In the Quiet

+ J.M.J. (By the way, the cross signifies my faith and those initials mean Jesus, Mary, and Joseph) The door of mercy at St. Paul's Cathedral  Yum, pad Thai! January's Renovate was a HIT! Walk for Life. Beautiful, breath-taking view at the park. I was on this snowflake-making kick for a few days. Weird filter lol! Good movie. Went and saw Joy with my friends. This movie title infused my month, as I felt pretty joyful the whole time! Stephanie

+ J.M.J. Picture from Here is the  link  to Part One of this series. The Nicene Creed I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his kingdom will have no end. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proc

+ J.M.J. everydaylanguagelearner.com 25? 25 what Stephanie? 25 elephants? Shoes? Problems? Photographs? Holy cards? Rosaries? 25 coffee cups? 25 what?! 25 years.  That's the age I'm approaching. That age just sounds terribly old to me. All you people older than 25 are laughing, saying, "that's just a baby." Probably similar to my reaction when a 19-year-old talks about feeling "old." Hah. 25 is a quarter of a century. Probably at least a quarter of my life is over. Therefore, I'd like to reflect on the past 24 years of my life. Come along with me. 1: My mom gave me a rice cake covered with chocolate frosting for my birthday cake, because she's just that healthy. Still is. 2: I really don't remember anything about being two. 3: I got a plastic bike. If you want to know more about my third birthday, ask me sometime. 4: I had a party at a pizza place. 5: I got pink sandals, binoculars, and my mom bo

Hello, it's me I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet To go over everything They say that time's supposed to heal ya But I ain't done much healing THE BREAKDOWN: It sounds like she's talking to an old lover with which she had no closure. Hello, can you hear me? I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be When we were younger and free I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet THE BREAKDOWN: Did they meet in California? It stands to reason that they would have been younger, I mean, none of us are getting any younger...and I'm really stuck on what she means by "free." When you're with someone, are you free? Are you ever free? What does she mean? To me, to be free means to be free from sin to live fully in the grace of God. I doubt that's what she's going for here. I'm pretty sure she means that they were carefree. I wish she would have said as much.

+ J.M.J. Photo: imdb.com I'm just going to start off by saying that this review is coming from someone who doesn't care all that much about football, but is fascinated by the workings of the human brain. This is sort of a documentary but is written in drama form. I don't really like documentaries as a rule so this was a welcome format for my taste. I'm not going to give you a breakdown of everything that happened; if you want to know, please go see it yourself.  Dr. Bennett does autopsies, trying to figure out why people die. He looks at their brain to see if it's healthy or not. He starts to notice a trend with former football players. Their brains are perfectly healthy, and yet they died. He discovers a new disease. Of course, the NFL hates him for it and tries to wipe him out. A striking comment was made during the film. Someone was talking to Dr. Bennett, telling him why football now hated him. He said that the church used to own Sun

+ J.M.J. "I think I could make you happy." Mike, a prospective boyfriend, stares into Phoebe's eyes on an episode of Friends . She has never been in a long-term relationship, and she's in her thirties. She smiles back at him.  What Mike said to Phoebe is society's message to us. That people can make us happy. Yes, they can, but the truth is that no person can make you completely happy. Only God can make you completely happy. Yes, a person can bring you to another level of joy and happiness, but don't buy the lie that any human can make you full of happiness that is lasting forever.  I'm all for true love. I even believe in love at first sight. But the truth is, you have to remember that since God is Love, it logically follows that all love comes ultimately from Him. All love is Him. To forget God is to forget Love Itself. I've always been a hopeless romantic. I've also been a hopeful romantic. The difference is, hopeless ro

+ J.M.J. makeuseof.com Sometimes, people ask you hard questions. They're hard because you don't know what to say in return. You feel as if the answer should come easily and succinctly, but it's eluding you. Someone asked me a question like that last fall, towards the end of a long car ride.  "What do you believe?" We had been starting to discuss religion. I was Catholic, the driver wasn't. I didn't really know how to reply in a way that he would understand. Honestly, I didn't know how to reply in a way that I would understand either! Every day I lived my life a certain way because of what I believed in as a Catholic but to explain it seemed so hard. I realized I had to say something, so I said,  "No one has really asked me that before. I haven't really discussed what I believe with non-Catholics. Catholics don't really talk about what they believe. They don't all agree on everything but it's just

Dear future husband, Here's a few things You'll need to know if you wanna be My one and only all my life THE BREAKDOWN: This is good. This woman knows the basic principle that all women find out (or should) sooner or later: guys need directions sometimes. They desperately want you to tell them what you need. They can't read your mind ladies! (Awwwww) Take me on a date I deserve it, babe And don't forget the flowers every anniversary 'Cause if you'll treat me right I'll be the perfect wife Buying groceries Buy-buying what you need THE BREAKDOWN: Dates are good. She deserves it, yes, just as much as he does. Here she's letting him know that her love language is gifts. Now he knows, good. There's no such thing as the perfect wife in reality. Unless buying groceries makes you one, of course. You got that 9 to 5 But, baby, so do I So don't be thinking I'll be home and baking app

+ J.M.J. Photo credit: IMDb I went to the theatre yesterday afternoon and I saw a movie that touched me deeply in a lot of ways. There were many funny moments in the film but the plot is also realistic. I cried. I normally don't cry in public. Joy is a woman who used to have a lot of hopes and dreams when she was a little girl. Her grandma encouraged her in those, as her mother spent all day sitting on her bed watching soap operas. When Joy was little, she built things. She was very creative. She met her future husband at a party, enamored by his good looks and how he was finding himself in realized dreams.  Now, Joy's life is falling apart. Her now ex-husband lives in her basement, and her mom and grandma live with her. Her dad also moves in while dating someone new. Joy has two kids, and their future looks bleak and she knows it.  What happened to Joy's sparkle? When did she stop believing in herself? Well, reality set in. Life didn't go as

+ J.M.J. Happy New Year to all my readers! Thank you for reading. I feel more peaceful and joyful at this time than I ever have before. God is so good to me. My life has never been without challenges but I have a feeling that I'd get bored without a challenge.  My smiles come easily and my laugh flows naturally now. My life was being choked before, and I had to let go of something very dear to me that I thought I needed. It's amazing how liberated you can feel when you simply release something that is making you very unhappy. I am not in school right now. Perhaps I may go back, and maybe I won't. Some believe that higher education is the only answer to all your problems. For some, that will be the answer to their problems. But not for everyone.  I have been writing a lot more, working out (I actually toured a gym on Wednesday!), and I actually have time for the things that I love to do and that matter to me. I don't know if this is a break o

+ J.M.J. The fashion world knows that it's spring, even if the temperatures don't yet. It's currently snowing outside, so it's inspiring to look ahead to warmer times. Don't get me wrong, though; I love snow! You always hear about the transition from winter to spring. You know the drill. You can still wear dresses and skirts. Sometimes tights or nylons are useful to make the outfit endurable while it's chilly. I love keywords that are being used to describe the current trends:  MINIMALISM BOHEMIAN PRETTY Translucent pinks and jewel tones are in. And while we're on the subject of fashion, I'm going to recommend a book to you that has been helpful to me as I get dressed. It's called Dressing with Dignity by Colleen Hammond, published by TAN. As the title suggests, the book tells you how to dress as a modest woman of God.  Need some inspiration? Check out these images from Pinterest: This is still for wintertime. Sh

Lyrics Dissection Monday: Cheerleader  by Omi (I like this Pentatonix cover better than the original.) VERSE ONE When I need motivation My one solution is my queen 'Cause she stays strong Yeah, yeah She is always in my corner Right there when I want her All these other girls are tempting But I'm empty when you're gone And they say THE BREAKDOWN: He gathers support from his girlfriend. She is a strong woman and he likes that. She stands up for him whenever he wants her to. Other girls are tempting...um, really? That's kind of weird to be saying that to your girlfriend. Do you think that makes her feel secure? He tries to make up for it with  "BUT" he is nothing without her. Uh, needy much?? PRE-CHORUS Do you need me? Do you think I'm pretty? Do I make you feel like cheating? I'm like no, not really 'cause THE BREAKDOWN: I think he already established that he "needs" h