with throughout the week. Thoughts are also with the Liberty and QND boys basketball teams tonight in regional championship action! Here is to big W’s for both and health for all players from participating teams involved! I will be cheering from my recovery room (if I make it there by then). This whole week I have had a Tim McGraw song in my head that has constantly been there. Someday I hope you get the chance to Live like you were dying! I never have thought for one second that I am dying but just the experiences, talks with friends and family all throughout have made me realize just how precious these moments have been for me. I get a new perspective on life and really soak up every moment I have, it is an amazing feeling to have! May God bless all of you and watch over you and give you strength to be at your best all day long, stay strong and smile, say I love you to all those who mean the world to you, and remember God will do the rest! 

Thanks again for everything, you all are truly wonderful and have been a great blessing for my family and I this past week! Now some time to play with Malena and visit with my family before check in! Love you all! Boo-yah!

God is great. Even in the difficult times–especially in the difficult times–He shows His glory by bringing all of you who are praying for Brett closer to Him. Please visit Brett’s CaringBridge page to follow his progress and continue to pray!

Also–I recently found out that another QND graduate is going through a very similar situation. Shawn Wagner, who graduated in 2002, had brain surgery on Monday. I have no other details about his situation, but God knows what’s going on, so please pray for him too.

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The Power of Prayer – For Brett Miller

February 22nd, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith - (Comments Off on The Power of Prayer – For Brett Miller)

I recently found out that my childhood best friend’s older brother has a tumor on his brain. He’s only 29 years old, has a beautiful

Brett with his wife Lydia and daughter Malena

wife and baby daughter, and countless people who love him.

Many of you know Brett Miller as a football player from Quincy Notre Dame who is now a coach there and a teacher at Liberty High School. He’s always been in great shape and in perfect health, so I’m sure this came as a complete shock to him and his family.

Here is what his dad had to say via Facebook tonight:

“I normally do not make entries on facebook as I am not one to talk about things going on in my life be it good or bad. However, when the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune hit you with a life altering situation, ones focus on life changes and you find yourself in unfamiliar territory…My second born, Brett, has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. He is 29 yrs. old, married to a most amazing, wonderful, beautiful woman, Lydia, with a most precious 13 month old little girl named Malena. We are currently up in Rochester, MN at Mayo’s. Brett has undergone several painstaking tests, and is currently slated for surgery this Friday, February 25th. We have a pre-op orientation tomorrow, Thursday, at 1pm, followed by a consultation at 3 with the surgeon and his team. We are not sure at this time how much of the tumor will be removed as it has worked its way deep into the part of the brain that controls speech and memory. What cannot be removed safely, will have to be treated with radiation and possibly chemotherapy. This situation has been devasting to not only Brett, Lydia, and Malena, but to my family, the Keck family, and all of Brett’s and Lydia’s friends! Brett has a lot of support and prayer chains going for him, so if I may ask one thing of my friends, I ask for a small prayer for him that this will have a positive outcome. Thank you and God Bless.”

Whether you know Brett or not, if you believe in the power of prayer, please say a prayer for him, his doctors, and his family. Don’t know how to get started? Pray with me.

Everlasting Father, you are worthy of all praise. You created me in your image, and you give me the grace to walk in your way. I praise you, adore you. Especially in difficult times, I’m grateful you are there.

I am truly sorry for all of my sins, for not appreciating the blessings you bestow in my life, and for worrying about the little things.

Thank you so much for all of the blessings you give me. Thank you for the food that nourishes my body, for the friends and family that bring me up emotionally, and for your grace that heals souls.

Lord, please lay your healing hands over Brett. Send your angels to be with him and his doctors as they prepare for surgery. Give Brett physical, emotional, and spiritual fortitude to keep a positive attitude and to trust you even in the darkest times. Give Lydia and the family the strength to help support Brett, the support system to break down if they need to, and your peace, knowing that you love Brett even more than they do. Lord, so many people depend on Brett and love him–please heal him completely, and help him and those around him to see your presence in all situations. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

If you know Brett and would like to follow his progress or leave a message for him and the family, a CaringBridge website was started for him a few days ago. Click here for more information.

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i believe in a thing called Love

February 14th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith - (Comments Off on i believe in a thing called Love)

Just listen to the rhythm of my heart.

This is what really makes my heart flutter this Valentine’s Day.

Click to download 12″ x 12″ PDF Printable Version

**This design is based off a teacher’s bulletin board I saw on Pinterest (if you know whose it is, let me know and I’ll give them credit!). I used Photoshop and InDesign to recreate it. Feel free to print and download for personal use.

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March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer

January 25th, 2012 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on March for Life 2012 – Love is the Answer)

You may or may not have heard, but the March for Life in Washington, D.C. took place again this year on Monday, January 23rd. The main stream media is not super interested in covering this because abortion is such a widely accepted practice in our country. Pro-lifers are almost seen as radicals in our day. Tim Muldoon, a blogger for Patheos.com, wrote an amazing post about the March for Life, calling it the “March for Love.” Here is an excerpt from that post (with parts I liked best in bold):

In our experience, the metanoia of loving has meant seeing orphans not as problems to be solved, but as beloved children who will gladden adoptive parents. If you are pro-choice, or if you are someone who has had an abortion, perhaps it may help to imagine what gives fire to the pro-life movement. Each pregnancy we see as a new opportunity for love, an irreplaceable gift that challenges us to love anew. We see abortion as an interruption of the potential for love, the opportunity for love, and so we hope to build a society in which those opportunities are welcomed. Our hope is both simple and profound: to treat human beings through the lens of love, rather than primarily through the lens of reason.

In the big picture, love is the far more powerful way of looking at the world. Love is the game-changer. People die for love; they stretch their energies and resources for love. They move to the farthest ends of the earth for love. They take on the greatest challenges for love. They fast, tighten their belts, work extra jobs, lose sleep for love. They imagine new possibilities. Reason is often a wet blanket: it tells us why we can’t do something (it’s too expensive; it will require too much work; it’s too hard…). Love, on the other hand, moves us to find the ways we can do something. It is the most deeply human dimension of our lives, because it is at the same time the most deeply rooted in the divine.

Wow, if we can all truly look at life through the lens of love, think of what our world could be. There are no “official” statistics out there, but it is estimated that between one and two million couples are waiting for a child to adopt, waiting to be able to show their love to a beautiful little child. So what is the right thing to do if you are experiencing an unplanned pregnancy? LOVE is always the answer.

I also found this video trying to help people understand the reasons behind the March for Life posted by The Bad Catholic. Check it out here:

And if you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for the victims of abortion, for their mothers who have been hurt emotionally, spiritually, and physically by abortion, for those pregnant women who are feeling alone and scared, and for a change of heart our country’s leaders.

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Respect Life Month – 180 Movie

October 6th, 2011 | Posted by Bryn in Faith - (Comments Off on Respect Life Month – 180 Movie)

I am posting this video in honor of the over 50 million children lost in this country alone since abortion became legal. It’s a 33 minute video, but it’s worth your time. Shocking, horrifying and thought-provoking all in one.

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Make-A-List Monday – Parenting Realizations

July 25th, 2011 | Posted by Bryn in Make-A-List Monday - (Comments Off on Make-A-List Monday – Parenting Realizations)

I’m starting a new series today called Make-A-List Monday. On Mondays, I usually try to make to-do lists of things to get done throughout the week, but these will just be random lists of things that come into my head.

A play-doh flower made for me by my three-year-old last Valentine's Day

Today I made a list of realizations I’ve had since becoming a mother.

  1. I have a real fear of swimming pools, the strings used to pull up mini-blinds, and bumpers on cribs.
  2. When I order food at a restaurant, I always think about what I can eat one-handed.
  3. My threshold to handle anything gross has gone up 100%
  4. My capacity to love has gone up 300% (for my three manaics!)
  5. I (lovingly) call my children maniacs because they have so much energy and are easily amused. We are constantly laughing.
  6. The sweetest things in life are open mouth baby kisses, handfuls of dandelions, and home made art projects, made by loving little hands.
  7. Toys that make noises are an effective way to torture parents.
  8. Name brand clothes really do hold up longer.
  9. I’m so grateful for shopping carts shaped like race cars.
  10. I love my mini-van.
  11. I would much rather shop at Carter’s or Gymboree than Hollister or Express.
  12. I am a more confident person in all aspects of life, and I’m getting better at decision-making. I have to. I’m the mommy.
  13. God is in control, and “my” kids are just borrowed from Him. He loves them even more than I do. How amazing is that?
This list could go on and on. What have you realized about yourself since you became a parent?

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May the Daddy Bless You

June 19th, 2011 | Posted by Bryn in Faith | Kids - (Comments Off on May the Daddy Bless You)

Peach turned two years old about a month ago, and we all “practiced” singing the birthday song over and over. Many, many times.

When she sang it (to herself apparently), she’d get to the “May the dear Lord bless you” verse and sing confidently, “May the Daddy bless you!” I thought it was pretty adorable. Toddlerisms crack me up.

But when I really got to thinking about it, she replaced the words “dear Lord” with “Daddy”. It’s actually pretty profound. In Mass today, we celebrated the Feast of the Holy Trinity. The trinity is the belief that God is actually three persons in one – the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Three persons, but one God.

In the past several years of my life, I have focused on having a “personal relationship” with Christ, always trying to think of Jesus as a best friend that I can easily have a conversation with through prayer. I think is a good way to think about God because He does love us and He knows us better than anyone.

The Daddy

Today at the end of Mass, we sang the song “Abba, Father”. The word abba is translated to English as “daddy”. Our “dear Lord” is our “Daddy”. God is our father, our daddy. We can lean on Him, go to Him for advice, and rely on Him because He’ll never let us down. What an awesome example He is to fathers in this realm. My honey shows that godly love for our children with a smile on his face every day. Even when they’re acting like maniacs.

I know I’m so blessed that I still have my own father here on earth, and that he’s a loving, faith-filled Daddy. I am able to relate to God better in a father/daughter relationship because of my dad.

As we celebrate our fathers today, let us not forget God the Father, our Daddy in Heaven.

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