Sorry about not posting for awhile, busy unfortunately with finals and such (and that haven't even really began yet, I'm doomed!) So I have been working especially hard this week to take off the weekend, and I kinda over did it and now I really don't have any school assignments left to do (weeell, at least the ones that can't wait until next week.)
So can you guess what I'm doing this weekend? Visiting the Caramelites of Mary!
I will have to admit that I am a little nervous to visit, can't really say exactly why. One of my friends from our homeschool group is coming with me, which I am very grateful to have a companion on this trip.
Why am I visiting? Well, that a bit of story to tell, and maybe someday I will tell it all but, basically, I have been having some difficulty determining what God's will is for me in my vocation, I determined that I would have to discern where God is calling me before making a major decision like going to college, or anything else like that. I at least want to know what step I should take, and it is in my personality to learn everything I can about something before making a big decision. I thus wanted to find out all I could about all the different types of vocations there are, married, single or religious. Out of all the possible vocations, I realized that I knew the least about Religious life. Well I suppose that is a little bit exaggerated, but of all the vocations that is the one that I haven't really considered very seriously. I remember that when I was little I was certain that I was going to become a Poor Clare, but that was back when I couldn't understand why people ever got married. It has been awhile since then, oh, I long for that sort of certainty!
I only wish I knew what God has in store for me! Well to put simply, I have felt that God wants me to visit the Carmelites, I can't say for sure whether or not I'm called to the Religious life, but I know that I can't make that call without having ever visited them. I ask for your prayers this week, that I may know what God's will is for me. I will write more about the visit later this week!
I suppose this isn't one of my favorite of the Christmas films, maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was always terrified of it when I was younger. Still I think it is a wonderful show, though it does creep me out at a few points ... that one song that he sing about the animals not being able to smile, and the one lamb looks like a toad, still makes me shiver! 
I have no doubt in my mind that I have see this movie since I was two years old. Every Christmas we pull out this Christmas movie and watch together as a family. This Christmas being no different, I was reluctant to watch it. I had been part of a theater production of It's a Wonderful Life when I was about thirteen and acted the characters young Mary and Zuzu. It was a great experience, but let me tell you after memorizing nearly the whole movie and then preforming it five times, would make someone dislike the best of movies! Needless to say I was less then excited to watch the movie again. That's what I thought before I watched, afterwards, a 180. 
