This morning I woke up very tired from the work I did yesterday. It was questionable as to whether I would make the 9 am mass. My wife did not even stir. I checked on the kids and they were unusually sound asleep. I watched the "Litany of The Sacred Heart" for my meditation. Normally I get so deeply moved by this devotion that I ge lost from the world. But today was the opposite, as I watched I got lost in thoughts of worldly matters and fears. I know that it was an effective meditation because I lost track of time and it was over but I also felt that I was in need of spiritual restoration.

I decided that it would be in my wife's best interest if I went ahead amd went to early mass so that I could babysit the baby since 11 o'clock mass is too late for her. My oldest son and I went to mass. The readings, responsorial, and song lyrics were all especially edifying for me. During the epiclesis I was startled by a period of ecstacy that culminated after communion.

As we were waiting for the announcements my son looked up to me and asked if the Tooth Fairy was real or if it were just the parents that put the gift under the pillow. I had to tell him the truth. We both laughed about it. After mass we went for a nice little walk and had a talk about these things. Funny though, he insisted that Santa was real because he was a real saint, a spirit, and "because how else would the cookies be missing?".

I came home in the best spirits I have been for days and I couldn't wait to share my thoughts and feelings with my wife. When I got home she jumped all over me because of my policy that it is her responsibility to get herself up. She decided that she could not make it to church and she blamed me for it. She had some harsh wors for me including that church was nt just an exclusive club for me. I immediately asked God to save me from being angr and I did a good job of not fighting back. But, I let it ruin my good spirits and I was out-of-sync the rest of the day.

I had to admit later in the day that I was not turning over my anger at some level. I was not being forgiving either.

I took a long nap in the middle of the day and I wondered if I was emotionally exhausted. I had a terrifying dream of losing my kids in a flooded river.

When I woke up I let my little ones pile on top of me. In the afternoon I allowed my son to turn off my baseball game to watch his magic show.

I got a voicemail from someone who really needed a meeting on my side of town and I called them back with the info. In the evening I got a call to go unlock the meeting house. I got to go and fellowship a little and to play a game of washers. I was grateful for these service opportunities.

Thanks be to God for protection from the arrows that fly by day and the terrors that fly by night.


---

Principles I live by...

Other centeredness leads to wisdom,
Control of the self leads to good decisions,
Faith is the source of perseverence,
Wisdom, plus good decisions, plus perseverence, lead to success.
Success does not mean happiness.
Happiness is an inside job.
Action speaks louder than words.






When I got home my wife jumped