The Kingdom of God.....

Throughout the past few weeks at mass the theme of building the kingdom of God here on earth has come up on more than one again. One of my favorite songs from the Taize community proclaims this call on our lives so beautifully. The words proclaimed in the song are "The kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Come Lord and open in us the gates of your kingdom." Every time I hear or sing this song the words penetrate my soul and I am reminded that building the kingdom of God begins within me. I must allow God to change me. I must allow God to open within me His kingdom, a kingdom where justice and peace rule, where love rises above all other things. As I allow God to change me, than I am given the grace to love, serve, and build his kingdom here and now. I was reminded again this week of how God uses so many aspects of our lives to change us within. I am changed daily through the ministries that God has blessed me with. As I work with the homeless and the elderly, God teaches me how to love a little bit more deeply with each passing day. He calls me out of myself and into a world that is other focused. I also am transformed through the holy friendships in my life. I have been blessed to have people on my journey who are above all else completely honest with me. They encourage my growth and help me to realize when my pride or stubbornness is getting in the way of me participation in the building of the kingdom of God. All to often I can get wrapped up in doing things perfect or succeeding at everything that I loose focus on the big picture. My local parish priest, Father Paul reminded me the other day that Mother Teresa said that "we are called upon not to be perfect, but faithful." This has become my new mantra as I try and untangle myself from this need to do everything and allow myself to be who I am. I am a child of God far from perfect, but working towards becoming the person God is calling me to be. It is my prayer and hope that I would continue to be faithful to God and who he is calling me to be so that I may help to build his kingdom here and now on earth. Finally, I am changed through regularly receiving the sacraments of the church. It is through these sacraments that I receive the graces needed to truly change. I am so thankful for God and for the ways in which he is molding and shaping me to become more like him.

My Safe Place

Recently, one of our homeless neighbors at work shared with us a poem that he had written about our day shelter. It was shared at our fundraiser earlier this month and now I will share it with those of you who read my blog. It made me reflect once more on the importance of hospitality and the need that we all have for a safe place to be ourselves. A place where we are not judged, but loved for who we are and for the person we are trying to become. May this poem be a reminder to each of us to continue to live lives of hospitality, reaching out to those that God has place in our path.

My Safe Place

Just when I thought all was lost

I heard about this place

I was hungry, tired, and scared

until behind the counter I saw this smiling face.

That one smile assured me, that it was going to be o.k.

and that I wasn't alone.

For I wasn't the only one that was without a home,

Over the weeks of me walking through those big glass doors

I know I have found security

I need nothing more

Although there are hundreds of faces the staff see a day,

when I approach the desk they call me by name and help me right away

No matter my problem big or small they seem to work through them all.

I thank the Lord for for keeping me safe and for giving me this place.

Pumpkin Spice Latte = Fall is coming soon!!!!

This morning I was absolutely delighted that it is once again pumpkin spice latte season. This is my favorite drink and it only becomes available during my favorite time of year, fall. I love fall and I thought that I would share with all who read this post some of the reasons that I love fall past and present. Now I do realize that fall does not officially begin until closer to the end of this month, but the latte does symbolize its eminent arrival.

I think my love for fall came almost from birth because fall is harvest time at the Foltz Family Farm. Growing up we spent every Fall weekend that I can remember up at my Grandparents farm in Michigan helping harvest the winter berry. Winter berry can be found in almost every floral arrangement from thanksgiving through the new year and our grandparents grew and sold it every year until both of them had passed. I was a part of the production process from the time I was old enough to pick leaves and my whole family participated in the process. It was so much fun. We also use to take breaks to rake up huge piles of leaves and jump into them. I was quite the little dare devil when I was younger ( I don't know what happened). I use to love climbing on top of the fence and jumping into the huge pile of leaves that Holly and I made. We also use to go on walks with my grandma on breaks and she would teach us life lessons on those walks. My grandmother was truly a gift from God. She loved God so much and her family with all that she was especially her grandchildren. She always encouraged us to be who God was calling us to be. When I graduated from high school she gave me a bible and in it she write "No matter what the trails of life may be the lessons in this book will get you through. Know that God loves you with an everlasting love and He will guide you all the days of your life." The fall lessons my grandmother taught us and the time we spent together as a family having fun are why I have such a deep love for fall. We spent hours working together, cooking together, watching movies together, and playing cards. Those fall memories and those life experience have helped to form me into the person I am today. It was in those moments of family togetherness that I knew I was truly loved not only by God but by my family.

Although, I am no longer a part of the fall harvest I look back upon it with loving memories and realize that I am still a part of the fall harvest just in a different way. Now I am investing in and working on harvesting souls. In the fields, we nurtured the plants and the fields so that they would produce the berries need to have a good harvest. This fall I continue to work towards teaching our homeless neighbors the skills needed to find meaningful employment and I know that as I tend to the needs of the neighbors here eventually they will be ready for the harvest and move on to the next chapter of their lives.

This fall, I am also looking forward to having two service learning students from U of I, a trip to Rome, a vocations retreat, and hopefully a new roommate. I think you can see now part of the reason why I love fall so much. God has truly blessed me with a plentiful harvest in life through relationships both in the past and currently. I love that I do not journey alone, but have wonderful people with me in all seasons of life.