Compassion

During the homily last Sunday night, the Deacon who was preaching talked about Jesus' compassion and it was a beautiful reminder to help keep my behavior and my faith in perspective.

I've always been an empathetic person. If you feel angry, I'll feel angry. If you're sad, I'm sad. If

Me and my fellow emotional vampire

you're happy, I'm happy. Doesn't matter who you are, but if I interact with you, I will literally feed off of your behavior and emotions...J and I have coined ourselves as "emotional vampires" because it is the best correlation we have for this situation. But the homily reminded me that I can only feel so much of what people experience.

While I may be able to feel the same emotion as the people around me, I do not feel it for the same reason, and therefore I do not feel the emotion to the same intensity that they feel it. I don't know what it is like to lose a parent, to have a spouse who committed adultery, to see a small child suffer when they have just been brought into the world. So as much as I can say "I feel for you," I really don't. I am incapable of that.

Throwback to my friend's wedding and shoutout
to some compassionate ladies

But ya know who is capable of that? Jesus. Jesus has the ability to feel so much compassion for us that He literally can feel every ounce of our suffering. To go back to the previous Sunday's post, Jesus is in all of us, and thus he feels what we feel, in the exact way we feel it.  As we get closer to Advent, we remind ourselves that God was made man to save us from our sins, and with that comes a lot of pain for Him.  He not only has compassion for us and our sins, but also for how we feel each and every day. When we wake up and feel despair, He feels it. When we lose a loved one, He feels our sadness. When we feel love, He feels that too.

We are called to remember the compassion Jesus feels for us and to do our best to exercise compassion toward every person we interact with each day. Focusing on compassion will be a great way to prepare our hearts and our minds for Advent!

Speaking of Advent...Liv and I have set some goals for ourselves for Advent this year. We haven't worked out all the details yet, but we should have it all figured out by the end of the day today so I can fill you all in on Wednesday's post!

Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ~Colossians 3:12

Pax,
Kay

I've Got Plenty to be Thankful for

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Although I've been celebrating the holiday season for almost a month, everyone joins in the celebration now and I am so excited! In honor of Thanksgiving being tomorrow, I've decided to post 10 things I'm thankful for!

10) Snow! I know most people will roll their eyes when they read that, but I just love snow. It makes you slow down and really appreciate natural beauty. 

9) The skills I have. I love to be crafty. Whether it's sewing, crocheting, painting, etc. I have been blessed with skills that I love and help me create beautiful things, like this crocheted headband that Liv inspired me to make!

8) My education. If I had to rewind and do college all over again, there's no doubt in my mind that I would go to the same school because the education I received there, both in and out of the classroom, was life-changing. 

7) My job. I am truly blessed to have been given this opportunity and to work with such supportive people. I love what I do, where I work, and who I work with!

6) My family. I'm so excited to spend time with them tomorrow because we rarely see each other throughout the year now that we are all so busy and living all over the place. 

5) My nana. One of the strongest and coolest people I know, nana is always there for me and goes above and beyond to show the family how much she loves us. I'm spending all day today and Thursday with her.. Probably Friday too!

4) My puppy. He loves my parents way more than he loves me, but he's still the cutest little ball of fur I've ever seen.

3) Liv. I have known her for over four years now and I am so glad she and I have been able to stay connected and grow even closer than we were before. 

2) My best friend in the whole world, and now my sponsor for RCIA, J. I truly believe that God made us two halves of one whole and that our friendship will last forever. 

1) My renewed relationship with God. I know it sounds corny, but ever since committing myself to my faith again, I've never felt happier or more grateful for things in my life. 

I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! ~Psalm 95:2

Pax,

Kay

The Happiness Challenge

In my office, we are reading a book called The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor. As a self-proclaimed pessimist, I really enjoy the book because it helps you figure out how to reprogram your brain to be more positive. The author cites a good bit of research that helps the reader understand all of the harmful physical side effects that negativity brings and then provides more anecdotes about how helpful positivity and happiness can be in leading a healthier life.

My binder for the challenge!

While reading the book, my supervisor decided to pose a positivity challenge to our staff. For 14 days we have to try to be more conscious of positive actions and do things to help improve our happiness and positivity in life. He created a worksheet for us to track our positivity and happiness habits that gives us a written form of accountability, in addition to being paired with another staff member for the challenge. Every day we fill out a worksheet that reminds us to meditate for 5 minutes, write down something we are looking forward to, commit 5 conscious acts of kindness, use our signature strengths, exercise, and remind ourselves of 3 good things in our lives. Every day!

I will be the first to admit that this has been a very difficult challenge...especially in the conscious acts of kindness area. We've been at it almost a week and I don't think I've had more than 3 in one day and some of those three were really a stretch.

Today's gospel reading put conscious acts of kindness into perspective for me. The reading was from Matthew 25: 31-46,

Me & Liv - embracing the positivity & kindness challenge

the parable of the sheep and the goats. In this parable, Jesus compares people and their actions to a shepherd who separates sheep from goats. Those who feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the ill, visit the imprisoned, etc. will have eternal life and those who fail to do these things will face eternal punishment.

Why? "Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me."

God is in every person. It doesn't matter if they are needy, sick, imprisoned or whatever. God created us and therefore He is in us. Because God is in each of us, we are called to treat one another the way we would treat God. Love and kindness should be the root of every act we do and word we say.

Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me ~Matthew 25:40

Pax,
Kay

Fashion Friday 11/21/14

Today is all about the pencil skirt! Pencil skirts are a staple in my wardrobe because they are one of the most versatile pieces of clothing you can own. Wear one in summer with some sandals. Wear it again in fall with boots. Then again in winter with some warm tights and cute flats or heels!

So many options!

You can pair a pencil skirt with a blazer, a sweater or just a cute blouse! Wide belt, skinny belt, no belt! The options for a pencil skirt are literally endless!

Today I went with my emerald green pencil skirt (macy's), a striped tank and black sweater (maurice's). It's really cold here so I added some tights and since it is Friday I slipped into my comfiest black flats.

Have a great weekend!

Pax,
Kay

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS HERE AT LAST!

Anyone who knows me well will likely roll their eyes and think "Oh no...not more of this!" but I just can't help it! I absolutely love the holiday season for so many reasons that I am going to share with you today...okay...maybe it is just one reason but it manifests itself in so many different ways.

Everything you do during the holiday season is about love!

Coffee mug from breakfast this morning

Even if you think that you get presents for people because you have to, you feel like you have to get them something because part of you loves them. I love people. I love when people feel loved. So I show them I love them in a way I know best - giving gifts is actually a legitimate love language. If you aren't a great gift-giver or don't want to feed into commercialism (trust me, I argue with myself on that one every year), there are still many things you can do to show people you love them. Write them a letter, have a party where you surround yourself with the people you love, or just visit someone and show them that you care.

The outlet shops near me all ready for the holidays

People's hearts are so full of love this time of year. We get so sucked in and just try to move through the rest of the year, but it is so great to just stop and remember how much you love the people in your life and how thankful you are for their presence every day. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be with friends or family. The entire holiday season, starting the week of Thanksgiving, if I go to a drive through or coffee shop or something like that, I'll pay the tab for the person behind me. Yesterday I got a coupon for $10 off a $25 purchase that was valid that day. There was no way I was going to use it, so my friend and I went to the checkout line and handed our coupons to people who could use them.

I know what you're thinking. I've talked about giving to others and random acts of kindness, but that only covers the part of the holiday season that encourages materialism and things like that. But let's get down to the root of all of this. Christmas is the time of the year when we celebrate the best love we could ever experience. The love of Jesus. This is when we think about Him becoming human for us and the ultimate love that He shares with every human. What better way to remember and celebrate Him than to share our human capacity for love with everyone else?!

Just some food for thought as we head into the holiday season!

Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to people of good will. ~Luke 2:14

Pax,
Kay

Fashion Friday - 11/14/14

A couple weeks ago I decided to add a fashion part to my blog because it is one of the things I am most passionate about! I love getting dressed up, accessorizing and looking fabulous every day. Since I work full time, most of my posts will be me in professional wear…with a flair!

Today's post was actually from a week or so ago when I first had the idea. We struggled to find a good location for photos and then I went through a phase of not wanting to post any of them because of the weird lighting and such. But now I finally have the guts to put it up here! My goal is to post one outfit each week, so here's to week one!

Liv took all of these photos and I totally thought she was just playing around with the camera, so I wasn't really posing very well, but here are the results of my first photo shoot with Liv. The next photo is my favorite though…I think it perfectly depicts my awkwardness while taking photos!

Dress: Modcloth; Blazer: maurices; Belt: Honestly couldn't tell you…I think it came with a dress!

Pax,
Kay

You Are God's Temple

What a week! I have been so busy that this week has just flown by. Let's rewind a couple days!

Sunday was quite an interesting day. I haven't been sleeping well as of late, but I caught up on all that missed sleep on Sunday...I woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon! As great as sleeping was, I had missed a couple of commitments that I was really looking forward to, so I felt really bad about it and it kinda put me in a bad mood. I moped around my apartment until 4:00 when I finally forced myself to go practice

piano before my RCIA lesson. Last week, my piano teacher gave me a book of Christmas music, so playing that definitely lifted my spirits.

After that, I headed to RCIA where we learned about Mary and what she means to the Catholic Church. This devotion to Mary has always fascinated me, so I was really excited to learn about Mary and her importance. We spent much of the class circling back to the fact that Mary was born without original sin because of God's plan for her, but that she also still had to use her free will to consent to God's plan.

The homily at mass and the RCIA lesson were in perfect harmony (probably because the deacon giving the homily was the same person teaching RCIA). Part of the second reading was from the same book and chapter that I wrote about last week: 1 Corinthians 3: 9. You are God's temple. We were created by God, for God. Mary recognized that and lived by it for her entire life. She is the example of purity that every human being should strive to replicate, simply for the fact that God created us in His image, which is perfect and pure.

Trust me, I recognize that it is not easy to keep a pure mind or actions in today's world, but the least we can do for God is to try and to ask for forgiveness when we fail.

You are God's temple ~1 Corinthians 3:9

Pax,
Kay

Finding the Right Path

I don't think I have ever been set on a career path until this week. At the age of 23, a year and a half after completing my undergraduate degree, I have finally figured out what to do with my life. The more I talk to the students I work with, the more I realize this is not an uncommon thing. At least half of my staff members regularly change their minds about what they want to do after graduation and another half constantly worry about whether they are on the right path.

Collection of Prayers Book

This week I discovered that the real reason I could never figure out what path I was meant to be on was because I had never spoken to God about it. I never prayed about what to do after college or what career I am meant to have, which is why I was always in a state of confusion. On top of that confusion, my past couple of weeks at work have been incredibly stressful - so much so that I spent about an hour crying and praying in the IC Chapel last Friday.

At the front of the IC, near one of the confessionals, there is a tub of prayer books that my school put together. I was at a loss for words so stumbling upon that bucket of books was quite helpful. I skimmed through the pages until I found a prayer that was related to what I was concerned about: Prayer to Know One's Vocation In Life by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The prayer asks for the intercession of the Holy Spirit to guide you to your vocation as well as to give you the strength to do it. I prayed this over and over on Friday night, and again on Monday, and Wednesday while in the midst of assisting students that had been through difficult experiences.

About an hour or two into working on this situation, I had an epiphany where I realized that I was actually on the right career path and that I just needed to keep moving forward. It hit me that I truly love helping people and staying on this path was the best way for me to do that. This realization was so energizing because I finally recognized how much I love what I do and I would not have gotten to this point without that breakdown and repeated prayer.

Me and my Cafe Creme Brute

On Saturday I finally had time to go back to Holy Grounds Cafe and I intended to work on homework...I wrote all of a page (out of ten) before I got distracted looking at books about my career field. I want to know everything there is to know about Student Affairs and Higher Education so that I can do my very best on the path that God has chosen for me. I want to know as much as possible so I can make Him proud. God knows everyone's true path and when you pray about what God intends for you to do with your time on Earth and wait for Him to reveal that to you, the moment your prayer is answered you feel an intense rush of happiness.

Feeling lost? Don't know what you're called to do in life? Devote some prayer time to that! Ask for guidance and strength and (most difficult for me) patience and your answer will come.

Everyone should live as the Lord has assigned, just as God called each one ~1 Corinthians 7:17

Pax,
Kay

Gold or Hay

Unfortunately after mass on Sunday I was not feeling well and Monday was terribly, horribly busy, which is why my post did not make it up sooner, sincerest apologies!

My RCIA binder

In RCIA we learned about the meanings of the various names attributed to Jesus (Messiah, Christ, etc.) and their significance. I must admit that I recalled much of this from my theology classes in junior year, so I was not as intrigued as I was the week before. That's alright though because next week we get to learn about Mary, which is a totally new topic for me! #excitement

My post today is about a moment I had during mass. Because of the fact that Sunday was All Souls Day, we spent a lot of time talking about the souls in purgatory, the purpose of purgatory, and sin. Father gave the following example: A person who feels anger, makes poor relationship decisions, struggles with anxiety, is impatient, etc. - at this point I mumbled that he had to be talking about me because I am notorious for having a bit of a temper, making bad decisions in the realm of romance, consistently anxious, and I'm always impatient, so I instantly hung my head in a wave of shame. But my shame was cut short by the end of his statement. A person who feels and does all of these things, but still strives with their whole heart to not do those things and prays about those concerns is usually the person who is receiving the most grace. Why? Because they persevere through the difficulties and maintain their relationship with God.

These vibrant leaves reminded me of fire

This is where the title of this post comes in. Gold or Hay is a reference to the homily, which was a reference to 1 Corinthians 3:11-13 that states: "No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire and the fire itself will test the quality of each one's work."

Jesus is meant to be the foundation for everything we do and a foundation in Him will clearly be demonstrated in our lives. We cannot be good outwardly but feel hate inwardly. If we struggle with anger or if we continually make bad decisions and we do so with a feigned regret, then our regret is not genuine and our "work" will be burned in the fire that is testing the quality of our "work" - aka our

More fiery leaves

actions in life. If, however, we commit these acts, ask for forgiveness and continue to strive for a life without these mistakes, our actions will not be burned in the fire because we are persevering and doing our best to live a life with a solid foundation in Jesus Christ.

When it is time for our work to be judged, will it survive the fire? Will it be gold or hay?

No one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely Jesus Christ
~1 Corinthians 3:11

Pax,
Kay