The Best things about Winter

I've updated the sidebar to this blog with some great Catholic Links, a guide to the rosary is there (If you own an iphone, there's a great app with a guide to the Rosary there is well). The rosary guide is the most important one, because as Sister Lucia said at Fatima, there is no problem that can not be overcome with the Rosary. Also, on the sidebar is a link for more info on Natural Family Planning, (There's also an iphone NFP app, I kid you not).

Every season, I always try to offer a quick list of the best things each season has to offer, and I've been late on the winter list, probably because winter is my least favorite season. But that's the completely wrong attitude, if the earthquake in Haiti should teach us anything, its to be more grateful. So here is the gratitude guide to winter.

1.) Great Opportunity for hard work- We can't accomplish our dreams and goals without hard work, and its hard to work in the Spring and Summer on a beautiful day, but the winter offers us an opportunity to put our head down and accomplish any necessary work.

2.) Opportunity to build Relationships- We are naturally inside more in winter, so it should be an opportunity to strengthen our relationships.

3.) Nature's Beauty- I was walking outside a couple weeks ago, and I was struck by how beautiful the sparseness of the winter is, there was a full moon, there was nothing growing, but I was so happy about the way nature runs its course.

4.) Great Sports Months- The NFL Playoffs and the Super Bowl are coming up, and College Basketball is heating up, plus the Winter Olympics start Feb 12th.

5.)Great Sleeping weather- Its darker longer in winter, so its almost an invition to catch up on some needed rest. Sleep is such a gift from God, and its good to catch up on it during the winter.

6.) Gratitude- The winter clearly fosters gratitude, it was 42 degrees here in Philly last week, and people were so excited, this is actually a great thing. People in San Diego don't enjoy 42 and sunny as much as we do!

This is an incomplete list, but every season offers us an opportunity for gratitude!

Please give to Haiti relief effort

Its always so hard to understand when these things happen, but the one glimmer of hope is always the way people in the world come together to help, here's a safe website Catholic Relief Services to give through www.crs.org, they have a great reputation for giving the funds directly for relief;

The Power of Setting Goals

Its a new year, and I love writing down the things I hope to accomplish for that year. Most of the time I keep it pretty simple, but last year in 2009 I was working on a project for work that involved risk and involved a lot of work, so I set a goal that if I finished the project for work, then my wife (Because she bore so much of the burden and the stress of the project) and I were going to reward ourselves. The project was not looking like it was going to come together for most of the year, we actually came very close in May, 2009 to changing courses all together, so when it was finally finished on Jan.6 (The Feast day of the Epiphany), the first thing my wife and I did was reward ourselves with the goal we wrote down on January 1st, 2009. It was really simple, "to purchase an original Michael O'Brien piece of artwork,". Some readers are probably saying, "what's the big deal,", but that's the point of goals and dreams, it was a big deal to us, we both love his artwork and his style, and truly believe that it will be an ongoing great investment for our family, not only now, but later as well, because I think he's an artist that will get a lot more fame and recognition once his life is over, which is how it happens most of the time. Its fun to write down goals that are simple, and goals that are hard, because you can look back and be amazed when it actually happens. The artwork we purchased is above, and the artist commentary is right here: (You can see his work at http://www.studiobrien.com/.)

Artist Commentary:

I began this painting several years ago, basing it on a scene I witnessed one autumn day, my young son observing the water, hills, and sky at a lake near our home. It was bracing weather, chilly and windy, and I was impressed by the way he remained without moving for so long, gazing at all that beauty, perhaps fixed on the hint of blue sky in the distance. It struck me as an image of the longing within us for the "distant shore" of eternity. There are expanses of fathomless water and high hills to cross, storms and much journeying before we arrive there. Even so, the full light is on the horizon, calling us. And the many-coloured light is all around us too.

George Foreman

I wanted to save this post for Monday, but I didn't want to forget anything, and the message is so good. I was listening to an NPR interview with George Foreman, heavy weight champion and successful entrepreneur. I have always had a sweet spot for George Foreman. He said two things that really peeked my interest in the interview, the first one was that he lost his first heavy weight belt, because he lacked endurance, and he won it back, because he had to feed his kids. As long as your heart is directed to things that are true, the heart is extremely powerful, so powerful that it can win a heavy weight championship when love is on the line. (what I mean by directing your heart to what is true, if you direct it to what is false, it is extremely powerful then too, like a forest fire).

The second thing George Foreman said at the very end of the interview as they asked him to give us 1 minute of wisdom. He said, "Forgiveness is the thin thread that holds us together, and the whole world together, and if you don't learn to forgive you are dooming yourself to unhappiness." He offered the story about how his father left him right after he was born, and then reappeared after he had become rich and famous. His first thought was, "what has this guy ever done for me, he's given me nothing but heart ache," But as he reasoned, I need to put my money where my mouth is, so he decided to forgive him, and accept him back into his life. The most amazing and unexpected gift happened because of this forgiveness, "my kids got a grandfather, " He had thought that this decision was all about him, what it would give him. But the gift was given to his children, and he was finally able to love his father, who was a world war II veteran, and as George says, "he was not a bad man, he was just scared to be a father."

If we don't forgive ourselves and others, we will be trapped in a never ending cycle.

The Road- A Book Review

A lot has been made about the book "The Road", what got me interested in it, was something the author Cormac McCarthy said on Oprah, "People can get what they want out of the book, according to their sensibilities, but the book's purpose is to be more grateful for life, and not take it for granted, because life is pretty darn good"

I need to be honest, I was not able to read the whole book, because I don't do well with dark books, but the central message is easily picked up on, the first message is what the author himself has said, Gratitude, in the new year, I have resolved to thank God for all the small things that we take for granted as Americans, In-door plumbing, electricity, warm water, the weather (Even when its cold), a functioning economy, passable roads and highways, farms, etc, etc, and all the big things, Love, Friendship, work, beholding the stars, etc, etc., Gratitude is a great way to start the new year!

The second obvious message, is Fatherhood. That whether its raining or sunny, for a man, Fatherhood is what its all about. Even if you don't have kids, the idea that were in this thing together, and the world needs today more than ever, strong men that have a sense of Spiritual Fatherhood, that is what's at the heart of the celibate priesthood, and the single life for a man. To not think about yourself, but to live for others. It comes across loud and clear in the book, that the goal is a "Fatherhood that seeks", not just to provide, but to love.