And so the fast begins

I was reading
about Saints for the day
and realized I had forgotten to put up my
St. Gregory of Palmas icon for his day.
*
I am enjoying reading
the prologue
and more about St. Gregory today.

 

Today was a pretty good day,
overall.
As often happens after a bit of travel,
I am not feeling fully well on the physical level.
Did not even want to eat my last
meat dish meal before the fast!
Mr. Husband valiantly ate my portion
while I dined on oatmeal with honey and raisins.
Which I quite enjoyed actually. :)
*
So the fast is here now.
I am re-reading Fr. Thomas Hopko's
Winter Pascha
and trying to keep up on my
Prologue of Ochrid
reading as well...
*
Mr. Husband and I got our
wedding video this week
and I am enjoying it in snatches.
I totally cried at the beginning
hearing the song
vesture of gold
and remembering how I waited so long
for the day that I would appear
as the Bride
with her father waiting for her groom.
*
Of course I miss my Ottawa parish
a lot but am excited
DV to visit in the new year...
*
I am also making
at long last
our photobooks from the wedding pictures.
*
And I put up our wedding crowns above the bed!
A picture of the crowns in their new
locale DV awaits!
*
And I put up Christmas lights!
Around here they seem to call them
twinkle lights.
You don't want to know Mr. Husband's newly
minted rendition of
twinkle twinkle little star...
let's just say we laugh a lot around these parts...
*
I hope to take pictures tomorrow of
the Christmas icons
and decorations
that I am slowly putting up.
*
I am DV really excited to have
my first Christmas with Mr. Husband...

More Progress

 

I am making a list of things
to do every day as
I figure my way around my new life.
And I got all but one thing done
and that felt awfully good.
*
I had two very helpful phone calls
with dear and old friends
that really were great.
*
I am exploring some new options
for things to do in my new life
and that also is
quite encouraging.
*
I knew this transition time would be
hard in ways
leaving all one knows
but I am also feeling like
I am making some progress towards
this and I thank God for it.
*
This by Fr. Stephen is very worth reading.

Thrusday, St. John, St. Elizabeth and St. Zachariah

Today (o.c.) is

the feast of St. John the Baptist's nativity.

It was on this day that my spiritual father

gave me my name Saint,

St. Elizabeth,

the Mother of St. John the Baptist.

So it is a special day for me.

*

This morning I found out that I did not get one of the jobs

I interviewed for.

To be honest I am concerned that I won't get

any of them.

Job seeking and interviewing is a real

roller coaster ride.

Thank God I have my small contract.

*

I am glad that God is merciful and that even

when we feel afraid,

that He loves us and is inviting us to

trust in His provision

and to not worry.

*

I am glad that God loves us and that we are cared for

so much by Him.

Interview Over!

Whew.

Well it went well!

Yay!!!

There are 3 candidates they interviewed.

I will know in 3 or 4 weeks,

hopefully not longer.

*

My presentation went well;

I felt comfortable;

it is strangely something I don't mind doing, presenting.

*

My interview went as well as possible,

given my experience, etc.

*

I can honestly say all the people I met today

(and there were many)

I really liked.

*

I am very pleased.

Also quite exhausted, though surprisingly not feeling

as traumatized as I thought I would.

:)

*

THANK YOU ALL SO SO VERY MUCH

for your prayers.

I felt so encouraged by you all,

as well as by other family and friends.

*

Meanwhile I will have to continue job searching

as nothing is known yet.

*

Tonight though I get to relax.

Tomorrow I will tour the city and fly back at night.

*

Now that the interview is over,

I feel eager to get back home,

I think because it was so much effort to stay on top

of everything all day...

*

I am trying to just live in the present and not

worry about relocating until it

if the Lord wills

happens.

*

May the Lord be praised and may His will be done.

*

Thanks again everyone, your support really means a lot to me!

Cleo, the Cutest Cat in Canada

I couldn't resist posting these pictures!

She's my little cute cat,

who likes to look at my innocently,

as if she can do no wrong.

For a cat she is pretty good,

but I have to tell her daily to not go on the kitchen table!

She listens within a few seconds, usually.

+++++++++

Did or do you have a pet who keeps your company

or makes you laugh?

Please say a prayer for me

I have another meeting about funding for French training

tomorrow morning.

Tonight's vespers was a blessing;

Thank God for His Church.

The hard, good and um, funny...

The funny first. I was having a good day at work - when I realized that I was wearing one brown shoe and one black. Sigh. Good thing I find this funny...

The good Fr. Lawrence's podcasts have begun! It is wonderful to hear his voice and listen to him explain the Scriptures. He was there at the beginning of my journey into the Orthodox Church and I thank God for him.

Also I found a copy of Madeleine L' Engle's book A Wind in the Door today at public library book sale! I am not sure if I have read this one or not - I probably have but it has been a long time. I also found a copy of Dragons in the Waters which I am giving to a friend.

I am reading a lot of books right now - Kathleen Norris's book, an Amanda Cross mystery (No word from Winifred), Ulysses by Joyce (wanted to be more in the know as one of my friends is reading it for class; I know it is long and at times said to be unreadable), and I recently obtained, from 8th day books, St. Ephriam's Spiritual Psalter. Ancient Faith Radio reads some of these prayers throughout the day; I am grateful to have a copy. I am reading this book very slowly.

New and old books - L' Engle I have been reading more or less avidly for the last 12 years - Amanda Cross is great for thinking about the academic world, esp. English departments. One gets a real sense of the time period through reading popular mysteries and she deals with a lot of questions, including about the self, feminism, youth, and the current states in culture.

I picked up her book on Winifred when I was in Halifax, at the most overwhelming, real, wood floor and shelves with books that seem to almost cascade down tottering piles bookstore. I would go back, I think, almost solely to see this store again! It was lovely. Their mystery section had classics, they had a small wall of orange Penguins and a small corner with lots of editions of the Bible. I am hunting for a good edition of The Jerusalem Bible as I find that translation of the Psalms very tender. (Through another wonderful translation, which I do own, from 8th day books, is the Psalter of the Seventy).

Okay, the hard. As in hard to know how to process - I am going to have a panihida soon (if all goes as I hope) for my spiritual mother who died ten years ago last week. This is hard to know how to process as grief and as a prayer and not as any form of self-pity, which will hinder real growth, grief and prayer.

A lot is going on for me - preparing for a move, learning my new job - and figuring out how to live and not let go of the reader/bookish/writer side. God is good and I am thankful; He has given me so much.

ps: still working on downloading the Halifax pictures. Soon, I hope!

Still Can't Believe It

You know, as time goes on, I am beginning to see.

If I had been just a little bit farther out, I would of been hit full-body by the car. My foot from just above the heel up to the big toe on the other side of my foot was run over. This may of saved my life.

My spiritual father said Angels were pushing cars away - I fell in the middle of a busy intersection.

I could of died and instead I am alive.

I am in awe and yet can scarcely take it in.

I was at church with a broken foot, instead of being in hospital, or dying or, God so grant His mercy, in heaven.

I am happy to be alive and I pray that God will help me do His will and struggle to be obedient to Him - how hard this is, but how much I need it.

Lord have mercy on me a sinner.

Quietness and God's provision

Today was my first day off. I slept in. Had tea. Talked on the phone. Ran errands, and had tea with a former classmate from Library School... who I ran into at the Library. I am enjoying a quiet apartment.

So, I have a job. I will be running a small library in a corporate setting. All by myself, with help from other associate libraries, esp. one of them. I am starting reading on this tomorrow. I have never done this type of work before and have MUCH to learn. I am thankful.

The good things about my DV new job:

*it is 4 days a week
*I have benefits
*it is a permanent job
*I can learn a lot professionally
*I can walk to work - no more buses!

The challenging things:

*less money (4 not 5 days a week of work/pay) but still enough (student loans will take longer to pay off but that is okay)
*new responsibility and lots of learning
*faster paced environment

I felt a bit overwhelmed this weekend, but had a lot of good conversations with people and am trying to stay peaceful and not worry.

I tend to worry about the unknown.

THANK YOU everyone who prayed for me. I did the salary negotiations on my last day of work at my former job. Incredible timing.

I now have 2 weeks off before starting my new job. I get to go shopping, study up for my new job, read books, cook and do errands.

God has been so good to me.

Feast of Mid-Pentecost

Happy Feast!

Job interview synopsis: 10 questions 2 or 3 parts each total time 50 minutes. intense gauntlet like.

God is so good though.

Went to vespers and had tea at a friends.

I am so thankful! To those who are praying for me: THANK YOU.