The craziness is over. The verdict is in. I have passed my Ph.D. defense. It feels good to be done. I can finally enjoy playing with my son without something big lurking over my head. And now on to other things. Probably looking for a job as a part-time tutor. Just enough to keep my hands in it all. But that will happen in the new year. Because as of now, I have aquired a lovely cold, that both Ben and I have. So, for now we are focusing on recovering and getting prepared for the Christmas season.
For an unrelated topic, I have been thinking about sleep issues a lot. I think sometimes, and now by my reading, that my expectations are not reality. One my baby is not formula fed, so he isn't going to sleep 8 or more hours straight till he's older. Two I have to own up to those around me that I truly am a co-sleeper, and that its okay that my baby sleeps in our bed a lot of the time. While I may think things are greener on the other side sometimes, I have to know that going with my gut here is what is best for our little family. Also, as many others see this subject differently, I am not saying that everyone or even anyone has to do it my way. Simply, that this is the choice that I have made, and I am no longer going to feel guilty about it, despite criticism about it.
And as for advent, though I don't think I have gone all out in preparation for the Christmas season. I have done little things like say the St. Andrew prayer throughout the day, light a new advent candle each Sunday, and follow the Busted Halo advent calendar. But for now these are helping us prepare for Jesus' birth. What are some of your traditions or things of new that you are doing for advent this year?
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Interesting tidbit on conversion
So I had the TV on in the background while I was feeding Ben some fruit for breakfast this morning, and Good Morning America was on. A segment of an interview with Mark Wahlberg and his new movie The Fighter. I overheard him being made fun of for having 4 kids under 7 years of age, and a refreshing response from him saying that he loved his kids and was very pro-life. He also then ended the segment saying he started everyday on his knees thanking God for his life and making it through his troubled past.
So I started to do some research, on his life, because this isn't what I usually hear on TV. Usually its some celebration of some playing house or anti-Christian issue. This was a change from that. So I found in my research that this man had a troubled life, and is by no means perfect. But what was most interesting about him was that it seems that he is having a life-long conversion in his faith. Apparently, a life-long friendship with a priest is a major contribution to igniting and continuing this conversion. This article at catholicvote.org gives a more accurate description.
So what I drew from this, is a real-life example of how a conversion is not a one-time experience. It is something that is constant in our lives. Because if it was a one time deal, then our faith would be stagnant. And the scripture from the book of James would call us out. But this man, who has made very public mistakes along the way, is on the journey of a lifetime conversion. I wonder, and sometimes think that a constant conversion may be more of a Catholic idea than a Protestant one, but at the same time I hope that Protestants understand this is true in their faith as well, if their faith is genuine.
With Mr. Wahlberg, his life is in the spotlight, and so we can see the big mistakes he has made. But in his life, he has seemed to learn from his past and make a conversion in that area to a new self. While some things seemed to take longer to get over than what one would think they should, we don't know the full story behind it, so we take it with the best intentions. Especially knowing that some of the conversion milestones do require some true faith.
Thus, as the other blogger states, while the man may not be a saint, he at least is no longer a prodigal son to the Nth degree.
btw...If this blog post doesn't make sense, I blame it on not being able to think about anything other than fuel cells.
So I started to do some research, on his life, because this isn't what I usually hear on TV. Usually its some celebration of some playing house or anti-Christian issue. This was a change from that. So I found in my research that this man had a troubled life, and is by no means perfect. But what was most interesting about him was that it seems that he is having a life-long conversion in his faith. Apparently, a life-long friendship with a priest is a major contribution to igniting and continuing this conversion. This article at catholicvote.org gives a more accurate description.
So what I drew from this, is a real-life example of how a conversion is not a one-time experience. It is something that is constant in our lives. Because if it was a one time deal, then our faith would be stagnant. And the scripture from the book of James would call us out. But this man, who has made very public mistakes along the way, is on the journey of a lifetime conversion. I wonder, and sometimes think that a constant conversion may be more of a Catholic idea than a Protestant one, but at the same time I hope that Protestants understand this is true in their faith as well, if their faith is genuine.
With Mr. Wahlberg, his life is in the spotlight, and so we can see the big mistakes he has made. But in his life, he has seemed to learn from his past and make a conversion in that area to a new self. While some things seemed to take longer to get over than what one would think they should, we don't know the full story behind it, so we take it with the best intentions. Especially knowing that some of the conversion milestones do require some true faith.
Thus, as the other blogger states, while the man may not be a saint, he at least is no longer a prodigal son to the Nth degree.
btw...If this blog post doesn't make sense, I blame it on not being able to think about anything other than fuel cells.
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