Author: LadyEm63

Catholic Wife/Mom/Grandma. Faith Influencer. Volunteer. Friend. Writer. HomeMaker. DIYLover. Crafter. Traveler.
Anxiety and Fear · Catholic Faith · Catholic Mom · Currently · Emily (Me) · Faithsanity · Girlfriends · Holy Spirit · Italy · Meaningful Friendships · Mental Health · Spirituality · Unsolicited Advice

Growth by God’s Grace ~ Mary, Undoer of Knots

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Dear Ones,

I don’t know about you, but I cannot think well when there is chaos. Life with children, a home, laundry, spouse, volunteering, pets, etc. It gets hard to find peace sometimes. And introverts like me miss the peace and quiet of solitude. Sure, no one wants to be alone all the time; however, I’m an introvert in an extroverted world… Plus, at 60 years old… I feel like some days my brain just does not compute. I’m not complaining, but it is draining if I have to people too much. Not all people… I hope you know what I mean.

I’ve left all the MIL Spouse groups because it’s so toxic. This new era of MIL Spouses (as a whole) is just not nice. No other way to say it. I didn’t grow up in the “me me me” Era. I grew up in the “what can I do to for you?” Era. We are not the same. And after years of trying to “fit in”, I gave up.

Now – hold that thought,
I’ll come back to that.

Take a look at these pictures…

I took a group to a Ceramics place to etch and paint ceramics (more pics from that tomorrow). The next day, I needed to wash all the aprons because there is a lot of dust. Basically the process is dipping the terracotta item into a white paint/chalky substance; then penciling on the design you want to etch; then painting it. Then the proprietor fires them all (kiln) and we go pic up later. But I digress…

When I did the laundry the next day, guess who forgot to tie each apron’s strings separately? Note the first and second pictures. BOOO As always, Mary was right there, crossing my mind… Mary Undoer of knots to the rescue. The last picture is a more calm Emily’s reward for praying through menial tasks. I say reward, because – it was a challenge.

The thing is, over the past several years, mama Mary has helped me undo knots personally and in my relationships with my husband and family.

Back to the beginning of my blog post…

Truly, giving up the MIL Spouse groups and being around them all the time was ordained by God. When I listened, I heard Him. I’m here, without all my Texas family and friends, to truly learn to rely on Him. and Mother Mary has truly helped me find true friends here in Italy. I’m almost scared to say that. I’ve had some eye-opening and unpleasant experiences here.

But in God’s true plan – He has helped me through Mary, to find the female companionship I need here. And I’m so thankful to have found several friends who accept me for who I am. Who respect my choices to participate or not, to be conservative, to just be ME! It’s such a blessing.

For me, taking a step back, working on me, and purposing to have friends who are more my age and moral leanings… is just the realistic knot I needed undone. And I’m so thankful today.

If you feel like you need help in various “knotted” situations, pray this Novena, found on Ascension Press – Novena to Mary, Undoer of Knots. She will, through Jesus, work miracles for you.

And if you are in a bit of a rush… maybe try this prayer:

O Virgin Mary,
Mother who never refuses to come to the help of your children in need,
Mother whose hands never stop working for the welfare of your children,
moved as they are by the loving mercy and kindness that exists in your Immaculate Heart,
cast your compassionate and merciful eyes on me and see the snarl of knots that exists in my life.
Oh Mother! You know the difficulties, sorrow and pain that I’ve had because of them.
O loving Mother, I place the ribbon of my life and this knot (these knots) into your loving hands,
hands which can undo even the most difficult knot.
Most holy Mother, come to my aid and intercede for me before God with your prayers.
I cast this knot into your hands (mention your intention/need) and beg you to undo it,
in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, and for the glory of God, once and for all.

Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, pray for us!

Artwork for the prayer of Mary, Undoer of Knots found here: https://spiritualdirection.com/2013/10/08/prayer-to-our-lady-undoer-of-knots

Dear Ones, when life gets chaotic, take a step back and quiet yourself. Pick up your Bible and delve into devotionals. Read about the Saints and how they changed their lives through quiet. There are so many examples.

Be true to who you are, whilst listening to God’s direction. You can’t always hear Him in the chaos. You need to step back in order to hear HIM! And — You will NEVER be sorry you took a step back to center yourself and your thoughts, heart, etc… on THE ONE who saved you.

I’m here if you need me… More soon y’all.

Love, Hugs, & Blessings,
LadyEm

Catholic Faith · Emily (Me) · Magnificat Publication · Spirituality

Epic Fails of Christians (Humanity) #1

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Love Your Enemies…

Happy Saturday All.

I have been meaning to come on and blog. Have so many thoughts about what to write, I get overwhelmed. But today, I have to say this…

During Lent, as during the rest of the year, I try to listen to many Priests speak, and read different devotionals. I find that each Priest/Saint/Writer comes at topics from a different angle.

What do I mean? I mean that they all are speaking truth, but thankfully, each of them helps us think on any given topic differently.

Today’s Morning Offering by Father Kirby over at @GoodCatholic.com is about LOVE. Take a listen Here on their YouTube page: It’s Not Passive or Weak. And by the way, you can sign up for daily Morning offerings. Father Kirby never disappoints. Today he says – my paraphrasing – that we can let our secular world quiet us/intimidate us – but we should be confident and not let our world do that. Love fights for what is right.

Think about that… we stand up for the unborn and all life from womb to tomb. We advocate for our children, our friends, our Lord (most of all).

But… today’s readings – both the morning readings and the Gospel from the Mass are hard for me and I epically fail at this from time to time. They are about a different angle of love… loving your enemies!

All the pictures below are from the Magnificat Publication. You can purchase an online version OR paper version at Magnicat.net
First I see this, in the morning readings…

Next I see this… Check the paragraph AFTER the Our Father. Y’all.. He has forgiven us without earning it.

And then comes a quote from Saint Therese, AND today’s Gospel Reading….

In life, I feel like loving my enemies is a place where I epically fail. But the good news is ~ God NEVER fails me.

There are a few people that I am still working through how to manage them in my life. And some days feel like an epic fail. When we think of love, we think we have to allow our enemies in. No – that’s not true.

We have to pray for them. We have to pray, and not wish them harm. God will handle them. We are responsible for us. We have to be confident in who we are… and control our minds and our words.

Living in Italy, amongst an ever-changing MIL community… becoming friends with people of many nations… and seeing my past self in others, is humbling, infuriating, and fortitude-building! I have learned I am allowed to cringe and center myself… I am allowed to know what I know and be weary of some people. But God does not excuse me from praying for them and trying to see them through HIS perfect eyes.

Thank you God for the example of Saints before me, who epically failed from time to time. Thank you God for Priests like Father Kirby, Father Rocky, and many others. Thank you for the trials and tribulations of – especially other women – who don’t want me to shine, but want it all to be about them… Teach me not to turn into them, in return!

Dear Ones, we all epically fail from time to time. Literally a failure extravaganza! Sigh. I mean, it’s not just me, right?! The good news, is God loves us AND every epic failure is a learning experience. The chance to do better.

And that is your unsolicited advice for today. As we prepare to start the second week of Lent, let’s give ourselves the grace we need to learn ~ yes, even at 60 I learn new things daily!

Love, Hugs, & Blessings,
LadyEm

Catholic · Christmas · Emily (Me) · Lent · SweetnSassy

Lent Begins Tomorrow ~ And…

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…The Christmas cards that didn’t go out.

Can you believe it’s such an early Lent? AND that we have Valentines and Ash Wednesday on the same day? I found this article on Good Catholic and I love it. You really should read How To Celebrate As a Catholic When It’s Ash Wednesday and St. Valentine’s Day! This is one of my favorite parts because I love history and facts…

No worries. The answer is actually pretty simple. We just haven’t had to worry about this since 2018, and before that it was 1945. The coinciding of Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day won’t happen again until 2029, and then we won’t see it again for the rest of the century!

Genevieve Netherton wrote this as part of her article…

This is my first year as a 60 year old and I wanted to know what my obligations are. Technically I don’t have to fast, but I am going to because God calls me to. 

Living in Italy, going to a base Church, you really miss Cathedrals of the US. But we will go to Mass together at tomorrow and have a tropical baccala (cod) for dinner.  And we have a few Lenten studies we are doing… But I will tell you more about that tomorrow.

Here in Italy, food is super fresh. We’re so blessed with that. It’s honestly like back in the 50’s USA when everyone went to butchers, seafood shops, produce stands and the like. AMAZING! Because we are in our sixth year here, we have our favorites, and they don’t disappoint. Anyway… here’s the basic process/recipe:

  • Soaking fish in milk (after cleaning) takes the fishy smell/taste away (dear whoever told me that years ago – THANKS AGAIN!). However, I add spices, an egg, and some lemon juice – the fish takes on that taste. My favorite fish spice currently is Sazon Tropical with Coriander and Annatto by Badia. You can purchase it in many stores.
  • The breading I use is AP Flour, corn starch, Sazon Tropical, Black Pepper, and whatever else I feel like, really – things like Cumin, Masala Spices, you just never know. 
  • I mix veggie oil with olive oil, and heat the oil well.
  • I put the wet fish into the dry mix and fry a couple minutes on each side.
Doesn’t this look yummy? Serve with favorite sides. Easy Peasy…

And now that you have seen what we’re eating tomorrow, here’s the bit about our Christmas Cards. I feel like everything in my life is on slow-motion – including my brain, etc. God is working with me on it all… but for a while there, I was giving up. It’s hard to say that. But I’m working on things and I’m so prayerful. If you have read my blog in the past and wondered why I don’t do what I say I’m gonna do – I have no good answers. But I’ve got a list – and dang-it, I’m working on it.

Here’s our Christmas Letter. Click on the images to read/look.

And here are a couple of our cards…

Card #1 –

The stamps are from a set called Deck the Halls by Sweet & Sassy Stamps. I hand cut the ornaments. I used my cutting machine and Nestabilities dies to cut out the pretty square for the “deck the halls” on the front. I colored with Copic Marker, Sharpie metallic markers and Wink of Stella (for shimmer). I simply stamped the inside with “tis the season to be jolly”. Glitter paper and designer paper are StampinUp, and the solid papers are PapertreyInk.

Card #2 –

The stamps are from a set called Season Like Christmas from StampinUp. I placed a picture of the retired set here. It’s so much fun to layer these stamps. I used so many colors of StampinUp and other companies greens, and grays/sandy colors… to get the trees right. I had the stars from an old Paper Pumpkin Kits… and I dotted the scene with a glue pin and put glitter on it. I used my cutting machine to cut out this off brand frame and I love it. Gives added detail. I do not know who’s paper the snowflake paper is… but the green card base is PaperTrey Ink.

OK – so during Lent – I will be on a lot. Not sure it will be daily, but I promise easy Meatless Meals and much more will be a part of this blog going forward. My family is Friday Meatless year round… so I have tons of recipes, lots of advice, and many observations, some book reviews… and crafts too. I pray it is all well received.

Come back tomorrow for my Ash Wednesday/Valentine’s Post. And remember – no complaining about what you are giving up. You don’t have to tell anyone anything. Jesus gave up more than we could ever imagine – FOR US! Keep your smile and good attitude.

Love, Hugs, & Blessings,
Lady Em

#catholicmom.com · Catholic · Gospel Reflection

January 22nd – Gospel Reflection

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Yes, I know it’s Feb. 7th. I’m having a late year…. lol Read on…

Dear Ones, 

It’s always such a blessing to be asked to write. And I am so thankful that I am part of the hundreds of faithful Catholics who write Daily Gospel Reflections for Catholicmom.com (part of Holy Cross Family Ministries). If you sign up for their daily gospels you won’t ever be disappointed. Here is the full Gospel – so you know what I reflected on: 

The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, 
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and
“By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”

Summoning them, he began to speak to them in parables, 
“How can Satan drive out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided against itself, 
that house will not be able to stand.
And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, 
he cannot stand; 
that is the end of him.
But no one can enter a strong man’s house to plunder his property 
unless he first ties up the strong man.
Then he can plunder his house.  
Amen, I say to you, all sins and all blasphemies 
that people utter will be forgiven them.
But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit 
will never have forgiveness, 
but is guilty of an everlasting sin.”
For they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Here is my post link from their page:  Daily Gospel Reflection – January 22, 2024 Text is below!

Reflection by Emily “LadyEm” Davis

Today’s Gospel: Mark 3:22-30

In today’s Gospel Reading, the scribes knew who Jesus was. They knew He worked miracles. However, in their evil, jealous rage against Jesus, the scribes challenged Him. Jesus, who was sent to defeat the devil, was accused of being “possessed by Beelzebub.” They cast suspicion on Him and turned people against Him (ultimately leading to His death). These poor souls said that Jesus had an “unclean spirit” and stood squarely against the Holy Spirit, which is forbidden. Scary!

We know that we can’t live in fear. We must not allow the evildoers in the world today, who, out of jealousy, are working hard to tear apart the body of Christ – which includes all of us, to succeed. However, the spiritual warfare currently going on because of the modern day scribes, coupled with the fact that we must ensure the welfare of our homes, and all the souls in it, means we must be solidly ensconced in the love of our “strong man” – Jesus.This is a big deal, and we mamas are up for the task! Prayer warriors like no others. We will NOT accept a “house divided!”

In our empty nest, I find that my prayers are for my adult children to stay steadfast in our Faith. And when they stray, I pray, like Saint Monica and other mothers before me, that they come back to the fullness of our unbroken Faith and that their souls are healed. Amen!

Today, as we honor all unborn children in praying for their legal protection, we also honor the Holy Spirit, as He is Lord and Giver of Life and our advocate and protector in the fight against abortion. Thanks be to God that the Holy Spirit stands with us today to keep our homes and souls united with Him against the forces of evil.

Ponder:

On days that I am afraid and envious of other mamas who seem to have it all together or afraid for my children, will I remember to turn to Jesus, my “strong man” so that I won’t be torn apart by my frail humanity in those moments?

Pray:

Dearest Lord, I pray not only for myself but for my spouse, my children, and all humanity – that You continue to lead us to Your loving embrace and that we truly know in our scary world that You are our stronghold! Thank You, Jesus!

Click to tweet:
We know that we can’t live in fear. We must not allow the evildoers in the world today, who, out of jealousy, are working hard to tear apart the body of Christ – which includes all of us, to succeed. #DailyGospel

My reflection on the date I chose… January 22nd is the National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It’s always a day of remembrance for myself for a sin I’ve long-since been forgiven of, but won’t ever forget.

On an older blog, I told my story. I need to fill this blog in.. and get writing… As you can see, it’s February 7th. And I just remembered to post this… the below pic describes the success of my focus this year.

My focus is bad y’all. Sigh. I’m a work in progress. I’m overthinking things… LOL it’s not easy being in my brain – haha

More soon.

Love, Hugs & Blessings ~
LadyEm

Currently · EmptyNest · LadyEm · New Year · Self Improvement

GoodBye 2023 – Welcome 2024

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Happy New Year Dear Ones!

I pray you are all well. It’s been a whirlwind here these past couple months.

First – of all, let me just state – Yes, I do know it’s January 22nd. The thing is – mid-December I was gifted the flu… and then Covid. Luckily my husband didn’t get Covid. But seriously, I make cards, and I’m just getting them all done and out this week – because dang it, they are going out.

In late 2023, my husband, who survived colon cancer, but lost parts of his colon and small intestine found out he was a Type 2 Diabetic (T2D). Back in 2020, he was in the hospital for 23 days after a 12 hour surgery… it was that long because of birth defect in the blood supply to his colon. Sigh. And because we like food and he, frankly, just didn’t take it seriously, his sugar was probably high for some time. It was nearly 500 when I finally made him go to the doc. I remembered the warning about T2D whilst at a doctor visit. 

The news above, plus us being sick for a month or so… it basically cancelled the holidays. But honestly – it’s OK! While I was sick and laying around, I really had the chance to reflect and get organized (ish). 

I am going home either late Fall/Early Winter and I will not be looking back. Healthcare for retirees over here is NOT great. And – I need a job. I get that I haven’t worked a permanent job in nearly 20 years, but with two degrees and tons of volunteer experience, I should be able to re-enter the workforce. I mean many of my volunteer gigs were full time if I’m being honest – and I am. That’s another thing – maybe I could be told I’m not qualified over here just one more time. Sigh. MIL spouses (active duty) get first dibs, then GS-ers… but dang I should be able to do something (beyond substitute teaching).

Things that happened last quarter 2023:

  • I turned 60
  • Went to Fatima on Retreat. Amazing. Blog will come.
  • Had quiet Christmas & New Year.
  • Taught a card class for the USO.
  • So much more… but my brain…

I am not making resolutions for 2024. Nope. I am going to be action oriented and I am changing several things. Among them are:

  • I am working on bravery and trust in the Lord. I need to use my gifts in the way HE requires.
  • Writing is one of my gifts. I stopped out of fear others won’t like my honest. I tend to blog like I am speaking to friends. I am going to be blogging more… stay tuned.
    • I have started no less than ten posts that were never posted. True story.
  • I am going to be off social media more…
    • Read – FB, Insta, Twitter (X)… Y’all it’s just so toxic and I need peace. I’m not leaving, just limiting it. More explanation forthcoming.
  • I am exercising and eating better… especially with hubby’s latest gig as a T2D.
  • …and more.

Later today I will post my Gospel Reflection that will post today, January 22nd on Catholicmom.com.

But I didn’t want to let another moment go by without saying Hello and Happy New Year!

Love, Hugs, & Prayers,
LadyEm