You may see a different side of me here and there. I feel led to start sharing a bit of my "raw" journal entries to give you a flavor of who I was when I started to write. I was very much Catholic and very devoted to the Catholic faith when I began my journey. I would say I was a bit mixed up also back then. I use to go and have my tarot cards read; I would attend a monthly cleansing/healing event at the woman's home where I would go to have my cards read; and my former husband also gifted me with a past life regression session with a person. You need to know that I regressed to no where and that was a total waste of his money. How could I regress to somewhere I never was? Satan is very sly and clever, take warning so as to not fall for his traps. Even though I was very religious so to speak I also had angel cards of my own that I read. Another deceitful trick of the enemy. You think they are OK because it says Angel in the title. Remember, there were 1/3 of the angels that fell from heaven with satan. Do not fall for another sly trick of the enemy.
I was never told by the Catholic Church that I wasn't suppose to do that. I was also never told by them or encouraged back then to read my bible. It was when the Holy Spirit prompted me to start reading the bible that I began to question doctrine's of the Catholic faith, i. e. that there is no purgatory or you cannot pay or burn candles or pray for a deceased person once they die. I later came to realize that once you take that last breath of life your decision you made while you were on earth alive is the determining factor of where you will be for all of eternity.
At that point in my life I prayed the rosary frequently and the Divine Mercy Chaplet, fasting, and at one point I received daily communion for one year. It was at this time in my life that I frequented a local shrine and found peace there. It was not the priests per say that told me to not have my tarot cards read, etc. It was a concerned nun that one day asked me what I was going to do for the weekend. I replied that I was going to go to a healing session at the lady's home that read my tarot cards. I will never forget the stern look on her face and the tone in her voice when she told me to go right to confession and to never ever go back there. I did what she told me to do and I never went back. God used her in a mighty way to get me off of the beaten path and onto His path. I will periodically visit there in the gift shop and chat with Sister a bit if she is there.
You need to know that at that point in my life I was searching for more than what I had in my life. Be very cautious because that is when I was deceived in thinking that doing tarot cards and reading a book like The Celestine Prophecy was all good. It was not and when I received knowledge I began to clean out my home of all of that bad stuff. I remember purchasing a scarab bracelet from a jewelry store and it had gemstones in it. The Holy Spirit dealt with me about that one day to throw it away. I was going to just throw it in the trash and he reminded me to dismantle it so no one else would find it and get lured in by it's beauty. I dismantled it and out in the trash it went. Once I received knowledge I wanted to live a true life with the leading of the Holy Spirit. I do believe I am where I am today because of the obedience I chose to follow back then.
On occasion, you will see a drawing from my journal. Today, you see a picture my daughter drew in my journal entry that I will share today. I encouraged my children to draw and be a part of my books. You will eventually see a drawing that my son drew of an angel. I look forward to sharing these with you. Let your children be a part of what you do. My son drew more than my daughter did. This may be the only picture she drew now that I think of it. It does not matter to me if there is one or twenty pictures drawn in my journal books, it is the idea that they were drawn and they are now a part of who I am through my writing. Again, I encourage you to let your children be apart of what you do if they have an interest.
This is how I wrote on 6/9/1996 @ 3:20 PM:
Ah, what a glorious day to be alive and living a most beautiful day in he eyes of the Catholic Church. Corpus Christi, the feast of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. If I'm not mistaken we as Catholics celebrate this feast day. Other religions do not partake in this particular day of celebration. My heart wants to jump out and shout 'praise be the Lord now and forever,' but my mind becomes saddened for this glorious feast is only shared within my religion. I have friends That are of different faiths or I should say religions and my heart becomes burdened with the thought, why cannot they share in this wonderful day of celebration?
It makes not sense to me dear and gracious Lord for we are many parts-we are all one body and one body being the key to all of this. When you look back in the bible it does not speak of 200 and some different religions in which our world has to date. It is of one religion, one religion I repeat again... why so many where there is one Lord our King of Kings our Lord of Lords?
When you come again I know in my heart and in my mind there will be one religion again. All religions will blend together as one. All religions have many qualities, all will come together and "blend together." Praise be the Lord. All religions also have negative problems and concerns it will be as though they melted away. For we all come together for one reason to give praise to the Lord not only my Lord or the Lutheran Lord, oh no, our Lord, the Lord that loved us so much He humbled himself to send to our world His Son to save us all. To set us free. He wasn't just sent to one group He was sent for all. All that opened their hearts to hear the word of God and repent and to live a Christian life.
Different religions evolved because of not liking or not wanting to go along with the true teachings of the bible. So many men/women so many different thoughts and ways of doing things. Letting our humanness take over and not giving up total will to the Lord has brought about all of this. How unfortunate for coming together as one united is what will bring the peace in the world and in our hearts and beings. Not toys, or jobs or vacations will bring about all of this, oh no, united worship and taking and sharing of the true bread and drink of life. The eucharist, the living presence of our Lord. To embrace and take with us as we leave the church. Allowing Christ Jesus to totally consume you so that the peace can truly flow. Praise be the Lord. The Father, Son & Holy Spirit all in one, this glorious day as I write this by the Great Lake Erie May peace fill troubled hearts this day and always.
The picture you see was drawn the next day by my daughter. I still remember the excitement in her for the Olympic Torch was coming past our street in our very neighborhood. We went up to the top of our street to witness as the runner went past with the torch in their hand. Imagine that, in Euclid, Ohio.
I trust you will enjoy getting to know a different part of my life as a Catholic writer many years ago. I will share this with you. I was raised and attended Catholic grade school, an all girls Catholic High School and then to a Catholic University. Being raised in Catholicism taught me to follow order and have discipline to a degree and to respect men and women in the religious order. I know others look upon the Catholic religion as a bunch of rules and ritual practices so to speak but I will tell you that they have a respect for holiness and they are devout. It was my upbringing that allows me to be a determined follower of Jesus now. I am thankful of my upbringing and for the many sacrifices of my mother to allow us to attend the schools that we attended. She sacrificed so we could be raised with discipline, respect, and morals.
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