I'm off to the convent! Just for a visit though. Please pray for me. I'll pray for you. Oh, and since I won't be back until after Ash Wednesday, I'm going to declare my Lent intentions now:

1.) No eating out. Save the money I would have spent and donate it to Catholic Relief Services and the Good Samaritan Program at my parish.

2.) No gossiping or bitching - that's right, I said bitching, because when I'm really cranky, the word "complaining" doesn't adequately describe what comes out of my mouth. Instead, I'm going to find something positive and encouraging to say. If that's not an option, I'm going to keep quiet and pray. Dear friends, please hold me to this one!

3.) Morning and Evening prayer everyday - this happens pretty often, but it needs to be the focus of my routine, not something I just fit in.

I'll probably add a few more thing once I've had a little more time for prayer and reflection on the subject.

24 hours from now, my alarm will be going off for Matins!

more prayers

1.) Rebecca asks your prayers for her father Cliff as he continues treatment for prostate cancer. She also asks you to pray that her family will come to know God.

2.) My dear friend Barbara is training to do her first triathlon! She's faced some difficult challenges over the last year or so, and I think finishing this event successfully would mean a lot to her.

3.) Your prayers for my continuing discernment are such a blessing to me - sometimes they almost feel like a physical embrace. I'd especially appreciate your prayers next week, when I'll be visiting my convent again - I hope to return as an aspirant!

Prayer requests

The world needs prayer - organized, specific, intentional prayer that seeks the will of God to be fulfilled in those we pray for. I ask your prayers for these intentions that are especially close to my heart at this time. If you have any prayer requests, please leave them in the comments and I'll update the post as I am able. Some have mentioned difficulties posting comments on my blog. Since I don't know how to fix that, please email me at eternalthermos@gmail.com if you can't post in the comment section. This post comes from my desire to be joined to others in prayer. Wherever two or three are gathered in my name....

1.) My best friend Meghann's husband Raul was sent back to Mexico a few months ago. They're having problems with his green card application. This left Meghann to care for and support their one year old daughter on her own. Meghann was recently laid off and hasn't been able to find a new job.

2.) My friend Holly's father Al suffered two heart attacks a few days ago. He seems to be doing well, but we still don't know if he'll have to undergo open heart surgery. More information here on Scott's blog (Holly is his wife).

3.) Suzanne's mom is battling cancer again. More information on her blog here.

4.) Annie is in need of a new job as well.

5.) Jennifer of Conversion Diary is getting ready to be induced in about two weeks. This baby will make four children under five years old! Jennifer has difficult pregnancies to to a clotting disorder. Read more in this post from August where she announces baby number four.

6.) My mother is a respiratory therapist. She often works in the ER taking care of trauma patients. Recently a man was brought in who had tried to end his life by shooting himself in the head. He didn't die, but his face is almost completely gone.

7.) Michelle and her husband are seeking a deeper relationship with God.

poor in spirit

Suzanne has been posting some amazing pieces on her blog Come to See. As I continue to ask what it means to be poor in spirit, I keep coming back to this blog. There's an openness and a sense of awed gratitude in these posts that answers the questions I've been asking with an experience, not just a definition. I'm very thankful.

Up at one in the morning

Any thoughts on what it means to be poor in spirit? I think I have a good idea of what it's not. But defining what something isn't is not the same as understanding what something is.

My mom's partner is a therapist. When one of her clients tells her a quality they'd like to posess, Deb asks "What would that look like?" I guess that's what I've been asking myself. What would it be like to be poor in spirit? How would I live that everyday?

Nun stuff

If you have five minutes, please watch this short video about the life of some encolsed nuns in New Jersey. I'll be visiting my monastery again at the end of February. After that, it should only be about six months until I enter! I'm so excited and so very grateful for this vocation.