God honors radical, risk-taking faith!

I just got back from an awesome trip to the west coast. Spent a week in southern California, just north of San Diego, in Carlsbad. Vacations are usually a time where I’m able to relax some of my habits related to health and excercise..i.e. I eat a lot of crap and do very little exercise. Well, last week was different, it was the start of Lent. With Ash Wednesday and the first friday of Lent, packed into my vacation, I had to take a somewhat different approach to this vacation. With fasting happening 2 out of the 6 days of my vacation, I decided to turn my attention to the soul…a little spiritual renewal, which it turns out I really needed.

I went to Mass at St. Patrick’s Church in Carlsbad, CA. on Ash Wednesday. A wonderful church, with a large hispanic community. The pastor gave beautiful sermon, which I enjoyed, and I received a very large, very dark ash cross on my forehead. Immediately following the service, I took the family out to dinner, and needless to say I got a few interesting looks, but I sure felt proud wearing that cross on my forhead..”such a beautiful faith” was the quote I kept playing over. The quote comes from a terrific book hat I read during my vacation. I would recommend it to any of you. It’s called “Have a little faith” by Mitch Albom. There are so many great little tidbits in this book. I will be sharing some quotes from it in the next few postings, and if you get a chance, you should read it. While, he is Jewish, and there is a focus on that at times, the book transcends religious boundaries, and focuses on the commonality of all religions and the journey we are all on. There are not many books that give me goosebumps or bring me to tears, but this book did both.

Let me finish with a quote from the book:

“He was never haunted by ‘Why am I here?’ He knew why he was here, he said: to give to others, to celebrate God, and to enjoy and honor the world he was put in. His morning prayers began with Thank you, Lord, for returning my soul to me.”