I haven't been updating this blog lately. I've become involved in Christ Renews His Parish weekends. I attended my first one in March. I helped to lead one Oct 6-7. Now I am helping the next team to get ready for a weekend in February or March, 2008.
It amazes me how powerful these weekends are. The dozen participants were as thrilled as I was at how God touches hearts and renews faith. The saying, "It is more blessed to give than receive" is very true, because I was blessed by giving the weekend. I love passing on the faith. There is nothing better than knowing that the Holy Spirit has been working through the meager efforts of his people.
I am helping with the pre-RCIA sessions again. Last year, the parish didn't have many people who needed those sessions, so I took a break. This is another way I can pass on the faith. It is a thrill to see those I have instructed being baptized on Holy Saturday.
I have been busy with a couple writing projects this year. I wrote a thematic bible study and a piece that is in the Screwtape Letter genre. I want to find a publisher for them.
In July - August, the family visited Daytona Beach and Orlando, FL. We had a budget motel right on the beach. That's the first time our family has had that type of convenience. I liked it, because I could see if the waves were big enough to ride. If they weren't, I continued to read the two Harry Potter books we brought. I read number six and seven, so I finished the series while on vacation.
I loved them all and it will be strange to not be looking forward to the next book in the series. It was well worth reading all seven of these tomes. I don't read a lot of fiction and I don't write it either. However, I really admire J.K Rowlings' ability to spin a great, spell-binding (pardon the pun) tale.
The other book I read while on vacation was Peter Kreeft's Handbook of Christian Apologetics. I found the chapter on the Problem of Evil to be awesome. The part about how can God be both just and merciful really touched my heart. I have been pondering the merciful love of God since I read that page. It was an epiphany for me. The understanding of mercy has never been so real to me before. I want to tell everyone about it. I feel the muse (or is it the Holy Spirit?) telling me to start writing another bible study about it. Before I do that, I want to focus on getting the one I wrote published. It is such a waste to fill up my hard drive with writings that have never seen the light of day. So I better get back to writing that book proposal.