Kostet und seht (Taizé)

Kostet und seht, gütig ist Gott.
Glücklich die sich bergen bei ihm.
Meide das Böse, tue das Gute.
Suche Frieden und jage ihm nach.

Taste and see how good is the Lord,
happy are those who take refuge in him.
Forsake evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.

[NB: Provisional Taizé song]

See my other blog postings in the "Taizé" series of chants.

Official Taizé Community Website

Wikipedia information on the Taizé Community
- in French
- in English

Laetentur Coeli (Taizé)

Laetentur coeli,
exultet terra,
a facie Domini quia venit,
quia venit!

May the heavens rejoice
and the earth be glad,
before the Lord
who is coming!

Alégrense los cielos,
goce la tierra,
delante del Senor,
que yo llega!

Paraphrase of Ps 96,11.1

See my other blog postings in the "Taizé" series of chants.

Official Taizé Community Website

Wikipedia information on the Taizé Community
- in French
- in English

Spiritus Jesu Christi (Taizé)

Spiritus Jesu Christi,
Spiritus caritatis,
Confirmet cor tuum,
Confirmet cor tuum.

Music: Jacques Berthier (English bio) (French bio)

See my other blog postings in the "Taizé" series of chants.

Official Taizé Community Website

Wikipedia information on the Taizé Community
- in French
- in English

O God of Bethel, By Whose Hand

O God of Bethel, by whose hand
thy people still are fed;
who through this earthly pilgrimage
hast all our fathers led:

Our vows, our prayers, we now present
before thy throne of grace:
O God of Israel, be the God
of their succeeding race.

Through each perplexing path of life
our wandering footsteps guide;
give us each day our daily bread,
and raiment fit provide.

O spread thy covering wings around,
till all our wanderings cease,
and at our Father's loved abode
our souls arrive in peace!

Such blessings from thy gracious hand
our humble prayers implore;
and thou shalt be our covenant God
and portion evermore.

Text: Philip Doddridge (1736)

Be the Mule, Not the Ass!

My sister sent me the cutest email today. There's a funny story in it and cute pictures, but if you really pay attention to the moral of the story you will learn so much. Hope you enjoy it.

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a
well. The animal cried piteously for hours as
the farmer tried to figure out what to do. 

Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the
well needed to be covered up anyway;
it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and
help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the
donkey realized what was happening and cried
horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he
quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally
looked down the well. He was astonished at what
he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his
back, the donkey was doing something amazing.
He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey
stepped up over the edge of the well and
happily trotted off! 

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds
of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well
is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of
our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out
of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up. 

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

Live simply and appreciate what you have.

Give more.

Expect less 

NOW .......
The donkey later came back,
and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him.
The gash from the bite got infected and
the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock

MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON:

When you do something wrong, and try to cover
your ass, it always comes back to bite you.

Happy Birthday Brett

As I sit down each day and think about the many blessings in my life, I realize that one of the greatest gifts I have been given is a wonderful husband! It was Brett's birthday last week and it was so much fun just being able to relax and share some time with him. As I sit there and think about Brett, I feel overwhelmed with emotions. It's funny to think that five years ago we were silly teenagers just graduated from high school in "puppy love". It's amazing to see how our relationship has grown over time. It has been nourished through the gospel and as we have relied upon our Heavenly Father and striven to make righteous decisions. I continue to look forward to our journey together as the years pass us by. Today however, I am just grateful for Brett and for the example and companion he is to me. He is so patient, humble, hardworking and kind. I am truly grateful for his example in my life! I love you babe! Happy birthday!

Summer Fun

So I notice everyone in Blogland is a little scarce this summer. Is it the heat keeping us away or all the fun we're having? Maybe a little of both? I know I've had air-conditioning woes at my house, but as of Friday the A/C man came and it's working great now...I was even a little bit chilly last night!

And I'm definitely having a wonderful summer. It seems like every weekend something has been happening. First there was Father's Day and a really nice BBQ at my brothers house where I got to spend time with some of my favorite people and pets!

Me, Melissa and Chorizo

Then came another BBQ at my brothers house for his son Fred Jr. We combined that BBQ with the 4th of July (actually it happened on the 3rd of July because in my small town we have our fireworks display On the 3rd). And again I got to see some special people...little people!

My niece Melissa and her cousin Maximiliano aka Max aka Maxie! And a little white kitten!

Then this weekend we had one of our favorite cousins from Arizona visit, Lydia, her daughter Daniella and her Daniella's husband and little boy and Lydia's son Mark and his cousin Alex (I think they were cousins, someone correct me if I'm wrong). We had two family get togethers, one on Saturday hosted by my cousin Steve and one on Sunday hosted by my sister and her husband at their home. We had lots of fun, lots of laughs, shared tons of memories and ate way too much! I've got photos to share but haven't downloaded them off of my camera yet, so stay tuned.

In the next few weeks we have birthdays for several members of the family....yours truly included. I'm having a fabulous get-a-way birthday to "Sin City" (Las Vegas) and I'm so excited about that. Then my niece is celebrating her 21st birthday.

So yes...I've been a little scarce in Blogland but it's only because I'm doing research and loving life so that I have even more to share with everyone. Oh...and I've lost 23 lbs now! Yay!

So what have you all been up to?