Feast Day Celebration and Blessing of Our Family Business

Clint's homemade pies were delicious.  We also had ham, roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls.  Why do people have everything catered these days?  Because it is easy....everyone is always looking for the easy way out.  Preparing food for others is one of the key ingredients to a blissful servants heart....a natural high from Heaven.  These simple ways of happiness are slowly being deminshed.  God is a simple God....the key to happiness is simple!

Deacon Pat with his helper, Ben. Maybe he'll be a priest someday! :) Ben loved holding the Holy Water!

Blessing of the bakers hands.  The work they do with their hands providing such sacred food, such as bread, is holy. Clint, my husband, is the third one from the left.

Mine and my sister's kids in front of the "alter".

Deacon Pat blessing the offices.

Blessing of the ovens.

The kids feasting on cokes and pie! :)

St. Elizabeth of Hungary- Patron Saint of Bread Bakers.  A daughter of a King who devoted her life to giving bread to the poor.

Blessing of the baker began outside. When then proceeded throughout the bakery where he blessed each room as well as the baking equipment.

Yesterday at our bakery we celebrated the Feast Day of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, the patron saint of bread bakers. We also had our Parish Deacon come and bless the bakery. What a wonderful day it was! Clint and I had so much fun preparing all of the food and sharing in this celebration with our employees, family and friends. The graces we received from this were astonishing. Things Clint had been worried about for the past three weeks happened to work themselves out and we got leads on two large accounts all after the blessing of the bakery! This is proof that all we have to do is ask for help and graces and Heaven will provide.

Our employees are mainly Hispanic. These people are Christ for me.  Their faith and devotion is so inspiring.They put together the most beautiful alter with flowers, candles and pictures of Jesus, the Blessed Mother and St. Elizabeth of Hungary. I cried when I saw it.....it was so beautiful and humbling. Employees who were off work yesterday, came and brought flowers for the alter and also eager to receive a blessing. We live in a world where speaking of religion in the workplace is considered a lawsuit threat. My theory is, if we can't share our faith values in the business God has provided for us, then what is it worth? We are to work for the Kingdom of God and sharing our faith and showing our dependence on prayers and intercession from Heaven is working for the Kingdom. You will see in one of the pictures where Deacon Pat blessed the hands of the bakers. I realized after seeing this picture that this might have been the only blessing some of the employees have ever received. It was also neat to see our children along with our nieces and nephews be able to participate in this ancient old tradition.  To see us sharing our faith with others is important for our children.  I can only imagine in the past how many families celebrated feast days and had their businesses blessed...mainly because faith was all they had. Why do people not do this anymore?  Are they too good?  Do they think they really don't "need" any special blessing and graces upon their work environment and employees?  Are they afraid of offending someone? All Clint and I have had the past seven years of being self-employed is our faith....nothing else.  There were many times that only God's hand saved our business.  Every morning I pray for our business and ask St. Elizabeth to pray for us and intercede for us and also special blessings over our employees.  Because of our dependence on faith, we feel it is necessary for a blessing over our business and employees.  This is not our business, but God's bakery. 

I feel it is time we start sharing our beliefs....whether it is politically correct or not.  Satan has slowly silenced us in this type of thinking....not wanting to "offend" anyone or push our beliefs on anyone.  NONSENSE!  If we can't share our faith in the workplace, then what are we working for? You might be surprised how well received and appreciated people might be once you start sharing your faith more.  And someday when you get to Heaven, you will meet that one person (or several) whose direction of  life was changed all because you stepped out in faith and spoke out.  It might have been that one blessing of hands that was an unseen ticket to heaven.

Hope you all are well! Blessings to you on this Thursday!

Our Short Life on Earth.....could end tomorrow. What would you change about your life?

ALL SOULS DAY
First Reading today Wisdom 3:1-9
"In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace." Wisdom 3:2-3

Today we are reminded in the book of wisdom that the greatest day of our life is the day we die.  We look at death as scary or unfortunate when in all actuality it is the beginning of our life. A friend of mine yesterday was delivering a meal to a young family who lost her husband/father at the age of 37 last week.  He died in his sleep of an anurism.  She said it was such reality of death when she pulled up to see his car parked in the driveway, his keys on the table and his shoes by the door.  She was reminded that when you leave this world you take nothing.....absolutely nothing.  Even though we all know this, it is a good reminder from time to time of what this life is truly for.  We run around day after day chasing our tails....worried about silly things and putting our thoughts towards things that truly DON"T matter in life.  Lately I have been consumed with the children's bedrooms.....where this new baby will sleep, what frilly bedding I am going to get my girls, ya-da,ya-da, ya-da.  Even though it is fun to think of these things and decorate our homes, etc., it is crucial that we continue to not dwell on these silly mind-blowing things of the world and keep a clear perspective.  This morning as I said my prayers, I thought to myself....."what truly matters in life?  If I knew I was to die tomorrow, what are the things I would change about my life as of right now?"  This is a brilliant question to ask yourself periodically to keep things in perspective and to discern God's Will for you and your family.  Lately, I have been really focused on praying for God's Will for our lives.  His Will is so much more than we can even ask for or dream of, yet, we tend to not let go of fear and choose our will instead. 

I just returned from a wonderful weekend at my family's ranch.  I am convinced that all that matters in life is being with family and perserving faith and heritage.  However, as much as I want to pack up tomorrow and move back to the land my family has been living on for the past 100 years, I am reminded that we are at the perfect place at the perfect time right now in God's design.  I am reminded that we think we are strictly here for our business and to make a living, but in Heaven's eyes it is a much different design.  We might be at the place we are right now in our lives for the 10 year old little girl across the street who is living with her Grandma because her mom was thrown into jail.  She knows nothing about Jesus or family life and we might be her only glimpse of hope at this moment in her life. Or we might be at the place we are right now because one employee gets a glimpse of the cross and picture of the Blessed Mother hanging in our bakery and yearns to come to know Jesus.  We don't know.....but all we do know is that life is short and if we are living for the things of the world, we might as well just pack up and go "home" now.  This is worthless living.  But if we are living for the Kingdom and seeing each and every day as value for Heaven's sake, then we are doing our job we came here to do on earth.  To live for Jesus and Jesus alone. 

So whereever you are in your life right now, take an evaluation.  What are you and your husband truly living for?  The next big break, raise, promotion, million dollar ticket?  Or are you living how and where God has truly called you to live?  If you knew you had two months to live, how would you change the direction of your life?  I am going to ponder on that one today.......
On another note, what beautiful intercessors we have in Heaven.....all of our loved ones who have gone before us.  Let us remember our dear loved ones today and all they did for us and taught us. Learn from them!  Also, GO VOTE!  This election is crucial in the state of our  nation.  It is our duty as a christian to vote today for the sake of our nation and our families.  Repulicans are in the light and Democrats are clearly taking a path of darkness.  VOTE FOR THE LIGHT.....the only hope we have for our Nation.

Medjugorje:
The Blessed Mother gives messages for the World on the 2nd and 25th of each month.  These messages are to bring our world back to her son.....this is the reason for her appartions.  These messages are for all faiths and religions.

Today's message, November 2, 2010:
“Dear children! With Motherly perseverance and love I am bringing you the light of life to destroy the darkness of death in you. Do not reject me, my children. Stop and look within yourselves and see how sinful you are. Be aware of your sins and pray for forgiveness. My children, you do not desire to accept that you are weak and little, but you can be strong and great by doing God’s will. Give me your cleansed hearts that I may illuminate them with the light of life, my Son. Thank You.”