Praise, Prayer, and Outdoor Fun

My friend Judi is running in the Boston Marathon today! How awesome is that? I'm not a runner, and I don't usually follow those kind of things, but I'm excited about this one! If you're on Twitter, you can follow the Boston Marathon here.
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I love hearing good news. This past week I anxiously followed the coverage of the search for Nadia Bloom, the missing 11-year-old girl from Florida. A former high school classmate of mine, who I've recently connected with on Facebook, is a friend of the Bloom family, and he kept all of his Facebook friends updated on the progress of the search. Like many others, I cried and uttered a prayer of thanks when Nadia was found safe and reunited with her family. They said she wandered into the swamp to make a nature video. That sounds like something one of my boys would do.
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I've learned that the Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel is April 26, and yesterday began the Our Lady of Good Counsel Novena. I'm starting this novena today, and I'll either extend it until the 26th or say the prayer twice one one of the days.

Confession: I've never taken much stock in novenas (maybe it's from growing up Protestant); I tend to mostly ignore them. I guess it's because I'm a little skeptical about the idea that saying a prayer every day for nine days will somehow get me the answer to whatever it is I'm praying for. Truthfully, I know this is not the purpose of a novena; instead it's a way for us to place our burdens on God's shoulders, and to unite our prayers with the saints. So this time I'm going to try and put more trust in Our Lady, and I'm certain that she'll give me the confidence and wisdom to follow the Lord's will when I have to make those little choices from day to day. I pray that she'll give me more patience with my children, and the courage to stand up for the truth.

Click Here for the Novena to Our Lady of Good Counsel

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Yesterday was a good day to ride bikes.

One of these days my husband and I will get bikes of our own, and then we'll all go riding together.

Sunday was also a perfect day for a walk in a nearby park.

Count on Moe to find something new to climb on!

Today is the start of another busy week. This is when the "challenge" part of the Outdoor Challenge comes in! I'm up for it, and we'll do our best.

I'm in! Are you?