I've been dabbling in Twitter since coming back to blogging and I've frankly been horrified by what I've seen. 

It's such an angry, snarky, petulant place!  There are some golden nuggets now and again (@Br0therBrother, I'm looking at you!), but  Catholic Twitter seems to be so divisive anymore.  

Pope Francis, liturgical music, politics, even the liturgy itself.  Whew. It's never-ending.  I don't know how anyone keeps up with it (or WHY anyone would keep up with it). 

What I can say is that we must look like an incredibly confusing, chaotic mess to those on the outside looking in.  We're supposed to be united in our love of Christ, but instead, it seems we're trying to outdo one another in spiritual wokeness.  

It's tiresome. 

But I'll keep poking along because there are definitely some gems to be found.  Be a gem.  Better yet, be a saint!

While God put up the original sign, I didn't exactly bound down the path with reckless abandon.  Instead, I fought against the idea of getting romantically involved with Chris.  I didn't know if he felt the same way, and even if he did, he lived in Kansas.  I LOVED our friendship, and I wasn't sure I was willing to risk that friendship for something that wouldn't pan out.  

But as the weeks went by, we kept finding more and more reasons to message each other.  I had no idea what to do with any of this, so I said to God, "What am I supposed to do with Chris?"

The next day, He responded with an impromptu trip to St. Louis.  

(Moral of the story: Ask and you shall receive.)

I texted Chris and told him I'd be headed to STL if he wanted to join me.  He quickly responded and we started making plans.  I sent him a list of possible activities and he countered with some ideas of his own.  I offered to do a helicopter tour of the city and he offered to come to the Cathedral to check out the sacred art.  

I arrived to the hotel first.  I had booked our hotel room with TWO BEDS.  There was a booking mistake, however, so our room had only one king.  Clearly God wasn't suggesting that Chris and I sleep together, but I have to admit laughing when I walked into the room and realized the error.  Just another neon sign to add to the list.

I asked the hotel to switch our rooms (for two beds).  Chris arrived a few hours later and we went out for dinner.  We also grabbed some wine and beer before heading back to watch TV.  

The next morning, after breakfast, we did the helicopter tour, a museum and began to head to the Arch. 

Alas, on the way, we got into a pretty intense fender bender.  A careless truck took out the entire side of Chris' brand new car!  Thankfully, neither of us was injured, but his car was wrecked.  We got into a rental and didn't let the wreck slow us down.  We hit the Arch next and I can honestly say it blew me away.  

Before going, I didn't see the point of the Arch.  It just seemed like a silly tourist trap.  However, after seeing the Arch through Chris' eyes (and how excited he got over all the engineering marvels that went into creating it), I understood.  We had a really good time!

The next morning, we set out to figure out lunch plans before heading to the Cathedral.  Somewhere during those plans, Chris decided he was going to answer the question that seemed to plague both of us: Is there anything between us?

So he kissed me.  He leaned in, tilted my face up to his, and he kissed me.  And I most certainly kissed back.  *Grin*

So that's how Chris and I became Chris and I.  What a reason to rejoice when I entered that Cathedral later in the day!

God is good.  In all things, God is good.

Back in 2014, I wrote about some sacred art I found while wandering the chancery of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.  I was working in the Development Office at the time, and had no idea that just a few years later, I'd get the chance to work with the well-loved and incredibly gifted artist who'd painted those pieces: Brother Mickey McGrath, OSFS.

Fast forward to 2018.  I was now working for the Diocese of Camden as their Events Coordinator.  My colleague, Rod, had volunteered our diocese as the host of a national (that grew to be international) conference aimed at professionally developing Church personnel to identify, respond to, and account for the protection of the children and at-risk people in its care.  It was a massive undertaking and one of the first orders of business was to come up with branding to promote the annual conference.

Rod, being the brilliant man that he is, tapped local artist Brother Mickey who lived in-residence less than 50 feet from our office building.

Since Rod and I were running point on the conference, we met with Brother Mickey to discuss the conference, its intention, our hopes for a Marian logo, and possible design concepts.  It was all I could do not to completely fan girl out, guys.  It became a running joke between Rod and I anytime we'd have to schedule a meeting with Brother Mickey.  Ha ha.

Anyway, Brother Mickey took everything in, digested it, and used it to create the collaboration I'm most proud of in my time with the diocese... this gorgeous image of Our Lady:

Just take a moment to breathe this in.  I swear... each time I look at it, I walk away with something else to love.

The theme of our conference was "Full of Grace."  Mary is holding the Christ Child who, in turn, is blessing the young boy/girl to either side.  The Holy Spirit is present, but you'd blink and miss Him if you weren't looking.  The little boy holds a candle of wisdom and truth while the little girl holds a flower denoting innocence and purity.  The rays behind Our Lady are so full of color and vibrance!  Everything is so symmetrical and flows together brilliantly.  I just... I love this so much.  As such, I plastered it onto everything from letterhead and notebooks to travel mugs and reusable bags.  I've still got stickers leftover that I use to adorn my personal books and diaries.  

*Swoon*  It's beautiful, isn't it?

Rod, because he's amazing, had Brother Mickey sign the original which he then mounted and framed for me.  I am not exaggerating when I say it is one of my most treasured possessions.  And the fact that Brother Mickey actually knows my name and waves "Hi" at me when we cross paths... it blows my mind.  It felt like such a gift getting to work with someone so talented.  

God is good.  In all things, God is so, so good.  

Several years ago, I posted a bit about how my faith in God as Father banishes fear. I've never worried about the future or how the dust would settle because I knew He was directing things and would point me in the right direction.

He put up a giant, neon sign in July of 2017.

For those of you who hadn't been following along, a quick synopsis.

For the rest of you, the story continues with a 10-day vacation over Fourth of July weekend.  It was my first holiday without the boys and I knew I needed to pack my "vacation" with as many things as possible to keep my mind off that fact.  I decided to travel and see some old friends.

I had friends in upstate New York that I hadn't seen in a while.  I also had a friend from high school who had recently moved to Kansas with her family.  Interestingly, if I was able to swing Kansas, there was a third friend who had ALSO just moved to Kansas, but on the other side of the state.  Being the ridiculously efficient person I am, I tried to knock out all of them during the same 10 day period.

GAME ON.

I carpooled to NY with the first set of friends and spent several days enjoying games, hiking, and food, then came back home. Early the following morning, I hopped on a plane to Catherine's house (my friend from high school).  Finally, after being spoiled rotten by her incredible family, I took a 4-hour bus ride across the state to see Chris, a recent transplant from North Carolina (and before that, New Jersey).

While I missed my boys those 10 days, I filled my heart with so much love and laughter that I couldn't help but be grateful.  In all things, God is good.

This entire time, the Tribunal was still waving at me from the shadows.  I wasn't worried about it, but I wasn't thrilled about not having a decision, either.  Limbo isn't a fun place to be.

Anyway, to the good stuff:

Chris and I have known each other for about 15 years.  He was in my wedding party, I had visited him a couple times in Carolina, I was (and am) still friendly with one of his ex-girlfriends, and I always viewed his little brother as my own little brother.  There had never been an inkling of romance between the two of us and this trip was no different.  We hung out as we normally would, visited some fun places, caught up on each other's lives and had some great conversations.

The night before I was to leave, I anxiously tried to prepare myself for the airport.  At the time, I was still very scared of flying and never slept the night before boarding.  Knowing this, he put on The Count of Monte Cristo and we settled onto his couch for the next few hours.  By the end of the movie, it was after 3AM.  I was WIRED, excited to talk about a movie I'd never seen before; he was exhausted. 

I turned to look at him as the credits rolled and I was shocked at how bloodshot his eyes were. Utterly sapped, he pushed himself to stay awake and watch a movie so I wasn't anxious and alone the night before my flight.  He had to work the next day, too!!!  In that moment, I was overcome with gratitude that God had blessed me with such an amazing friend.  

It was as if someone flipped a switch that opened a dam directly to my soul.  I was flooded so quickly with love, affection and appreciation that I almost reached out to touch his face.  I then experienced emotional whiplash as I realized this flood of emotion was directed at Chris. 

CHRIS?  My insanely intelligent, witty, musically gifted and goofy friend Chris?  THAT CHRIS?  No.  Clearly someone got their wires mixed.

I married John in 2007. At our 1 year anniversary, he said he didn't think he wanted children for several years. I flipped out, because I had been very clear about wanting children.  I compromised and agreed to wait a year after marriage and got upset that he was changing the agreement.

He apologized and we got pregnant 6 months later.  I gave birth in 2009. John decided, against my wishes, that he didn't want more children. I accepted a forced sterility and our marriage tanked. Throughout 2014, he was unfaithful, repented, and as an apology, rescinded his "no more kids" clause. We got pregnant late 2014. 

Halfway through my pregnancy, he told me he didn't actually want another baby and instead wanted a divorce.  He openly wished for me to miscarry, put me into preterm labor at 30 weeks, ignored that I was to be on bed rest, and generally neglected our special needs son, myself, and the unborn child I was carrying.  I kicked him out of the house, lawyered up, and told him to do the same. I then gave birth to my youngest son in 2015.  The day our divorce was finalized, I walked my annulment paperwork directly into the diocesan Tribunal and awaited its decision.

I'm a firm believer in the sanctity of marriage; that hasn't changed. However, I came to a very clear realization while I was laying in a hospital bed, hooked to a million angrily beeping machines as doctors tried to stop my labor from progressing at 30 weeks: my (now ex) husband is not actually capable of consenting to marriage because he is not capable of truly loving another person.  He's able to appreciate what they can do for him, but simply love them for who they are and put his needs aside to raise them up?  Not so much.  The entire time I was in the hospital, he was texting me, demanding to know when I'd be home so he could leave for a trip to NY, knowing full well he'd be leaving me (who was supposed to be on strict bed rest) with a highly-active, sensory-seeking 5 year old. 

This, mind you, is the tiniest sampling of the litany of thoughtless, self-absorbed and intentionally neglectful things I'd put up with over the years.

So, armed with that realization, I started my annulment paperwork that weekend - MONTHS ahead of him finally (at my persistent request) getting his lawyer to do the divorce paperwork that mine had already completed.

In the months and years after the divorce, I had many people suggest I start dating again.  I never liked that advice, especially because I didn't have an annulment ruling.  If I started a romance with someone and received an unfavorable ruling from the Tribunal, what then?  It'd be a huge disservice not only to me, but to the guy I was with.

So I steered clear of romance and relationships until late 2016/early 2017.  I started accepting date proposals from a few men I thought were worthwhile.  Even then, I wasn't looking for romance so much as a shift in paradigm, and I was honest with each man regarding my goal in "dating" them.  I wasn't looking for love; I was looking for balance and insight.  I needed to adjust my worldview, and I trusted their integrity enough to help me do so.

One man skirted romance with me briefly, but I ended that soon after it started because, again,  with no ruling on the divorce, it was unfair to both of us to walk that path.  So off I went on my own.  I trusted that God knew what He was doing and once the annulment ruling was finalized, I'd see the path more clearly.

I got the giant neon sign I was waiting for in July 2017.

I am REALLY excited about my new logo.  I sent out an SOS to several graphic artists (some personal friends, some through Fiverr) detailing what I was looking for.  Once the drafts started rolling in, one Fiverr artist stood head and shoulders above the rest.  He really seemed to understand what I was looking for and implemented my feedback while offering suggestions that got me to where I was going.

I LOVE collaborating with talented, savvy individuals.  If you're interested in working with him, you can find his page here!

Anywho, we went back and forth more than a dozen times on everything from design to color to font.  In the end, we have an open book from which faith, hope and love pour fourth, all centered on Christ.  We've got our blue/gold Marian colors while keeping the deeper red from the old MBF page.  

I'm genuinely pleased with how it turned out!

I've kept the old blog entries in what is now dubbed "The Archives."  However, if you've got feedback on the new template, please share it via the Contact form!  I'd love to hear from ya!