Redo? Can I get a redo?

Hello friends of Prudence Thorne! I AM STILL ALIVE!! A three month hiatus from blogging really is uncalled for. Perhaps that's why I've gone through such a dreary state of life as of late. I really haven't felt like I've made God laugh in a while, and I guess that's why I haven't been posting here... It's a sad state of affairs, dear friends. But I speak truth.

Van Gogh's Sorrowing Old Man ['At Eternity's Gate'], 1890

The last few months have been brutal, to say the least, for me. And most of the brutality is/was self-inflicted. Prudence has a tendency to dwell on negativity, to be somewhat pessimistic, and to get wrapped up in all of that that she forgets to look to the bright side of life. I think it happens alot when I forget to be myself and get caught up in the busyness and mundane details of it all - of life.

Photo Cred: FanPop

This summer saw me working three jobs PLUS singing for weddings and funerals on the side, planning for a new job in the fall (I'm going into my third week and rocking the socks off of it by the way so BOOYAH), and YUP, still working (or at least thinking about... productivity wasn't at an all time high...) on that BIG PAPER. Letting all that add up and add in the stresses of home life (please pray for Mama Prudence - she's had a rough go of it for the last six months and still needs all the prayers she can get) that makes for no fun at all.

Photo Cred: PhD Comics - Piled Higher and Deeper

So it's time to put on my sassy pants and get back into the swing of being downright AWESOME because that's what Prudence does best. No more time for gloom and despair! None at all. From this point forward, Prudence will be... well.. rejuvenated and sassified (as Honey Boo Boo says!)

Photo Cred: SomeEcards

So it is written, so let it be!

Trinity Sunday marks Prudence's return to MAKING GOD LAUGH!

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday, and Prudence was feeling a bit on the tired side, so she didn't really do anything too productive apart from "Double Mass-it," as my Canadian-Friend has dubbed my behavior of going to more than one weekend Mass (and he also says I'm nuts for that... and I just say I need all the grace I can get so Boom on that one, eh?)

Self-explanatory.
NOTE: I <3 my Canadian friend. And S/O to my Canadian follower and fellow blogger, TH2!

And (soapbox moment)....

Photo Cred: Myanderings

Can I just say that doing this does not make me a nutcase? I have commitments - I sing in the 8:30 choir; but sometimes, I get up and I'm barely functioning that early in the morning and THEN you put me up in a choir loft and have about 100-150 people (and babies) between me and what I'm supposed to be focusing on ... it just doesn't work out! So.. I added another Mass later in the evening that many of the Youth I work with attend. I sometimes sing in the choir (but dislike that because I get easily distracted there too AND the choir area is way over on the side and I can't see... which means I don't focus...) and also serve as an EM and have filled in as lector as needed. Yes, I realize that I've fulfilled my obligation by attending the 8:30 Mass, BUT if I'm too busy staring at the baby that's being all cute right below me and being distracted by people tearing checks out of their checkbooks for offertory during the Homily right beside me, don't judge me for wanting to go back so I can pay attention at the later Mass time. Gosh. (/soapbox moment).

See. Cute babies are distracting. But she didn't distract me at Church. This mah Godbaby. Loves her.

A*N*Y*W*A*Y... I spent my Trinity Sunday fighting exhaustion (it's the end of the quarter and it's been a trying, busy, and emotional roller coaster last few weeks). I was going to go for a run, but decided my Casper white-skin needed some Vitamin-D and so I sat out by my apartment complex's pool on what didn't feel to be a very warm day, reading The Spiritual Legacy of Sister Mary of the Holy Trinity (which seemed appropriate given it was Trinity Sunday and all...)

Here's Sister Mary! But she won't turn the right way... She's saved "hotdog style" but she keeps uploading all "hamburger-like" so... Meh.

It's funny these books I've turned to to read for spiritual guidance, no matter what happens in life or where I start reading from in the book, there always seems to be something that speaks to me on a profound level. It happened with Diary: Divine Mercy in my Soul too (which ::sheepish:: I stopped reading after Notebook 1. I'll pick it back up some time, I'm sure...) Perhaps I'll dedicate another post to that...

Jesus I Trust in You!

So now, Prudence is starting FINALS WEEK (and for the first time in her college and post-graduate carrer - HAS NO FINALS! I just give one on Thursday yay!) and diving headlong into dissertation work for the summer. And planning a mission trip to Appalachia for our Youth Group. And singing for some weddings. And moderating an online class. And planning for teaching in the fall. And moving. ..... Here I come summer. Full steam ahead!

And... I'm disproportionately "tanned" (READ: look like a lobster with my Celtic #1 skin) from my not very warm but high UV index day of poolside reading... I'm sure that makes God laugh...

Catholic Media Promotion Day Pt II (but late, whoops)

I kind of missed the boat on Catholic Media Promotion Day part II, but it's better late than never, I suppose, right?

The second part of CMPD was supposed to be reflection on our purpose... what do we do as Catholics involved with social media? I've been thinking about this along and along, and I think it finally struck me today with the readings from today's Mass - it's from 1 Peter. Here... let's look:

"Beloved:
The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore be serious and sober-minded
so that you will be able to pray.
Above all, let your love for one another be intense,
because love covers a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without complaining.
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another
as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Whoever preaches, let it be with the words of God;
whoever serves, let it be with the strength that God supplies,
so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,
to whom belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Beloved, do not be surprised that a trial by fire is occurring among you,
as if something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice to the extent that you share in the sufferings of Christ,
so that when his glory is revealed
you may also rejoice exultantly." 

 [The emphasis is mine, obvi.]

Catholic Media Promotion Day 2012 Logo

This spoke to me today in a serious way... I feel as though it kind of sums up the last few months of my life. I haven't really felt like I've made God laugh in any particular way lately. Things have just been... serious. Many things have caused it... and so, I ask for you, my friends, to please send up prayers for

• My mother... that she returns to her normal self soon after breaking her hip and having to recover from the corrective surgery, and that the issues she's having with her back are fixable so that she can enjoy the life she once had

and

• Our youth minister in Smalltown USA... that she returns to her health after a harrowing month following a stroke and aneurysm and that in her absence, I may continue to lead the Catholic Teens in this area to the best of my ability

Catholicism: Journey Around the World!  I haven't read this yet or been a part of the series but it's coming to Smalltown USA in the fall, or so I hear....

And that... this... that I have a support group of people who don't even really know me, necessarily, can gather around in a time of need. And that's what our purpose as Catholics in social media is all about. To be a support group, a community that is there for one another.

We are the universal Church. Catholic means universal. We need to support one another in our faith journeys. We need to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

Catholic Media Promotion, Pt. 1

Prudence returns! We hope! Oy. Sorry for my very long hiatus from blogging... there's no excuse really. And I hope that I'll continue to ride the wave of blogging with this 2nd Annual Catholic Media Promotion Day...

Tomorrow is the beginning of a two-day event to for Catholic Media Promotion. Tomorrow, Catholic Media Users around the globe are falling silent in order to contemplate their purpose as media scholars. Despite the fact that I've appeared to have fallen silent for quite some time, I hope to use Catholic Media Promotion Day to spring back into action with my blogging! Because I miss it. I hope (if any of you are left) that you miss me a little bit too!

So, that said, with "Catholic Media Promotion Day - Part 1: #SilenceandWord Campaign" I will (try) to do the same as my other brothers and sisters in Christ, spending the time I would normally be using social media contemplating what God is calling me to do as a Catholic Media scholar, especially as I continue to work on my dissertation on the same topic. Thursday, we'll again take up our media of choice, explaining the fruits of this silent contemplation

B16!! He's my fave...

"Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbors so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love." - Pope Benedict XVI

Embarassed.

Prudence took a wee little break from the blogosphere without really meaning to!

Sorry about that! I can't promise to be back with a vengeance with my blogging, but... I'm going to try to make a concerted effort to blog more (especially since I'm teaching a social media class and showed this blog... and how little it's updated... to my students today. Oops.)

Like I could have and should have blogged about the time I went to pay rent and ended up giving the Leasing Manager the contact information for the RCIA program at Smalltown's parishes.

Or about my job interview (but I didn't get the job, sigh).

Or about how I got to finally meet my goddaughter and was present for her beautiful baptism.

Things are insanely busy as I try to navigate the 3rd year of my PhD program, searching for jobs, working a "secret" part-time job, teaching 4th grade CCD, working with high school youth kids, and leading the young adult group....

Oh and writing THE BIG PAPER. But I still think I make God laugh daily. Just because He knows what's up and is probably getting a kick out watching me try to figure it all out... so I hope to keep the posts a'coming! And be real. Because the last couple months have been real, yo.

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli..."

I keep thinking of things that I should come back and post here, but then I get busy doing other things (Oh, like uh.. SCHOOL) and I forget to keep Ol' Prudence updated! Sigh. I need to do better.

That said, I received some exciting news!! Cute little niecey-poo from my previous post? Well guess who's her Godmother?

Wee widdle baby smile!! <3

Yup. That'd be MEEEEE!! I'm so excited to watch her grow in faith. And help out as much as I can along the way. She'll be baptized near Another Smalltown in mid-March. And I'll actually get to be there. No proxy for me!! No no no noooooo way....

Sorry, a little Dreamgirls moment there...

til next time, friends!

Life is a rollercoaster.

Apologies for the lack of blogging. Prudence has had a relatively rough go of it as of late, and blogging sort of slipped her mind. But it's a wonder what kind of catharsis one can achieve through the art of writing. That's why I've always been a writer I think!

That said, here's a quick run down of the good, the bad, and the ugly in my life:

The Good

We took a group of 21 to the March for Life from Smalltown, USA, including about a dozen high school students. It was pretty awesome to hear some of the students saying "Next year when we come back we have to ___________" ... so great!

Our motley crew...

I'm on the job market... and to date, while I haven't gotten any phone interviews or offers, I also haven't gotten any rejection letters either. So I guess that just means that I'm in academic limbo for the time being... There are worse places I could be.. so yay.

My niece-in-love was born on January 23 and she is such a blessing. I can't wait to meet her in person when I travel back to Another Small Town.

Sweet lil' niecey-poo!

The Bad

My life seems to be so out of whack (see THE UGLY) as of late. I need something to put some pep in my step, something to set afire to my work. I've started planning my life out again like I used to do, in hopes that that will spur some productivity!

The Ugly

Prudence's proposal defense of THE BIG PAPER was last week... a week ago from today actually. It was... ugly. But, it's better to be ugly at this stage in the game than ugly when I defend the whole thing... or get bogged down in data after passing a shoddy proposal. So... I have my work cut out for me...

(Sidenote: It's taken a week of reflection and thinking to get to this point. And I'll admit, I'm still a touch angry at how the defense situation transpired, but... it's all water under the bridge right now. I knew getting in to this that it wasn't going to be easy...)

And as a bonus, the amazing

I have some really great friends in my life. People have been praying for me for a long time, and when the verdict came last Thursday on the defense, they prayed even more fervently. They care about me. They huddle around me in times of distress. And they know who they are. And if any of you are reading this... I really, really thank you. I think the reason I got through this last week without breaking down and crying and wanting to quit school is the "safety net" of people I call my friends and family. (That, or I'm a really cold and bitter person... I didn't even cry when I saw Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close...)

All the words on this ad are true. It was an amazing movie!

It's as St. Thomas Aquinas said:

"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship."