The first "Welcome" Blog Post

Time2bCatholic.com

Agh! I'm so excited to be blogging - finally. I talk and teach--all day all week all year long -- but writing is my true love. What do I live and breath and talk about 24/7? Ask my kids, or anyone who knows me well...God. I joke that I'm the 24/7 God and kid channel. Those that know me, know it's not a joke :), but a happy, perhaps geeky, reality.

A Bible verse that speaks to me often is Deuteronomy 6:5 "Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength". Almost the same is Matthew 22:37, "...You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind". And Mark words it (12:30) "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength." Now that I've said this - in print - I need to confess that I cringe when I hear the question "What's your favorite Bible Verse?". I don't have one, per se, because I "need" different verses at different times of my life. That's the wonder of the Bible - it talks to us like a friend, with what we need at the moment. Like a best friend, God's Word knows whether you just need a hug, a pint of Haagen Dasz, or a Margarita... However, those 3 verses - each recounting the same command, are my core go-to.

And don't they describe the core of a woman?! Don't we as mother's give our all to...gosh, everything? First our boyfriend, then husband, then home, then kids --the pets - even our hobbies! I don't know about you, but "giving my all" to those tangible physical things that cry for attention, leave God as the last thing I attend to. God at least is "ok without me" for a minute. He has patience if I need to pick up a baby, or first give my husband the attention he craves since the baby came along.... God "gets" what we need. And I sometimes forget that just living right, (as long as "right" means what pleases God), is "being" a Living Prayer (queue the Allison Krause song)...which is happily do-able. So consider yourself hugged by this blog - pull up whatever is your version of a pint of Haagen Dasz or a Margarita...and read on as we figure out how to tap the Catholic Church for ideas to love our families, our lives, and above all, Love God,

with all our heart, soul, and strength.

Why we're not catechized (empowered) with this knowledge within our Faith Formation classes eludes me...but it's easier than you think.

Welcome to TIME to Be Catholic. I can't wait to share this stuff with you!!