A Prayer for Nashotah House

Bless, O Lord, this House, set apart to the glory of your great name and the benefit of your Holy Church; and grant that your Name may be worshipped here in truth and purity to all generations.  Give your grace and wisdom to all the authorities, that they may exercise holy discipline, and be themselves patterns of holiness, simplicity, and self-denial.  Bless all who may be trained here; take from them all pride, vanity, and self-conceit, and give them true humility and self-abasement.  Enlighten their minds, subdue their wills, purify their hearts, and so penetrate them with your Spirit, and fill them with your love, that they may go forth animated with earnest zeal for your glory; and may your ever living Word so dwell within their hearts, that they may speak with that resistless energy of love, which shall melt the hearts of sinners to the love of you.  Open, O Lord, the hearts and hands of your people, that they may be ready to give and glad to distibute to our necessities.  Bless the founders and benefactors of this House, and recompense them with the riches of your everlasting kingdom, for Jesus' sake.  Amen.  Love, Marcia

Time of Thanksgiving

The beautiful colors around us have started to fall to the ground in preparation for winter.  The moments of "waves of leaves" drifting down like a rain fall before your eyes are amazing.  Of course, the ground is covered with yellow and brown leaves, waiting to be swept, crunched, blown or just to sit and gather mold underneith.  Another time for allergy sufferers to prepare for sniffles and headaches - and you thought the pollen season was bad...   Still though, God's creation does not sease to amaze me.  Like the sound of the gaggling geese flying above in formation, or the howl of the wind.  Each day continues to bring us new experiences.  Today, was a busy day for me at work.  I'm learning new reports and processes to support our newly accredidation with URAC that we have worked hard for.  I'm becoming a "numbers person", which I never considered a strong point for me in the past, but the pride of showing progress of accomplishments is rewarding in the end.  We are meeting our turn around time goals and continue to be successful in the utilization review industry, all the while my eyes are spinning with numbers that follow me to my dreams.  Tonight, is a quiet night.  Roy and Brian have flown to Virginia Tech Seminary to participate in the Episcopal Relief and Development conference with other seminarians around the country.   I hope to hear good things about how to keep this extremely important mission alive in the parish, when he comes home.  Heather is at a friend's house.  I am so glad she is adapting well and making friends.  It was pretty tough at first for her, but she is really making some bonds that she will cherish for a long time.  I have to say, I was so excited to get our November issue of The Messenger from Holy Trinity today.  I love reading it cover to cover to stay connected with our church family back home.  A big AMEN to Father Joe's editorial titled A God of Abundance or Another Reason for Thanksgiving.  He reminded me how we fit into God's scheme of things by realizing all the gifts of life to be truly thankful for.  I especially agree with his last statement " Don't believe for one minute you can outgive your resources.  God will replenish, beyond your imagining, what you have employed in His name."  I know this because I am living it.  What we are getting back, here at Nashotah, far outweighs the sacrifices we have given to get here.  Praise His name, alleluiah.   Thanksgiving approaches, and though sad we will not be with our parents and brothers/sisters, we are excited to drive to Ohio to spend with my family of aunts, uncles and cousins.  It is not often that we get to celebrate a holiday with them.  In close, God's blessings to all of you - take time to consider them, count them, and rejoice.

Love,
Marcia

Holy Hill is The Basilica of The National Shrine of Mary. The Discalced Carmelite Friars inhabit the monestary and welcome visitors year round. Its priceless stained glass windows and magnificent mosaics, boasts a breathtaking view of the southern Kettle Moraine Countryside. Pilgrims walk along the half-mile outdoor Stations of the Cross with 14 groups of life-size sculptures representing the Passion of Jesus. Shown above, we are climbing the 178 steps to the top of the observation tower inside one of the churches. The dramatic view of the rural surroundings and the skyline of Milwaukee on the horizon was incredible. The picnic was wonderful.

Hello from Marcia

Hi friends... It has been a couple of weeks, not very diligent about keeping posts current am I? Well, October is here and in brings the cool weather. We actually had wet snow on Sat, which my BFF is educating me, is snow that does not accumulate on the ground. You should have seen my silly snow dance in the parking lot of Sam's Club - with my tongue hanging out to catch the first snow flake. ha ha It was fun. My shopping buddy Susan thought I was crazy and pretended not to know me. ha ha Still love her though. October is flying by, I can't believe how quickly time is racing past us. I am still nervous about driving in the snow the first time, but I won't worry about that until the time comes. Roy had his matriculation on Oct. 1st, which I'll post more pics soon as I get them from our professional photographer, as I wasn't able to get a good shot from the Court of the Gentiles. That is where the nonseminarians sit in St. Mary's chapel. I am posting a great shot of him processing into the chapel though. On my birthday Oct. 3rd we celebrated with dinner at a lakeside restaraunt called Fshbones, which was wonderful cajun food. Roy gave me 2 ornaments that I was previously admiring at the bookstore, of hand painted replica's of our campus bell "Michael" and the other of the Red Chapel with our shield on the back. What a nice keepsake for our seminary memoirs. Blessings & Love... Marcia

Updates from Marcia

Hi Friends!

Just wanted to update everyone on our beautiful fall days in the Midwest. The leaves should be in full burst in the next couple of weeks, I can't wait. Actually, I am not rushing it, as I have been forewarned of what comes next. We have some wonderful friends that have given us some warm winter items to use for the next 3 winters. I still have no idea of what the concept of the temperature minus teens really mean... but I know that cold is cold. I have bought another space heater so we have one upstairs, and one for downstairs, as the basement gets pretty damp and chilly already. I've been told to get dehumidifier for the basement, since that's where our office is, to get the dampness out and possibly some better air quality. So we are on the look out for that. I am enjoying chapel every morning on campus with Roy and will be sending some bookmarks to folks back home that would like them of our new stained glass windows. They were just installed for the 100th anniversary of St. Mary's chapel. Last Friday was Ember Day. Ember Day is historically the day to pray for all individuals pursuing ministry. Specifically, here on campus, it is the day that all seminarians are required to write home to their bishop and let them know how seminary life is going. Yes, Bishop Smith, Roy has assured me his letter is definitely in the mail. I am very proud of Roy for his appointment of Chapel Scholar. It is a work scholarship that is well worth the extra time it takes out of his already full schedule. He has been doing a very good job at balancing his study time, work scholarships, and family time. The topic of late is Matriculation Day coming up on October 1st. That is the day that Roy signs the book and becomes an official "Son of the House". We are all adjusting to the Benedictine lifestyle here at Nashotah. The community pulls together and supports each other every day. We have decided that t.v. was a luxury we are going to do without, in trade for Heather to be able to take horse riding lessons. As our t.v. is not digital ready and we would have to order satellite service even for local channels, both would not be within the budget. It is a lesson in budgeting choices for her, as well as not having a distraction that could hinder the quality of our family time. Roy has to be selective in his free time, and t.v. isn't high ranking. For me, I guess I miss a couple of shows, but have found some websites that show already aired segments. Now, Monday night football is a different story. Tonight my girlfriend is texting me scores of the Miami vs Indiana game (she is from IN routing for the Dolphins and sorry guys me from FL routing for the Colts) its a fun laugh we have. Our neighbors have graciously offered us an open invitation to coming over to watch their t.v. when needed. So far, I am confident we can get by without it. I'll keep you posted on how we do once the weather really challenges us to inside activities. I still attend my weekly women's grouping on Wed nights, I am also active in the local DOK chapter, and am running for junior class representative for the Women of Nashotah club. Heather has begun to make friends at school. YEAH! I have had some disturbing news from home about a couple of family members and a friend that recently lost their job. I pray for that daily, as well as some friends that are having health issues. I will close with an insert from the 9-15-09 Day by Day devotional about Matthew 4:12-17 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. It expresses that the light is not just a phenomenon for those who die. That even with the moments of darkness that come our way in life, that through baptism I know that in the morning, there will always be light. Love and Peace to you all.

Time for sharing...

Life at the house has been interesting indeed. Each day is inspired with a new experience and renewal of awareness of God's presence in nature. I'm adding pictures of a cardinal sitting in the bird feeder right outside my kitchen window. The flowers in the garden are beautiful, and just today we saw some first signs of fall in the trees. Red leaves are beginning to show themselves. We spent a lovely day today picking apples in the trees out by the barn. When we got home, our neighbor shared her handy corer/peeler device which made peeling and preparing all the apples a cinch! I put them in a crock pot and hope for a delicious applesauce by morning. The women/spouses have organized small group meetings, which I have fit into nicely and enjoy getting to know others. We meet every Wednesday evening for prayer, bonding, support, and learning techniques for winterizing (for us southern women) from the seasoned campus ladies. I have gone back to work, remotely with my company from home. Praise God for this!! Having the offer call from my AVP was the biggest sigh of relief I've ever known. I was moved to tears. Not only for not having to worry about job hunting upon my arrival, but the relief of knowing I didn't have to drive in the snow in the winter. The community is very encouraging and helpful. I will also share some photo's of our ice cream social. Many a night, while the weather holds out, we gather together in the circle for grilling, volleyball, a bonfire or just to talk. I have tried out for Chapel Choir and look forward to singing at several events on campus as well as doing alittle to help with the financial scholarship toward Roy's tuition. We have been blessed with the ongoing support that many have sent to Nashotah that have been applied to his account for books and tuition as well. Every penny helps! The first semester booklist was astounding to say the least, but he has what he needs now, thanks to you and our Lord. With the changing of the leaves that I described above, we are now thinking about preparing for weather changes. Scarves, gloves, and all the winterizing will begin soon. Well enough for now... Miss you all... Love, Marcia