Abide with Me...

Back at the end of July, I went to the Abide conference for youth in Cincinnati. I was asked to help and be a small group leader. I started out thinking, "I'm just a small group leader. What in the world is so monumental about that role?" I wanted to do something bigger. I've been struggling with the fact that I am no longer the youth minister, or person in charge, and that I'm a volunteer. I feel God calling me to lead, but I don't know where or how. There's been a lot on my heart over the summer and even now.

Anyways, I got my list for my small group and I was instantly ecstatic! I knew my kids were into their faith and sharing it.

And you know what? Over the course of the week, they taught me a lot. They taught me it was okay to start off awkward and move to a place where we were good with each other. I wasn't really in charge, God was. Every time I tried to be in charge, nothing went right. When I surrendered, the Holy Spirit flowed.

I got some lessons from Jim Beckman on how to pray over my teens. We were open and honest with each other. I was definitely praying hard for them as we went to talks, out in door-to-door ministry, and at Night Fever. I felt like we found family in each other. By the end of the week, they were calling me Mama Randi, which honestly, I didn't know what to think about at first. Then Bridget said, "It's because you're like our spiritual mom." I melted. How can you not love them and call them yours after that??

My favorite moments of the week were (in no particular order):

1. When we huddled up to pray before going out door-to-door
2. When we had an intense 30-40 minute prayer session at the end of Saturday night
3. Dancing the "Watch Me" dance at the talent show on Friday night
4. Praying over each other
5. Jack's comments
6. Bridget's "It's because you're like our spiritual mom."
7. My talk with Catherine
8. Jim Beckman
9. Evan
10. Andrew taking in depth notes at all the talks
11. Hearing my small group talk about how much more the youth ministry was reaching out to their families.
12. Hanging out with Rhonda
13. Rooming with Michelle
14. Praying over Claire with Zack Hinger and some other teens
15. Seeing my husband Ben when he came for lunch and Night Fever
16. All the priest, seminarians, and religious that were with us all week
17. Mass and Adoration

My Ministry Venture on Teachers Pay Teachers

I've spent a lot of time in prayer about life and what God is calling me to this year. I think He has some awesome things in store! He keeps confirming again and again what He is leading me to in my personal life and in ministry. I know I'm not in ministry as a paid gig right now, but what He has given me in volunteering far outweighs anything. He has given me countless gifts this year in my friends and those I serve in ministry.

This coming month, I'll be launching a YDisciple group for incoming freshmen girls. We're currently setting dates to meet, and I am so excited for the journey that lies ahead!  I'll share more this summer as time goes on, but God has a plan for this. If He can get us through the scheduling, He can get us through anything!

I've also been working on some new projects this year, and today I want to share one of them with you.

I decided to start sharing some of my ministry resources via Teachers Pay Teachers, a site where teachers/librarians/staff and the like can share their resources for free, or for a small charge.  I was checking it out when it hit me that I had been wanting to share some of mine, so I started looking up what there was to offer for Catholic schools, religious education, and VBS.  Not a ton of offerings, compared to how many listings there are for binder printables LOL!  So I dove in and made an account and listed 9-10 items the first night.  I'm now up to 12, and will be adding more as I wade through all of my files.

Here's my store! Everything is FREE!

My graphics aren't cutting edge and most are editable, but it's FREE.

I am also a lover of Life Teen.  So you'll find some items that are compatible with their ministry platform, but I will not put their name/logo on it, as I don't want to incur any fines for copyright infringement.

Finally, if you'd like customized items, I can do that too. These items are just what I had saved from awhile ago and I have lots more up my sleeve.  Just email me at randihom@gmail.com! 

Redefining My Life

I have been finding a new identity in Christ and seeing that I am not Randi the youth minister, but Randi the disciple of Christ who is your wife/daughter/sister/friend. So while this may be #tbt, I am taking my life to Christ and redefining who I am...been doing it for awhile and hadn't noticed until recently. #leadmetothecross #amen #newme #ifeelablogpostcomingon

I never realized all the change that would come inside of me after leaving the last parish I worked for. I have been thinking about it for a couple of weeks and I have seen so many things happen. 
1. I have found community at St. Gertrude and in the Youth Ministry Core team where I now volunteer at St. Gertrude. I haven't felt so welcome in a place or in a ministry in all my life. No one is talking about me behind my back, there are no back-stabbing or scheming people, and church politics are not there.
2. My prayer life is expanding...slowly, but what's even better is that now Ben and I can pray together. I can also feel God in my life again and my prayer journaling isn't like pulling teeth.
3. I can be a wife for the first time in my life instead of a dictator of volunteers...which is how I felt when I was stressed out. I feel so much more at ease and loving now.

I still miss being at my old parish because I could tell that I was doing good work there. I miss the teens and the relationships with parishioners. However, Satan was constantly on the attack in many ways and I have to be honest....after awhile, it just got overwhelming. With no support from my staff, I knew I couldn't stay and try to brave it alone. It's so much easier to brace the blows with a team of people who are working alongside of you and my team of volunteers had left the ministry for various reasons. On top of all these things, I had been led on about different aspects of my job and my pastor purposefully avoided me when I sought to talk to him. It was a completely unhealthy working situation. I am sad to admit this, but I have to be honest. This is my blog afterall!

So why have I been redefining myself? Well, many different reasons, but it basically comes down to not being happy with the direction I was headed. I felt like my relationship with God was lacking, that I was too wrapped up in what I did for a living, and that I had become too dependent on "stuff". Since leaving my job last June I have done several things consciously and unconsciously.
1. We've been without a major part of our household income, so we've scaled back A LOT! I haven't shopped for myself in over 6 months, and other than a couple of gifts for Christmas, we have not really bought anything for our house/each other/etc. Our meals have become cheaper, we eat out much less, and to conserve food we don't snack between meals a lot. We've made it by the grace of God, and some generous people. It's only this week, after I got the news last week that I will be starting a full-time job (yay!), that we've had to reach out to St. Vincent de Paul to get food.
2. We've sold a lot of items to make money and gotten rid of clutter by the bag full to Goodwill. All we have left is to go through our basement storage room. We haven't bought any new clothes in the last 6 months. We've also been forced to return some items because we couldn't make the payments. That is very humbling! I've also given away some of my ministry stuff to friends who are also in youth ministry and to the library I work at. It made my day seeing the joy on their faces!
3. I've started wearing more skirts and dresses. I dress a lot more feminine and modest, and in turn, people have treated me a lot differently. That's been a big deal to me, as I've been desiring to change my outward appearance to match what was inside my heart. I follow lots of modest Instagram accounts like: @lauren_modernmodesty, @modestcatholicgirls, @modestlychics_, and @daintyjewells. I like the inspiration and it spills over to my Pinterest account: https://www.pinterest.com/randi_hom/
4. I wanted to keep doing ministry and my heart is for youth ministry. So I started volunteering at St. Gertrude with the youth and it has changed me in many ways. I see ministry in a different light now, it's back to something I love to do and I jump at the chance to do God's work. Ben and I have been discerning what God wants of us and have seen how He has given us a missionary heart.

 There are a lot of things that God is doing in our lives right now. I'd love to share, but I'd rather wait until more things are confirmed in prayer or by action. Until the next time, see you in the Eucharist!

Friday the 13th

Today is Friday the 13th...

And honestly even though I'm not superstitious, today has felt a bit off.  Maybe it's just this week, no it's definitely been the last couple weeks.

I've been struggling with finding a job.  I feel like I'm running out of places to apply.  People keep rejecting me.

"You're over-qualified."
"You're under-qualified."
"We found someone who also had experience in another area, so we hired them for both positions."
"We hired this GUY."
*crickets*
"Why don't you apply for this position?" ...then *crickets*

I bet they are laughing it up right now

It's gotten a bit ridiculous and honestly I need a full time job insanely bad.  I have bills to pay people!

On the upside, I have all this time to spend at home working on different projects, volunteering at church, and helping my family.  And Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.  I'd love if someone offered me a job as a creative director or doing something fabulous that doesn't require a master's degree and sacrificing my left leg.  I can do so many things if only I was given a chance.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow and I'm thankful that I have the chance to speak to the St. Ann and Child Mary Guild in the morning.  I'm excited to talk about Mother Teresa, her love of Jesus in the Eucharist, and the Heart of a Servant!   

Starting new projects: Teachers Pay Teachers

It's good to be back and I'm so excited to be starting a new year!  Welcome 2015!
I've spent a lot of time in prayer about life and what God is calling me to this year.  I think He has some awesome things in store!  I'll share more on that later this month.

I've been working on some new projects lately too, and today I want to share one of them with you.

A week ago I decided to start sharing some of my ministry resources via Teachers Pay Teachers, a site where teachers/librarians/staff and the like can share their resources for free, or for a small charge.  I was checking it out when it hit me that I had been wanting to share some of mine, so I started looking up what there was to offer for Catholic schools, religious education, and VBS.  Not a ton of offerings, compared to how many listings there are for binder printables LOL!  So I dove in and made an account and listed 9-10 items the first night.  I'm now up to 12, and will be adding more as I wade through all of my files.

Here's my store! Everything is FREE!

My graphics aren't cutting edge and most are editable, but it's FREE.

I am also a lover of Life Teen.  So you'll find some items that are compatible with their ministry platform, but I will not put their name/logo on it, as I don't want to incur any fines for copyright infringement.

Finally, if you'd like customized items, I can do that too.  Just email me at randihom@gmail.com! 

It's beginning to look a lot like Advent

Today is the first Sunday of Advent.  We went to Mass at St. Max and I saw the purple swags in the windows, and the huge Advent wreath up front...I love Advent season!  This is a time to reflect on Christ's coming and prepare our hearts.  

Today's Gospel is from Mark 13:33-37
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Be watchful! Be alert!
You do not know when the time will come.
It is like a man traveling abroad.
He leaves home and places his servants in charge,
each with his own work,
and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch.
Watch, therefore;
you do not know when the Lord of the house is coming,
whether in the evening, or at midnight,
or at cockcrow, or in the morning.
May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping.
What I say to you, I say to all: ‘Watch!’”

It reminded me about tonight's upcoming youth night at St. Gertrude, where we are going to be discussing priorities and "seeking first the Kingdom".  Mark's Gospel fits in so well, telling us to "Be alert!"  How can we have priorities if we are not alert and aware of what God's plan for us is?  Today I am thankful that God is so merciful and allows second chances!

Also, since today is the first Sunday of Advent, I thought I would share an update of some of the resources I shared on my old blog.

First of all, please check out my Pinterest boards below.

1.  Religious Education Advent Ideas
2.  Youth Ministry Advent/Christmas Ideas

2.  Advent and Christmas Ideas for the Home

For those in ministry check out this video from a webinar I attended by Ave Maria Press:
O Radiant Dawn: Ministering to Families (And Yourself) This Advent Season
There's tons more videos to check out there too!

More Advent Resources (coloring pages, lessons, etc.):  
CatholicMom: Advent
12 Tips to Holier Advent Season

My Recommendations for Great Advent Guides:
For Youth Ministry:  Life Teen Advent Companion
For Ebook:  Magnificat Advent Companion

Projects to get Dad involved:
Make and Advent Wreath using power tools
Outdoor Nativity Scenes with lights
Lego also makes Advent Calendars!

Shows to Watch: CatholicTV: Advent

Where to Shop for Advent/Christmas Gifts: Faithful Findz

Today God was calling

This morning I drove to Milford.  It's about an hour drive away, but it took me about an hour and a half in rush hour.

Here's the view

I went to the Jesuit Spiritual Center for an "interview" of sorts.  Turns out they like me, LOL!  

Anyways, they want to contract me to do some youth retreats with their team.  I'm beyond flattered!  Now to see how I can fit that into my schedule LOL!

Here's some pics from the grounds there

Anyways, tomorrow I will attempt to sort all these things out in my head while I work at the library.  For now, I'm going to work on my ministry outlines and talks.  

I didn't want to drive in the snow tonight, I guess I'm getting to be a wuss.  I'd rather be safe and at home than in a ditch trying to get to a meeting.  Not worth it!