Sunday, April 27, 2014

My Pope, My Shepherd~ Mercy IS Divine


Karol.
What a pope, what a man.
Strength, resolve, fortitude, evangelism, 
 justice,  perseverance.
He was every-man's pope. 
Traveling to more countries, spreading the One True Faith,
kissing more ground than any before him.
And possibly any to take the Chair of St Peter.



He defined mercy.
HE shocked. He amazed. He softened hearts.
Remember this?~~
How could any of us forget?

And he spread this beauty,  this gift of redemption.
 Divine Mercy Sunday,
 he shares the love with which the Lord envelopes His children,
the miracle of our salvation,
the grace of God's forgiveness.

This man holds my heart ....
we, here, in our family have a special affinity for him.
My son is choosing, as his confirmation name,
KAROL.
 Because, he says,
"Who else would I choose?
It will always be him."
And this from a boy who was five when his Papa died.
Who expresses sadness that their lives were not
more intertwined.
Who can't read and learn enough about him.

I've been teary-eyed all day;
I've been moved by the beauty and perfection that on this day,
this Sunday of Divine Mercy, 
Karol of Poland, is elevated to sainthood.



The man who shepherded my generation
to adulthood, 
who was and always will be a beacon
of light, of social justice, 
of racial equality,
of the importance and the vitality of our domestic churches,
who received his education underground during the Nazi occupation,
who symbolizes the fall of Communism,
who consoled the world on September 11.......
he exemplifies the goodness and the kindness
and the best in all humankind.
And humbly.


For perfectly  clever ideas on celebrating Catholicism AND the influence of
Pope Saint John Paul II,
 please click to my friend, Tracy,
at A Slice of Smith Life.
Her family basked in Divine Mercy Sunday and the canonization of 
two popes by two popes on this historic day with many
activities, treats and with much prayer!


We were graced to be in our pontiff's presence a number of times.
Here, in America, twice.....once, in Rome.
Previously, I've written about our  JPII here:

If you are not Catholic and you'd like to learn more about
this beautiful Faith,
OR
if you are Catholic and have not been involved in the 
practice of the Faith but would like to return,
there is nothing that would make your Church happier!
Please contact me and I'll put you in touch with 
a priest who can assist you!

Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris

I'm grateful to link this post to Jenny's

Friday, April 25, 2014

Five Minute Friday~ FRIEND + Weekends with Chesterton

   
The rules of FMF at Lisa Jo's:
Write for 5 minutes flat.
No editing, no overthinking.
Share, invite others to join.
Visit one another.

GO:

 One boy’s huge chocolate- brown eyes peering over a splayed hand of Uno; the other’s pensive azure-blue eyes taking in a thick, juicy new novel. Sipping steaming hot cocoa following wintry sledding; icy lemonade following a summer bike ride. Bare, little boy feet slapping dewy grass at dusk on an early summer evening, catching and releasing fireflies, whoops of excitement uncontainable. 

                       
      
      The little things, the quiet moments. Yes, it’s the many years of Christmas morning memories: The family video of flannel feet-y- pajama clad kids  excitedly zipping down the stairs to squealingly uncover a myriad of surprises peeking from stockings,  peering from under The Tree. It’s capturing the awed whispers of “H-O-W did Santa know I would love this??” The two of them, together, sharing, revealing, delighting. And how can they look so different, be so different from these days which sped past? So long ago. Five, eight, ten years ago......

      It’s the framed birthday cake photos, number candle poking askew out of whipped confection, huge, often toothless grin, on crowned head. And the always party theme-accessorized honoree: western, pirate, fire fighter, space, science, medieval. One year, he wants to grow up to be King Arthur; the next, Neil Armstrong; the next, Watson or Crick.  The friends,  gathered through the years, crowding, sidling up to birthday boy, gathering, smiling and excited, into The Cake Picture. And brother. Right there in that photo. 
       The one constant.


        They are there for each other, in one another's life.  Always.  Despite any harsh words sputtered,  they have their own to-be-awed bond: unspoken, understood, sublime, deep.
     Sitting side by side, one  grappling with Latin adverbs, the other conquering ratios.  Immersed in Narnia, in recreating a favorite van Gogh, or in crafting an Egyptian pharaoh’s staff on a sun dappled deck hour after hour. Or just talking, sharing, shooting hoops.
I'm proud and happy and know despite minor fall outs, it will only get better.

~5 minutes are up~



And I love this pearl by our man, 
Chesterton, in  Fancies vs Fact
The family is the test of freedom; 
because the family is the only thing that the free man 
makes for himself and by himself.

Please join Sarah for her weekend foray into the 
study of GKC's wit and wisdom.



Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris

P.S.: Have you entered the big Purex giveaway??
What are you waiting for?
Good luck!
Click here to enter!

 (This post contains my amazon affiliate link)

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Purex Giveaway~ Win $1000 + Year's Supply! ( Or a Free Bottle! )


Welcome friends!
I hope all is well with you~ 
I've yet to blog our Triduum and  Easter....
that's coming soon.......
But I wanted to stop in and share with you a fantastic don't miss opp:
Purex is offering  super amazing winnings for a brand new product
which I was recently  afforded the chance to use ...
Purex No Sort is a win-win.
*It reduces color "bleeding" and transfer of dyes in wash
*It reduces laundry loads: no more color sorting!
No more additional washes!

 So.
Here are the details on how to win yourself some Purex No Sort,
avoid those extra wash loads while 
infusing your laundry area and
 your family's clothes with a heavenly fragrance
AND
potentially win some big bucks~~
   
You could win:
*$1,000
AND
*Year's supply of Purex No Sort
ALSO~~ 
*100 people will win one bottle of Purex No Sort as well!
Good luck, friends!!

I'll be back this weekend with my Easter daybook/
weekly wrap and I do look forward 
to spending time with you again soon!


Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris

Remember to click here for a chance to win~~

Weeping Cherry and Daffodil ~ Wordless Wednesday






Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time here at my home on the web!

Don't forget to subscribe to Campfires and Cleats
 by scrolling to the subscribe button at the  top left sidebar.
I'd love to stay in touch regularly.

Until next time,

~Chris


Friday, April 18, 2014

Artful Friday~ Palm Crosses, Rosettes, Knots and Scripture Verses

~Friends, welcome on this Good Friday~
Well, this has been a week of,
among other things ( ! ) 
crazy and beautiful palms~~
 examining step by step rose making and
sticking creations behind pictures, in pots, on windowsills
and hanging from doorknobs all over the house!
For those readers who may not be Catholic/Christian~
Palm Sunday, also known as Passion Sunday, 
falls on the Sunday prior to Easter and commemorates 
Jesus's triumphant entry into Jerusalem. 
This event is mentioned in all four of the Gospels:
Matthew 21:1-11
Mark 11: 1-10
Luke 19: 28-40
John 12: 12-50
This Bible is our mainstay as well as this resource
for Bible and Church history.

If you'd like to know more about the Catholic faith,
or 
if you left  the Church  and would like to return home,
nothing would make us happier!
Please email me and I will gladly connect you with a priest 
who will help you and 
with whom you can share your thoughts and concerns........

Now, here's a collection of some of my son's crosses and roses~~
the rest were given away to friends, neighbors, his guitar teacher...










For my previous "Artful Friday" posts, 
you might like to click below.....
They're all here if you'd like to dust off something from the archives:

 ( knitting, winter crafts, the theater and piano)



And, my son's popular  guest posts on crafting rocket balloons,
 both of which include instructional videos:
I hope you get a chance to click over and enjoy one of his posts!


Thank you for spending some of your precious time today
here at my home on the web! 

Have you signed up to receive my posts in your email inbox?
   If not, just click here to 
quickly and easily  so we can be in touch regularly!
You might wish to follow on Facebook as well.....



If you are shopping at  amazon and Target
why not consider clicking through my link
In this way, I will receive a small commission on the purchase.....
at no cost to you.
THANK YOU!

Until next time,
~Chris



BTW, I'm offering photo services and customized
photo packages for your blog or business!
< Subscribers receive a deep discount! > 

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Throw Back Thursdays~ Angels in Our Lives and Fireplace-Cozy Winters

Hey friends and thanks for visiting!

I have been compiling a collection of stories on my childhood
So here goes with one of them~~~
It's  mainly about one of many afternoons 
we spent waaaay back in the 70s
with my parents'
good friends..... my Dad's old army buddy from WWII
at their  home.
I can't do the feeling or the atmosphere justice.
They're all gone now, to the heavenly reward, 
but I remember them always...

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Matthew 6:21
      I am 4. I am 7. I am 10, 13, 18. 
There is Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, New Year’s Day. 
There are birthdays, graduations, retirements, housewarmings, christenings.
     And there is the everyday. 
Not occasions. But very special indeed.
     Backyard barbeques on crystal summer days. 
Charbroil and hickory wafting to seemingly endless summer sky, creating forever an imprint of happiness, bliss. 
 Of togetherness. Of safety.
      Emerald grass, lemon yellow marigolds and neon pink petunia, trimmed. 
Lawn chairs, neatly arranged earlier, now haphazardly strewn. 
Yanked by eager friends joining burgeoning, lively conversations. 
A day, lingeringly, gratefully, spent with friends sans daily rigor. Heightened by comfort, familiarity, ease. Love.
     There are Sunday afternoons slogging through wintry woods
 to a frozen pond deep within. 
Ice skates flung over shoulders and bumping with each step.
 Bright sun, radiant at eye level. 
Yet hiding behind full beauty of firs and leafless beauty of maple, oak. 
There is the anticipation, the newness of the adventure. But more so, the reveling in now.
     The walk. The talk. 
The silence in between. The being together.  
     And festive casseroles await in best china on hand embroidered linens. 
Aroma of roast beef, garlic mashed potatoes, buttered asparagus 
waft throughout the house. 
We enter and bring frosty January air with us. But only briefly.
 For candles and dimly lit inviting den, leather Queen Anne chairs straddle 
cracking fireplace casting welcome glow on shelf after shelf of inviting tomes.
     There is a high pitched hearty laugh here; the murmur of quiet, deep conversation there; the scrape of a pot, the multitude of sounds made by those comfortable, enjoying life. Appreciating life. 
Thankful for Life.

 Friends, as always,  
thank you for stopping over and 
spending some of your precious time 
here at my home on the web!

 Since the Christmas season is almost upon us,
if you find yourself  shopping at amazon
would you consider clicking through my link?
Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=campfandcleat-20
I'm an amazon affiliate and
in this way, I will receive a teeny tiny portion of purchases made 
when clicked through my blog.
If YOU are an amazon affiliate, please send me
your link and I'll be happy to shop through your link!

THANK YOU!

I'd love it if we could be in touch regularly.........
so please subscribe to Campfires and Cleats~!

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Until next time,

~Chris