Lent

Once again, it has been too long since I have posted, and I also should be headed to bed, but I will take a couple minutes to at least give an update. This lent I have once again committed to something in the three areas: Prayer, penance and almsgiving. I have decided to make an extra hour for prayer in my life, every day, and preferrably in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is helping me cope sooo much better with all the other things going on in my life, and giving me greater clarity in decision making. (duh, right?) I definitely plan to keep it up after Easter. I then decided to give up sweets as my penance, even on Sundays. Trust me, it's hard for me. Lastly, I am once again collecting my money for the Rice Bowl program, although that isn't much right now.
I got laid off from my full time job mid-January, so things have gotten really tight. I have been getting my own home business started, but it's not happening fast enough, so I have prayed persistently for some sort of part time work to stay afloat that would ALSO work around previous music commitments made. Praise God, this week, I found a job at Elizabeth Anna's, a garden center. I will be out doing small landscape jobs, and today was my first day. It was so wonderful to be outside all day and doing manual labor. I really do miss it. It will be wonderful even just for a few months, doing this kind of work. It will be part-time, so I can continue to work on my own business.
The previous music commitments made have to do with Holy Week, and the weekend after that. By the grace of God, I will be able to make it to Mater Ecclesiae again to sing! I am so happy about it, I really need it as a retreat as well as visiting with old friends. It may be the last time I can do it until I move back east someday (I hope). The second music committment is a wedding back home for a cousin. I have been very blessed to have found a part time job to sustain me that was willing to work around those dates with me.
I have a music concert this weekend with the denton back society, which has been helping to keep my voice in shape. I also will have a Texas wedding to sing for in a couple weeks. The young couple wanted traditional music and actually happened to find me through this blog! That was really neat to learn.
That's things in a nut shell right now. There are other things going on in my life, personally and spiritually, but this would not be the place to share them with people I know. So I bid everyone good night and God Bless your families.