So you want to make a difference?!

I am a public policy college major, type A school geek, a bleeding heart, a gotta-be-there-for-my-kids intensive mom, a love-everything-in-medical-school enthusiast and a save-the-world poster child.  I am DYING to make a difference in this broken world full of broken people (like me!) who need help.  I am dying to help change the world for the better.  But some days I STRUGGLE mightily with how to do this.

Do you want to make a difference too?  

In the lives of your family?  

In the lives of total strangers?  

In the lives of your neighbor?  

In the lives of people half-way around the world?

Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) wanted to make a difference too.  But she was imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz.  Before she died at their hands, she wrote the following on how to make a difference in the world. Today it was just what I needed to read:

"The world is in flames.  Are you impelled to put them out?  Look at the cross.  From the open heart gushes the blood of the Savior.  This extinguishes the flames of hell.  Make your heart free by the faithful fulfillment of your vows; then the flood of divine love will be poured into your heart until it overflows and becomes fruitful to all the ends of the earth.  Do you hear the groans of the wounded on the battlefields in the west and the east?  You are not a physician and not a nurse and cannot bind up the wounds.  You are enclosed in a cell and cannot get to them.  Do you hear the anguish of the dying?  You would like to be a priest and comfort them.  Does the lament of the widows and orphans distress you?  You would like to be an angel of mercy and help them.  LOOK at the crucified.  If you are bound to him, your being is precious blood.  Bound to him, you are omnipresent as he is.  Perhaps you cannot help here or there like the physician, the nurse, the priest.  But, you can be at all fronts, wherever there is grief, in the power of the cross.  Your compassionate love takes you everywhere, this love from the divine heart....The eyes of the Crucified look down on you asking, probing.  Will you make you covenant with the Crucified anew in all seriousness?  What will you answer him?  "Lord, where shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life." 

So you want to make a difference, Queen B?  Spend some time with the Lord today. 

Then get up, follow Him, and help change the world. 

Grocery Bag

Ah, meal planning.  Where there is no plan, the people perish! 

(maybe not exactly what was meant in Proverbs 29:18 :)

While I am not new to meal planning, this is my first attempt to share our weekly kitchen aspirations.  

My goal is to share every weekend, in the interests of preparation & shopping for the week ahead.

Trust me, this is more for my benefit than anyone else's.  

Waaaaaay more for my benefit.  

But, I hope that one in a while you see something you like, something that sparks your imagination or something that helps you out of a hungry-tummy-going-to-die-if-I-don't-eat family meltdown.  

Can you tell I have been there?

As you fight the good culinary fight, remember two of my favorite quotes that inspire my time in the kitchen:

"Food is essential to life.  Therefore, make it good."

~S. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A

& 

"Start where you are.

Use what you have.

Do what you can."

~Arthur Ashe

So, without further ado, (goodness, after all this buildup it better be good, B!) our menu for the week:

Day One

Sloppy Joes (with homemade whole wheat buns) & My New Favorite Carrots 

"Homestyle deliciousness"

Sloppy Joes & photo by Ree at Pioneer Woman
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns from SnoWhite at Joy in My Kitchen

Garlic Ginger Carrots & photo at MyRecipes

Day Two
Pasta Carbonara 
 "Call nights call for elegant ease"

Pasta Carbonara with peas & photo by Veronica at Breakfast & Bed

Day 3

Mongolian Beef Lettuce Wraps, Sichuan Green Beans & Rice
"Date night, eating in"


T's plate....

Mongolian Beef from Food.com, formerly Recipezaar
Hot Sichuan Green Beans from Sunset Magazine

My plate....

Same recipes as above, just plated differently :)

Day 4

Baked Vegetable Sandwiches
"Even kids love veggies...sometimes"

Baked Vegetable Sandwiches & photo by SnoWhite at Joy in My Kitchen

Day 5

Marinated Round Steak & Southwest Potato Salad 

"We love our grassfed cow ;)"

Marinated Round Steak recipe from AmericanGrassFed.org

Southwestern Potato Salad from Fine Cooking Magazine

Looks like its going to be a great week!  Blessings on your kitchen!  This menu was also posted as part of Menu Planning Monday :)

Favorite Prayers

How sweet of Patty to include me in a recent post on her Favorite Catholic Prayers.  These were the rules.  What a great opportunity to think about my favorites prayers.

As I think about the role prayer has played in my life over the last few years, I am reminded of a conversation I heard between an aspiring medical student and a woman physician Christian she admired.

The student asked,

"where is the best place for a Christian woman to be in medical school?" 

(meaning to ask what schools would be best suited for her). 

The experienced Christian physician understood the question, but replied wisely,

"In prayer. On her knees."

This has certainly been true for me about medical school.  I guess you could make the same statement about motherhood.  So you can imagine how valuable the time in prayer is for me everyday.  Here are a few of my favorites: 

Prayer One:

~Saint Francis of Assisi:

Lord,
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon,
where there is doubt, faith,
where there is despair, hope,
where there is darkness, light
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

This prayer has always been precious to be because of the way it helps me stop focusing on myself and instead focus on the needs and struggles of others.  I need these reminders daily, because in trying to love my neighbor as I should, I am struggling against a lot of personal selfishness.  

~~~~~~~

Prayer Two:

Somedays, this feels like our life.

"Let Nothing Disturb You"
~Saint Theresa of Avila
Let nothing disturb you.  Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass.  
God does not change.
Patience achieves everything.  Whoever has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.
God has no body now on earth but yours;
no hands but yours; no feet but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world.
Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good.
Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people.
Amen.

There have been many days in my life when waves of uncertainty and trial seemed too overwhelming to endure.  Saint Theresa's prayer (herself a woman who endured great uncertainty and trials) is powerful because it reminds me that the trials of this world are nothing compared to the greatness of God.  When I remember that I lack nothing in God, I am able to live a life of hope rather than a life of fear and despair. There is so much good work to be done in the world for Jesus, if we only life in hope rather than in despair.

~~~~~~

Prayer Three:

The view of the hill from our honeymoon hotel room.  Not all crosses look so beautiful.

"Your Cross"

~Saint John of the Cross

The everlasting God has in his wisdom foreseen from eternity 

the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from His inmost Heart.  

This cross He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes,

 understood with His Divine mind, tested with His wise justice,

 warmed with loving arms, and weighed with His own hands 

to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you.

  He has blessed it with His holy Name, anointed it with His grace,

 perfumed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage,

 and then sent it to you from heaven, a special greeting from God to you,

 a gift of the all-merciful love of God.  

Amen

Please don't take this the wrong way, but I have days when this prayer almost makes me laugh.  What?!  This IMPOSSIBLE frustration, this AGONIZING situation, this PERTURBING thing --- this is a GIFT?!  A special GREETING from heaven?!  Seriously?!  I find, though, that the truth of the prayer wins out in my heart after a few moments.  The reminder that God will not give me more than I can handle, will give me enough grace for every moment if I look to Him, is just what I need to hear some days.  So next time you feel overwhelmed with a cross to carry in your day (if you are like me, that will surely happen sometime within the next 2 minutes), think of God sending it Fed Ex, special delivery. 

~~~~~

Alright, now to finish off the rules of the meme, here are a few bloggers who you might enjoy hearing from as well....

Building Cathedrals: my seven Princeton girlfriends writing on life and motherhood.

Just Me at Peace Out Blogger.  I always love her comments.

Happy Sunday!

August is here

Photo Calendars by WiddlyTinks.com

Just in case you didn't notice, it's already August.  Sheesh!  Where is summer GOING?!  If my kids were heading to school this fall I would be catatonic right about now.  Oh.....wait.  I DO have a kid starting school this fall.  Ok, so it's just a 2 hour, day per week pre-school.  But still!  Where is my summer going?!

I am trying to remind myself that August is a full month and comprises one-third of my summer calendar.  There is so much fun left to be enjoyed before the seasonal changes that Labor Day inevitably brings! Here are some of the things were looking forward to this month:

*B's research abstract is due today!  Hooray for the culmination and freedom of submitting it.  Thanks for all your prayers this week.
*The end of T's first rotation as a trauma chief!  He handled it like a champ.  As always.
*T's big Grand Rounds presentation on his mission trip to Kenya last spring.  It will be the talk of the department, I am sure of it ;)  I have seen some of his powerpoint animations....
*Another trip to the cabin, pool trips with Momo and Papa, day trips to the zoo and children's museum, all with fewer people due to the August epidemic of vacations.
*The best produce of the year at the farmer's markets.  The bounty has just begun!
*The Minnesota State Fair!  Get ready....it's legendary.  You must not miss out.  If nothing else, eat vicariously through us.
*A visit from Aunt K and not-so-baby cousin "Parkin!"  We are already counting down the days
*The return of the college students to our neighborhood.  Oh, the parties.

We are so blessed!  If we are given tomorrow, it is a gift.  Let's make the most of it and do something beautiful for God, whatever our days may bring.

Happy August!

Abstract due...

Just a few more days until the abstract for my research study is due.  The topic?  Women's experiences with extremely preterm birth.  The stories, each precious, individual and set apart, are gut-wrenching, soul-searching and awe-inspiring all at the same time.  Now I am crunching numbers, writing and re-writing feverishly---all at odd hours of the morning and night so that I can spend these precious summer days with E-Bear and G-Bear.  I would love your prayers for stamina, focus, efficiency and a worthwhile paper as I finish my work this week.  After Friday I resolve to withdraw from the nocturnal world---at least until Boards studying kicks into high gear in September ;)

This is the prayer in my Magnificat today.  It helps me focus as I finish my paper.  It also helps me pray for families who walk the path with a child born premature:

All times and seasons are in God's hand; all times and all seasons are fulfilled in Christ. 

You are our light and our salvation. 

Yours is the night and Yours is the day; enlighten us with your wisdom at every hour of our lives. 

You are our light and our salvation. 

Yours are the years and Yours are the seasons; teach us to trust in Your provident designs. 

You are our light and our salvation. 

Yours is the fullness of life; bring us to dwell in your presence forever. 

You are our light and our salvation.

Rainy Day Fun

As if returning from vacation to laundry, refrigerator re-stocking, vacuuming, and cooking wasn't enough--today was a rainy day.  My kids were barely hanging in there as I finished our morning chores, and we needed a fun reward for all our patience and hard work.

Fortunately, I had a rainy day idea saved up.

We went for a TRAIN ride!  Or, as E-Bear would say...."Shoooo SHOOOO!"

Minneapolis is fortunate enough to have a light rail train as part of its public transit.  We drive by it frequently, (SHOO SHOO!  Mommy!  SHoo SHooooo!) but my kids had never ridden on it before today. Oh, the excitement when I said we were going to ride the train!  You would have thought I had promised ice cream, candy and cookies on top of a pile of bubble blowers, toy cars and Disney princesses.  Not that we didn't still have two time-outs and several melt downs between putting on our shoes and getting into the car.....

Riding the light rail train is easily a 1-2 hour slam dunk rainy day activity.  We drove to one of the train stops, parked our car and bought our tickets at the automated kiosk.  It cost us all of $3.25 for 2.5 hours of fun:  $0.75 for each of the kids and 1.25 for me.  So worth it compared to the delight in my kids' eyes as we scooted onto the escalator up to the platform.

We started in the middle of the route, so we got to pick whether to head toward Downtown and the Twins Stadium or the Mall of America.  I knew we would be taking whichever train came first, which meant we headed toward MOA.  I couldn't believe it, but the kids were RIVETED.  Looking out the window was like a new adventure for them.  They loved watching the passing cars, trains, tunnels, bridges and buildings.  G-Bear loved listening to the train chimes and the names of the stations.  If all else failed, there was always great people-watching.

We arrived at Mall of America 25 minutes later, and took the elevator up to the Mall to have a snack that we had packed.  We agreed to walk around the Nickelodeon Amusement park, and goodness if I didn't hit the jackpot, because Dora the Explorer was there.

Now, this wouldn't have been a huge deal 2 weeks ago, but we are just back from visiting cousins E & S in North Carolina, and they are all about Dora.  So of course, G-Bear is also now all about Dora.  G-Bear's eyes lit up like a birthday cake.  And when Dora waved at her, you would have thought she had died and gone to heaven.  Goodness, the kid has only seen about 4 Dora episodes in her life!

When she was invited in to shake Dora's hand, no amount of fear could hold G-Bear back.

She practically melted when Dora gave her a hug:

By the end of our walk around the park, G-Bear was so blissed out that she was hugging plush people all over the place.

This is my cautious child?  What?

And E-Bear?  Well, he had a death grip on my thigh, hiding behind my right leg.

By the time we finally caught our light rail train back to our car the kids were tuckered out.  But we had enjoyed 2 hours of rainy day fun, all for $3.25.  Oh, that all rainy days would be so sweet.  We might have to pull out the old "Shoo Shoo" ticket again sometime soon.  

The moral of the story?  When rainy days head your way, no need to fret, no need to empty your wallet to find something to do.  A little creativity goes a long way, and when all else fails,

A sign at the entrance of Nickelodeon Universe.  It could not have more perfectly captured our day.  And we didn't spend a dime there.

May your rainy days turn out to be sunny.....

Home Safe and Sound

After two almost-delightful Southwest flights (you HAVE to hear E-Bear say, AIRpaaaaaaaane!), we are home safe and sound, thanks to T who picked us up at the airport and chauffeured us to Ruby Tuesday for dinner.

Time to re-enter life in Minnesota after a great 10 days in North Carolina.  We are all so excited to be home with T and sleeping in our own beds tonight.

Warm Welcome in Winston Salem

"Lord, on the day that I called out for help, You answered me."

~Psalm 138: 3a

(The responsorial psalm from Sunday July 24th)

Half-way through a fabulous ten days visiting T's family in Chapel Hill, I was able to take a day to myself yesterday and visit Winston-Salem, where we will be moving this time next year for T's fellowship.

I grossly underestimate when I say it was an highly anticipated day.

There were several reasons for the trip.  First, I had never been to Winston-Salem and wanted to see where we will be living next year.  Second, I went to meet with the OB/Gyn department to feel out the program as we decide whether I will do residency next year. After spending a day split between the medical center and touring the city, I can't believe how excited I am that we matched to Wake Forest.  I was welcomed by so many people, none of whom knew me before I arrived.  The best part of the visit was calling T to tell him how excited I am for our year in Winston-Salem.   His reply?

"I am so glad you are excited---I tried to pick a good place for us!"

Six months ago, when we were praying over our choices and making our fellowship rank list, prayer was a big part of our decision-making process.  We also talked a lot about our family priorities, T's interview impressions, and our professional aspirations.  But ultimately, T was the only one who had been to the cities we were ranking.  His brief impressions stood as our only link to life in the towns we were ranking.

There were so many unknowns for us six months ago, and on Monday I was able to finally see through the clouds to thank God for two aspects in particular about our match experience.

First, thank you, that my husband and I have the same priorities and are equally excited about this new place.  I discovered on Monday that the same things that attracted him to Winston-Salem are also important and meaningful to me.  What a blessing for us both, our marriage, our work as a team.

Second, thank you that  on Monday I experienced the reality of the words of the psalm above, which was read at Mass on Sunday before I left for Winston-Salem:

"Lord, on the day that I called out for help, You answered me."

Six months ago, when we cried out to the Lord asking for help as we made our rank list, God not only heard us, but He answered us too....that very same day.  Like my children, waiting patiently for me to get them a promised treat,  T and I had to wait a little while to see and inherit the answer God had already given to us.

We are still far from having figured everything out about our lives!!  We still have many unknowns!!  In fact, if I am honest with myself I need to accept that "unknowns" will always be with us.  But thankfully, the opportunity for prayer is also always with us.  And so is God's promise to answer our prayer, on the very day of our cries for help.  We may just have to patiently wait to see and understand His answer for ourselves.

Still having a great time in NC.....and excited to be here next year.

Good Aim

As seen during a recent trip to a North Carolina boutique:

Perhaps our move next summer will necessitate a new bathroom accessory?

Still having a great time in NC.........

Bathtime Buddies

The only thing better for girls than a night out dancing....

Dancing the night away at The Carolina Inn's "Fridays on the Front Porch."  We highly recommend it.
 And notice the matching shoes.

....is the bubble bath afterwards,

....especially a bubble bath with the cousins.

We almost lost one under the mountains of foam:

There were brides, santas and fairy princesses galore.

It's hard to beat times like these.

As you can tell, we're having a great time in North Carolina.....