Searching for and Maintaining Peace?

Yes, that is the question.  School is in full swing, it has been over a month since we began, and with seven currently enrolled in elementary, high school or kindergarten there is alot of activity and not much peace.  With the Fall season brings lots of activities for the children as well as the ongoing doctor's appt's., physical therapy and occupational therapy for Claire.  Peace?  Got Peace?
This chaos, however, is one I certainly can appreciate because it does not include hospital stays, surgeries, and added worry and concerns. (Claire continues to do well thanks to the prayer warriors out there - Thank you!!)
I would like to mention another book I recently completed and it assisted in helping me find peace. And as I finish some good books I do hope to mention the MurrayClan12 book club, which I hope will be a better club to belong to than that of Oprah's, and may be a better compass toward holiness, you can be the judge.  The book has to do with finding peace among chaos - especially the world we live in.
I was told about the book in spiritual direction, (I will allow your imagination to go there regarding my confession and the need for a book about peace) and after ordering and reading it I have found it to be very helpful.  I tend to worry alot, see the glass half full, and lose hope.  This book was truly a benefit.
"Our search for God, our saintliness, and our efforts to love and serve our neighbors are also frequently fraught with agitation and anxiety instead of being full of confidence and peace, as they should be if we were to find ourselves imbued with the attitude of small children, as the Gospels command us to."  This quote is from the book Searching for and Maintaining Peace by Fr. Jacques Phillipe.
The book is a quick read, it is only 110 pages but it outlines so clearly Interior peace, how to respond to situations which cause us to lose peace, as well as the wonderful Saints who have discovered ways in which they were able to find peace.  Saints struggle with finding peace as well.
The book opens up with a very crucial and pivotal Gospel passage from John 15: 5: "Apart from Me, you can do nothing."  I have heard this often, but it truly had an impact on me when I discovered that Our Lord does not say without Me you can so some things, or a few things.  No.  Without Christ we can do NOTHING.  Including finding peace, teaching children, serving others, and being a good wife and mother.
May our Lord grant you His peace, and if you need some help you can certainly look for some answers in the book.
Peace!!

Only through Jesus will we find the meaning of all that is human.

"It is part of the mystery of the human person, which is only
explained in Jesus Christ, the one who reveals to the human person his or her identity. Only through Jesus Christ will we find the meaning of all that
is human." John Paul II
Matthew, our eldest son, entered St. Patrick's seminary August 21, 2010. He will spend two years in pre-theology and another 5 yrs. preparing for the priesthood. This is Matthew's call. Although Joe and I are very proud of him, in no way could we decide his vocation for him.
The week before Matthew left for the seminary, Joe and I let him know that if he ever felt that this was not the will of God we would support him and never push him into a vocation in which he did not feel called.
Matthew immediately reassured us that he never felt "pushed" by us into the priesthood. He explained that he had never felt at peace while at school discerning his profession and worrying about what his niche was in the world. Today, after accepting the call, Matthew told us he feels confident he is doing the will of Christ and he desires to serve Christ through His Church. Now he no longer doubts his path, and Matthew is sure of the meaning of his identity.
These young seminarians need your prayers. They have chosen a path, a
narrow road, "in the midst of a painful attack on the priesthood and the
Church. Because of the terrible sins of a very few priests, the goodness and sacrifice of so many priests has been ignored." Fr. Mariusz Koch, CFR
To be a Catholic today, let alone a priest of the Catholic church is counter-cultural. It is a challenge, it can only be explained by the cross, by picking up that cross and following Him - Jesus Christ. This is the theology of courage, of white martyrdom, of HOPE!
Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please keep Matthew in your daily prayers for priests. Please keep St. Patrick's Seminary and all of the seminarians in your prayers! May God continue to bless the Church with young men who desire to serve our Lord in His Church and will soon begin to live as an "alter Christus."
God Bless you and thank you!!!

Computer trouble...

Yes, the trouble with computers is... you can't live with them and can't live without them.  And, if your computer is down - you are without.  It can be a positive experience because there is more time to do other things, but if you don't have the computer because it has crashed or broken there is an increased sense of fear given the material that may be lost from your computer.  In times like these, when my computer is down it is time to realize that all things are a gift -  including broken things.  It just may be a time to pray more, reflect more and be more thankful.  Soooo, until it can be repaired, I have had to borrow one in order to update this, I will thinking be about things to write and update on the family.
Thank you for your patience and prayers!!!