tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48244654300218734972024-03-13T04:18:53.191-05:00Ashley In ArkansasAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.comBlogger775125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-4887043604065335232017-01-10T09:15:00.001-06:002017-01-10T09:15:57.512-06:00AnswersYesterday after many whispered fervent prayers...Instagram pointed me in the right direction.
This picture posted by one of my favorite bloggers, Meg, led me to pull the same book off my shelf.
It says...
I AM WITH YOU AND FOR YOU. When you decide on a course of action that is in line with My will, nothing in heaven or on earth can stop you. You may encounter many obstacle as you move towardAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-7723776707204881652016-10-14T14:06:00.000-05:002016-10-14T14:06:41.770-05:00October = Holy RosaryI have the rosary on the brain.
October is the month of the Holy Rosary, but I was compelled to start praying the rosary for the first time before I knew of the coincidence. It started week before last. I suddenly felt like giving it a shot in the middle of the day. Digging through my big ol' bag of books and literature, I located a pamphlet I had snagged from the church months and months prior.Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-33686971445471833472016-10-12T10:12:00.001-05:002016-10-12T10:12:08.821-05:00Link and BooksI've spent the last week both adoring and despising the iOS 10 update. I love the ease of use and all the amazing improved features, especially the cool things you can do with your photos now. I can't stand having to use my home button to open it up. Anyone else feel like the home button is going to straight wear out way too quickly now? And not to mention the pesky fact that I am having issues Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-2398482831701442422016-10-06T21:24:00.002-05:002016-10-06T21:24:49.803-05:00Rotisserie Chicken At HomeYou know those nights when you just want to run in your local mega-grocer/pharmacist/home decor/appliance/hardware/tire shop oh the list goes on, to grab a rotisserie chicken and make dinner a bit easier on yourself? Yes. You know those nights. But what if you don't live near said mega giant superstore? Or possibly you may live near the store which must not be named but you refuse to darken theirAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-18742193020813149662016-10-05T13:49:00.000-05:002016-10-05T17:18:23.239-05:00The Feast of St. FrancisYesterday was the feast day of one of my favorite patron saints, St. Francis of Assisi. Finding myself faced with a day full of errands in the big city with my eldest offspring tagging along, I searched for a Mass service that we could attend while we were there. Unfortunately the big city isn't really all that big and the available Mass times were either early morning or evening, neither of Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-60593850839318798762016-09-29T10:23:00.000-05:002016-09-29T10:23:24.297-05:00Full Communion In such a strange twist of fate (or more accurately God's will) I was granted a dispensation to receive the sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion on September 21, 2016.
My eldest son accompanied me to Mass and sat alongside me in the pew with my beautiful friend and sponsor, Christi.
I almost always read the daily readings but that morning I ignored my email containing them and Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-51474968760867509172016-09-15T10:17:00.005-05:002016-09-15T10:23:54.091-05:00The Joke Is On MeThis morning while scrolling through my feed reader and scarfing my breakfast, I came across this post by Sara Wilson. Her mention of author Laura Munson's book This Is Not the Story You Think It Is reminded me that I had read that very book sometime last year. At the time it was just the beginning of the problems I was to experience in my life and my marriage over the next year and a half.  Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-83889850670415214232016-09-13T19:04:00.000-05:002016-09-13T19:04:13.430-05:00Preserving Your Child's Baptism This post is the first in a series on decorating and keeping a Catholic home...
This post is going to be very simple and straightforward. When you are coming into the Catholic church as a convert or as a newborn, its going to come with some stuff. Yes, forgiveness of sin, the indelible mark of baptism, and whole new host of family in the form of parish members and all the angels and saints in Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-26098394116283856762016-09-05T09:33:00.005-05:002016-09-05T09:33:59.313-05:00The Grass Might Not Be Greener But Sand Isn't GreenSome days I just want to chuck it all and run away.
Preferably somewhere warm and sandy.
This woman had the right idea. Albeit much less responsibilities and commitments than I.
Of course I would take the kids and most days I would take the husband.
I stepped out on my back porch this morning. The cool crisp pre-Fall air raising bumps on my skin. Expecting to relax and enjoy my vast backyard Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-52326900443070486692016-08-25T11:12:00.001-05:002016-08-25T11:14:46.801-05:00Life BlockYou know how some people get writer's block? I feel like I have life block. Most likely a small case of writer's block as well but most definitely I feel stuck in life. Like I'm sitting there staring at each day and struggling to find the actions to complete it. Ideas and good intentions all languish in my brain and fail to come out through my actions. Currently life feels like an ever revolving Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-58368271145755012842016-08-17T09:27:00.000-05:002016-08-17T09:27:05.970-05:00Fiat
I always start my prayers with a Hail Mary. Maybe because it is the first prayer I learned.
When I drafted this post last month I had intended to write about the ways I was being called to say yes in my life. Instead after the events of the past week, I can say that instead of being called I have been pushed...shoved...or maybe more accurately stumbled my way to rock bottom. The bottom has Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-29069093819373367692016-07-30T16:26:00.000-05:002016-07-30T16:26:27.758-05:00Immaculate Heart of MaryShe revealed her heart to me on a beer can.
Whoa. Back up. Let me go ahead and say I hope this does not offend anyone. Although I've found that when you start a conversation with, "no offense but..." someone almost always takes offense.
Back to the beer can. I might have been a few of these in, but I will enthusiastically say that when your mind is a little bit loose you find yourself more openAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-41927462244230647002016-07-28T11:16:00.000-05:002016-07-28T11:16:40.335-05:00On My Bookshelf
In the last month I've read:
Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure - okay...this faith thing is a little new to me and its been only recently that I've thought about enlisting divine help in regards to my health and fitness. I think Candace Cameron Bure is an absolute doll and I admire her commitment to all things. In this book she lays out how she handed over an eating disorder to God Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-56695832588057027232016-07-14T13:58:00.000-05:002016-07-14T13:58:15.888-05:00Solitude vs. LonelinessI've been thinking about solitude. Solitude versus loneliness.
"All human beings are alone. No other person will completely feel like we do, think like we do, act like we do. Each of us is unique, and our aloneness is the other side of our uniqueness. The question is whether we let our aloneness become loneliness or whether we allow it to lead us into solitude. Loneliness is painful; solitude isAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-25170714622780121952016-07-13T10:11:00.002-05:002016-07-13T10:11:39.680-05:00Blog It
I always include a throwback photo in my Blog It posts. This one is of our favorite local river taken 3 or 4 years ago.
Faith
I'm quite fascinated with churches...here are some gorgeous ones.
Do you pray novenas? No time like now to start and here is why.
And if you do start praying novenas, this is a wonderful new app to help with that.
Since my last post was on this topic...check outAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-74105429672466577962016-07-12T06:00:00.000-05:002016-07-12T06:00:03.638-05:00Healing NaturallyI've been using essential oils for about two years. I started out with the Aura Cacia brand that we carried at or grocery store. Then a friend became a distributor for DoTerra and I purchased several blends from her. I added a few diffusers to our household and began using oils almost daily for a variety of things. When the kids have a cold I will diffuse appropriate oils in their rooms to ease Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-19996271187527339082016-07-10T15:27:00.000-05:002016-07-10T15:27:00.451-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Easter VigilI have gone my whole life...thirty-three years...as an unbaptized person walking this Earth. My thoughts on this part of my life were this:
"I'm a good person. I've never committed any major sins. I try hard to do unto others. Surely, despite my not being Baptized I won't go to Hell. If there is a God and He is as loving as they say, He wouldn't deny me entrance to Heaven just because Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-10510664150778739482016-07-08T06:00:00.000-05:002016-07-08T06:00:19.836-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Borrowed WordsThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
"Love
never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to
replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals.
It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness and witherings,
of tarnishings." -Anais Nin
I
like to let others speak for me. What I cannot form into words,Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-81535439100707502572016-07-05T06:00:00.000-05:002016-07-05T06:00:17.337-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: The Rosary Made It's AppearanceThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
I
can't help that on the same day I decided to write a post about
leaving Buddha in the woods...my rosary showed up.
Shall
I back up? Yes. I probably should.
I've
dabbled in Buddhism off and on for many years. Appreciating its
non-commitment, wonder, beauty, and overall message of kindness andAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-27566240365463531212016-07-03T09:00:00.000-05:002016-07-03T09:00:29.995-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: DesolationThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
I've
had a few bad days.
And
I'm not one of those people to get over it, move on with life, just
keep swimming. I wallow in it. Mentally abuse myself to the point of
extreme sadness. Anxiety envelops me, a large mammal takes up its
position sitting directly on my chest.
There
has been no Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-9955352745454621392016-07-01T06:00:00.000-05:002016-07-01T06:00:33.897-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Called To ServeThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
I've
been thinking about this a lot lately. Most everything I'm currently
reading or listening to brings this up. The idea that as Christians,
we are called to serve. We serve those less fortunate. We serve our
loved ones. We even serve the ones we don't feel much love for.
I
think I used to beAshleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-50774079531771001402016-06-30T12:51:00.004-05:002016-06-30T12:51:41.025-05:00Traveling Catholic: Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of GuadalupeAt six thirty on a Thursday morning in April, I made my way up a Dallas city street to the Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
It was semi-dark and quite chilly. Being unprepared to spend the night in Dallas I was underdressed and seeking warmth. I was naturally attracted to the grotto of candles adjacent to the statue of our Blessed Mother. Out of the wind, the tiny little Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-55248698878213165882016-06-30T06:00:00.000-05:002016-06-30T06:00:01.695-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Fist Bump From A MonkThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
Our
dear sweet little Father John was on vacation this week, resulting in
no weekday Mass. This was disappointing and made me a bit sad. Which
in turn surprised me. I was sad that I wouldn't get a chance to
attend Mass twice this week? Very unlike me.
When
I took a minute to examine what was the Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-83943939203959199772016-06-28T06:00:00.000-05:002016-06-28T06:00:14.270-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Patron Saints for $1000 PleaseThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
I am
quite new, like brand new, to the workings of the Catholic Church.
Currently I am going through RCIA (Rite of
Christian Initiation of Adults) to become familiar with
our faith. But being the ever curious and inquisitive soul that I
am (and also not wanting to miss out on any
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4824465430021873497.post-84586370289901899782016-06-27T09:18:00.000-05:002016-06-27T10:12:24.528-05:00UNRAVELING MY FAITH: Thanks For Clearing That UpThis post is part of a series I wrote over the last 6 months and am just now publishing...
One
of my main issues over the years was trying to reconcile what I had
been taught about creation with my belief in evolution.
I am
a science girl.
Not
that in I want to participate in scientific discovery or pour over
pie charts, case studies, and the like. Specifically in that I have a
Ashleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15525854482650486213noreply@blogger.com0