Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room

Being that it is almost the 1st Sunday of Advent, today is the perfect day to make your heart ready for Christ's coming. It is time to "Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room." Advent is a perfect time to "clean-up" and "get ready" for the birth of the Newborn King. I took time this morning to vacuum and dust. It felt great cleaning up my apartment as a small offering to God. I also got out my Advent wreath, which I am very excited to light the 1st candle tomorrow! Next to my wreath is a vase filled with fresh flowers as another small offering to Christ.

What do you need to do to prepare? Do you have to resources available to help? Invite your family and friends to help and get closer to Christ with you.

I will leave you with the lyrics to "Joy to the World," because we need to ring out the JOY that Jesus is coming!

JOY TO THE WORLD

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Thankful for Thanksgiving

It is again that time of year when the leaves have changed to a golden yellow, rustic red, or amber orange. Also, the groceries stories are full of shoppers gathering their Thanksgiving Day trimmings. I will be traveling to my parents' house and enjoying a nice dinner with them. I look forward to waking up and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade while my parents' cook the Turkey and all the sides. Then early afternoon we eat a beautiful meal followed by watching "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." We have watched that movie every year since I can remember!

This year, I will also stress to my family and friends how thankful I am for them being in my life! It is such a joy and comfort to know that I have people I can depend on and trust to always be there for me. What a blessing! God truly is good!

What are you thankful for?

I want to take this time to say a special prayer for you (the one reading this):

Heavenly Father,
Please bless all who read this. Take each person into the closeness of your heart, and give them your special blessing. May your Thanksgiving be filled with joy, laughter, love and good food. :)

Always share the goodness that is in your heart. Do everything with love.

DC, Theater and Cate Blanchett

I was among the lucky few who was able to get a ticket to "A Streetcar Named Desire" at The Kennedy Center long before it was completely SOLD OUT. I went up last weekend to stay with a close friend of mine and we treated ourselves to a matinee performance. She wanted to see some theater and I, of course, was also up for it! :)

This production was awesome! Tennessee Williams is by far a very talented playwright and visionary. Given his history, I was neither shocked nor surprised by the themes presented in this play. He had a rough life.

And since Mr. Williams is such a popular playwright, I am sure that many of us have soon one or two of Mr. Williams' plays before. So...it is then fair to assume that a person will only see a play a second time if this particular production has a "wow" factor. To be honest, I have already seen "Streetcar," but now I can also say I saw Cate Blanchett play Blanche.

For this production, Ms. Blanchett is the "wow" factor. And she certainly delivered. All the way up in the balcony, I felt captivated by her performance. She truly highlighted the vulnerability of Blanche's character. She pretty much stole the show. This worked out fine given that Blanche is a very "steal-the-show" type of character. Cate knows how to play high class and her sweet Mississippi charm for Blanche was just right. Everyone knows the classic line, "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." I was very impressed...but more rather, not surprised by Cate's magnitude. She deserves all the praise she has been getting for this role. It's a role of a lifetime.



But to give credit where credit is due - Joel Edgerton, who played Stanley Kowalski, was brilliant. He had the muscular manly presence that Stanley's character requires and yet offered the subtle charm that helps the audience understand why Stella keeps coming back to him. Joel was not afraid to grab hold of Stanley's animalistic tendencies. I also found that this production had a very tasteful way of portraying the scene between Stanley and Blanche in which Stanley takes advantage of her. Joel deserves praise too because we need to feel threaten by Stanley as well as find moments in the play when we like him, even though the former always takes p residence.


The final character of the "Big 3" of this show is Stella Kowalski. Being Blanche's sister, she is almost expected to be the same "high class" Southern Lady that Blanche portrays. Yet, Stella differs in that she is now being affected by the high strong manner of her husband, Stanley. Robin McLeavy was a gentle yet passionate Stella. It was hard having her up with Blanche, given that Cate took Blanche to so many high levels. However, Robin proved she could handle her own onstage. Her chemistry with Joel was the perfect match for these characters. The most important relationship dynamic is between Stella and Blanche. The audience has to see the love between them. Robin was compassionate, patient, understanding and even took hold of playing "the big sister." Stella is happy in her life with Stanley and when Blanche comes, she not only has to redefine her relationship with Stanley, but also with her sister.



I was very pleased with this production and so was my friend. It was a lovely afternoon of theater!

My 100th Post

Being that today is my 100th post, I wanted to do something festive. Do you like my balloon? :)

100...wow! To think I had 100 things to post about. Geez...really, I know I just rambled. LOL

To reflect on my past posts I have found that I need more unity. I will do more re-occurring themed posts as well as have more of a blog focus.

To continue with the "100" theme for today...let's see...

100 ways to make the most out of your day:

100. Wake up with a smile
99. say a prayer
98. have a good hearty breakfast
97. sing a little tune in the shower
96. wear your "special" outfit
95. call an old friend
94. treat yourself to a great cup of coffee
93. listen to your favorite song
92. take the scenic route to work
91. wear your pretty scarf/necklace/earrings
90. pay a compliment to a stranger
89. take a long lunch break
88. turn your radio up in the car
87. wish upon a star
86. sing a Christmas carol
85. youtube your favorite childhood cartoon
84. start to read the book you have been longing to read
83. send a card to your good friend
82. order dessert
81. paint your nails
80. be more forgiving while driving during rush hour
79. write a love note
78. laugh
77. plan your dream vacation
76. buy yourself a blow-pop
75. go for a long walk in the park
74. rent a movie you have been waiting to see
73. pop some popcorn
72. order a regular soda instead of diet, it's ok
71. go window shopping
70. take a mini road trip
69. smell some roses
68. go out on the town
67. document your day through your camera lens
66. call your parents
65. break out into a random dance party
65. read your favorite childhood book
64. order yourself some flowers
63. buy some good chocolate and savor it
62. allow opportunity to knock
61. keep a secret
60. support a local organization
59. make a special visit to your church
58. create a special moment with a stranger
57. help a close friend in need
56. tell someone close to you that you care about them dearly
55. write a poem
54. put your toes in the sand
53. write a list of the things you are thankful for
52. buy your favorite ice cream
51. smile at everyone you pass
50. be a tourist in your own town/city
49. go get your hair cut/styled
48. make a small sacrifice for another
47. make the most out of all your struggles today
46. dance to Michael Jackson
45. watch reruns of your favorite old TV show
44. give out free hugs
43. buy tickets to the theater...you will like it, I promise!
42. go out and celebrate your un-birthday
41. finish your to-do list, or at least check something off
40. visit the SPCA to play with the kitties and puppies
39. take time to play in the rain
38. read a passage from the Bible
37. put a little cream and sugar in your tea
36. revisit an old journal you have or start a new one
35. spend some time in your favorite place (either outside or in your home)
34. roll the windows down in your car
33. sing along to the radio
32. bless someone when they sneeze
31. call your sibling(s) to see how they are doing
30. brush up on your "electric slide" dance skills
29. have a glass of wine with dinner
28. use your "nice" dishes
27. read poetry
26. light some candles
25. support a worthy cause
24. ride your bike or walk somewhere
23. skip
22. buy a balloon
21. go and feed the ducks
20. let the sun shine on your face
19. watch an old movie
18. recycle
17. don't be afraid to be honest with yourself and others
16. use glittery gel pens
15. cuddle with a warm blanket
14. buy a surprise treat for one of your co-workers
13. do a 15 min exercise
12. be very encouraging of yourself, "I can do it!"
11. wear your hair a new way
10. fly a kite
9. research your astrological sign
8. write a letter to yourself to open in 5 years
7. watch Harry Potter
6. send a funny text
5. go running down an aisle in Target with a cart
4. buy a pair of new shoes
3. forgive yourself
2. don't be afraid to cry and let it out
1. believe in miracles

A special thanks to Faith, who helped me come up with some of these. :)


Check out my 50th post!

All Souls

In honor of All Souls Day, I wanted to post a short prayer. It is important to take the time to pray for the souls in purgatory and for all those who are lost.


Invocation for the Souls in Purgatory

My God,

bestow Thy blessings and Thy mercies
on all persons and on those souls in Purgatory
for whom I am in charity, gratitude, or friendship bound
and have the desire to pray.

Amen